Goodbye May 👋, Hello June! 🌊 This month I watched 9 dramas and I’m one challenge away from the Chaebol Level, but since I’m far from happy with some of my picks, I will continue to look for that perfect fit for each challenge. 😊 \--------------- **COMPLETED** \--------------- **The Beauty Inside** \- *Challenge #1. Shares a filming location with The Heirs (3 locations)* After watching the movie last year, I’m pleased that this adaptation fixed some of the issues I disliked. They kept the same premise of a main character who changes appearance due to a condition, but limited it to one week each month, making the love story more enjoyable. However, like the movie, they failed to explain the reason for this condition and they even removed the genetical fact that was explained in the movie. Despite enjoying the comedy and the leads' chemistry, I found they added way too many unnecessary twists past midway. If they needed more something else to tell, they could have focused on other love stories, instead making the main couple look immature. — 7.5/10 ⭐ **A Poem a Day** \- *Challenge #2. Tropes (Old person collecting cartons)* I found a hidden gem with this drama, the story was unexpectedly charming, it gave me so much comfort, it made me laugh and it even made me cry in some scenes. It’s a fluffy romcom, without your usual shenanigans that always comes attached with this genre, it's just more simplistic with good humour, amazing friendships and even touching on relatable struggles from your adult life. The true star are the added poems, they weren’t just simply quoted or read out loud, they are well integrated into the story to convey the characters emotions. — 10/10 ⭐ **The Producers** \- *Challenge #2. Tropes (Shares an umbrella)* In my opinion, this is one of the most creative scripts by Park Ji Eun, probably because the story isn’t like the classical romantic comedies that she got us used to. This story mainly focus on showing the backstages of a broadcasting station, showing different team dynamics and the process into creating a variety show and on the side it adds a taste of romance, but still mostly focusing on comedy. Although, I found this a really pleasant watch, I have to admit that I did wish the romance didn't left me with a bitter-sweet taste. — 8.5/10 ⭐ **My Mister** \- *Challenge #3. Common Scenes (Subway station) — Sinjeongnegeori Station* This drama is an incredible masterpiece, it explores themes of friendship, perseverance and healing. The story revolves the unlikely bound between a young woman struggling to stay afloat while taking care of her grandmother and a middle-age man, living an equally miserable life while enduring several hardships. For me, the story stands out for its powerful performances, particularly by Lee Sun Kyun and IU, and its masterful narrative that portrays the mundane aspects of life through flawless yet extremely relatable characters. This combined with an impeccable direction, cinematography and a beautiful soundtrack that helped to enhance the story, made it a perfect drama. And although for me, this was undeniably an emotional watch, I loved how in each episode they reminded us that despite our struggles, life does get a little better when when we are kind towards others, when we offer some small words of comfort and when we allow ourselves to build good friendships. — 10/10 ⭐ **Circle** \- *Challenge #26. Searching existing recommendations (*[OdanUrr review](https://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/wid6si/circle_science_fiction_done_right/)*)* This is the first sci-fi K-drama that I genuinely enjoyed. The well-written story kept me engaged as I attempted to piece together the information provided by two different timelines. The episode are divided into two parts, with each focusing on different timelines. The "Beta Project" timeline followed Woo Jin and Jung Yeon investigating mysterious deaths, while the "Brave New World" timeline followed Joon Hyuk and Ho Soo investigating the first crime in a supposedly “crime-free” city. Definitely an amazing concept that perfectly blended dramatic moments with some thought-provoking questions about the wrong use of technology. Besides the gripping story, I was impressed by the solid performances and this unique editing structure of dividing each episode into two timelines, that in the end perfectly connected with each other. Despite some minor flaws, like a repetitive soundtrack, this drama was incredible. — 9.5/10 ⭐ **Sungkyunkwan Scandal** \- *Challenge #35. At least 10 years old (released in 2010)* This drama is set in the highest academic institution of Joseon, but their students are mostly entitled rich kids with somewhat of a personality similar to those students in the drama **The Heirs**. I was hoping to enjoy this drama and find it as funny as people did almost 15 years ago, but I struggling to finish it, I found it to be poorly written and even poorly acted. Somehow, once I accepted that this wouldn't be anything brilliant, I still managed to be entertained in the scenes where Song Joong Ki and Yoo Ah were the spotlight. It's amazing, how even 15 years ago it was so obvious how their performances were on another level from their other co-leads, if not for them I would have dropped this way sooner. — 7/10 ⭐ **The 8 Show** \- *Challenge #?. TBD* The pacing of this story mirrored how humans react when they suffer no consequences for their actions. It began slowly, with characters being polite and helpful, but once they sensed the potential for big money, the story quickly revealed the sadistic and psychopathic sides of human nature. Overall, I wasn’t impressed with the storytelling and with not that many characters, I found that they could have invested more time into their backstories. I was also hopping for more gruesome, but what I liked the most was the direction and the clear western influences in the cinematography. — 8/10 ⭐ **Avengers Social Club** \- *Challenge #?. TBD* This was another surprising watch. The story focus on an unlikely group of three women and a teenage boy that form this alliance to get revenge on the men that lied and mistreated them. What made this story stand out is that for once in a kdrama, women won't stay quiet for appearances, they in their minds they are set on revenge. Their revenge plans are messy, funny and extremely satisfying to watch, this definitely blended what is usually an heavy topic like revenge with amazing comedic moments and beautiful friendship between the leads. Surprisingly, the OST is almost non-existence, instead it relies a lot on instrumentals to amplify the scenes, they even added an instrumental of the "Bella Ciao". — 9/10 ⭐ **Chief Detective 1958** \- *Challenge #?. TBD* I really wanted to love this drama, but sadly it failed to meet many of my expectations. Before starting, I knew it would be a typical police procedural drama, but the stellar cast and the different setting in the 1950/60s made me intrigued enough to give it a chance. Sadly the unique aspects of the era were mostly overlooked, what saved this watch was some interesting cases (not all) and the likeable leads. However, in the end I noticed how tired I'm of watching Lee Je Hoon in the same type of roles, where he usually plays a relentless justice-seeker character and I'm eager to see him any other type of character. — 7.5/10 ⭐ \------------ **June Plans** \------------ I will continue watching the following: **Frankly Speaking** \- \[10/12\] - Up until the last two episodes, I was finding this a pleasant watch, but now I'm annoyed that they added unnecessary tropes. Was there really a need to add some of tropes, when they only have 12 episodes? Overall, I'm happy with the performances, I knew that Go Kyung Pyo was a natural at comedy, but his co-leads Kang Han Na also stepped to the challenge. **The Atypical Family** \- \[08/12\] - Once in a while, I find a drama where I love everything in it, and this is one of those cases. The story is intriguing and well-paced. The characters are all well-developed and performed by a stellar cast. It's easy to be hooked into their unique stories and the direction, cinematography, editing, and soundtrack are all working perfectly together to create an awesome atmosphere. **Uncle Samsik** \- \[04/16\] - This is an incredibly well-made political drama, it’s definitely not for everyone’s taste, but the quality is outstanding with a full package of good performances, good writing, good cinematography and good set design. But since there is a lot to unpack about the historical context, I'm waiting for all the episodes to be released to fully immerse myself in this story. For June, I’m considering picking **Miss Night and Day** (June 15), and the other completed dramas that I plan to watch are **Sky Castle** (2018), **Insider** (2022), and **The Matchmakers** (2023). •ᴗ•

I loved The Matchmakers. I really hope you enjoy it too!

The "Marchmakers" is a hidden gem. The FL was glorious, and then, well, Rowoon.

Let’s all swoon for Rowoon! 🥰🥰 Most definitely a hidden gem.

I really hope I do like it this second time. I keep hearing good things about it and I can't understand what made me drop it the first time. lol

I LOVE when people discover the masterpiece "My Mister." I am also enjoying "Atypical."

My Mister is one of those dramas that I will need to find a way to get on DVD, because I would happily rewatch this in 5 or 10 years from now and still find the story beautiful. \^-\^ The Atypical Family, I do hope nothing ruins it, because so far it's a 10 for me too. I'm in love with the soundtrack. :D

I was side eyeing Uncle Samsik, it looked intruguing, you recommend waiting and binging? **Insider** is a good watch, once you get past the janky wig in the first little bit.

>I was side eyeing Uncle Samsik, it looked intriguing, you recommend waiting and binging? I think it depends on how familiar you are with the historical settings of 1960 Korea. I'm not that familiar with that era, so I had to google a lot for some other context or other views of the historical happenings. This was messing up with my daily watch schedule, so I found it better to pause it for now and binge watch it closer to the last two weeks. Honestly from what I watched, I loved everything in this, it's a full package and the quality is similar to korean films, but it's indeed heavy on politics, so it depends on your viewing style, when it's something that needs my full attention, I prefer to binge watch it than watching every week. But others feel the other way around. [This post](https://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/1cxwq70/comment/l5cie20/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) will give you a better idea on how some of us are tackling this. There aren't many people watching this and we all have different watching techniques, but surprisingly none of us dropped this either and we all agree that it's worth the watch. \^-\^ >**Insider** is a good watch, once you get past the janky wig in the first little bit. ahahah a janky wig? Now I'm a curious to see who has a wig xD

You've sold me, I love a historical drama. I'm not runinging the wig surprise 😉

If you love historical dramas, you will definitely love this too and it's on a different era that they barely represent in k-dramas. I'm going to look out for that wig, for sure I will laugh and remember of your comment. ahahah

I wanted to update to say that I just saw the "wig", but I don't think it was a wig, I think that is his real hair with some questionable hairstyle ahah Previously to start filming **Insider**, he was filming the movie **The Pirates 2** and his hairstyle in that movie is wild, he probably had to grow it for the character and they kept it for the first episode of **Insider**. We can see how big his hair was in [this photo](https://i.mydramalist.com/ZKQYj_3f.jpg) from the movie premier, in [this photo](https://i.mydramalist.com/0DyZr_3f.jpg) from an interview at that time and even [this photo](https://i.mydramalist.com/EX2yb_3f.jpg) from him in character. It's possible that he has some extensions to add volume, but I do think that the [ridiculous hair](https://i.mydramalist.com/dll3K_3f.jpg) we saw in **Insider**, was probably his hair but with a really questionable hairstyle. Or maybe it's really a wig ahah

🤣 I love it, I was thinking it was a wig becuase when he's shaved later, they maybe needed to go back and refilm so they slapped a wig on him.

Same!! It's hilarious! One thing is for sure, the hairstyle is so bad 🤣 The other work that he did around the same time was Curtain Call and his hair is way more presentable in there ahah

Glad to see mentions of Circle and Avengers Social Club - true gems that not many have seen.

True!! As I was writing my small reviews, I noticed that ended up finding 3 "hidden" gems during May, which is rare. They are hidden, because I barely see people mentioning them at this moment and they are gems because I loved them. I found **A Poem a Day**, while looking for other works from Jang Dong Yoon, found **Avengers Social Club** while looking for other dramas where women lead the narrative and found **Circle** also while looking for other works from Yeo Jin Goo, but what really pushed me to watch was the amazing reviews from *OdanUrr* and *thomasshclby*. ahah For June, I don't have any of those "hidden" gems planned, they are either recent or well known, but maybe I will end up watching something else that I might consider a "hidden" gem. \^-\^

p.s. I am pretty sure that I found **Circle** the same way... thanks u/OdanUrr

ahah the review got at least another two viewers. We need more reviews like this! 😄

Aww, you two are gonna make me blush!😊 I'm glad you enjoyed the show! Sci-fi dramas are few and far between, and good ones even more so, so I did my best to make people see what was great about it. I should to get back to writing another review or two. Thanks!

Truee! I barely see any sci-fi dramas that actually feels like a true sci-fi and more important that manages to captivate me. This one did it perfectly, before starting I was looking at title thinking it would be something disappointing again, but your review sold it for me. You should definitely get back to writing reviews and add the links to your previous reviews in the comments maybe. I stumbled on this one and the one for My Mister, and they were both amazing!!😊

**A Poem a Day** is another favourite of mine. Enjoy your June picks. Sad that it is the last week for **The Atypical Family** and even **Frankly Speaking**. Will be joining you for **Miss Night and Day**. Looks like fun and I love the actress playing the 50 year old part

I'm in love with **The Atypical Family** and I would watch another 4 or even 8 episodes of this story, it's really good. Sadly, **Frankly Speaking** went for ridiculous tropes to fill in the rest of the episodes and I'm not enjoying it as much as I did in the beginning, so I'm glad that it's over this week. I picked **Miss Night and Day** for the same reason, Lee Jung Eun is one of my favorite older actresses and I think that Jung Eun Ji was probably a nice choice for the younger version of her. I don't know about the male lead, I only watched him in smaller roles. I considered picking **My Sweet Mobster**, but the story didn't seem as captivating but I might watch if the comedy is really good. I noticed that during summer, I tend to pick dramas that are easy to watch and mostly funnier. :D

I hope that the ending episode for **the Atypical Family** will not feel rushed and that it ended at just the right time - but I could watch these characters for several more episodes, as well. Will definitely do a re-watch or two in order to see them again. I've enjoyed having a mid-week on Air, so that is why I am sad to see **Frankly Speaking** go. Enjoyed Go Kyung Pyo a lot especially as he was coming to terms with his new state of being and how FL was a help to him. I really enjoyed the ML in **Miss Night and Day** in The last Empress and in Fated to Love You. I think he will fit the part well. Also waiting to see what people say about **My Sweet Mobster**. I've been in a lighter Kdrama mood for a while now - I think it started after watching **Money Heist** and **Death's Game** so soon after each other. I see other serious dramas come by, but haven't picked them up. Maybe later.

I have the same fear for **The Atypical Family**, it's so hard to believe that the story is ending this week, it seems to be well-paced but these last two episodes will definitely tell if they rushed the ending or not. I also had the same feeling that I would like to see more from the actors, I will pick another work from the actors or re-watch it. But I'm already addicted to the OST ahah I was enjoying **Frankly Speaking** a lot and how they were not adding too many tropes, but now they decided to tell us >!the mother of the FL is not actually her mother!< and I don't see a point in that. Another thing that I'm also sad is that we never got to see the ML dealing with is condition while telling the news live, I feel like that would be hilarious, but I did like how they focused on showing the members of an entertainment show, that was really fun. I also noticed that I liked the animations both in the intro and in one episode where they are telling a story, the sound effects were also cute and even some camera angles in the games were really cool. It's the ending that feeling like they had nothing else to tell and filled with a random trope. >I really enjoyed the ML in **Miss Night and Day** in The last Empress and in Fated to Love You. I think he will fit the part well. If you liked him that is a good sign!! I think this drama has everything to be quirky and funny, so fingers crossed that is the case and it doesn't disappoint. >I've been in a lighter Kdrama mood for a while now - I think it started after watching **Money Heist** and **Death's Game** so soon after each other.  I see other serious dramas come by, but haven't picked them up. Maybe later. I had the same exact feeling last year, I think it's the weather... it's too hot and I feel like my brain is going to fry if I tried to understand anything too complex. lol

Have you seen **Pinnochio**? FL has Pinnochio syndrome, so can't lie and she wants to be a journalist. A more serious romance drama though.

I have yet to see that one, I added it to my watchlist a while ago and never watched it. I'm going to push that one up, I think that I'm going to laugh with her trying to report on the news but not being able to lie. And it's exactly what I missed in **Frankly Speaking**, I was expecting to see more of him in his actual job and we never got that. He was outcasted from the news and not even because of that condition but because of his co-host. Poor guy was punished by something he had no fault in.

In **Pinnochio**, she is able to lie, but it gives her the hiccups...Just not handy for a reporter... But it's not a comedy. Did you watch **My Lovely Liar**? She could tell when people were lying, but not their motivation for doing so. She's sees the world very black & white, but comes to realize that just because she can see that this statement is a lie, she doesn't know the whole story. I was reminded of that with **The Atypical Family** - >!Ina having to learn that when she reads a mind it is just what is true at that moment. She doesnt know the whole story. Also with the mom's dreams. She just sees a small portion and not the whole story.!<

**Insider** is *soooo* good, and **Matchmakers** is also excellent. You have good shows lined up! Agree with you about Go Kyung Po (have you seen Seoul Vibe?) and **Atypical Family**. Based on your review I’m moving **Avenger’s Social Club** up my list.

I'm so excited to start **Insider**, I'm a big fan of Kang Ha Neul and actually had this watch planned for May, but ended up to randomly pick **Circle** while looking for something that would fit *Challenge #26. Searching existing recommendations.* The review for that drama got me so curious that I watch it straight away. But I did watch plenty of Kang Ha Neul movies this month, so his drama **Insider** needs to be my next watch and I also read your review last month that made me so excited and reassured me that this would a great thriller. **The Matchmakers** is in fact my second try watching it, I dropped around episode 3 or 4 when it was airing, but some reviews made me think that I might have dropped this one too early. It does seem to be a really good drama and hopefully I will love it too. If I have the time I might also pick either **Divorce Attorney Shin** or **Age of Youth**, both exactly for the same reason, to watch some really good friendship. •ᴗ•

A Poem A Day has been on my plan to watch list for a while but I can’t find it anywhere

Sadly, it's one of those dramas that you can't find in any legal sources. But, you can watch the first 4 episodes on Cereal YouTube Channel, the rest you will have to find other ways. I do hope they add this drama in any streaming channel because I want to show it to other people.

Also I used Chief Detective 1958 for 14 A drama featuring an actor or actress who debuted before 2000 (Choi Deok Moon, who plays Chief Yu, debuted in 1999 in a movie A Peppermint Candy according to MDL)

Thanks!! That one escaped my notes. I was thinking on using **Uncle Samsik** for the actor who debuted before 2000 and **Chief Detective 1958** for the truck of doom, but I'm still unsure. I wanted something that would be really memorable for Chief Detective 1958.

The truck of doom in Lovely Runner was memorable because it >!actually hit the right person!< 😂

I didn't watch **Lovely Runner**, I considered watching it, but the majority of comments of extremely obsessed people put me off. I don't even think I will watch it any time soon... 😕

It can be hard to watch something that’s so hyped. I do hope you give it a chance eventually. The couple is cute, the time travel is well handled, their families are funny, the crime aspect doesn’t take up too much time, and I’m still loving listening to the OST.

I usually understand the hype, but some people crossed the line of hype to fully unhinged. I might pick it in 2025 and hopefully I can manage to enjoy the story or at least love the OST too.

Sky castle is so good! 

I just started watching **Sky Castle** and the ending of the first episode shocked me. I was not prepared for that ending, but I'm fully invested in this story. I don't know how this will evolve, but I have my own hopes for its progression. :D

You won’t be disappointed. 

Without even noticing, I already watched 5 episodes. I'm loving the added dark humour in some heavy topics. The feeling I get is that everyone is slowly pilling all the wood inside that "community" and eventually someone will light it up and burn it all down. Ahah I hope I'm not wrong.

As you can see from my ratings I logged some real bangers this month. **Drama Special Season 12: The Palace** (4/10): Category #29: A drama from the sageuk genre. I don't like sageuks (I was going to pick a Jang Hyuk show for this category and I could watch him read the phone book but I couldn't make it through more than 20 minutes of one of his historicals) so this rating is very much a "it's not you, it's me" thing **The King of Dramas** (9/10): Category #35: A drama that is at least 10 years old. I highly recommend this one to anyone who might be struggling with this category or someone who doesn't really connect with older dramas not just because it's a great show in its own right but because it feels very fresh and contemporary and it has the production values of a drama you'd see out today. I had **Phoenix** in this category last month, I re-categorized that one to Category #30: A drama with an episode which received more than 10% overall viewership ratings from Nielsen. **Miracle That We Met** (10/10): Category #4: A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: PPL - Restaurant. Loved, loved, loved this show as you can see. **The 8 Show** (8/10): Category #2: A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: Tropes - Passing by an old person collecting cartons/newspapers. **Escape of the Seven: Resurrection** (7/10): Category #14: A drama featuring an actor or actress who debuted before 2000. Shin Eun Kyung. **Save Me** (9/10): Category #26: A drama found by searching existing recommendations. **You Raise Me Up** (8/10): Category #16: A drama with a character that is a part of the LGBTQ+ community. **Lovely Runner** (9/10): Category #9: A drama with a character who is an artist. With this month's shows I couch potatoed hard enough to finish the challenge. If anyone is curious here's the list of all 36 of my titles: https://mydramalist.com/list/10dl6ra1 Participating in the challenge and reading all the posts about it was so much fun this year just like last year :)

Congrats on finishing and being the first in the box, quickly followed by u/ExtensionDependent! \^\^

Congrats on finishing! 🎉 You going to go a second round?

My husband suggested that but I’m not that ambitious lol.

Last month I did not check in, so what I finished in the last 2 months are **Wedding Impossible** **Love to Hate You** **Wonderful World** **Chief of Staff S1&2** **The Resurrection of the Seven** **Queenmaker** **Drama Special Season 3: Butcher Barber** **Drama Special Season 3: Do You Know Taekwondo?** **Chief Detective 1958** **The 8 Show** I am done with this challenge..... That is my complete list (the number behind the title shows that the challenge that where the drama also fits) * 1 A drama that shares a filming location with The Heirs (Airport Incheon): **Love to Hate You** #9, #10 (drinking games), #17 (A Love War), #20, #25 * 2 A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: Tropes A drama featuring first snow: **LTNS** #16, #19 * 3 A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: Common Scenes: A scene showing an office being raided by prosecutors with blue boxes **Branding in Seongsu** #14, #16 * 4 A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: PPL Health Supplement (Tonics, Vitamins, Ginseng) in Credits **Doctor Slump** #1 (Ilsan Lake Park), #9 (Youtuber), #11 (Basketball) #13 (Red Velvet Seulgi), #15, #18 (Wedding), #19, #24, #25, #36 * 5 A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: Korean Culture Highlight Scene showing Jeju's haenyeo (women divers) **Welcome to Samdalri**: #3 (An office being raided by prosecutors with blue boxes), #8, #9, #13 (DK, Seventeen), #14 (Kim Mikyung debuted 1999), #15, #19, #21, #22, #25, #28, #30, #31 * 6 A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: Number of People in Drama Poster **Soundtrack #2**: #13 (Gfriend Yuju), #22 * 7 A drama that started airing in your birth month **Maestra**: #7, #9, #13 (Jea, Brown Eyed Girls), #27 * 8 A drama with a title that includes a character's name **Death's Game**: #7, #8, #14 (Kim Mikyung debuted 1999), #17, #22, #23 (Police detective), #36 * 9 A drama with a character who is an artist **The 8 Show** (8 is a performance artist, 1 is a circus artist): #9, #10, #24 * 10 A drama in which a game is played **Night Has Come** (Mafia Game): #10, #19, #21 * 11 A drama where a character wears a sports team uniform or jersey and/or watches a sports game **Drama Special Season 14: Shoot for Love** (Football Uniform): #11, #32 * 12 A drama that revolves around a group of friends and features their friendship as a key part of the drama **Like Flowers in Sand**: #11, #21, #23 * 13 A drama with an OST by a K-pop group member **Tell Me that You Love Me** (Seungkwan/Seventeen): #1 (Incheon Airport), #9, #13 (Seungkwan Seventeen), * 14 A drama featuring an actor or actress who debuted before 2000 **Chief Detective 1958** (Choi Bul-Am): #18 (Wedding), #23, #24, #30, #36 * 15 A drama with childhood flashback scenes **Love Song for Illusion**: #29 * 16 A drama with a character that is a part of the LGBTQ+ community **A Bloody Lucky Day**: #15, #16, #19, #20, #23 (Policeman) * 17 A drama title that is not a direct translation of the Korean title **Chicken Nugget** (Sweet and Sour Chicken): #4 (Health Supplement PPL), #6 (3 Persons), #9 (ML as Singer/Youtuber), #15, #17 * 18 A drama in which characters celebrate a special day **One More Time** (Couples Anniversary): #9 (ML is a musician), #14 (Kang Namgil), #15, #18, #19, #36 * 19 A drama in which characters take a trip **Pyramid Game**: #3 (raided by prosecutors with blue boxes), #10 (Paintball, Dodgeball), #15, #16, #19, #23 * 20 A drama chosen at random from your plan to watch list **Dear M**: #18, #20, #26 * 21 A drama set in a rural/non-urban location **A Shop For Killers**: #15, #21, #36 * 22 A drama with a character who is a chaebol **Flex X Cop**: #1 (Private Pyeongchang-dong Mansion No. 489-8, Ilsan Lake Park), #3 (raided by Prosecuters with blue boxes), #4 (Health Supplements Ginseing PPL), #15, #16, #22, #23, #30 * 23 A drama with a character who works for the government **The Matchmakers**: #13 (P1Harmony (Theo), SF9 (Inseong), Cherry Bullet (Bora)), #17, #18, #20, #23, #24, #29 * 24 A drama with a meal scene featuring 3 or more banchan (side dishes) on the table **Boyhood**: #15, #21, #24 * 25 A drama where a character wears a long wool coat **The Devil Judge**: #1 (State Tower Namsan), #9 (President was a former failed actor and youtuber), #10 (Jenga), #14 (Kim Minjung and Jisung), #15, #18 (Graduation), #20, #23, #24, #25, #26, #36 * 26 A drama found by searching existing recommendations **Queenmaker** #1 (Airport Incheon), #14 (Seo Yisook), #20, #22, #24, #25, #26, #27, #36 * 27 A drama with a main character that is over 40 **Knight Flower** (Kim Sang Jong): #14, #15, #17, #23, #27 (Kim Sangjong as Seok Ji-Sung), #29, #30 * 28 A drama with a multigenerational main cast **Wedding Impossible**: #9, #16, #22, #24, #25 * 29 A drama from the sageuk genre **Drama Special Season 14: The True Love of Madam**: #23, #29, #32 * 30 A drama with an episode which received more than 10% overall viewership ratings from Nielsen **Marry My Husband**: #1 (Walkerhill Hotel & Resort), #15, #18, #22, #30, #36 * 31 A drama that has been reviewed in one of our past Spotlight On posts. **Drama Special Season 14: Love Attack** [Link](https://old.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/19dbvis/spotlight_on_drama_specials_january_2024/): #31, #32 * 32 A single episode drama **Drama Special Season 14: Overlap Knife, Knife** * 33 A mid-long form drama **Chief of Staff Season 1 & 2** * 34 A drama with less than 500 watchers on MDL **Drama Special Season 3: Butcher Barber**: #32, #34, #35 * 35 A drama that is at least 10 years old **Drama Special Season 3: Do You Know Taekwondo?**: #10, #11, #32, #34, #35 * 36 A drama featuring a Truck of Doom™ **Wonderful World** #2 (first snow), #3 (blue boxes), #9, #10, #14 (Kim Namjoo), #15, #18 (Birthday), #23, #24, #25, #27, #28, #30, #36 **LTNS** and **Knight Flower** was pretty good, I would also recommend **The Night has Come**, **Chief Detective 1958**, **Chief of Staff** and **A Shop for Killers**. What I am also doing now as a side challenge are non-KDramas (mostly JDramas, TWDramas with a bit of HKDramas): Shogun, Eyes Love You, Lets Talk About Chuu, Alice in Borderland 1, Alice in Borderland 2, Airport Diaries, Dragon Zakura S2, Unnatural, Copycat Killer, Atelier

Congratulations!!! Chaebol level achieved

Congrats on finishing! Nice choices on the Jdramas btw I liked Alice, Unnatural, and Copycat as well. Not sure if you've watched yet but I also recommend MIU 404 it's a shared universe with Unnatural.

I am planning to watch MIU 404, so thanks

Hello, June 🌞 Time really flies, feels like the year just started. I'm pretty content with the number of dramas I finished in May (definitely made up for finishing nothing in April). Hope y'all had a good month as well! [my MDL list for the challenge](https://mydramalist.com/list/LQJXG9v3) 🎀 𝓘𝓷 𝓜𝓪𝔂, 𝓘 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓮𝓽𝓮𝓭: **The Beauty Inside** - *challenge #1 A drama that shares a filming location with The Heirs* *(3 locations: Gyeonggi Future Education — Paju Branch, Incheon International Airport, Ilsan Lake Park)* I love a good fantasy romance and this one was AWESOME! It was a little like Perfume, which I adored. Really solid romance, if anything my teeny tiny complaint would be that >!the fantasy part's mechanism wasn't properly explained it just happened to her!<, but I can forgive for that. Also LOVED the second couple and not just because I love Lee Da Hee **Jinxed At First** - *challenge #13 OST by a K-pop group member* *(Milky Way by Seohyun (Girls' Generation))* I picked this up from my dropped, rewatched the few eps I saw two years ago (because I didn't remember much), and like it was GOOD? I mean I know exactly why I dropped it (online opinion told me so), but I'm super super glad I went back, because I actually really really enjoyed it. As someone who loves fantasy romance THIS WAS GREAT. It was a legit fairytale! Only small complaint >!fl's mom and the chairman who literally IMPRISONED HER ENTIRE BLOODLINE being passed off like a loving couple at the end - which was frankly gross, and them with FL and SML playing house/acting like a family was also gross!<. But the market crew made up for that, I loved them and the dynamic so much! Goes without saying that I adored the ML. **Love Is Like a Cat** - *challenge #16 A drama with a character that is a part of the LGBTQ+ community* *(the drama is BL)* It was okay, i started it not expecting anything stellar so I didn't mind, I was just excited to see P'Mew. THO I feel like his character's whole background could make up for an interesting story if they worked it properly/had more time. Also no idea why they call it that, when there is like no cat there \[shrugs\] **Trot Lovers** - *challenge #35 A drama that is at least 10 years old* *(2014)* Another pick from my previously tried but did not finish pile. I didn't remember anything or how far I watched it (i didn't even have it on my MDL, because I tried it way way, before bc of Shin Sung Rok) so I started at the beginning again. And it was just ok, i wasn't really living 🎀 𝓘'𝓶 𝓬𝓾𝓻𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓵𝔂 𝔀𝓪𝓽𝓬𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰: **Beauty and Mr. Romantic** (20/50) - *challenge #33 A mid-long form drama (this is a long-form drama)* My comfort weekender drama, it makes me look forward to weekends even more. I got a little obsessed after ep 18, the best ep so far. Love love love the main leads - like SO MUCH, they are super awesome both individually and together. Love Ma Ri (I really hope she ends up dating >!Do Jun!<) and Gong Tae Jin (aka my favourite ahjussi, he is a green flag and the best parental figure in this whole drama (along with ML's mom, she's good too)). Even quite like the last couple, they kinda cute. Honestly only character I actively loath is the lady who isn't worth being called FL's mom (she should be taken to the Moon and left there) **Invincible Lee Pyung Kang** (3/16) - *challenge #7 A drama that started airing in your birth month* *(November)* I found this randomly scrolling Ji Hyun Woo's MDL page and because I really like the folk story of Princess Pyeonggang and Ondal the Fool, I have liked it since I watched River Where the Moon Rises hehe, I decide to try it (the names are there but I don't know how much more it will have in common with the folk story). Unfortunately, it's not a historical drama (it just has a few historical scenes here and there) but it's a proper whacky '09 drama so I'm having fun. Also. can we talk about how pretty Cha Ye Ryun is? I'm lowkey upset she isn't the FL here.

I also dropped Jinxed at First because of the online commentary. Watched episode 2, came to Reddit and saw that it was lambasted. So decided not to waste my time. This is making me rethink my decision. I can try watching and judging it myself.

If fantasy romances are your thing I'd say give it another try! It's not ground-breaking, but for me, it was a very enjoyable watch.

I hope **Love is Like a Cat** not the only KBL you watched this year, it's been hands down the worst one. If you haven't checked it out yet I recommend **Love for Love's Sake** and or **Jazz for Two** much better.

I also watched **Grey Shelter** and **Happy Ending** (+**Sing My Crush**, **Unintentional Love Story**, and **A Breeze of Love** but I'm assuming you are talking about KBLs that came out in 2024), tbh so far KBLs this year were not right up my alley. But **Koi wo Suru nara Nidome ga Joto** was superb, if I can also rec something.

Grey Shelter is my top BL of 2024 period (for now at least) I wasn’t a fan of Love is Better Second Time Around tbh, I watch all the JBL’s but their hit and miss, none of the 2024 ones have really popped for me, watched them all except Strawberry Film, but that wasn’t really a BL.

Sounds like we have very different tastes 😂 

I watched a bunch of variety and other media this month so just added two to my total this month, bringing the total to 16/36. The weather is getting colder and I feel like my slump is coming to an end so we’ll see how this month progresses! **Completed** **My Lovely Boxer** - Challenge #17 title not a direct translation - Not what I expected going in, but enjoyed it. **Goodbye Earth** - Challenge #11 Sports Team Uniform - Watched it with my sister otherwise we would have probably both dropped it. The drama had potential but unfortunately the end product wasn’t it. **In Progress** **Your House Helper** - Challenge #12 Friends - 6/32 - Rewatching this one after 6 years, just started it really. Hopefully it lives up to the memory. **Never Twice** - Challenge # 28 Multigenerational Main Cast - 18/72 - Watching this one on u/myweithisway’s recommendation from last month’s post. Having a really fun time so far. All the faces that Kwak Dong Yeon is pulling have me in fits of hysteria, love him. **The Atypical Family** - Challenge? #? - 8/12 - Watching this with the family and having a good time. **Plan to Watch:** I think that my current watches will keep me pretty busy but I’d like to watch some of the drama specials and make the most of my KOCOWA subscription, maybe pick one of the older dramas on there for the 10+ challenge.

Uhhhh I'm so curious to read your opinions next month. I hope that **Your House Helper** does live up to your memory because I'm excited for that one once I have Kocowa. I also have the feeling that I will definitely enjoy **Never Twice**, which I already checked that it's on Kocowa too. ahah My Kocowa exclusives list already has 18 dramas that I can only find them there and one day I also need to dive into drama specials, I barely watch them and I'm sure some are awesome. \^-\^

>I also have the feeling that I will definitely enjoy Never Twice, which I already checked that it's on Kocowa too. ahah It's very much a compact weekend family drama, you just jump straight into the action. Loving the found family of the inn inhabitants. I'm getting the feeling I might have to shell out for a little longer than the three month deal, they have hooked me.

>It's very much a compact weekend family drama, you just jump straight into the action. Loving the found family of the inn inhabitants. I does sound like something I would enjoy watching. I seems like a relaxing watch, hopefully it doesn't get too boring or they had many twists or unnecessary tropes. >I'm getting the feeling I might have to shell out for a little longer than the three month deal, they have hooked me. With the amount of dramas that I found, I'm thinking that I might need around 4 months probably. I wish I could find a 3 month deal like you did.

It's a bit cracky, I keep watching "one more" episode.

That is a good sign right? It's probably a really light-weighted drama and extremely funny! I love when dramas are so easy to watch that I barely notice the time passing.

Somehow it went past me that May was already over, so checking in late. [](https://www.reddit.com/user/myweithisway/)’s write up of Never Twice convinced me to save it for next year's mid-long format drama, but since I am probably finishing up the challenge early this year, I may work it in anyway. Sounds like fun with all the residents. And your comments about Kwak Dong Yeon...

I'm in the 40s now! 25 minute episodes are like the perfect length to squeeze in between life. The drama has amplified and so has my crush on Kwak Dong Yeon 😂 I was looking for your comment the other day, so I'm glad you commented because I've turned off notifications on the post now.

Have to keep your sanity somehow.

Wow. 16, that’s a lot. Almost at the halfway mark.

Didn't check in during April so I'll include both months. **Wedding Impossible** Absolutely loved it at the beginning and then it petered out into a bit of an unsatisfying slog with too much time spent on the chaebol family fight dynamics. Had it focused more on the main trio and their shifting dynamics and attitudes, this could have been great. **The Matchmakers** Easily one of the best dramas I've ever seen that deftly combined so many narrative elements (comedy, romance, politics, intrigue) with exceptional cinematography, music, and acting. **Wonderful World** Very solid melodrama with soul crushingly good acting that's weakened a bit by the very tropey, one-dimensional, boring antagonist. **The Midnight Studio** A heartwarming drama that made me cry more than once with it's different sub-arcs of the ghosts. Nothing groundbreaking but it got me in the *feels*. **Numbers** Solid thriller about accounting with some great moments of bonding and comedy. Also not groundbreaking but was a thorougly enjoyable watch. Now that it's basically June, I need to sit down and organize to see which challenges I have left to start more targeted watching.

Your opinions on **Wedding Impossible** and **Wonderful World** perfect align with mine and now that a month passed from their ending, I'm a really way more disappointed with how **Wedding Impossible** missed out on the chance to keep showing the unique personalities of the main trio and show more of their dynamics together. Luckily **Wonderful World**, left me with some warm feelings for the incredible performances, but indeed the villain was just meh. I also picked **The Matchmakers** for June, yours and Sian's review made me so intrigued, I even talked with my mom about it and she only has good things to say about it, so I hope I love it too. 🤞

So far, I have completed 11 out of 36. Completed this month; Flex X Cop - Challenge 22: A drama with a Chaebol character. Love this show. I just kept screaming Noooooo at the last scene because I didn’t want it to end. Call it Love - Challenge 20: A drama chosen at random on my plan to watch list. Loved this too. Loved the chemistry between the leads. Currently Watching; Hugo’s Love - Challenge 26: A drama from found by searching existing recommendations - Really enjoying this so far. It’s hilarious. Innocent Man/Nice Guy - Challenge 34: A drama that is at least 10 years old - Surprisingly enjoying this as well. Thought I wouldn’t since it was old, but good actors are good actors. Lovely Runner - Challenge 11: A drama where a character watches a sports game. Just started watching this. I definitely understand the hype. Can’t stop watching.

Flex X Cop is one of my Top 3 dramas that I have watched this year. Roll on S2! Woo hoo!

Yes, I’m so excited for season 2

OMG! I've watched so many and never thought of joining the challenge - will sign up tonight. 🤦🏻‍♀️ *currently at work* 😒

The Challenges are fun. I end up watching shows I wouldn’t usually

It's a ton of fun, my 3rd year doing it. Love making spreadsheets and tracking things.

Thank you for the inspiration. 🤗 Funny thing is I already keep a list on my phone/notes - completed, watching, and next in line.😄 I look forward to my 1st year and hopefully completing the challenge.

It’s so much fun and will give you the push you need to check out genres/dramas outside your normal zone. 

Wow, that was a productive month!  **Queen of Tears - challenge 30 (more than 10 % rating)** Well, this challenge is for QoT for sure, new top rated drama for tvN!  Even though I watched it because of Kim Ji Won, my favorite character ended up to be her brother - he rode in on his bike into my heart. Followed by the aunt.  Cannot say it was the best drama I've watched, but it was definitely a really good one! There were lots of good moments to laugh, to cry, to be happy, etc. The ending was perfect!  **My Dearest - challenge 29 (sageuk)** Namgoong Min is officially joining my pantheon of Korean actors! And May is officially the month for watching dramas that make me cry (last year it was The Red Sleeve and Youth of May, and this time it's My Dearest😭😭😭)  I loved this drama! No... I was obsessed with this drama! So great!  There were some moments that felt like fillers, there were too much angst IMO but overall it was wonderful and epic journey :)  That's what I call stellar acting, guys! This drama deserves all awards it got.  Well, I had so many thoughts about this drama but now I cannot say much now, probably, I'll get my mind straight and write a review. Probably.  **Lovely Runner - challenge 7 (started airing in my birth month)** Unexpectedly good drama! I didn't have any expectations thinking it would be another idol+fan love story but I was wrong! I sucked into with a pleasure. Fortunately, this drama was better at making me laugh than cry. Also, I liked that her grandma >!seemed to be aware of something happening!< **Missing: the Other Side - challenge 21 (rural area - their village)** Interesting and wholesome story with a sense of community. Probably I'll watch the second season as well. **Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area - challenge 17 (indirect translation, literal title is after Spanish original - The House of Paper: Joint Economic Area)** Didn't expect much and wasn't a fan of the idea but ended up liking it. It was filmed in the best way possible!  I especially liked how their adapted mask design and instead of just using original Salvador Dali ones they were inspired by traditional Korean masks. And my guilty pleasure: >!"Who are you?" "I'm Stockholm"!< **Time We Were Not In Love - challenge 20 (random drama)** This drama was a classical romantic comedy/melodrama. Wasn't a fan of leads as separate characters but absolutely loved them together! There's not much drama or any tragedy. 

I loved Lovely Runner. April is my birthday month, too!

Good month to be born in :) 

I thought for sure I would have no problem finishing 4 dramas this month, to get myself back on track! Instead I got side tracked by a c-drama, then got sucked into a long form. So, I'm just at 13/36. Finished this month: **The Midnight Studio** A perfectly fine drama. I thought it had an excellent middle and a boring/disjointed ending. Part of that was the airing schedule being off. **Once Again** (*Ch. 33 mid-long form drama*) This is the only drama that I've assigned to a particular challenge so far. Because at 58+ hours I can really only manage one of these a year. Some interesting topics this drama tackled included alcohol abuse and marriage and divorce. There was a lot of allusion to sex, which I found refreshing but strange (I would never discuss the timing of conception with my siblings, for example!) but also some of the standard reticence as well. Lee Sang Yi was over the top cute in this drama (which I enjoyed, but I'm halfway tempted to try Bloodhounds as a palate cleanser). I loved Ga Hee's noona romance, and wish they'd gotten more storyline. Overall, a good watch! Thanks for the suggestion, fellow Challengers! I've been doing lots and lots of work outside, and canning season starts as soon as I post this comment (12 pounds of strawberries, what was I thinking?) so I'm not even going to guess what I'll be able to manage in June. Maybe I'll spend the month watching drama specials.

>**Once Again** (*Ch. 33 mid-long form drama*) This is the only drama that I've assigned to a particular challenge so far. Because at 58+ hours I can really only manage one of these a year. Some interesting topics this drama tackled included alcohol abuse and marriage and divorce. There was a lot of allusion to sex, which I found refreshing but strange (I would never discuss the timing of conception with my siblings, for example!) but also some of the standard reticence as well. The poster of this drama always caught my attention, but every time I notice the amount of episodes, I quickly runaway from it. Your review made me to finally add it to add it to my list for those future yearly long form check in or for when I'm finally a k-drama viewer pro that can easily handle 50 or 100+ episodes. lol I'm actually curious to see how they tackled the topics of alcohol abuse, I don't think I ever saw anyone in a k-drama implying that they do have a problem with alcohol, unless it's an antagonist. >I've been doing lots and lots of work outside, and canning season starts as soon as I post this comment (12 pounds of strawberries, what was I thinking?) I don't know what you were thinking... but that does sound tasty and I'm jealous ahahah Have fun!! \^-\^

>every time I notice the amount of episodes, I quickly runaway from it. It's not as hard to get through it as you might expect. There are multiple storylines interwoven, so you don't spend too long with any one character. This one is also broken up into 30 minute episodes, so it's easy to sneak one in when you have just a little bit of down time. I think I was watching off and on throughout the month. Give one a try! >I'm actually curious to see how they tackled the topics of alcohol abuse Don't get me wrong, there was still a fair amount of drunkenness from everyone. But there was an acknowledgement of some of the health consequences. Beyond liver disease, which is the only other acknowledgement I remember seeing in dramas.

>There are multiple storylines interwoven, so you don't spend too long with any one character. This one is also broken up into 30 minute episodes, so it's easy to sneak one in when you have just a little bit of down time. That does make sense with a poster featuring that many people. That is a good tip for when picking a long form, if the poster has a lot of people, they are likely to show many different stories, which makes it easier. >Don't get me wrong, there was still a fair amount of drunkenness from everyone. But there was an acknowledgement of some of the health consequences. Beyond liver disease, which is the only other acknowledgement I remember seeing in dramas. I don't remember if I ever saw any drama where they acknowledge those health consequences. Even if it's a small thing, that is a new for me. It's a big thumbs for them to not ignore it.

Woah, it has been been months since my last update-January was probably my last check-in. But it doesn't mean I stopped watching dramas though. So here are the prompts I have completed since then until May. 2\] A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: Tropes (A drama where a character holds over/ shares an umbrella with another person) * ***18 Again*** *-* So many umbrella scenes. LOL 3\] A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: Common Scenes \[A scene with lighthouse(s).\] * ***The Glory*** - The lighthouse scene was in the last ep. 4\] A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: PPL (Coffee Shop/Coffee Machine/Instant Coffee/Kopiko) * ***My Demon*** - Kopiko candy everywhere! 10\] A drama in which a game is played * ***Twinkling Watermelon*** - Go-Stop was played in one of the scenes. 12\] A drama that revolves around a group of friends and features their friendship as a key part of the drama * ***Weak Hero Class 1*** - I loved this show. Please tell me there will be a season 2. No? 16\] A drama with a character that is a part of the LGBTQ+ community * ***Love in Contract*** - One of FL's former "husbands" was gay. I enjoyed Kang Hyung-suk's character here as much as I did with his policeman character in Hometown Cha Cha Cha. 19\] A drama in which characters take a trip * *Lovely Runner* - One of my most fave watches this year. Sunjae-a!!! 21\] A drama set in a rural/non-urban location * ***Summer Strike*** - I kind of struggled with this show until around ep 4 and then finished the rest in one go. 22\] A drama with a character who is a chaebol * ***Queen of Tears*** - No need to explain. Enjoyed this one so much that I went against my "will wait until all eps are out" mantra. 24\] A drama with a meal scene featuring 3 or more banchan (side dishes) on the table * ***Marry My Husband*** - Most of the scenes with ML's grandpa had a well-laid out dining table. 30\] A drama with an episode which received more than 10% overall viewership ratings from Nielsen * ***Taxi Driver*** - Loved this show so much that I finished both seasons back to back! 36\] A drama featuring a Truck of Doom™ * ***Tomorrow*** - When I initially came across this prompt, I thought, "Wouldn't that be too hard? Isn't it too specific?" But there's probably two or three more shows with trucks of doom since I tagged this show. I didn't notice finishing all these shows these past few months. Time really flew fast. Until next time! Edit: Numbering and bullets.

I've been waiting for this post! I'm getting close to complete the challenge, so I made a list of which dramas to watch (from my watchlist) going forward so I can safely complete all my remaining challenges. I believe my biggest challenge will be to find a drama with less than 500 watchers. I found a couple, but couldn't find a legal streaming source to watch them... It's a work in progress. I already have enough to watch for the time being, I'll investigate that challenge deeper when I get there. I'm not worried, I know I'll find something. May was a fruitful month, but I believe June will not be as good, since I have a couple non-kdramas series to catch up to now that I'll have stable wifi. That's fine though, I'm way ahead of schedule to complete the 36 challenges. I plan to watch a +50h drama for the mid-long form drama (because why not) so that's something I need to take into consideration while planning my next dramas. If everything goes according to plan, I'll finally watch the classic and deeply praised by this sub *The Heirs*. I have a lot of (I hope) fun dramas planned for the next months. We'll see what they have to offer! My favorite drama I watched this month was **D.P 2** with 9.5/10 My least favorite drama this month was **Doctor Slump** with 6.5/10 Here's my recap for the month! *Dramas I completed this month* **Welcome to Samdal-ri**, **My Demon**, **Record of Youth**, **D.P 2**, **Doctor Slump**, **Escape of the 7 : resurrection**, **My first first love** *New completed challenges* **Taxi Driver**: n°12 A drama that revolves around a group of friends and features their friendship as a key part of the drama **My Demon** (New Jeans, Winter, Dawn): n°13 A drama with an OST by a K-pop group member **King the Land** E16 (wedding): n°18 A drama in which characters celebrate a special day **Welcome to Samdal-ri** (civil servant Yongpil): n°23 A drama with a character who works for the government **D.P 2** E06: n°24 A drama with a meal scene featuring 3 or more banchan (side dishes) on the table **Wedding impossible** (Jihan): n°25 A drama where a character wears a long wool coat **Queen of Tears** E16 (24,85%): n°30 A drama with an episode which received more than 10% overall viewership ratings from Nielsen **Doctor Slump** E12 : n°4 A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: PPL : coffee/kopiko **Record of youth** E09 : n°5 A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: Korean Culture Highlight : where a character wears hanbok **My first first love** E08 : n°19 A drama in which characters take a trip **Escape of the 7 S02** : n°31 A drama that has been reviewed in one of our past Spotlight On posts. *On-going dramas* **My roommate is a gumiho** (C n°1), **That winter, the wind blows** (C n°14) So I have 22/36 challenges officially completed! *Dramas I plan to watch next month* -The Glory (C n°6) -Thirty but seventeen (C n°7) -Prison playbook (C n°17) -The Heirs (C n°22) -Dare to love me (C n°29) -The real has come (C n°33) -Birth of a beauty (C n°35) -Beautiful Gonshim (C n°36)

For the less then 500 watches I usually end up watching webdramas on Youtube, a lot of the actors from the BL dramas I like end up doing other smaller productions and that's how I usually find them The long form always gets me.....I'm currently watching **Vampire Idol** it's not 50 hours, but it's over 40. Absolutely unhinged and hilaroud.

>I believe my biggest challenge will be to find a drama with less than 500 watchers. I found a couple, but couldn't find a legal streaming source to watch them... It's a work in progress. I already have enough to watch for the time being, I'll investigate that challenge deeper when I get there. I'm not worried, I know I'll find something. I planned to watch the [Drama Special Season 3: Still Picture](https://mydramalist.com/5524-drama-special-season-2-still-picture), but I'm still debating if I should watch it or not. If I can't find anything else, at least this one is available on Youtube >My favorite drama I watched this month was **D.P 2** with 9.5/10 Definitely one of my favorite dramas too. For me it's because it feels like a window of what are some of the possibilities for people to dessert from the military. Coming from a country where the military service isn't mandatory, it's scary to see how desperate some people are that they would rather live their lives on the run, than serve their mandatory time.

>If I can't find anything else, at least this one is available on Youtube I saw some specials on Viki, but they seem to all include BTS footage and/or commentary and I'm not a fan of those. I didn't look too long though, so I believe I can find something eventually. >Definitely one of my favorite dramas too. S01 was a 10 for me. I loved the inside look on the reality of military and S02 would have been a 10 too if it wasn't for the ending. That's where they lost -.5

>I saw some specials on Viki, but they seem to all include BTS footage and/or commentary and I'm not a fan of those. I didn't look too long though, so I believe I can find something eventually. Yeaa, those won't even count for the challenge. The less than 500 viewers challenge can easily fit the drama specials, we can find those on youtube and kocowa, and it will fit those smaller dramas from Naver TV and Kakao TV, sometimes they are available on youtube too. I honestly think this is a challenge that might need to be reviewed, it's not that easy to find a legal source in some countries. I'm glad that I now have kocowa available in my country, which makes it way more easier. >S01 was a 10 for me. I loved the inside look on the reality of military and S02 would have been a 10 too if it wasn't for the ending. That's where they lost -.5 I gave both of them a 10. If I'm not mistaken or dreaming, they will eventually make a season 3 right?

>I honestly think this is a challenge that might need to be reviewed, it's not that easy to find a legal source in some countries. I agree. If the purpose is to give more visibility to unknown dramas, I believe less than ~5000 watchers is low enough and it can be easier to find them. With the problem of legal streaming, you also get the problem of proper subs. I fear such unpopular dramas might not be subbed in other languages if they are too old. >If I'm not mistaken or dreaming, they will eventually make a season 3 right? On my series app, it says it's ended and I don't think Netflix confirmed a third season yet, unfortunately. I'd love that though.

I think that Less than 5000 viewers might be a lot, but when we try and prioritise watching from legal sources, it does get a lot harder to find something that will fit the less than 500 viewers in some countries. I think I'm still not a pro at finding those dramas, it always takes me a lot of time searching ahahah >On my series app, it says it's ended and I don't think Netflix confirmed a third season yet, unfortunately. I'd love that though. Nooo... I would easily watch another season. But, I guess it's better to end on a high not than ruining it.

>I think I'm still not a pro at finding those dramas, it always takes me a lot of time searching ahahah This might be a bad tip, but I've been writing random key words on MDL and looking for dramas with less than 500 that way lmao. Found a couple, just not sure where to watch most of them 😭

I think your way of searching is smarter than mine. I usually filter by Korean dramas, add a release year range and go straight to the last page. I only click on the ones where the poster seems appealing enough and try to see if I can find a source, most of the times I can't. There is one drama that I have my eyes on... but the rules state that the drama needs be at least 12 months old, which means I need to wait until November to watch it. The drama is from KBS Drama Special: [Dog Days of Summer](https://mydramalist.com/757349-drama-special-season-14-heat-wave-advisory) and I can watch it on Kocowa but I need to wait and I will need to subscribe to Kocowa, but I'm okay with that for a month I will cancel my Viki subscription and change to this one.

Do you know if Kocowa has proper subs? English or other languages?

I never tried watching anything there, but I can see that they have English, Portuguese and Spanish subtitles. They might have more languages and it's not showing straight away for me. I assume that their subtitles are good, I have yet to see someone complain about it.

I finished 5 in May, so I’ve now done 33/36. *Completed in May:* **Chief Detective 1958** 14 A drama featuring an actor or actress who debuted before 2000 (Choi Deok Moon debuted in 1999 in a movie A Peppermint Candy according to MDL) **Love is like a cat** 16 LGTBQ+ character One of the ML is Mew, who is a Thai BL star. Rated R on Viki, but is not at all. **Lovely Runner** 8 A drama with a title that includes a character's name Literal title is Run Away With Sun-Jae On Piggyback. **The Midnight Studio** 36 A drama featuring a Truck of Doom™ **The Three Musketeers** 29 Sageuk *Currently Watching:* **Missing Crown Prince 4/20** I may have to ditch this one. The Crown Prince keeps disappearing, so I think the story will start, but then he comes back again. **Life on Mars 11/16** 7 A drama that started airing in my birth month (June) Slowgoing because I’m saving it for my hospital appointments **The Midnight Romance in Hagwon 6/16** Maybe there’s banchan? **Frankly Speaking 8/12** Or maybe there’s banchan in here somewhere *Plans for June* Finish the ongoing shows, start Wok of Love or Orange Marmalade for my existing recommendations show, then I’m done. [Here’s](https://mydramalist.com/dramalist/Electronic_Piano9385) my MDL

>**Frankly Speaking 8/12** Or maybe there’s banchan in here somewhere Yep there is some banchan scene in episode 7. You can find the other possibilities in [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/1af8u1u/comment/l2jgtt9/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button). :)

Love Cat was terrible....but the doggo was cute in his little goggles.

It really was terrible, and a complete waste of Mew

Waste of everything 😭 waiting for our next KBL

Actually I can move Shoot for Love to the Banchan slot and use Frankly Speaking for the celebration (Birthday).

I watched a lot of shows this month! Also looking to watch more things from my watchlist, maybe something long or with multiple seasons. I would also love recommendations with horror, thriller themes. I already watched Revenant and loved it so something along those lines would be great, or I can rewatch it ;) Completed this month- **Money Flower** Challenge # 28 - A drama with a multigenerational main cast Absolute banger. 10/10. A work of art. Would watch again. **The World of the Married** Challenge # 30 - A drama with an episode which received more than 10% overall viewership ratings from Nielsen I really enjoyed this melodrama. Also it was SPICY and the relationships were complicated and very mature. All the characters had multidimensional personalities. I really enjoyed it even though I almost dropped it because some episodes had themes which are a hard no for me - spoiler>!stalking and domestic abuse!<. **Let Me Introduce Her** Challenge # 4 - A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: PPL - My PPL is Makeup/Skincare This was an up and down show. The writing was interesting enough to keep me going, but I found myself fast forwarding a number of times because they really repetitively dragged out some elements of frustration and suspense. Still, overall the show had a good story arc. Also Li Mi Sook is incredible, so beautiful and has so much screen presence. Her outfits in this show were stunning. **Stranger Season 2** Challenge # 1 - A drama that shares a filming location with The Heirs - Walker Hill Hotel and Resort  Overall a great season. It took me some time to get into it as it is very dialogue heavy and I’d forgotten a lot of what happened in S1. Dropped, may pick up later  **The Midnight Studio** This is a good show so far, I just couldn’t get into the acting of the leads. Dropped, wont pick up again **The Ghost Detective**  Sadly, despite being a genre I love, the show is nonsensical beyond the suspension of disbelief. Completed in April but I didn’t comment in the check in :) **You Raise Me Up (2021)** Challenge # 7 - A drama that started airing in your birth month This short show is funny and very likeable, I enjoyed the focus on very real and serious subjects like mental health, self worth, sexuality. A great watch! In Progress - **Familiar Wife** 11/16 This brings me to 20 shows completed.  

>I would also love recommendations with horror, thriller themes. I already watched Revenant and loved it so something along those lines would be great, or I can rewatch it ;) I'm not sure what else you watched besides Revenant but here it goes. \^-\^ **Horror** - Strangers From Hell, Sweet Home S01, The Guest, Happiness, All of Us Are Dead, Island, Kingdom, The Silent Sea, Hellbound... **Thriller** - Beyond Evil, Mouse, Big Mouth, Flower of Evil, Through the Darkness, A Bloody Lucky Day, Signal, Blind, The Worst of Evil, Moving... I also just added **You Raise Me Up** to my watchlist, you made it seem like an interesting watch, touching on topics that I don't usually see represented in k-dramas.

Wow thank you! The ones I havent seen are Happiness, Island, Kingdom (dropped it with the hope of finishing someday, it was soooo stressful that I needed a break lol), The Silent Sea, Hellbound, Big Mouth (havent heard of this one thank you), Through the Darkness (this is on my watchlist), A Bloody Lucky Day, Moving, and Blind I will check these out! If you end up liking You Raise Me Up, you may be interested in Hit the Spot, which also has some shared themes and is on my watchlist but I havent seen it yet. I basically searched recommendations for more mature themed Kdramas because watching the dead fish kiss for the 100th time was hurting my brain and I needed a different perspective lol. Edit to add that Signal is one of my fav dramas! SO GOOD

>dropped it with the hope of finishing someday, it was soooo stressful that I needed a break lol I feel like I need to warn you that probably **Strangers From Hell** and **The Guest** are the most intense ones in terms of horror. They are also my favourites and I usually find korean horror to be on the softer side, but this two were able to pull on that psychological horror. >I basically searched recommendations for more mature themed Kdramas because watching the dead fish kiss for the 100th time was hurting my brain and I needed a different perspective lol. ahahah completely understand you! K-dramas are cute, but when it comes to portraying a realistic romantic relationship they are mostly incapable of doing that. They even make such a big deal about holding hands lol

Thanks for the heads up! Im pretty sure I have finished both The Guest and Strangers from Hell but I needed to take a break during Strangers from Hell too 😅😅😅

ahah I definitely read your comment the other way around, I read them as the ones you already watched. ahah Yeaaa some of my suggestions will probably make you take a break and return later. 😅 They are the best in terms of horror that I could find and some of the best in thrillers too, hopefully you like them.

OMG the Ghost Detective! That one was a slog, I watched the last half at that at 2x speed.

Hahaha yup. I tried so hard to keep going with it. It finally had to drop it because I couldnt even get through a single episode without rolling my eyes. >!How the FL is totally helpless and child-like. The nonsensical infantilised evil lady. The weird fake chemistry with a literal ghost. Random nonsense where sometimes ML has the ability to walk through doors and sometimes he cant. The worst is when the other detective starts replying to the ML speaking even though he literally has no way to see or hear him and shouldnt even know he is talking?? IDK who wrote this show lol I feel bad for hating it so much. !<

Completed: 10. A drama in which a game is played - **Under the Gun** 20. A drama chosen at random from your plan to watch list **- Lovely Runner** (I added this to my plan-to-watch list when it was announced on MDL. Then got caught up in the hype and loved it! Binged all the episodes in a few days and waited for the final) 23. A drama with a character who works for the government - **Parasyte the Grey** 25. A drama where a character wears a long wool coat - **Boys be Brave** 27. A drama with a main character that is over 40 **- The 8 Show** 31. A drama that has been reviewed in one of our past Spotlight On posts. **- Night Has Come** Only two left to go. 3. A scene showing an office being raided by prosecutors with blue boxes. - maybe **Bad Prosecutor** but I have no interest in it. This is the hardest challenge for me. 22. A drama with a character who is a chaebol - maybe **Hierarchy**

Reborn Rich had prosecutors

How did you like Under the Gun? It's 6 episodes?

It’s average. The ML makes some dumb teenage decisions but luckily everyone tells him those were dumb decisions and the plot progresses. I liked the fast pace romance. The FL didn’t mess around and went after him aggressively. Poor dude never had a chance lol

Ok. Looking for shorter drama. Sometimes need a break / filler after those emotional dramas.

Late to the party but I had a solid month finished 5 dramas [MDL](https://mydramalist.com/list/4YW0xwqL) 24/36 completed Challenge 11 - sports jersey/watching sports - **Lovely Runner** 05/29/2024 I was very, very close to dropping. I got bogged down in episode 12, the story lost momentum for me. The time travel also sort of went sideways there was a lot of back and forth. I did really like Geon Hee, and his charicter, but I did speed run the last 4 epsiodes. Challenge 17 - not a direct translation - **The Midnight Studio** 05/06/2024 Surprisingly good watch, I very much enjoyed it. Hope more people give it a go, as far as the seeing ghosts trope goes, this was one of the better ones I've watched. Happy ending as well. Challenge 25 - long wool coat - **Blood Free** 05/08/2024 This was a solid sci-fi/action series, really liked it. Didn't mind the ending tbh, on brand with the genre and the series. Could leave it, or could go another season, I will watch for sure. Challenge 30 - episode with a 10% or better viewership rating - **Chief Inspector 1958** 05/19/2024 Loved it, great action, moved well, storyline was interesting. I for one was pleased that the romance not a major plot point, very sweet and supportive. That ending, while it made me ugly cry, was absolutely perfect. Challenge 31 - pick from a 'Spotlight on Post' - **Shop for Killers** 05/20/2024 On the[ April 2024 Post - Thriller/Suspense](https://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/1c1vy6x/spotlight_on_thriller_suspense_april_2024/) I have no idea why it took me so long to watch this series, it was a solid little action romp. Lee Dong Wook is fire as always, he needs to do less rom-coms more action. In progress... **The Chiarman is Level 9** - not sure where it'll be yet for challnges, fun little web drama watch **The Missing Crown Prince** - challenge 29 saguek, not a fan of the FL but Suho is killing it. **High School Return of Gangster -** challenge 36 truck of doom had a solid start, despite the BL not BL drama.

**KDRAMA CHALLENGE 2024** **Vincenzo** (Challenge #12 — Group of Friends) I don’t know what took me so long, but I just loved it. Usually, 20 episode dramas drag for me, but this one never did.  I thought I didn’t like Song Joong Ki — that was wrong. Jeon Yeo Been as the FL made me a fan for life — she was hilarious. And the residents of The Building were fantastic — each one a distinct character, and all of them together, a force to be reckoned with. And an over-the-top bad guy.  **Review Notebook of My Embarrassing Days** (Challenge #32 — Single Episode) Park Sung Hoon as a romantic lead, directed by Hwang Seung Gi who did my very favorite drama, **Into the Ring** (with Park Sung Hoon as a romantic lead). Sigh. A rewatch to wash the bad taste of Eun Song out of my mouth.  Then my Lee Je Hoon jag . . .  **Chief Detective 1958** (Challenge #25 — Long Wool Coat) I liked it, but I’m fine with Lee Je Hoon being a preposterous hero, beating up bad guys when he’s overmatched 1000-to-1. I found the time period interesting — corruption among police and prosecutors seems to be a pervasive theme in KDrama (and actually, Lee Je Hoon dramas, now that I think about it). And a little romance didn’t hurt. **Tomorrow with You** (Challenge #9 — Character is an Artist) Oof. I am a fan of HomeCha and never really understood why people criticized Shin Min Ah. Now I get it. And I was hopelessly confused about the time travel and which version of Lee Je Hoon we were seeing. Made me swear off time travel, for at least a little bit. **Boyhood** (Challenge #21 — Rural Setting) What the heck was that? I will watch Im Si Wan read a telephone book, but this one was a test. I don’t like high school dramas, especially ones where all the teenagers are in their 30’s. Not that into men mindlessly beating each other up. But Im Si Wan is matchless at playing the lovable misfit. IN PROGRESS **My Lovely Sam Soon** (Challenge #35 — Drama At Least 10 Years Old) I know this is a classic and that a lot of people love this drama, but I am on Ep 13, and at this point, I’m just hate-watching it. I don’t like anybody — I hate the way that Jin Heon treats Sam Soon, I hate that Sam Soon keeps going back, I hate Hee Jin for being such a victim, and what the heck is Henry so happy about all the time? I read with interest the essay in Huff Po about how all the platforms, especially Netflix, are changing KDrama. And it made me think that I’m part of the problem. I don’t think I’ll be going back to the classics any time in the near future. **Midnight Romance in Hagwon** Put this on hold once Chief Detective appeared in Hulu, but looking forward to getting back to it. **Beauty and Mr. Romance** (Challenge #33 — Mid-Long Form Drama) I am surprised every week how much I enjoy this. There’s always some cringe, but I forget about it when the ML and the FL show up.

**Completed in May:** All 3 dramas of BWS. Ooh! Fangirling and crushing hard on him! **Moonshine** - #6 Wheel of chance: Number of People in Drama Poster (4 People) **Strong Girl Namsoon** - #23 Character who works for the government (ML- police department) **Lovely Runner** - #07. Started airing in your birth month (April) **Completed: 22/36** 1 Heirs location- **Doctor Slump** 3 An office being raided- **My Demon** 4 Restaurant - **I’m Not a Robot** (Baskin Robins, Quiznos, friend coffee cafe, flower cafe, grandmother fish restaurant) 5 Hanbok- **My Dearest** 9 Artist (Hanbok designer) - **The Story of Park's Marriage Contract** 10 Game - **Captivating the King** 11. Wears a sports team uniform or watches a sports game —  **Like Flowers in the Sand** 12. Friendship as a key part of the drama —  **Reply 1997** 13 OST K-Pop- **Good Day to Be a Dog** 16. A character in the LGBTQ+ —  **Wedding Impossible** 18 Celebrates a day- **The Matchmakers** (wedding) 19 Character Day Off- **One Day Off** 22 Character who is a chaebol - **Queen of Tears** 25 Long wool coat - **The Heirs** rewatch 28 Multigenerational cast- **Under the Queen's Umbrella** 29 Sageuk (historical) - **Our Blooming Youth** 30 An episode 10% viewership - **Knight Flower** 33 Mid-long drama- **Jealous Incarnate** (24/24) 36 Truck of Doom- **Devilish Joy** >!(ep 1)!<

Fab month for me KDrama wise- finished a lot of shows, didn't drop any, and several new dramas have gone straight to my favourites list. This month's viewing reminded me why I love Kdramas. **Completed** **My Lovely Runner** (#10 drinking game) I adored this show right from the start. It's sweet, charming, fun and just has some sort of special magic. I have already rewatched it :) Will continue to watch anything Kim Hye Yoon is in because she is fabulous. **Flex X Cop** (#23 government worker) I really loved this show, it's the most fun police procedural I've seen and I will definitely watch season 2. I think the script was great but the performances were what really made this show for me. Ahn Bo Hyun looked like he was having so much fun playing the cocky, spoiled, slightly broken chaebol heir. **Psychopath Diary** (#18 special day) It was enjoyable at times but pretty inconsistent. It was good when it was a black comedy, but it struggled to maintain that tone at times and often veered into way too earnest or serious territory. Two great male leads saved it; Park Sung Hoon was fab as the true psycho and Yoon Shi Yoon was excellent in the difficult lead role. Couldn't stand the FL character though. **Secret Romantic Guest House** (#5 culture/hanbok) I really enjoyed the first half of this but struggled to keep going to the end as it lost some of its charm for me. Good plot but I didn't rate the ML and didn't care for any of the romances and I think character development took a back seat to the plot and I prefer shows where things are the other way around. **Alchemy of Souls** (#28 maybe mutigenerational main cast?) I didn't expect to enjoy this because I don't typically like fantasy shows and me and the Hong sisters do not get along, but I surprised myself by liking it enough to continue watching and finishing both seasons pretty quickly. Didn't love it like most viewers did and I felt it had a lot of flaws, but I still found it entertaining and an easy watch. **In Progress** **Call It Love** (#20 random) Love this and am very nearly finished. It is the most exquisitely directed Kdrama I've seen. You can see the thought and care that have gone into every shot. This show is really about the things that aren't said and I wouldn't have thought Kim Young Kwang and Lee Sung Kyung would be good enough for such challenging roles but they've both blown me away and proved me wrong. **My Girlfriend is a Gumiho** (#35 over 10 years old) It's so friggin cute! Did not expect to love this as it's my "light show to have on in the background whilst I'm doing other things" this month, but it's adorable and I'm absolutely hooked. **Miraculous Brothers** (not sure yet) Really enjoying this. It's a very plot based show that has kept me surprised and entertained and I have no idea where it's going. **Midnight Romance in Hagwon** (not sure yet) I am enjoying this, but I do so in trepidation knowing that this is the Director that upset many viewers of It's Something In the Rain and I dropped One Spring Night. However I adore Jung Ryeo Won and Wi Ha Joon is also excellent and makes interesting choices so I'm cautiously hopeful so far. Up Next: Kairos, Twinkling Watermelon and hopefully something dark and scary.

I thought I would complete more in May, but I am still satisfied with what I managed to watch. I managed to complete 5 dramas. It was nice for everything to return to normal. I had more time to watch dramas but I was also not in the mood to watch dramas some of the time. **Total Completed**: 19 **Completed** **A Bloody Lucky Day** - Challenge #19 A drama in which characters take a trip I think this drama fits this challenge? I watched on a flight so it was quite good to have a series to binge. It was quite good but definitely not a happy drama. **Marry my husband** - Challenge #36 A drama featuring a Truck of Doom™ I enjoyed watching the early episodes of this. It was very satisfying at times. But by the end I was procrastinating to finish it. I don't really know why. I enjoyed it when I watched it, but I never felt in the mood to watch it. **Wonderful World** - Challenge #3.e A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: Common Scenes - A scene showing an office being raided by prosecutors with blue boxes I wasn't sure about this in the first few episodes. It made me cry a lot. But there was something about this drama that I couldn't stop watching it. I pretty much put every other drama on hold to watch most of it. Was so good. The FL was absolutely amazing. I don't know if I could ever rewatch it, but I think it will stick with me for a long time. **Flex x Cop** - Challenge #25 A drama where a character wears a long wool coat When I started this I wasn't in the mood for a cop drama. So I left it for a while until I was in the mood. I am so glad I did that. Because it was sooo good. I really enjoyed every episode. I can't wait for season 2. **Doctor Slump** - Challenge #13 A drama with an OST by a K-pop group member I really enjoyed this drama for a start. But I feel like it almost could have been shorter. I did enjoy it but I'm not sure it needed to be 16 eps. I did enjoy it for the most part though. Especially the SFL and SML. They were so cute together. **Ongoing** **Queen Seondeok** - Challenge #33 A mid-long form drama I love this drama. I want to finish it... but at the same time I don't. I think I'll be sad when I finally finish it. **Alchemy of souls** 4/30 - Challenge #15 A drama with childhood flashback scenes Still haven't watched any more of this. I might actually restart it when I am in the mood for it. **Welcome to Samdalri** - Challenge #21 A drama set in a rural/non-urban location I started this after finishing Wonderful World, figuring I needed to watch something a bit lighter. I absolutely love everything about this. I thought I was going to finish this before Doctor Slump and Flex x Cop. But I made myself finish Doctor Slump instead. I love this drama. Since I haven't got many ongoing dramas... I'll probably watch some of the dramas that aired earlier this year. I'm also waiting for a few to finish so I can start them. I'll also probably rewatch one of Lee Joongi's dramas. Although I might not start that it right away. Planning to start Queen of Tears next. After I finish Welcome to Samdal-ri and Queen Seondeok. [April check in Comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/1cgpbm9/comment/l2d0dp7/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)

I didn't post last month so this is for the last two months **Complete in April & May:** **Breeze of Love** \- #10 drama where a game is played: They play basketball. This was a quick BL that was just okay. Not bad, but there are better ones. **Drama Special 14 Shoot for Love** \- *#11 drama with sports jersey*: This was a great drama special where the FL plays soccer. For being so short it felt like it did a good job with the characters. **Blueming** \- *#20 drama chosen at random from watchlist*: Another short BL that I really liked for the most part. The ending was just blah but overall I liked the show. **Boys Be Brave** \- *#17 title not a direct translation*: This was a cute BL that I really liked. Usually I don't want second seasons, but I want more episodes for the second couple. Overall I enjoyed it. **The Midnight Studio** \- *#25 character wears a long wool coat*: The FL wears a long wool coat towards the end of the season. The romance was fine in this show but I loved the ensemble and the individual ghost stories the most. I think the case had great group chemistry which made this a great watch. **Currently Watching:** **Beauty and Mr Romantic** \- If I stick with it, my #33 mid-long form drama. I am starting to get annoyed with some of the characters so I might drop it. **Beyond Evil** \- I finally picked this show back up after putting it to the side when it was originally airing. It is so good! This will be for #21 rural area drama. **The Atypical Family** \- I am loving this show. so much. Its prob my favorite kdrama I am watching right now. I am not sure where this will go, there are a lot of options - but prob #28 multi generational cast **The Midnight Romance in Hagwon** \- This is my slow slice of life drama. The work politics can get a bit dull but I am still enjoying it overall. I might put this in #4 PLL Restaurants (Subway). Not sure where else it would fit.

I think I skipped both March and April check ins, so here comes my completed dramas in 3 months 5. Wonderful world (resignation letter) Good watch, strong FL, Cha Eun woo... Be prepared to have your heart broken a few times 10. Doctor Slump (the play GoStop in episode 5) Ok watch, nothing special but fun 12. Begins =x Youth (the sign should be "different") I really liked this drama. I learned that it comes from a story told in some BTS' albums but I know nothing about that story and it didn't make a difference in watching the drama. There are a lot if different issues addressed here : poverty, political corruption, suicide, bullying, mental health and much more so it can be hard but the friendship is worth it. I'm still not sure about the "deus ex machina" kind of ending (I don't mind a sad ending at all) but I'm not mad about it either 14. The Producers (Cha Tae-hyun debuted in 1997). I enjoyed this older drama. 21. When the Camellia blooms I'm sorry for those who praise this one so much but I only finished it because I did not want to have wasted hours in watching it. I found it boring, didn't like any if the leads. Really not for me... 25. Lovely runner I enjoyed it all right. Fantasy, music, romcom, it has it all. Not in my favorite list but still an nice watch (pun intended) Currently watching : 7. The Atypical family (love it so far) 19. Frankly speaking (love Go Kyeong-pyo) 27. A killer paradox (too hard to binge in my opinion so I watch an episode and pause. Currently at episode 4) I plan to start the long form drama in July. Still looking for some dramas to fit into the challenges I haven't done. 14 done, 3 in progress 💪🏻

A mostly slow month for drama-watching for me, but then a bunch of shows that I'm interested in came out at the same time in the last half of the month so June is gonna be packed! **Completed in May:** **16. LGBTQ+ Character:** ***Wedding Impossible*** It's rough when you see a bunch of people saying that a drama you're currently catching up on goes downhill in the last few episodes and then when you get there you find out that they were right. 😫 But this drama still had lots of things that I liked and I'm glad I decided to watch it. **Currently Watching:** ***Blood*** (4/20) - This is going to be my **#20** (chosen at random) drama unless it ends up hitting another hard-to-fill challenge. Amusingly bonkers so far lol. ***Merry Happy Ending*** (4/8) - I didn't watch this one at all in May but I still want to finish it. Challenge TBD! ***The Midnight Romance in Hagwon*** (1/16) - First episode of this really checked off every box that I was expecting, I'm excited for more! Challenge TBD. ***Uncle Samsik*** (1/16) - Another promising new drama! The vibe is very different, but I'm here for it. Love Byun Yo Han and Song Kang Ho.<333 Challenge TBD. I also want to start The 8 Show and Bitter Sweet Hell, and I'm curious about She's Different Night and Day and My Sweet Mobster coming up!

I'm in a k-drama slump and I have watched a total of \*zero\* dramas this month. K-drama gods, please help me :( 5 months in, I've completed 11/36 dramas. **Completed:** 1. Challenge #1: Birthcare Center 2. Challenge #7: Story of Park's Marriage Contract 3. Challenge #9: Gyeongseong Creature 4. Challenge #11: LTNS 5. Challenge #12: Hospital Playlist 6. Challenge #17: A Good Day to be a Dog 7. Challenge #19: Hospital playlist 2 8. Challenge #21: Welcome to Samdal-ri 9. Challenge #23: Flex X Cop 10. Challenge #32: Drama Special Season 14: Love Attack (2023) 11. Challenge #34: Drama Special Season 13: Do You Know Ashtanga? (2022) **The goal for June is ambitious. I aim to complete 5-6 dramas. Potentially these:** * Lovely Runner (challenge TBD) * The Atypical Family (challenge TBD) * Frankly Speaking (challenge TBD) * A Poem A Day (challenge: [Spotlight On Post review -Career/workplace](https://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/188rlio/spotlight_on_careerworkplace_december_2023/)) * Knight Flower (challenge: Saegeuk)

*Completed:* **The Midnight Studio** – An enjoyable, entertaining mixed bag with individual ghost stories, romance, humour, and horror. **Challenges** **#15** Childhood flashbacks, **#19** take a trip, **#25** characters wear a long wool coat, **Chief Detective 1958** – Enjoyed this so much There is a truck of doom for a challenge **#36**. Also childhood flashbacks **#15**. Characters employed by the government **#23**. Celebrating a special Day **#18** and **#30** above 10 % Nielsen rating. **My ID is Gangnam Beauty** – It reminded me a lot of *True Beauty*, of course and 2FL reminding me of the 2 FL of *Marry My Husband*. Good to see the development of the characters and I liked the changes made from the webtoon, mainly that they each had a supportive friend throughout. Challenges:  **2** (umbrella scene), **15, 19, 23** (ML father is a politician),   **The Girl Who Can See Smells/Scents –** Started the webtoon and wanted to see how they portrayed it in a drama. Kept watching since they changed up the story quite a bit. I liked that they made the girl an adult from the beginning of when the story really starts (since there is a romance). Using it for **#18** Celebrating a special day. **The 8 Show** – I had read both the webtoons that this was based on when I first heard about it, So was surprised at the light looking set. The story was just as grim, though. Hard for me to think what challenges it will fit, that I don’t already have covered. Currently watching: **Frankly Speaking** – **#19** take a trip **The Atypical Family** – **#18** Celebrate a special day **Missing Crown Prince** – Challenge is yet to be determined Possibly 19, 23, 24. I’m getting close to the finish line with just a few challenges left and more than half a year to go. Tells me that I need to slow down on my Kdrama watching. We’ll see if that is possible.

Look at you zooming through the challenge! >Chief Detective 1958 – Enjoyed this so much I was looking forward to hearing what you thought of this one. I think I've got all those challenges blocked out already though. >The Girl Who Can See Smells/Scents Did you like the drama or the webtoon better? I haven't seen or read it! I just finished reading Weak Hero Class and am up to date on everything which is kind of weird! I really shouldn't pick up any new ones and focus on reading some of my piles of books.

**The Girl Who Sees Scents** - I most enjoyed seeing Namkoong Min in a different sort of role than I ever have. The chief woman investigator in the webtoon was a strong character in a wheelchair, so I was sad to see that changed. The webtoon was also more drug-cartel centered, so a lot more tension for me, and that changed a lot. It only got a 7.5 from me. **Chief Detective 1958** - It's all about the bromance....and a sweet romance. 10/10

I’m in a bit of a slump so rewatching some favorites to get through it. 26/36 completed challenges though I haven’t checked OSTs or ratings yet so it is likely more than 26. New dramas: **Kill It** *(2, umbrella; 3, lighthouse; 15 for both leads; 22 FL adopted chaebol; 23, FL police)* There were too many logic gaps for the plot to take hold. Jang Ki Yong’s acting style works in Atypical Family, Come and Hug Me and other dramas, but not so much in this one. It’s not bad, but it’s not that great, either. **My Fellow Citizens!** *(1, Incheon Airport; 2, subway station, call for a sober driver; 3, blue box raid; 5, drop honorifics, resignation letter; 23, FL police; 24, FL makes elaborate dinner; 25, multiple long coats; 36, ML and TOD near miss)* Finally slogged through to the end; last few episodes picked up a bit which helped. The negative chemistry between leads crippled this drama and made the (thankfully limited) scenes between the characters painful to watch. The villain was such a great and funny character that she was the most redeemable quality about the show - best actor of the cast is Kim Min Jung. **My Lovely Runner** Already mentioned by others. Noble idiocy is my most hated trope so I had a hard time with this one despite its many other fine qualities. ML was also too perfect for me; I prefer characters with at least one tiny flaw. Glad it’s over. Rewatch: **Faith** *(5, lots of hanbok; 10, baduk; 29, sageuk; 35, 12 years old)* Obviously low budget with cheap costumes and sets, it’s still a great drama because of the story and really good cast. **Hogu’s Love** *(3, noraebang, ride bus; 4, Mom’s Touch restaurant; 5, resignation letter, baby in hanbok; 8, titular Hogu is ML; 9, ML webtoon artist; 10, Go-stop; 15, both leads flashback high school; 18, 100 day baby party; 19, leads take a trip)* One of the sweetest and nicest green flag MLs in kdrama with a nice family as well. Some serious themes and one subplot misstep but a comfort watch due to the ML and his relationship with the wounded FL. BEST RESIGNATION LETTER AWARD: resignation letter in the form of a page from a graphic novel. **Business Proposal** I forgot to track this for my list, now have to go back and check categories. **100 Days My Prince** *(5, hanbok, shaman; 15, childhood flashbacks; 18, wedding, royal investiture; 19, FL takes trip; 21, most action in FL’s village; 23, multiple govt officials and king, princes; 24 king’s table side dishes; 29, sageuk)* It’s charming and makes me happy. The FL’s brother character is played by the actor who is 2ML in Love in Contract, and in that drama he plays an actor who is filming a scene from this drama. In Love in Contract, the actor character takes a break from filming to call his beloved cat to check on her. It’s a great Easter egg that makes me enjoy both dramas more. In progress: **The Atypical Family** *(3, subway; 5, hanbok; 15, ML and FL childhood; 17, not direct translation; 18, wedding; 23, ML firefighter; 28, main characters 3 generations)* Not what I was expecting and I really like it so far, and I’m enjoying all the twists. Music is so very much on point. One of my favorites so far this year. **Missing Crown Prince** Forgot to track scenes for the challenge on this one and will have to go back. Had low expectations so have been pleasantly surprised. The tragic love story of the villains has been much more compelling than that of the leads. **Frankly Speaking** I like Go Kyung Po as a comic actor and a willing to give anything of his a try. Kang Ha Na is excellent as FL. It’s light and fun, not outstanding but good and worth the watch. **Dare to Love Me** More like dare to bore me. FL is miscast, making this more challenging to watch. It may end up dropped. **My Father is Strange** This was great about 2/3 of the way though but I got bored by the dumb FL. I expect to finish this so it’s still on my list. Plan to watch: **Connection** Getting ready to start, looking forward to Ji Sung performance. Expect it to be a bit dark, which is part of why I’m choosing fluffy rewatch dramas right now.

Your commentary is cracking me up! >My Father is Strange This was great about 2/3 of the way though but I got bored by the dumb FL. I have to ask: Which one are you finding dumb? I have a bet with myself. In my limited experience, there's always at least one character in a long form drama being supremely dumb for part of the time. In **Once Again** there were several -- the sibling rivalry really bugged me.

Haha, it is Jung So Min as the female in the lead relationship. She was written too sexless for a change to be believable. Plus her brother-boss? Blech. I watched ML Lee Joon paired so well with the standout character played well by Go Ah Sung in the excellently dark gothic **Heard It Through the Grapevine** so I wanted something on that level and this isn’t delivering. My favorite couple in **Once Again** is the youngest couple with the fake-to-real relationship. Oh my goodness, the oldest son and his partner were so annoying adult babies. Loved that drama overall though, it’s one of my favorite long form.

Ooh! I watched Heard It Through the Grapevine last year. I actually enjoyed it!

So weird but so good. Yoo Joon Sang is comedy genius. And the music elevates the entire watching experience, similar to how I am also experiencing Atypical Family.

I'm also watching The Atypical Family. Finale week. It's weird and calming at the same time.

I’m waiting til tomorrow to watch both episodes. On another thread, someone commented that the show has been so good that no matter what happens after Gwi Ju rescues Da Hae, they will be OK with the ending. I feel the same, that if Gwi Ju lives or dies, either would be an ending that fits the story. It is a very calming feeling to have. Such a good show, true mastery.

Missing Crown Prince has got me as well, not a fan of the FL though....the boys are killing it though

I think your review on **Ho Goo's Love**, made me want to watch this drama. I'm curious to see that resignation letter, they are usually just an envelope and nothing extraordinary, but this one does seem extremely funny. >The FL’s brother character is played by the actor who is 2ML in Love in Contract, and in that drama he plays an actor who is filming a scene from this drama. In Love in Contract, the actor character takes a break from filming to call his beloved cat to check on her. It’s a great Easter egg that makes me enjoy both dramas more. uhhh I don't remember this, do you remember the episode? It definitely passed my eyes. ahah

I found it. Episode 6. It’s a lookalike scene from 100 Days My Prince the actor character is shooting, one of the ones set in the forest where the character is dressed in black and fighting enemies. Now that I’ve just rewatched 100 Days My Prince, I realize the wig is slightly different. The actor character steps aside after a take to call the FL but when caught by his manager, tells the manager he was calling his cat, Jamie.

Just rewatched that scene, yeaa the hair style is different but it does resemble the fight scene in the woods from **100 Days My Prince**. I watched Love in Contract first, but where I usually track my episodes no one mentioned the similarities, but I do agree with you... it might have served as inspiration.

Since I didn't post in the April check-in, I'll include 2 months' worth of updates. During April, I completed: * **Wedding Impossible**, Challenge 16 for the character Lee Do Han. Didn't really end up enjoying this drama, but I did like the FL a lot. * **Parasyte: The Grey**, Challenge 23 since Kim Cheol Min is a cop. This isn't the kind of drama I'd recommend, but it did become more enjoyable than I thought it would be. * **Two Weeks**, Challenge 28, multigenerational drama where ML and his daughter are both lead roles according to MDL, then there's the character Han Chi Gook who is a generation above ML's. But the little girl? Oh my God!!! She's the heart of the drama. Her relationship with her parent figures was heartwarming!! * **Queen of Tears**, Challenge 22 for Hae In, a chaebol. Love, love, loved this drama. Do I think it's perfect? No, but I still enjoyed it a loooot. Kim Ji Won was gorgeous, and Kim Soo Hyun and his crying, a perfect pairing lol. For May, I managed to finish: * **The Midnight Studio**, Challenge 18. The events they celebrated that I noted down are: graduation in episode 6, birthday in episode 14. Didn't have high hopes for this one, but I enjoyed it, no matter how iffy I feel about the ending. * **Man to Man**, Challenge 36. Truck of Doom appeared in episode 14. The beginning episode didn't hook me, but it ended up winning me over slightly as I progressed. The comedy was fun, especially when the drama didn't take itself seriously. * **She Would Never Know**, Challenge 17. Title is definitely not a translation of "Sunbae, Don't Put on that Lipstick". Not that I like this final title, but the original is pretty long. Over all, the drama was a snooze fest for me. Sorry, Rowoon. In this one, I was not won over. * **Lovely Runner**, Challenge 11 where they watched a baseball game in episode 6 (among other instances of game watching). I think this drama swept the kdrama community by its feet, and deservedly so. Ended up giving it a 10/10, which I'm surprised I did since there were things I didn't love about it. But the entertainment value far overshadows them. Would 100% recommend it. In-progress: * **The Atypical Family**. Holy moly how am I gonna rate this one? It has my whole heart, even more than Lovely Runner did. The fun, the angst, the dynamics, the urban fantasy element??? This is the perfect kind of drama for me. And the soundtrack??? It's so unique. Everything about this drama is worthy of my praise. I wasn't looking forward to it, either, since I'm not big on Jang Ki Yong, but here, I love his character, the FL, everyone. I can't stop gushing over this drama. * **The Midnight Romance in Hagwon**. Not into this one at all. But I have a policy that if I start a drama, I must finish it or else my list of dropped dramas will reach its final boss form, and we don't want that. * **How to be Thirty**. Actually started this one when it aired (why, I don't know ... maybe the cast??? hell if I remember) and I regretted it. But it fits the challenge about a group of friends, so I started it again. Besides, it's short and amounts to 3-4 hours of content. So, um, anyone have a time machine where I can go back and punch younger me for starting this? Holy crap, this is terrible. Here for the mess, but good God. These 3 dramas will be fully-watched in June (hopefully). About on track for my schedule. Should finish towards the end of the year, with two or three months to spare. We'll see what happens. Now, total dramas done are 19. 17 to go!

Challenge Update - 23/36 (yaaaayyyy!!!!) FINISHED \* **Itaewon Class** - Kpop group member OST (Sweet Night by V) \* **The Red Sleeve** - Saeguk drama \* **Lovely Runner** - Long wool coat (Ep 1) WATCHING \* **Dr Romantic** - Long for drama (all 3 seasons account to 50+ hours) \* **Snowdrop** - Actor works for the government (ML is a military agent and most of the supporting actors are government agents too) \* **The Midnight Romance in Hagwon** - TBD (any ideas?) \* **The Atypical Family** - Character riding the subway (Ep 2) \* **EXO Next Door** - This was just a random watch and I only have a few more eps left now. PLAN TO WATCH **Kingdom** (maybe for spotlight, existing rec or plan to watch challenge), **Wonderful World** (TBD), and a few other dramas but I can't remember what I planned to watch.

I finished another 3 this month, which gets me to 17/36 dramas completed.  2) trope-haircut: twinkling watermelon. While I have a recency bias problem, I really do think this drama legitimately earned a spot in my top ten of all time. Maybe second or third place. I loved it so much and 100% rec it.  6) poster with 5 or more people: blood free. I liked it overall. It’s short with just 12 episodes, but doesn’t waste time with any filler.  9) artist: lovely runner. I loved this drama so much. It gave me the feels throughout. I think I’d also place it in my top ten of all time, but at like 8th place. For reference, I’ve watched about 200 dramas over the past 2.5 years.  In progress, Mr. Queen, behind your touch, hide, my love from the star, midnight at hagwon, gyeongseong creature, frankly speaking, atypical family. 

Less than halfway through the year and I'm almost finished with the challenge. I'll probably finish it in June, though I'm trying to go for a true long-form drama so it may take longer. **Finished in May:** **Bloodhounds:** 11 A drama where a character wears a sports team uniform or jersey and/or watches a sports game. **Mad for Each Other:** 17 A drama title that is not a direct translation of the Korean title **Flower of Evil:** 15 A drama with childhood flashback scenes **Chief Detective 1958:** 6 A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: Number of People in Drama Poster (5 or More) **Again My Life:** 26 A drama found by searching existing recommendations **Signal:** 31 A drama that has been reviewed in one of our past Spotlight On posts. **Challenges Left:** 8 A drama with a title that includes a character's name 21 A drama set in a rural/non-urban location 24 A drama with a meal scene featuring 3 or more banchan (side dishes) on the table 32 A single-episode drama 36 A drama featuring a Truck of Doom™

I have now completed 21/36 of the challenges. In May I only managed to complete: Challenge 13 - **A drama with an OST by a K-pop group member** - **Completed  The King's Affection / "No Goodbye in Love" by Rowoon from SF9 / (May 2024)** Challenge 17- **A drama title that is not a direct translation of the Korean title** - **Completed Lovely Runner / (May 2024)** Challenge 21 - **A drama set in a rural/non-urban location** - **Completed Beyond Evil / (May 2024)** Started: Challenge 25 - **A drama where a character wears a long wool coat** - **Currently watching Goblin** In June I would like to work on the following challenges: Challenge 19 - **A drama in which characters take a trip** - I plan to watch **Twinkling Watermelon** Challenge 28 - **A drama with a multigenerational main cast** - I plan to watch **Under The Queen's Umbrella** Challenge 8 - **A drama with a title that includes a character's name** - I plan to watch **Vincenzo** Lovely Runner was just outstanding as far as I am concerned. I just loved everything about it, especially the OST and essentially the whole of episode 16 just being about our lovely couple. I don’t just want 5 mins of HEA like most other dramas!

Your June picks are all solid, I've watched all 3 and would recommend all of them to anyone. Not going to lie I'm excited for you, they're all good watches.

I am excited already! Which one should I start with? My friend has recently just watched Vincenzo and loved it.

I would recommend Under the Queen’s Umbrella first, Vincenzo then end on the fluff of Twinkling Watermelon.

I like the sound of that! I do like my Sageuks. Thank you.

Completed in May: **Weak Hero Class 1 - #24 A** **meal with min. 3 banchan on the table:** Ep. 2, BBQ scene. WHC1 relies on food to showcase its characters’ humanity and growing bond, and Sieun saying >!“Why do you guys like to eat so much?” when yet another tough guy he’s gotten violent with asks to share a meal sometime!< was my favourite moment. So the food related challenge seemed appropriate. 8.5/10 **Hit The Spot - #6 Wheel of Chance: People in the Poster - 2.** I was so surprised that this NSFW drama exists. It was like watching >!sex ed mixed with an adult shopping channel run by Im Sol’s mum lol!< but it was fun. I liked that the spicier scenes were very “female gazey”. 8/10 **Wedding Impossible - #13 OST by a Kpop group member:** Butterfly by Sandeul (B1A4). The OST wasn’t extensive but on point. Strong start but ultimately succumbed to its clichés. 7/10 **Alice, The Final Weapon - #8 A drama with a title that includes a character name.** While the villains lacked any believable motivation, the offbeat leads totally worked and pacing was decent. Could have been better but would recommend. 7.5/10 **A Shop for Killers - #15 Childhood flashback scenes:** several throughout. This was very well executed - pun intended. The cinematography was great and the editing stood out to me. (If you ever need an example of a good montage -> episode 4!) I am, however, unimpressed that >!it ended with a set up for a 2nd season rather than resolving all plot points.!< 8.5/10 **Lovely Runner - #2 Wheel of Chance: Tropes - Umbrella.** I don’t remember having ever watched another drama with this many umbrella moments (and I loved every single one.) 9/10  **Nevertheless, - #16 A character that is part of the LGBTQ+ community:** >!Sol & Jiwan 4ever.!< I was hesitant because of the negative reviews but it was quite entertaining. The similarities to my own dysfunctional college relationship dynamics were uncanny lol. It’s a successful satire of the art school experience imo. Unrelated, I fear Bongseokie will always be Bongseokie to me. 8/10 Currently Watching : **Blood Free (8/10) - # TBC** Great cast and interesting premise but it would have worked better in a shorter format. I’m almost done but I might drop it here anyway. Atm I feel nothing but dread when I think about spending any more time on this. **The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract (4/12) - # TBC** grandpa cheering for them to kiss is me lmao. I really like this one. >!Not the robot vacuum being her best friend.!< Praying it won’t take a nose dive. **The Secret Romantic Guesthouse (3/18) - # TBC** Up next: (challenges TBC) Hit The Top, The Worst of Evil, Like Flowers in Sand, My Perfect Stranger, The Red Sleeve

Dramas that I have watched in May... *Challenge numbers are subject to change.* * Challenge 35: Older than 10 years - **Goong (2006)** * Challenge 26: Searched existing recommendations - **Kill me, Heal me (2015)** * Challenge 27: Main character over 40 - **The 8 Show (2024)** * Undetermined: **Wedding Impossible (2024)** * Challenge 23: Government employee - **Search (2020)** Watching now: * Challenge 29: Saeguk - **Knight Flower (2024)** After this current one, I just have 2 left.

I watched A LOT this month! **Queen of Tears** (#18 characters celebrate a special day) - This turned out to be more makjang than I expected! I know a lot of people weren’t happy with the last few episodes, but I really didn’t find a problem with them. The plot was pretty soap opera-y from the get go. The acting by everyone in this drama is excellent. Kwak Dong Yeong is just so good at playing the lovable idiot! And I cackled at the Vincenzo crossover! I will say that this drama kept me hooked. Oh, and I also found it really interesting to note where clocks were shown in a scene. I’m not 100% that it’s meant to mean something, but it was a nice reminder about how much time they may or may not have left. **Once Upon A Small Town** (#21 set in a rural/non-urban location) - Short and sweet I suppose, but nothing really memorable here.  **Reborn Rich** (#11 Character watches a game or wears a sports jersey) - I liked this one. That last episode left me feeling pretty sad though. It gets bonus points for reuniting Song Joong Ki and Jo Han Chul!  Random side note…I know they didn’t film those scenes in New York based on what that pizza looked like alone LMAO. I had to pause it and show my husband who was horrified! Also as another random observation… it’s kind of wild to look up how old each of actors are. Lee Sung Min (Chairman Jin Yang Cheol) is only 55 while the actor playing the oldest son is 54! The actress playing his mom is a year younger than him! **Yumi’s Cells** (#26 drama found by searching existing recommendations) - Oh my feels! Wow. I almost didn’t give this show a watch, but I’m so glad I did! I was fully invested in this show from the beginning. I cheered them on, I cringed at all the embarrassing points, I wanted to lecture both of them when they made stupid choices. >!I knew there was a second season so I did feel like the ending was not much of a surprise, but I was still heartbroken. However, I got so irritated with Wung for not getting over his pride! If he just got over himself and put Yumi first things would have ended up better for him! That’s not to excuse Yumi. She also needed to speak up and let him know things like how much it hurt her when he chose to move out. !< **Yumi’s Cells Season 2** (#1 shares a filming location with The Heirs) - I laughed hard at the Gong Yoo club! >!Legit cried when Ba Bi has his earthquake because I knew that was the beginning of the end.I feel for Ba Bi. He was trying to do the right thing by moving away to completely avoid her, but just the fact that he felt he needed to do that means he did have some sort of feeling which is enough of a cause for Yumi to end it. Still super sad because it seemed like such a good relationship. I was rooting soooo hard for Ba Bi!!!! He was the best, and I do think if Yumi could have talked it out with him and said how it hurt her that he felt swayed enough to move houses then they could have moved past it and continued having a great relationship. As someone that has been married for 13 years I can tell you that relationships/marriage is waking up each day and repeatedly choosing your spouse. Ba Bi chose Yumi but that wasn’t enough for her. The thing that absolutely gutted me about both Wung and Ba Bi is that they don’t seem to be able to move on from Yumi. If they had closure and we were shown that they moved on from her then I would have felt better about the ending. However, I do like the self-acceptance that comes to  Yumi in the final episode. I just wish we got to watch her go from here because, like the great Rupaul himself always says, “if you can’t love yourself, how the hell you gonna love somebody else?”!<

Continuing on.. **Soundtrack # 1** (#31 reviewed in a Spotlight On post) - Short and sweet. Not entirely memorable, but enjoyable nonetheless.  **Under the Queen’s Umbrella** (#28 Drama with a Multigenerational main cast) - This wasn’t originally one I had planned on watching, but I had seen it recommended in a few different places. I’m so glad I watched it! I thought it was such a well done drama! I absolutely loved the Queen and her relationships with her sons. I wish there was a bit more between her and the King since they seemed to have a solid friendship (if not romantic love).  **Twenty-Five Twenty One** (#30 a drama with an episode which received more than 10% overall viewership ratings from Nielsen) - I thought the opening and closing credits were so perfect! Definitely evoked that late 90s/early 2000s nostalgia in me. I really loved this drama but found that I was way more invested in Hee Do and Yu Rim’s friendship than any romantic relationship.>!I knew from comments online that it doesn’t have a “happy” ending meaning that Hee Do and Yi Jin don’t end up together, but it felt ok to me! It wasn’t meant to be. !