[2023 Year in Review] Editors’ Picks » Dramabeans Korean drama

[2023 Year in Review] Editors’ Picks

by DB Workers

Considered one of our favourite options at Dramabeans is our annual Editors’ Picks, which is the product of a lot voting, deep inside debate, hand-wringing – and naturally, fangirling. Whereas a few of us discovered the drama choices this yr to be mediocre with a number of gems thrown in, others encountered a string of dramas they cherished and wouldn’t hand over for the world. Under are our picks for the yr, reflecting what we loved, what grabbed our hearts, and what made us need to cross out golden statues. Take pleasure in!

 

2023 Editors’ Picks

BEST DRAMA

Name It Love

dramaddictally: Earlier than it aired, Name It Love stood out for its visuals — notably a pink filter that offered atmospheric heat, and likewise spurred a lot debate. However as soon as this pretty drama started to unfold, it stood out for its storytelling: the way in which it pushed boundaries, fleshed out its characters, and arrange tropes solely to knock them down. What begins out as a revenge plot turns into a therapeutic story about transferring on from previous hurts with out succumbing to vengeance — as a result of hate solely finally ends up hurting the individual doing the hating. Lee Sung-kyung portrays the unforgettable heroine on the middle of this ethical dilemma, nailing the robust however susceptible character who goes by way of this transformation. Crammed with palpable ache, this slow-burn romance turns into a journey from overwhelming loneliness to therapeutic connection. And the sense of isolation is in each facet alongside the way in which, from the leads’ micro-expressions, to the dialogue, to photographs of lone characters in in any other case empty rooms. Whereas the fractured however in the end unbreakable household on the story’s core is the basis of all of the heartache, the drama exhibits us that sturdy bonds — wherever they could be discovered — are additionally the remedy. With wealthy and evocative feelings, difficult and relatable leads, and a forged of characters that maintain their very own towards the principle love line, it’s troublesome to stay dry-eyed to the tip — however that, after all, is the fantastic thing about it.

Honorable Mentions
Good Marriage Revenge
Shifting

BEST DIRECTING

Alchemy of Souls 2

alathe: Beanies, it’s my pleasure to once more sing the praises of the superbly directed Alchemy of Souls 2. Season Two had its work reduce out in making us — and Wook — fall for its resurrected heroine yet again. I adored Mu-deok’s sly gambits and scarcely-contained homicidal tendencies. Nevertheless, in casting Go Yoon-jung they introduced a complete new, coquettish dimension to Yeong, while nonetheless delighting us together with her calculating glances and surprising craftiness. With its subtitle Mild and Shadow, the secret this season was opposites, and this theme was introduced out splendidly. Final time, love was related to poison; this time, with drugs. Yeong, quite than Wook, was now the wide-eyed magical beginner whom her accomplice tried — and failed — to see as a method to an finish. And on this role-reversal remix, Daeho took on a darker, gothic really feel: all boats coursing by way of the mist, and lightless rooms for Wook to brood in. The Jang property turned a Magnificence within the Beast model haunted home for Yeong to breathe life into. And all of it culminated in a stunning present about revitalizing the outdated and welcoming within the new.

Honorable Mentions
Name it Love
Revenant

BEST WRITING

Name It Love

quirkycase: Name It Love has rather a lot going for it, however actually one among its strongest options is its writing. There’s a subtlety to the writing that made for implausible conversations, great character arcs, and nuanced approaches to relationships. Moderately than overstuffing scenes with dialogue, author Kim Ga-eun knew simply when to tug again and let a scene breathe. The care and nuance with which the drama depicted a wide range of relationships from platonic to romantic to familial gave it depth and emotional acuity. The forged of characters was diverse and memorable, every with their very own foibles, strengths, and journeys. Characters have been unraveled little by little, permitting us to get to know them by way of their actions and reactions all through the story. Shim Woo-joo and Han Dong-jin have been implausible lead characters, each independently and collectively, who exemplified the facility of inside battle and quiet moments. Crafting a slow-burn story that is still attention-grabbing and even addicting all through its run is little question a problem. However when it really works, it’s one thing of magnificence.

Honorable Mentions
Revenant
The Kidnapping Day

BEST ACTOR

Lee Sang-yub (My Beautiful Boxer)

dramaddictally: It’s not straightforward to make us root for a morally corrupt character, however that’s the magic of Lee Sang-yub in his function because the sports activities agent antihero, Kim Tae-young, in My Beautiful Boxer. Toeing the road towards unlikable, we’re by no means fairly positive how one can learn his actions. Even when evidently he cares for his athletes, it could possibly be simply one other of his chilly and calculating schemes. Nevertheless, we see his human aspect when he’s within the throes of sobbing or shrieking in grief over the struggles of the folks near him. When he cries, the ache is actual. And when he stops, the dullness of despair settles into his eyes. The natural means he shifts between outward callousness and inside damage with depth and sincerity, makes it not possible to ever absolutely dislike him — even when he does probably the most questionable issues. Whereas everybody round him finally ends up damage, he additionally tries to guard them. However when he fails to guard one among his athletes at an important second, Tae-young is the one which finally ends up needing safety. And Lee Sang-yub lets us really feel for his character by turning into a uncooked nerve earlier than our eyes. Add to that his chemistry with co-star Kim So-hye — as he strikes from an intent to make use of her boxing abilities for fast money to deeply caring that she achieves her objectives — and it’s a efficiency that grips ahold of you, sucker punches its means in, and stays with you lengthy after the ultimate scene.

Honorable Mentions
Choi Hyun-wook (Twinkling Watermelon)
Oh Jung-se (Revenant)
Namgoong Min (My Dearest)

BEST ACTRESS

Han Hyo-joo (Shifting)

jenzy: Han Hyo-joo’s efficiency in Shifting marks a big milestone in her versatility as an actress. For over a decade, she’s nailed the dynamic main girl or romantic curiosity, cementing herself at the least in my thoughts as this perpetually younger, sparkly-eyed heroine. Which is why her character in Shifting — a single mother to a high-schooler — initially felt like such a jarring departure from her typical roles. However as every episode got here round, she impressed me a lot together with her world-weary maturity and maternal ferocity, I’d catch myself questioning if she wasn’t someway secretly a mom herself. Pulling off the complicated character of Mi-hyun couldn’t have been a straightforward feat. She needed to nail each the physicality and calculation of a super-spy alongside the chaotic feelings of a mother to a teen, all whereas conserving audiences grounded within the supernatural premise of the present. However nail it she did. She melded these personas so effortlessly that you just by no means felt such as you have been getting “mother Mi-hyun” or “spy Mi-hyun” — you simply obtained one deeply layered, elusive character. Han Hyo-joo’s efficiency in Shifting has me satisfied that that is the beginning of a brand new chapter to her profession. The Hyo-jooissance is upon us, and I for one am so excited to see it unfold.

Honorable Mentions
Ahn Eun-jin (My Dearest)
Kim Tae-ri (Revenant)

BEST ROMANCE

Name It Love

missvictrix: Name It Love is a particular little drama that takes its time to inform its story, together with that of its romance. However a slow-burn romance wants greater than well-paced craving from afar — it wants depth behind it too, and that’s precisely what Name It Love does so nicely. By letting us spend time with our leads and sit with them of their low locations, we not solely understood their sense of isolation, however felt it together with them. Therefore, the magic of Shim Woo-joo and Han Dong-jin falling in love with one another feels identical to that: magic. These two lonely souls got here collectively in a means that was so tender and tentative, as in the event that they didn’t know fairly what to do with the love they’d found. Although their begin was rocky and there have been loads of ethical and logistical obstacles impeding their means, this was a romance that I’d comply with wherever for its real portrayal of light longing, and the hopefulness that lingered amidst the melancholy. It’s not each drama that may take a revenge premise and have it evolve right into a therapeutic romance, and it’s not each therapeutic romance that offers you the romance flutters and the sense of emotional wholeness at its conclusion — however that’s what makes Name It Love a particular one.

Honorable Mentions
Destined With You
My Dearest
Shifting

BEST COMEDY

Physician Cha

unit: Off with the apron and on with the scrubs! With a premise like Physician Cha’s, I tailor-made my expectations to “medical drama” and all the emotions that include the style. A little bit of makjang, perhaps. However comedy? I didn’t assume so. Surprisingly, the drama steeped its emotional beats into comedy so nicely that whilst you’re absolutely conscious of the stakes at hand, you may’t assist however giggle alongside the scenario. Whether or not it’s on the caricature husband begging his mother for permission to donate a bit of his liver to his spouse, or on the ego-fueled race between In-ho and Dr. Roy to save lots of Jung-sook from falling off the constructing together with her suicidal affected person, Physician Cha is an entertaining present with a number of pockets of humor tucked into every episode that’ll have you ever laughing out loud and eagerly clicking on the subsequent episode button. I cherished the mix of comedy types: there was the character humor (Kim Byung-chul because the over-the-top and virtually cartoonish Search engine marketing In-ho was gold!), the situational humor, the deadpan jokes (who can overlook Jung-sook’s declaration of her husband’s demise — to his face — at a piece dinner?), and naturally, the slapstick moments. (I’ll by no means recover from Jung-sook slamming her husband’s face into their anniversary cake after she discovered that he cheated.). Amidst all of those hilarious moments, Physician Cha nonetheless did its greatest to ship on a great story. And whereas the drama may need slipped just a little too into the dramatic aspect of issues in the direction of the tip, this second likelihood story with humor and coronary heart aplenty is firmly rooted in place as one of many comedy greats.

Honorable Mentions
Twinkling Watermelon
Divorce Lawyer Shin

BEST ACTION/THRILLER

The Kidnapping Day

quirkycase: Proper out of the gate, The Kidnapping Day differentiated itself by way of its distinctive premise and tone. Though it was a few kidnapping, it was certainly not an excessively severe or darkish drama – actually, it was typically comedic. The tone struck a precarious however efficient steadiness with simply sufficient makjang taste to make issues attention-grabbing with out detracting from the extra severe moments. As a shorter drama, it didn’t overstay its welcome or lose steam which could be the demise blow for an motion or thriller drama. There was a pleasant steadiness between plot and character growth that stored issues transferring and lent an emotional gravity to the story. However what actually set this drama other than the pack was the great dynamic between the surprisingly lovable kidnapper with a coronary heart of gold, and the precocious and jaded kidnappee with nobody to show to. These two had implausible chemistry as an cute, father-daughter discovered household duo that was pleasant to observe and offered one other supply of stress as they fought for his or her happiness regardless of every part conspiring towards them. The Kidnapping Day was at turns enjoyable, tense, and touching – and that’s not a mix each action-thriller manages to tug off.

Honorable Mentions
Revenant
Taxi Driver 2

BEST FANTASY/SCI-FI

Shifting

ttcolb: The style of superheroes could be very acquainted territory for Disney and I virtually anticipated a Marvel-esque caper when watching Shifting, however I used to be fortunately stunned to be incorrect. Primarily based in an expansive universe crafted over a collection of webtoons, the live-action collection would have been a very totally different beast with out the unique’s creator Kangfull penning the scripts himself. He laid down a dense basis together with his knowledgeable hand, constructing a world impacted by superpowers. All of the transferring (hehe) elements have been then woven along with sturdy directing and characters delivered to life by throughout excellent appearing. I fell onerous for our heroes’ journeys and though the motion is cool – and cathartic – Shifting pushes us to dig deeper, wrestling with id, ethics, ideologies, and extra — as a result of the center of the story is about extra than simply saving the day.

Honorable Mentions
Story of the 9 Tailed 1938
Twinkling Watermelon

BEST ENSEMBLE

Story of the 9 Tailed 1938

daebakgrits: Story of the 9 Tailed 1938 is a first-rate instance of how an incredible forged can rework a quite lackluster plot into a fascinating piece of tv as a result of — let’s be actual — this sequel-that-no-one-asked-for was objectively foolish and type of everywhere. Story of the 9 Tailed 1938 had all of the markings of a large flop — and but, it was the type of enjoyable that may solely be achieved when the forged is in sync and doling out the identical quantity of pleasure for his or her roles. Positive, this drama had some heavy hitters headlining, like Lee Dong-wook, Kim So-yeon, and Kim Bum, however even stars of their caliber can’t win over an viewers by themselves. It took the total forged of Story of the 9 Tailed 1938 to ship sufficient on display screen chemistry wanted to tug off the wacky hijinks featured on this drama, and their success is essentially attributable to the truth that the viewers may inform they have been having fun with themselves. They weren’t there for the paycheck. As a substitute, it felt like a gaggle of pals getting paid to role-play and act out foolish eventualities that includes zombies and channel-surfing demons. Their enthusiasm was infectious, and it was onerous to not have enjoyable alongside them.

Honorable Mentions
Romantic Physician Instructor Kim 3
Divorce Lawyer Shin
Shifting

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY/ART DIRECTION

See You in My nineteenth Life

daebakgrits: By the point See You in My nineteenth Life concluded I used to be principally disillusioned, however the one exception was the drama’s cinematography. The truth is, I’d argue that the director advised a greater story by way of coloration principle than with the precise plot. From the start, Ji-eum’s extroversion and warmness have been related to shades of purple — typically present in her wardrobe — whereas Search engine marketing-ha’s loneliness and disappointment have been mirrored within the blues of his swimming pool and the partitions of his household dwelling. These colours, which have been so vividly represented within the current, additionally had ties to Ji-eum’s first life when she and her sister have been tasked with dying materials. So not solely have been the reds and blues an exquisite means of mirroring the characters’ personalities, however they have been additionally a method of connecting the current to Ji-eum and Search engine marketing-ha’s shared previous life. I like this consideration to element, and if the story had lived as much as its visuals, we’d have had a serious hit on our arms.

Honorable Mentions
A Time Known as You
Track of the Bandits
My Dearest

BEST BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE

Yoo-na (The Kidnapping Day)

solstices: At simply twelve years outdated, the younger rookie Yoo-na managed to carry her personal amidst a forged of veteran actors, delivering a efficiency that was each deeply compelling and totally memorable. The character of Choi Ro-hee — a sheltered but uncared for lady with intelligence past her years — got here to life by way of Yoo-na’s nuanced interpretation. Ro-hee’s privileged upbringing was woven into her pompous demeanor, but her haughtiness by no means veered into boastful condescension and her impudence by no means crossed into obnoxious brattiness. As a substitute, Yoo-na imbued her character with pathos, making the precocious Ro-hee so endearing that it’s immediately plausible how she had her kidnapper wrapped round her little finger. As Ro-hee regularly grew to belief Myung-joon, her vulnerability started to slide by way of in refined mannerisms and fleeting expressions. It’s a testomony to Yoo-na’s real looking portrayal that this trajectory felt pure, and when Ro-hee lastly broke by way of years of conditioning as a way to defend the individual she cared for, that emotional catharsis felt absolutely earned. Yoo-na stored us invested in Ro-hee’s journey each step of the way in which, virtually like we have been watching her develop up and uncover true happiness. Hanging a deft steadiness between sassy and sensible, she maintained stellar appearing and palpable chemistry together with her costars proper as much as the emotional climax of the present. Yoo-na is a power to be reckoned with, and I’m actually anticipating her future roles.

Honorable Mentions
Moon Woo-jin (Castaway Diva)

BEST CHARACTER

Yi-chan (Choi Hyun-wook in Twinkling Watermelon)

mistyisles: Because of Twinkling Watermelon’s time-travel mechanisms, we get to know the character of Ha Yi-chan in a considerably nonlinear means. First, he’s a loving father who nonetheless contributes to the overburdening of his youngest son. Then, he’s an exasperatingly single-minded teenager chasing after a lady who doesn’t care to present him the time of day. However because the story progresses, his teenage self grows and adjustments in such a means that not solely leads him to a brighter future, but in addition alters our understanding of the unique all-grown-up Yi-chan and the cycles he (and Chung-ah) broke simply to boost their children so nicely. Choi Hyun-wook imbues Yi-chan with boisterous power and ideal sincerity, in order that he’s not only a delight — he’s a downright lovely soul who loves deeply and unabashedly, shines brightly, makes loads of errors, and retains on attempting to do and be his easiest it doesn’t matter what life throws at him.

Honorable Mentions
Jang Shin-yu (Kim Ro-woon) in Destined With You
Bong-seok (Lee Jung-ha) in Shifting
Choi Ro-hee (Yoo-na) in The Kidnapping Day

 
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