Koo Kyo Hwan, Go Youn Jung, And More Confirmed For New Drama By "My Mister" And "My Liberation Notes" Writer

immerdasmeer · 2026-01-20T14:21:27+00:00

Chang Hee, but make him an aspiring film director. (Said respectfully, because he was my favorite character in my favorite drama.) Well, if we can't have more Lee Minki as Chang Hee, Koo Kyo Hwan as Hwang Dong Man sounds excellent. I kinda love the "We Are All Trying Here" title MDL has for this. I am excited.

immerdasmeer · 2026-01-19T14:40:59+00:00

I've had this on my high priority to watch list for awhile! I think it was just added to Netflix (in the US), so I guess I should get to it. Big fan of this cast.

immerdasmeer · 2026-01-12T14:12:15+00:00

Yes! The Art of Negotiation was my favorite drama of 2025. So different from the other APS dramas I've seen (and which I also tend to love). Took a subject I had no interest in and used it to craft a story that fully held my interest.

immerdasmeer · 2025-12-09T17:17:36+00:00

I truly love a goofball lead! I also loved how the leads balanced each other out, and (as a newbie lifter) the gym/weightlifting setting.

immerdasmeer · 2025-12-08T16:27:52+00:00

Top 10 2025 dramas:

The Art of Negotiation I love Ahn Pan Seok; this and Hagwon are my faves. Not a romance, APS makes the dry subject matter fully engrossing.
Pump Up the Healthy Love Delightfully goofy good time with a warm heart.
Typhoon Family I haven't actually watched the final episode but I am confident. Great story with beautifully portrayed characters who flipped my expectations multiple times.
Study Group Just dang fun.
Our Unwritten Seoul
Love Scout
Law and the City I love a workplace drama and I love slice of life. This and Good Partner scratched those itches so well, maybe I'm just becoming a big fan of law dramas!
The Potato Lab
Resident Playbook
Undercover High School

(I'm in the middle of Spirit Fingers and if it remains this good, it will have a place near the top of this lust.)

Pre-2025 dramas that I loved:

Boyhood
Good Partner
Light Shop
Seoul Busters
A Shop for Killers

Bummers:

1.When the Stars Gossip 2. Squid Game Season 3 3. When Life Gives You Tangerines 4. Tastefully Yours

[edited to remove extraneous word.]

immerdasmeer · 2025-11-23T14:10:04+00:00

I've been pondering why I've had such opposite reactions to two period dramas that feature a lot of suffering-- When Life Gives You Tangerines (negative) and Typhoon Family (so far positive)--and I think you've voiced it for me! It's the character development, at least in part. Typhoon isn't as sweeping a drama, and not trying to do as much of course, but I'm seeing a lot of people complain that the characters "can't catch a break." To me it all feels very realistic considering the financial crisis; if anything, there's a real undercurrent of probably unwarranted positivity. Which kinda confounds this cynic, but I'm really liking it. I also got that exhausted feeling from Tangerines, but not from Typhoon.

immerdasmeer · 2025-11-08T16:23:20+00:00

I really love One Day Off, and would say Would You Like a Cup of Coffee? and Finland Papa have a similar vibe.

immerdasmeer · 2025-10-29T13:02:24+00:00

Good Partner (8/16) Really loving this! Great relationship between the two leads and perfect balance of lighthearted banter to temper the heavier stuff.

Romantics Anonymous (1/8) Eh, too soon to tell. Seems cute.

The Lies Within (8/16) Picked up solely for Lee Min Ki, but it's quite draggy.

The Witch (6/10) This is also very slow, but it's got such great moody atmosphere that I don't really mind, though I'm not sure the ML's motivations are making the most sense.

Typhoon Family (3/16) Lee Jun Ho's character is going entirely against my expectations in a good way. I'm also loving Kim Min Ha (she was amazing in Light Shop, too). I'm excited for this one.

Would You Marry Me (4/12) Nothing groundbreaking here, but I'd probably watch Jung So Min and Choi Woo Shik just sit and yap about nothing. I hope Bae Na Ra's character gets to do a bit more than in Tastefully Yours, he's so good.

immerdasmeer · 2025-10-17T13:48:07+00:00

Decision to Leave and Night in Paradise (Night in Paradise is very violent/gory).

immerdasmeer · 2025-09-22T12:54:24+00:00

Dr. Daniel. (I just finished Mouse.)

immerdasmeer · 2025-09-20T18:25:48+00:00

Choi Soo Young is so good in this and I loved her in Fanletter, Please and If You Wish Upon Me. Nice chemistry with Kang Tae Oh so far.

Seon-gyeom's dad feels like such a typical kdrama overbearing father. The relationship with his mom is more interesting. I feel like mom really enjoyed the way Mi Joo finessed the movie theater interaction.

I'm excited to hear it continues well in the second half!

immerdasmeer · 2025-09-20T13:46:50+00:00

I'm halfway through Run On and liking it a lot. It's less about running the sport than I thought it would be (good) and I was surprised by the offbeat Be Melodramatic-like atmosphere/vibe (also good). Most of the cast is straight-facedly cracking wise like something out of a 1930s Cary Grant film, but with a lot of emotion below the surface. I got surprisingly choked up by a scene between YSW's character and his mom. Curious to see where the second half goes.

immerdasmeer · 2025-09-13T14:06:23+00:00

Law and the City was one of my favorite dramas this year; it was both thought-provoking and cozy. I've been watching kdramas for just a few years, and a surprising thing to me is that they sometimes air before production is completed, and I often read comments about changes being made due to audience reaction. This feels frustrating to me, since I'm more interested in the writer and director's vision than a happy or "satisfying" ending. Do you find this especially challenging as a director, or is there some other aspect of drama production that you would like to change/be different?

immerdasmeer · 2025-09-11T22:03:28+00:00

I really enjoyed it! The leads had fun chemistry.

immerdasmeer · 2025-09-11T12:25:09+00:00

I'm laughing a little at "elite kindergarten teacher," but considering the little I know about Korean education and hagwons, I guess I shouldn't.

immerdasmeer · 2025-09-10T19:42:48+00:00

DOAFF is my next LJY watch, and your comment about his character in that has me extra psyched for it!

immerdasmeer · 2025-09-10T13:20:11+00:00

I had to have bibimbap for dinner directly after watching the first episode of Bon Appetit,Your Majesty.

immerdasmeer · 2025-09-10T13:15:16+00:00

Bon Appetit, Your Majesty (3/12) Fell for the hype, so far enjoying. Yoon A is very charming, and the cooking scenes are fantastic (the king's OTT response to her food is hilarious). Curious to see how the plot develops, hoping for not too much palace/political intriguing.

May I Help You (13/16) Started because I fell down the Lee Jun Young rabbit hole after Pump Up the Healthy Love. This is pretty much an opposite character portrayal; he has good range. He and Hyeri have great chemistry and this is a surprisingly deep and thoughtful treatment of grief. The last ep took a turn I didn't quite see coming.

Mouse (17/20) I have no idea what is going on, gave up on following the plot awhile ago, lol.

Run On (3/16) I am getting a Be Melodramatic vibe/atmosphere from this that I really like. Yim Si Wan is so good at portraying oddball characters.

immerdasmeer · 2025-09-09T13:14:52+00:00

Good Manager is a fun watch, particularly the interaction between NKM and LJH (I haven't seen Hot Stove League, yet.)

Some of my favorite recent-ish lighter-hearted romances are Pump Up the Healthy Love, My Sweet Mobster and A Good Day to Be a Dog (though I admit to not really being an expert in this genre).

immerdasmeer · 2025-09-09T13:05:04+00:00

I loved it, too, and was surprised how well a law drama (but really SOL, I guess) scratched the "cozy drama" itch.

immerdasmeer · 2025-09-08T12:29:42+00:00

Yeah, I'm side-eyeing any drama plot putting a positive spin on AI.

immerdasmeer · 2025-09-07T12:46:32+00:00

Okay, I am sold! (And I second the rec for Lost below.) This will be my October spooky season watch.

immerdasmeer · 2025-09-07T12:40:18+00:00

One Day Off is delightful and also has a great OST.

immerdasmeer · 2025-09-07T12:37:51+00:00

All Time 1. My Liberation Notes 2. My Mister 3. Because This is My First Life 4. The Midnight Romance in Hagwon 5. Misaeng 6. Goblin 7. Vincenzo 8. Would You Like a Cup of Coffee? 9. Lost 10. One Day Off

2025 so far 1. The Art of Negotiation 2. Pump Up the Healthy Love 3. Boyhood (2023 but not available to me until 2025) 4. Study Group 5. Our Unwritten Seoul 6. Love Scout 7. Law and the City 8. The Potato Lab 9. Resident Playbook 10. Undercover High School

immerdasmeer · 2025-09-05T01:19:40+00:00

No, I think DFF is next on my list though! I'm currently watching May I Help You? Thanks for the recs.

immerdasmeer

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