Playground Year End Poll: Favorite and Least Favorite K-dramas of 2014
One of the reasons I retain the energy to keep writing about K-dramas is due to the vastly different opinions the same show can bring out in viewers. The debate remains great fun as long as it’s sensible and polite and the discussion process is the fuel to keep stoking my affection for K-dramas. It’s December 1st already so while I’m getting to work thumbing through my memory files of dramas that aired in 2014, I thought it fun to open the forum for readers to also chime in with your two cents on the yays and nays of the year.
Even going into my fifth year of drama writing, it still astounds me how many K-dramas are produced a year from the big three networks along with cable offerings. It’s impossible to even watch the first episode of each new drama so I’ve long since given that up and just watch whatever strikes my fancy. Even watching a third of the dramas this year is more than enough to have a good sense of what the year was like, from the popular to the underrated to the rock bottom messes. Have fun making your opinion heard and pick up to three choices for favorite and least favorite K-dramas of 2014.
The “I Love It So Nya Nya Nya” Poll (Pick up to 3):
The “I Want to Jab It with a Pointy Stick” Poll (Pick up to 3):
I think Kdramastars.com have the most reliable voting system and the results are allready in for 2014 but to my surprise 3 days won the first place and second comes My love from the stars..
btw there have been countless voting systems all around the internet and I think by now people are tired of voting this year.
I also saw in some other websites where It’s ok thats love were ranked number 2 after My love from stars as 1.
But all in all. I would say My love from stars just based on the buzz and hype it created both in Korea and overseas.
A good year for me, with Miss Korea, Yoona’s Street (pity it sagged in the last 10) and now Misaeng. Making up for the horror of utter disasters like Doctor Stranger and Secret Hotel, and tragically waste potential like Prime Minister and I.
Totally unrelated to this post – I read that Yoona’s St. leads are dating which makes me go, gawwwww, despite not having watched a single episode.^^
I would have voted for Pinocchio & Misaeng as best dramas (maybe) but since I refuse to give votes to shows which are still airing, congrats to the others. ^^
I don’t get folks voting for Pinocchio at this point since its aired 6-out-20 so far. Heck the final 14 episodes could have Dal Po turning into a genius reporter engaging in reporter battles while secretly foiling a North Korean attempt to take over the airwaves. I included it but favorite-ing a drama this early in its run is both jumping the gun and daring the drama gods to royally screw up the second half. It’s like the Murphy’s Law transplanted to drama watching – Koala’s Law on Loving a Drama Too Early.
Opps I did that, I voted for Pinocchio. But I based my votes mainly on the chemistry of the leads in the show and the storyline came second. LJS is doing so much better with PSH and the storyline makes better sense than in Dr Stranger. So I guess you know which drama I voted to poke a stick at too lol!
Don’t jiiiinxxx it Koala! 🙁
From … it’s ok that’s love, there has been a drama that makes me want forward to seeing the next chapter … until Pinocchio… the story might become stupid and bad in the future, but the six chapters that have been passed down now they were so good, that earned my vote of confidence
Gods Gift, Liar Game, and It’s Okay It’s Love voted. The latter two I didn’t watch but I did check in and out and what I did see was great. Will also be checking out YFAS when I have time to check out the hype.
I only finished 2 dramas this year. My favorite is Empress Ki (I really miss that drama) and It’s okay, it’s love.
The 2014 drama that has been an absolute joy has been Misaeng. We still have 6 episodes to go and I hope it doesn’t go wayward and disappoint me. I’ll legit be heartbroken, heh.
The other shows that I enjoyed were High School King of Savvy, Witch’s Romance, Let’s Eat, and the first 15-20 episodes of What happened to my family. Pinocchio has been decent thus far as well!
Glad to see my top 3 favorite picks for this year also happen to be on the top 4 of this voting poll.
My fave dramas of the year –
You from The Stars( just cause of Jun Ji Hyun)
Prime Minster and I( completely ignoring that ending ,it didn`t happen)
Witches Romance
Liar Game
Yoonas Street
Miss Korea
My least favorite
Dr Strange (that mess needs to win worst drama of the year award)
Trot Lovers (huge disappointment)
My Lovely Girl
Tomorrow Cantabile
LOL I agree about Prime Minister and I, that was a great drama too bad about the ending, I still believe that last episode should have been about KwonYul and DaJung dating and being adorable together instead of being apart.
Tomorrow Cantabile, maybe because I love the anime and the Japanese version way too much but I feel they didn’t do it justice in representing the main point of the series.
Top 3:
Secret Love Affair (a league of its own!)
Let’s Eat
It’s Okay, It’s Love
(Misaeng would kick IOIL from this list, if it were finished, but KDrama often suffers the curse of the last episode, so no vote for Misaeng before it’s really over)
Worst 3:
God’s Gift
Temptation – Worst show ever. I can’t even.
I Need Romance 3
BTW I made my own choice, as I can’t see your candidates for what reason ever.
For me, Misaeng and It’s Okay It’s Love are the only ones deserving “best” this year.
A handful of others were okay – with some good, some not so good parts. Watchable.
Worst… I could have picked a lot more than 3! Dr. Stranger was certainly very high up on that list…
I put them into five categories: Good/Excellent, OK, Disappointing, Didn’t Watch, and Truly Terrible. The disappointing ones are usually the romcoms and romances that separate the OTP too long (Fated to Love You, you almost got shuffled into this category), give them way too many unrealistic barriers, or bring an ex back from the dead – which is a killer unless the ex that comes back supposedly from the dead is the lead (aka Birth of a Beauty).
Good/Excellent
It’s OK, it’s Love
Bride of the Century
Liar Game
Birth of a Beauty
Let’s Eat
OK
Tomorrow’s Cantabile
Fated to Love You (actually good/excellent; dropped to OK due to number of episodes with OTP separation)
Emergency Couple
Hotel King (would have ranked higher if shorter)
I Need Romance 3
You are All Surrounded
Beyond the Clouds
Sly and Single Again
Marriage Not Dating
Josen Gunman
High School Love On
Golden Rainbow (for what it was)
Wonderful Days (for what it was)
Didn’t Watch
Records of a Night Watchman
Temptation
Inspiring Generation
My Spring Days
You from Another Star (I tried, more than once)
Wang’s Family
Endless Love
Empress Ki
Triangle
God’s Gift: 14 Days
Secret Love Affair
Modern Farmer (ditto what I said about YFAS)
One Warm Word
Secret Door
Glorious Day
Witch’s Romance
What’s with this Family?
Gapdong
High School King of Savy
Misaeng
Yoona Street
Mama
Golden Cross
Three Musketeers
Plus Nine Boys
Records of a Night Watchman
Disappointing
My Lovely Girl
My Secret Hotel
Prime Minister & I(would have been OK to good except for the last bunch of episodes)
Trot Lovers
Blade Man (almost in OK; would have been good if not for the last 6 episodes)
Angel Eyes (too melodramatic)
Discovery of Love
Surplus Princess
Big Man
Come Jang Bori
A New Leaf
Three Days
Truly Terrible
Dr. Stranger
Thrice Married Woman
Oh! And Miss Korea in the Good/Excellent category!
oh, right on that. . . and i though you have forgotten it (while i was reading your comment 😉
I’m so with you on the truly terrible, especially thrice married woman. I’m surprised people don’t remember how gawd-awful it was. For me, it’s surpassed my disgust with Fashion King, and that’s saying something! I don’t think I could ever watch another drama with the 4 leads of Thrice Married Woman ! 🙁
I loved Surplus princess (I so wished it would have had the original ep count)Miss Korea (Lee Yeon Hee was amazing, makes me happy that I didn’t give up on her), Gap dong was intense, Misaeng is really good and Bride of the century was a nice surprise.
Least favorite:
tomorrow’s cantabile, Temptation and Dr Strange among others.
Liar Game all the way.That show was incredible! Can’t wait for the second season.
miss ackoala,you shouldnt have added the ones that are still airing if u didnt want people to vote for them.what’s d’ point of adding the one that are still airing if u didnt want anybody voting for them.
i would have picked STARS but the plot is pretty lame.Do min joo had those powers so that he could use it to save cheong so yi.TTM is more matter than stars to me.if not for JJH, stars would have been total mess
Don’t be silly! What I want people to pick or not is irrelevant. Clearly I want everyone to pick your OWN favorite. Just because I don’t pick Pinocchio because I don’t believe in a drama being my favorite for the entire year just on 6 episodes aired doesn’t mean others can’t think differently. ^^
Hi, what is TTM?
Miss Korea and Cunning Single Lady were probably my favs. Though I didn’t watch 75% of the dramas that aired this year.
PMAI was such a waste since it started good, but I think the good outweighs the bad towards the end so I won’t poke it with anything. YAAS wasted potential will forever annoy the crap out of me even if I ended up enjoying it for the most post.
I completed a few and started a few, but could not finish all the way. Miss Korea is definitely I love. Even in rewatching I found myself loving the darkish, slightly moody vibes of the entire drama.
In retrospect, 2014 was a year of wasted expectations for me. In several accounts have I invested, time and time again, unwarranted inclination to dramas that eventually left me reeling and ducking for cover for its ensuing explosion, or implosion even, that sometimes I wonder why I even tried. Be it the lacking in competence of the said dramas to deliver or perhaps should I blame myself for my billowed expectations, for covering my eyes to the many red flags that I usually gather even before watching a troubled show, and not trusting my instincts, that these dramas is bound to suck many things in so many ways and places, that it left me depressed more than angry. Or perhaps there was something working on the background that is the real culprit?
I would actually venture and say that at least twice has *live shooting* ruined dramas for me within 2014, as it will continue to do so in the future. Both dramas (Inspiring Generation and Dr. Stranger) have had promising starts, and yes, even with the innate absurdity that was Dr. Stranger’s synopsis or how seemingly overambitious Inspiring Generation was, that should have been enough warning already to run the opposite direction, but run I did not, and in both cases these dramas collapsed mid-way through never to recover. Unsurprisingly enough, both were products of live shooting and behind the scene shenanigans. The futile practice of fan pandering always leaves me fascinated and is only matched by the equally unbelievable responses that netizens can dish out.
These were not the last time that I overindulged myself with obvious health hazards as I found myself scratching my head once more with My Lovely Girl. So yes, perhaps I’m just as culpable to my own woeful drama viewing habits, but if there is any silver lining to any of these, it’s that despite my dreadful experiences with k-dramas, my passion for watching them does not waver, and in fact perhaps even grows more in time. Attempting to watch dramas regardless of the perceived quality is in itself an exciting enterprise, just as half of the fun in a trip is going about preparing for it and driving along the road, and not just the destination.
And with that I’m thankful to the various recapping sites and bloggers, such as Koala herself, which grant us these avenues to share all our joys and grievances for our communal appreciation of drama watching. Just as I wouldn’t have lasted enduring watching Dr. Stranger till the end if it were not for someone like Koala being able to echo my thoughts, and even just the sheer joy of making fun of the harried drama(s) that it was and others more like it out there, is in itself an engrossing activity that made me enjoy the company of others of similar interests even more.
In summary: my worst drama of 2014 was Dr. Stranger, and it seems (thankfully) that no drama in the remaining days of 2014 will be usurping that title any time soon. Liar Game is undoubtedly a drama that have surpassed the negative expecations of the much maligned string of J-doramas adaptation in K-drama land, and gave so much more. Pinocchio too, despite on early stages of its run, has been dishing out all the right beats–I expect it to be both a fan and personal favorite in the foreseeable future.
My favorites are Bad Guys, Misaeng, and It’s Okay It’s Love.
The ones I totally regret watching are Trot Lovers and My Lovely Girl, both has a potential to be a drama that I loved but both failed and disappointed me. And then Dr. Stranger–this one is just a mess.
Bad Guys is awesome
I like the category titles!
It was a pretty bad year. I usually keep dramas in my external HDs.This year several dramas were so had that I erased them after downloading the whole series. Plus I know I won’t re watch them. I know they are bad when I can’t even be bothered to get the subs.
I am down to about only 10 dramas in my collection for 2014. And I would say I would have a pretty good idea of what’s good or not good Kdrama-wise. As I get comments and reviews about specific bad scenes or episodes of all the dramas on viki. When you volunteer for a drama you suffer to the end. And there were some that I literally dragged myself to every week.
When they are good though some of them were really well written, acted or directed. Spring days of my life was a surprise to me. So was Misaeng. My favourites this year were all dramas which I started based on feedback.
My disappointment were the dramas which I really anticipated.
Normally I don’t watch a drama up to the moment when I want to jab it with a pointy stick. I just drop it right away. But then I can’t really do that ‘nay’ vote.
So I just voted ‘yay’ for Pinocchio, trusting my intuition.
As for me, I loved (and here I’m counting quality, but also the fact that I couldn’t stop watching) High School King and Marriage Not Dating and I hope Pinocchio won’t disappoint me (I love this dearly, but I keep comparing it to IHYV and that’s not good). The worst were Doctor Stranger (just by reading the recaps) and the one that disappointed me the most, Secret Hotel (thank you anyway for your gorgeous OST).
Misaeng, it’s okay it’s love and miss korea for me! 😀
MISS KOREAAAAAA
I just hope pinocchio keeps strong and in tracks… Its still a long way to go and the plot could turn crazzy…. Im hoping and praying its gets better and stronger!!!!! Pinocchio fighting!!!!!
Pretty much a bad year for me… So many drama I have downloaded due to many reccomendation from dramabeans or koala… But very little that I am attach to just from the first episode… Oh why oh why I downloaded the entire drama even before I give the first episode a chance it’s still beyond me lol. It’s about personal taste and your mood after all….
I just realized by looking at the list, that I haven’t finished watching any drama I started this year. I loose interest before the end. WTH happened?? Is it just me?
Dramas I started to watch but didn’t finish:
– Prime Minister & I
– Trot Lovers
– Tomorrow’s Cantabile
– Sly & Single Again
– Joseon Gunman (I want to pick this up again)
– Pride & Prejudice (just watched ep1 last night, I’m going to give it a try)
– You from another star
– Miss Korea
– Angel Eyes
– It’s Okay it’s Love
– Fated to Love you (watched everything but the last episode O_O)
– Pinnochio (still watching)
So… anything from this list that you think I should give another chance? Anything NOT on this list that I should definitely give it a try?
Looking forward to reading everyone’s favorites. Thanks Ms.Koala!
Same here for me. The drama I watched half way was :
-prime minister & I (Yoona still can’t cry. Its basic criteria as leading lady)
-trot lovers (
-modern farmer (why hongki choosed this drama when he already had good drama to begin with i.e Bride of Century)
-tomorrow’cantabile (hope Joo won will pick up great project nect year)
-my spring days (too predictable)
-joseon gunman (not captivating as Chuno)
Thank the drama god, for cable network for pushing the limits with Misaeng & Bride of Century. Yay for cable!
Yes to Pride and Prejudice. It could go horribly wrong in the second half–LOTS of confusing plot–but it’s delivering a good blend of suspense, surprise, low-key humor and slow, psychological relationship stuff.
I’m another vote for IOIL. First few episodes are the most uneven. I think the “gotcha” at the end of episode 4 (I think it’s 4) is the point where you realize what you’re getting into–and that it isn’t typical K-drama territory. It’s my fave of the year, despite some flaws, because it does stuff no one else even tries.
Lol I have a problem finishing dramas as well. You should definitely finish Miss Korea and It’s Okay, It’s Love. :’). And try Misaeng, Secret Love Affair, and Yoona’s Street.
Don’t bother with Angel Eyes or Trot Lovers. I thought they were pretty crap/not worthwhile.
Try continue watching IOIL! I wasn’t too into it in the first half either but the latter half helped to wash away my disappointments.
Yes to trying Secret Love Affair, if you can handle slow shows. A masterpiece of a kdrama imo.
I dropped “Angel Eyes” around ep12 when Park Dong Joo was about to find out about the “cause” of his mother’s death. I thought it would spiral down to some revenge/hate driven plot. However, it was a pleasant surprise when I decided to finish it yesterday, and Lee Sang Yoon remained the most swoon-worthy man of the year!! Now I need some distraction while I wait for his next drama, as I just finished marathoning through Lee Sang Yoon’s “My Daughter, Lee Seo Young” and “Jung Yi, Goddess of Fire”.
I also dropped “It’s OK It’s Love” after 2 eps due to all the crazy shoutings. However, after the leads calmed down a little after the first few episodes, it became one of the most heartwarming dramas of the year. The amazing OST also became a soft spot in my heart, as I play it everyday.
It’s a less productive year (as in quality) for k-dramas, at least for me. These 3 shows stand out amongst the others:
1. Secret Love Affair – sophisticated, intelligent, tasteful and no age-difference hi-jinks. Easily the best for a bad year of dramas but could well be a best in any drama year
2. Yoona’s Street – still watching but boy, is it GOOD!! Never have I seen a K-drama portraying average people so well, no chaebols (not yet at least at episode 20), thank goodness. The folks and the stories seem so genuine and heartfelt despite the somewhat outrageous setups and scenarios. It has heart and the maturity of a great production
3. Fated to Love You – OK, it has flaws and quite a bit of flaws especially towards the teen episodes. But it touches your heart and gives that warm-fuzzy feelings K-dramas are so good at. Sometimes it makes you wonder why the productions deviate from what they know and do the best. I cried many sad and happy tears for this show.
2014 was a failed year for kdramas imo. So many hyped dramas with promise that fell flat. I barely finished some dramas and didn’t even bother with others. As a long term watcher of Korean dramas, I found myself watching more Chinese dramas (which btw have improved by leaps and bounds, especially the modern dramas) and aarrk, more Western dramas.
Kdramas were such a let down – boring, cliched, draggy, bad acting, bad casting, bad directly, mindless stories etc. Never imagined the day would come, but seeing the list above and struggling to find one drama that I felt hit it across the park all through, was very eye opening.
AGREED. I don’t know what happened to make Chinese dramas improve almost overnight– I used to suffer so much second-hand embarrassment while watching– but it’s definitely a welcome change.
Anyone watching Shan Shan Comes to Eat?
I Watched Shan Shan Comes to Eat! A delightful light-hearted show!. You should watch Sound of the Desert. the best C-Drama in 2014.
For my favourite Kdrama!
I voted, YFAS, Pinocchio and Liar Game as the best! I have to admit, partly the hype about YFAS affected my decision because this show aired early this year I believe and I found myself rewatching again recently! Liar Game – Seldom do I like a show without romance but this was soooo gooood!
For the disappointing ones, I felt that YAAS was a total waste of talent since I really like CSW, and no, I wont be giving my vote to Doctor Stranger, despite all those flaws that everyone pointed out because its still a joy to see LJS in those 3 months!
I have always enjoyed the historical/palace dramas, and noticed the rapid improvement as well. If Kdramas continue to stagnate, the Cdramas are lurking and ready to steal their crown.
Anyone remember when T-dramas used to compete with Kdramas for popularity. And now barely any T-dramas makes waves. I attribute this to the poor casting, boring stories and the ridiculous stretching of simple dramas to 50+ episodes (but why???).
Guys, any modern Cdrama recs other than Shan Shan Comes to Eat (love love love it)?
Loving, Never Forgetting is also good. I am struggling to remember the names of other dramas, cause they tend to be so literal, lol.
I really liked The Good Wife. It had an unexpected and touching ending.
I’m in the same boat. I found myself switching to Taiwanese, Japanese, and Chinese dramas this year because all the hyped Korean dramas just didn’t seem to deliver. There were a few ones I liked, but didn’t “love”. Also, I think the sageuk dramas lately aren’t as good as they used to be. Even Empress Ki kind of fizzled out at the end for me. I’m hoping 2015 brings a better year for Korean dramas.
ah, if only monstar was around :p it’s my long time favorite, the term “it’s so last year” didn’t apply for monstar, when ever i miss my baby sechan, i just pop them in my phone, lol..
The two that I finished and loved is Marriage Not Dating and Let’s Eat. Some of the kdramas is that I did not finished watching due to personal life and not interested as I am into american dramas during fall/winter/spring time. It is only during summer I usually watch more kdramas than american dramas.
Also, I read more recaps than watching it. =) Have a great monday night. =)
What a treat to have the great Kam Woo-Sung for 16 glorious episodes of “My Spring Day! ” It made my year, and man, if his acting just doesn’t keep getting better, all the time. He makes it seem so effortless.
Agree Jamaica 😀
For me, the two standouts are Bride of the Century and Blade Man. Went into both not knowing what to expect and came out loving pretty much everything about the drama.
Also, shout out to Miss Korea, that was a lovely drama!
This is too hard…I’ll have to think on it
Korean dramas this year wasn’t good as expected. I dropped so many dramas halfway.
3 dramas that I enjoyed this year was Misaeng, Discovery of Love, and Marriage Not Dating.
The 3 dramas I least liked was Trot Lovers, My Lovely Girl, and Records of Night watchmen.
I usually have a harder time selecting my top 3 favorites of the year, but this year was surprisingly easy… granted that I did have 2 more favorites aside from the ones I did select but I totally didn’t have to waver like I usually do. On the other hand, it was entirely too easy to select the bad dramas… picked the top 3 in no time and had a whole bunch more to add to the list. Also there were a lot of dramas that were merely OK in my opinion. All in all it’s been a rather disappointing year.
LIAR GAME LIAR GAME LIAR GAME!!
It had its flaws, but dayum I was blown away by the slick storytelling, direction, soundtrack, and overall ambience. Plus Shin Sung Rok’s performance in that show is just fantastic.
So hard to pick 3 favs! This list reminded me that i saw significant portions 20 new dramas (not counting old stuff, movies, etc). Couldnt force myself to watch the finale of a few but i saw every ep of most on here. My top picks were the ones i truly loved and will re-watch eventually:
Marriage Not Dating
You From Another Star
Misaeng
A bunch of others couldve fought their way onto that podium and deserve honourable mentions for being better than i expected and making me stick around for the ride: Miss Korea, Bride of the Century, Three Musketeers, High School King, and Discovery of Love.
Others were shaky in certain areas but decent enough to feed my addiction, like: Let’s Eat, Tomorrow’s Cantabile, Liar Game, You’re All Surrounded, Plus Nine Boys.
The last category is strange because i loved the early episodes more than any other dramas i’ve ever seen and was so deeply disappointed by the second half that i abandoned both of them: Prime Minister and I, and Fated to Love You
It was a weird year. Thanks for the recaps & news koala!
Surprised that so few people have watched Three Musketeers.Anyway it’s my second most favorite drama of the year.Misaeng would be first but it’s still airing so couldn’t vote for it.Loved You from Another Star, yes it’s overrated but Choi Song Yi alone is enough for me to forgive a lot of things in this drama.Loving Pinocchio so far too and hope it continues like this till the end.
I did! And I cannot wait for Season 2. The boys’ (mis)adventures are good and the politics at least remain somehow cohesive til the end, but what I’m really going back for is the side romance. Augh, if there is a best OTP of the year, Crown Prince and Crown Princess will win hands down!
I know right?! They are in my top 3 K-drama OTP of all time now.It was amazing the way their relationship developed so naturally and wonderfully with so little screen time!
My top picks from the ones I watched so far are…
– It’s Okay, It’s Love (I really have a thing with mentally unsound characters)
– Secret Love Affair (I usually veer away from adultery themes though this was just a well-constructed corrupted world and the storytelling was so tasteful!)
– I Need Romance 3 (oh, the chemistry! they made the characters so relatable!)
– Liar Game (it’s fresh given the crop of dramas that aired this year. I love that they were able to fluidly deliver a thoroughly complex story.)
I love Miss Korea as well but haven’t found time to finish all episodes. I’m also having a blast with Bad Guys despite the slow turnaround of eng subs (though I’m just grateful they still manage!). Fated to Love You, Sly and Single Again, and Marriage Not Dating (if we take out 2 of the 6 couples) were fun! And I’m yet to find a way to bend time to start with Misaeng, Pride and Prejudice, and Pinocchio.
A few dramas got me really hooked in their earlier episodes but lost me at some plot direction like Secret Hotel (such a waste of chemistry! can they cast them in another drama? like now?) and High School King of Savvy (wasn’t a fan of how they brushed off certain realities).
‘Twas nice to read through the comments! It’s always interesting to find out other viewing preferences. 🙂
The best of the year for me has two groups:
What I voted for
Liar Game (LOVE IT! I hope there’s a season 2)
Plus Nine Boys
High School King of Savvy
What else I liked
You From Another Star
Miss Korea
Marriage Not Dating
Bride of the Century
Yoo Na’s Street
High School: Love On
OK
Sly and Single Again
Witch’s Romance
It’s Okay It’s Love
Surplus Princess
I Need Romance 3
Cantabile Tomorrow
Not My Cup of Tea
Discovery of Romance (Don’t like this writer’s style, not into indecisive heroines and love triangles)
Wasted Potential (didn’t impress or actively annoyed)
Fated to Love You (hated the second half, if I want melo I watch melo, don’t like the ones which disguise themselves as romcoms)
Emergency Couple (Bleh, glad Choi Jin Hyuk’s second pick of leading man is great improvement)
Prime Minister and I
Big Mess (AKA what I voted for – But I’m sure these weren’t the worst of the year since I have a tendency and the luck to stay clear of those)
My Secret Hotel (The second half really didn’t deliver what the first promised, the replacement writer either didn’t understand where the story was supposed to go or wasn’t as talented a writer)
Blade Man (Love the quirky beginning but a resurrected ex? Really? And don’t get me started on the misuse of the whole blade thing and that awful unsatisfactory ending at all levels)
My Lovely Girl (Either don’t cast actors whose ages are too far apart or be courageous with who you pick! Prime Minister and I failed with this as well – and the resurrected ex – but at least overall it was more fun. Both have to take a page out of High School: Love On’s book.)
So far so good
Pride and Prejudice, Pinocchio (if they continue like they started they will be in top category next year)
Birth of a Beauty (if it goes likes this will be among the OK if for nothing else the chemistry and fun of the leads)
I dropped so many dramas and put so many dramas on-hold I wasn’t sure if I should be allowed to vote but I ended up choosing three that I truly enjoyed and finished!! Somehow all of them turned out to be tvN dramas: Marriage Not Dating, Let’s Eat and Misaeng (I know it’s not over yet but I love it so much it hurts – the last 6 episodes could turn to shit but I’ll still love it).
You From Another Star was a fun drama (Cheon Song-yi – probably the best character of the year) but I never got around to finishing it, same with It’s Okay, That’s Love and Fated To Love You, unfortunately.
Based on everyone’s good reviews I’ll definitely have to get around to watching Plus Nine Boys, Miss Korea and Liar Game once my winter break starts (thankfully I still have all of Miss Korea on my old hard-drive). Can’t wait to binge watch :3
Bride of the Century was also one of my favorites of the year. And I really enjoyed the directing and the OST of One Warm Word, it wasn’t the best drama but I really enjoyed it
I vote the best drama for Misaeng, It’s Ok It’s Love and My Spring Days. It just realized these three dramas are closer to slice of life genre.. I guess it’s my cup of tea..
The worst for me is Blade Man, My Lovely Girl and The Records of Night Watchman. Bad acting is a huge t
*huge turn off for me. Sigh.
i choose Empress Ki, Misaeng and My Secret Hotel,, my bad.. i didnt see you who came from the star..
but for me personally, Empress Ki and Misaeng, both deserve to win! Pinnochio is a good drama, next to Plus Nine Boys, but Misaeng and Empress Ki, both have the solid concept, storyline, acting and actors!
the one that has stuck to me that has a good solid concept of a drama was Miss Korea … although i have enjoyed watching several dramas listed above . . . but with Miss Korea, i have no comment nor want to jab it a pointy stick
Based on the fact that this poll is supposed to be favorite vs least favorite Kdrama – I’m going with that. My favorites are NOT what I think is the “best” dramas made in 2014.
My Favorites –
1) Sly & Single Again – It hit some personal points and I love JSW.
2) Fated to Love You – Despite many flaws, I still loved it very much and of course JH haha had something to do with it.
Ok –
1) You from another star. I did like this one but it lost its appeal soon after.
My Least Favorites –
1) Empress Ki – it just wasn’t the right time for me to watch it. I may give it a shot again in the future and rewatch it.
2) Greatest Marriage – though not done, it is in the “I want to jab it with a pointy stick” category. Big time.
3) My Secret Hotel – need I say more, aside from the original writer, the rest of it was crap.
I think the general consensus is that kdramas pretty much stunk this year. I think it is a ripe time that Chinese dramas to start getting a lot more popular. Modern ones were so terrible before, they had nowhere to go but up and better. And that they did. Kdramas will either have to re-invent themselves or something. Trends are trends and they shift. Where there is up, there is down. Hopefully, kdramas will improve next year. I am always rooting for “improvement” and better quality across all dramas, across all countries. So kdramas fighting!
The ones I listed were among the very few kdramas that I even finished watching this year. I must say I rewatched some oldies and while “outdated”, I still loved those very much. I just want to see dramas that touch me in some way. 🙂 Doesn’t need to be an award winner.
Happy to see my 3 picks as top 3 (at least for now). Chose You From Another Star because of quality and storytelling, but I didn’t fall in love with the leads as much as I thought I would.
Marriage Not Dating and It’s Okay It’s Love both captured my heart in ways unimaginable. I still think 2012 was the strongest Kdrama year in recent years, but this year’s offerings weren’t so bad, not so bad at all.
Miss Korea was really good too!!! In general, I like Discovery of Love, but by the last episode I realized I gave it too much credit. And I agree it’s too early to vote for Misaeng and Pinnochio
misaeng is awesome
voted for its ok, thats love, bride of the century and emergency couple. i would’ve included let’s eat as well coz i really enjoyed it too! i dont have a choice for the worst tho coz i didnt get to watch all kdramas. if i feel that its story is not something i like, i dont watch it anymore.
looking forward to your 2014 list of favorites ms.koala!
the best : (i actually want to vote more than 3, but yeah..) MARRIAGE NOT DATING, LET’S EAT, AND YOU WHO CAME FROM STARS <3 all made me laugh a lot.
the worst : absolutely Dr. Stranger, The Night Watchman Journal, My lovely girl 🙁
Glad that my top 3 dramas are ont the top 3 list too haha Angel Eyes and Joseon Gunman were actually promising at the beginning and I even watched it till the middle but then the story fell apart. There are lot of kdramas which are attractive at first but dont manage to get the hype. I dont really agree if people say You From Another Star is first because it’s the hot item. They did a really good job in casting and storyline since it’s not easy to have the whole alien things make sense. Two thumbs up!
My personal preference of the year 2014: 1. My love from the stars, 2. My spring days and 3.King Hotel! I loved all the 3!
Also I liked Hi school love on and the 3 Musketeers 🙂
I actually want to jab those who’ve voted for Pinocchio as the least favourtie drama of 2014 with a pointy stick:-P
We can use the tip of Pinocchio nose as the attacking weapon as well. 😉
I vote for Misaeng. I know it hasn’t finished yet. But I usually drop TvN dramas after their 10th episode, I don’t know why but for me TvN dramas tend to lose their magic on the half of journey. And here I’m still in love with Misaeng. It’s too slow for some people but I love how subtle it is. Sometimes I don’t need dialogue to understand what the characters are thinking because their expression tell me more than anything. And my main reason for loving it is how wonderful Lee Sung Min as Chief Oh. Even if the last episodes go awry, I’ll stay in Chief Oh’s ship unless he jumps from the ship. Chief Oh, if you jump I jump.
Jabby:
My Secret Hotel: This show started off fun and lovely… and then I couldn’t stand the plot and characters.
Trot Lovers: Loved the cast, didn’t care for the story at all.
I had the fortune to quit a lot of other trainwrecks this year after the 2nd episode.
Favorites:
Misaeng: Lovely underdog story that is relatable to my life now. Love the directing and writing.
Miss Korea: A comfortable understated show that tugs at my heart.
Marriage Not Dating
Love-Hate: God’s Gift
Enjoyable but Something Missing: It’s Okay It’s Love, Plus Nine Boys, A New Leaf
Would Want to Watch:
Gapdong, You From Another Star
My Favorite three would be…
1.It’s okay, it’s love
2.Empress Ki
3.You from another star… (granted i love Ha Ji Won, Jo In Sung, Kim Soo hyun) . But they are really good dramas.
4. Miss Korea
5. Bride of the century.
Though i wont list bad dramas, most of them i read they are not good and didn’t watch.
what’s ‘nya nya nya’? LOL
My #1 favorite drama of 2014 was “Marriage not Dating”. So good!
This year most dramas were simply average. There were only a couple of outstanding ones and a couple of really bad ones.
I had big expectations for most dramas on that list, but most of them disappointed me.
It’s funny that “Marriage not Dating” flew under my radar and I had zero expectations for it. But when I watched it, it kept getting better and better with each episode.
My top 3 are:
Secret Love Affair – one of the best kdramas in recent memory.
It’s Ok It’s Love – didn’t enjoy the beginning that much. Final episodes were AMAZING. Made me a fan of Gong Hyo Jin forever
Empress Ki – was just obsessed with it. Finished all 51 eps in a week. Started out great and got better and better but last 10 episodes were such a mess. Lovedddd Ha Ji Won in this. I can rewatch the scene of her meeting Yeom Byung Soo again after she becomes a concubine again and again and never get bored.
Also watched and liked: Let’s Eat, Marriage Not Dating, YFAS
Halfway through The Greatest Marriage and planning to watch Liar Game and Misaeng.
I tend to stay clear of badly reviewed dramas, but of the dramas I did watch, did not really like:
God’s Gift – story was too repetitive and crappy ending
High School King of Savvy – never got used to the overly greyish visual palette and just never really bought the story but still love SIG
Bride of the Century – the whole show felt amateurish
Misaeng is possibly the best Korean drama i’ve ever watched. But I guess since there is no romance it will never win in popularity polls.
Plus Nine Boys is such a lovely drama. I have watched it twice so far, and can foresee watching it a few times more. I would have wanted to, but didn’t end up voting for Glorious Day. Hands down the best family long drama of the year for me! (Minus the screeching mother’s character). Other awesome dramas – What Happens to My Family?, But it’s hard to compare such long dramas vs the regular 16/20 episode ones because the longer dramas will inevitably have more flaws!
I agree with koala (although I made the mistake myself) about voting for unfinished dramas! A good example would be My Secret Hotel, which started off so promising and then was a soggy mess ! 🙁 I hope Pinocchio and Pride & Prejudice remain solid because I’m loving both dramas now, and would hate to see them go down the path of MSH, DrStranger and a million other dramas that have great beginnings but lose the way by mid-point!
Hahah having said that, wish the voting was a ranking system where we could rank all the dramas 🙂
2014 wasn’t a bad year for kdramas. There were some welcome surprises, awesome stand outs, dramas we hoped could have been better but flopped halfway through and some we had little or no expectations for but completely floored us. Here’s my take on 2014 Kdramas. Thank goodness for tVN and OCN, I find that most of my favorite dramas are from cable as they are not afraid to take risks.
ABSOLUTE FAVORITES (Awesome Standouts which impressed me)
Miseang
Liar Game
The Three Musketeers
Marriage Not Dating
Fated to Love You
Bad Guys
REALLY LIKED
It’s Okay it’s love
Three Days
Tomorrow’s Canterbille
Angel Eyes
Bride of the Century
Big Man
Triangle
You From A Star
Let’s Eat
New Leaf
OK (Not Great)
Records of a Night Watchman
Plus Nine Boys
Hi School: Love On
Beyond the Clouds
Golden Rainbow
Inspiring Generation
Ugh – WTF (Started Good but Tanked Halfway Through)
Dr Stranger
You are all surrounded
My Secret Hotel
Prime Minister and I
Really Liking So far (Knock on Wood)
Pinocchio
Pride and Prejudice
Really disliked (Boring)
Joseon Gunman
I Need Romance 3
Why only three …..I’ve watched 80% of drama listed above. And I love it. Only few drama under the par…..
—-> THE BEST KDRAMAS 2013 – 2014:
► MASTER SUN.
► SECRETS.
► PRIME MINISTER & I.
► EMPRESS KI.
► ONE WARM WORD.
► YOU FROM ANOTHER STAR.
► PRIDE & PREJUDICE.
..and obviously are my favorites Top ONE kdramas 2014.
I voted early, but weighing in late.
If I had to pick favs, it would be Secret Love Affair, Misaeng, Bad Guys and just for the ensemble cast being so easy to watch do really awful things – Gapdong -really. My Spring Days was far and away one of my favs until, you know, that happened. Now I can’t even bear to think about it anymore.
I couldn’t finish Inspiring Generation and I had to stop Tomorrow’s Cantabile after 5. I really tried to like it. Angel Eyes was also unfinishable. There were a lot of mediums in the rest, though I enjoyed them at the time, they don’t stick with me.
I wonder when I will find another Kim Sam Soon type of show that I could pick any episode and watch all the way through because it feels so good. You know?
why isn’t MR Back in the list?
My favorites: Empress Ki, Prime Minister and I, You from another star, Pride and Prejudice and Mr Back.
por que no puedo votar ahora???