K-netizens Recommend Six Low Rated When it Aired But Quality K-dramas Including Be Melodramatic and Bubblegum
If there is a lull in your drama watching right now with currently airing K-dramas, this is a great list to go look for some oldies but goodies. Even I skipped a few of these listed when it first aired and always meant to go back and watch after hearing good reviews. K-netizens have assembled six K-dramas that were all very low rated or flew under the radar when it first aired but are now regarded as quality works with high watch value. It includes: Be Melodramatic, Bubblegum, Just Between Lovers for the romance fare, Yoona’s Street for the human quirky story, and Kairos and 365: Repeat the Year if you’re in the mood for twisty supernatural stories. Anything else folks want to recommend in the low rated but awesome catgory?
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I tried Kairos, Be Melodramatic and 365 after constant recommends. But I wound up dropping all three. I’ll try the other ones on the list and see how it goes.
18 Again! Such a sleeper hit for 2020
I really liked Be Melodramatic (the first episodes are not the best but after it’s really good). Kairos is really good too but at the end it’s a little bit repetitive. Just Between Lovers was good but I remember that I was tired by the excess of melo at the end. 365:Repeat the Year was interesting and it was short drama.
me too. I also like 365 Repeat the Year. One of the best in 2020.
Happy to see Just Between Lovers on this list bc its often overlooked. Junho was good in Chief Kim and it was JBL that came after that certified he has range and is a good actor.
I tried Bubbblegum for Jung Ryeowon but I couldn’t feel the chemistry between her and Lee Dong Wook, who I like as person but not his acting, and dropped it. Maybe I’ll try again.
Miss Korea has always been the underrated gem that deserved better but was majorly overshadowed by the mega hit that MLFAS. I dare say it was the better drama but possibly both appealed to different audiences. Radio Romance was another pleasant and stress free watch but could have been 2-3 episodes shorter because there wasn’t much dramatic conflict. Lastly Circle was a great sci-fi drama with more cohesive writing than other more popular big budget dramas of the same category. It had some confusing moments with the time line but overall a good watch.
I agree!
Great comment, @kelei.
PS Yoona’s Street was really amazing, acting and writing-wise!
I second @kalel great comment and yes it was the better drama in my humble opinion too. Radio Romance and Circle are also good underrated dramas that deserved more popularity. Yoona’s Street was excellent and Kim Ok Bin as always was great.
Still listen to the Miss Korea OST to this day
@Deb The OST is iconic and Miss Korea deserves a re debut or something like Kpop has done for some groups whose songs have suddenly become popular. Wish they could do that for TV.
Loved Radio Romance it was very analogue and warm like a muffler you want to snuggle with. Perfect winter watch and the dialogues were meaningful.
Miss Korea was so good, I remember being really sceptical about Lee Yeon Hee’s casting but she nailed that role (and even held her own opposite Lee Sun Kyun, which is amazing), it’s just a shame it aired opposite the biggest drama that year and got buried.
Her performance as Ji Young in that drama is still the gold standard in my mind for an actress going from bad to good.
High School King of Savvy was so good surprised more people didn’t watch it!
This drama is literally my comfort watch
LOOOOOOOVE High School King.
Want to also add I’m Not A Robot although many might not agree. Even my mom who got bored with kdramas years ago got into this drama with me. It’s my ultimate kdrama comfort watch as it’s basically a fairy tale in kdrama form and there’s so much heart in the drama, absolutely love it. I was happy to see the korean audience that stuck with it till the end also praise it for how warm and healing it was.
Marriage not dating, plus nine boys, flower boys next door.
Enrique Geum still be one of my fav character beside Jang Geurae, and actually imo the best drama from PSH
Marriage Not Dating actually got some buzz at the time/didn’t have bad ratings for a kdrama, but FBND is totally underrated. Park Shin Hye’s best role ever imo.
Tomorrow With You ratings were disappointing but the drama was excellent. LJH and SMA chemistry was off the charts you can watch it again and again.
Yesss, another TMY fan! That drama doesn’t get enough love, unfortunately.
Oops, it should be TWY! *damn you, typos*
Agree! I rewatch TMY over & over again. Just ignore the time travel aspect and you find a beautiful yet ordinary love story
Such an underrated gem.
Chicago Typewriter!
Yes!!! I was scrolling down to see if someone else would mention Chicago Typewriter.
Great OST, excellent acting all around, and the sets and general aesthetics in the older timeline was amazing.
Didn’t Yoona’s Street have a lot popularity when it aired? I remember most drama blogs praising it but didn’t know the ratings weren’t high. That’s quite surprising because remember everyone saying it was a very good drama.
Yeah, and I wouldn’t even describe it as low-rated because 2% ratings for cable were still above expectations back in 2014.
Be Melodramatic is one of the most tightly written and acted kdramas I’ve seen. It’s an exquisite slice-of-life drama.
The format was not very popular.
The series were suberb though…
Miss Korea, Cruel City (aka Heartless City – was that underrated? It’s been a while so I cannot remember) and Hello Monster (aka I Remember You – which is insanely good). And I definitely second Kairos!!!! And 365 was good, but not as good as Kairos.
Cruel City basically aired during a time JTBC was still new, especially to the crime noir genre. But yeah the ratings were not high compared to what JTBC or other cable dramas can achieve today. It’s definitely underrated but those who watched it, love it.
Glad to see people still remember Miss Korea it was the best performance from Lee Yeon Hee and she didn’t deserve to be judged based on her past work. It’s a drama that is still relevant today.
Were Prime Minister and I and Suspicious Housekeeper low rated? Never heard people talking about them but both were good dramas.
Literally 80% of the dramas mentioned in the post and comments are my favorites on the other hand, I end up dropping most dramas with high ratings in Korea or that are popular with audiences. It’s why I personally gave up on caring on ratings for dramas, only care if it’s really low because it’s not good news for the cast, cre, etc..
Does anyone remember Hogu’s Love? Small drama with a big message.
Yes, I love Hogu’s love!
Just between lovers was an accidental watch but stayed in my memory more than loads of other dramas.
Junho stood out a lot with his acting. But most of all the writing and dorecting for this drama – makes this drama a recommemded drama.
That drama is the reason I think Won Jin Ah might be worth watching in the future even though she followed it up with dramas that were godawful/boring.
JTBC had the most underrated gems.
Absolutely agree.
Miss Korea was my favourite and in my view best drama of the year that it aired.
Yoona’s Street was heading for a 10/10 for me until it got a bit soggy in the final few episodes. Still an awesome Drama though, my intro to so many good actors including KOB. I still love listening to “Trap” and have fond memories of helping QC the fansubs at DSS. Of the others listed, Be Melodramatic . Like aonther commenter, I tried Bubblegum for JRW, but couldn’t finish, had to drop. Strongly endorse the recs for the OUTSTANDING Circle, too. Pure Sf without any fantasy/supernatural elements very rare in K Dramas, Circle was great.
Hello Monster & Squad 38. Ratings wise can it qualify as low? I adore MBC’s Shopping King Louie to the moon. So much cute, adorableness, heart & warmth. The whole cast was superb, chemistry was insane. Those who owns the DVD Blu Ray with hours worth of BTS would know why. Writing which never takes itself seriously, the spoofs on SJK, Old Boy, Memories of Bali were gold. Lastly, the astounding OST (Monsta X, Umji, Juniel) & amazing classic English songs. The only K-drama where you can listen to HK Cantopop Queen Faye Wong’s Dreams, Taiwanese Vocal Queen Teresa Teng’s Moon Represents My Heart, Abba’s Winner Takes It All, Queen’s Born To Love You, Ronette’s Be My Baby, Memory from Cats musical, etc. Just the songs alone makes it my day. So DAMN nostalgic.
Am i the only one who thinks that Lee Yo Won has excellent taste in selecting dramas? She always picks such interesting characters to play.
Bubblegum is a snoozefest and I don’t know why it’s up there. I’ve heard good reviews for the other shows, but not Bubblegum. I’m also not a fan of just between lovers.
I agree with most of these picks, particularly Be Melodramatic and Yoona’s Street! Cruel City (mentioned in the comments) is also really good.
A personal underrated favourite of mine in the high school genre is Sassy, Go Go (2015), it’s a really charming little drama with a great young cast.
I also really liked Age of Youth, its top ratings were 2-ish percent but it was so buzzed about online that it got a season 2. It had a great cast, especially Han Yeri and Park Eunbin, but all 5 girls of the Belle Epoque house did really well in their roles and had great chemistry.
I really love how JTBC gives a chance to theses discreet dramas. Beautiful stories with less famous actors but gret dramas!
I’ll say 365 repeat the year, Lawgher in Waikiki season 1, CIRCLE , Legal High, Bad detective ( LUTHER), Dance sports girls very good short drama, Girl’s generation 79 ( a must watch), Beautiful mind, Plus nine boys, Kairos, Age of youth, Avengers social club…
Navillera! Such a warm-hearted drama about a grandfather pursuing his dream of becoming a ballet dancer. I wish we could have more dramas featuring older protagonists and wholesome family narratives.
Cinderella & the 4 Knights. Purely for pretty boy Jung Il Woo & the OST. I like OST that make me happy.
Let’s Eat 1 & 2. Food porn paradise. Enough said.
12 Years Promise & My Love Eun Dong. Then that phone hacking scandal ruined it for me.
The Smile Has Left Your Eyes. Heart wrenching but still so worth it. Very well adapted. Hello Monster coz the BGM & soundtrack are so haunting. Brings me straight back to PBG-SIG love hate bromance. Sorry JNR, this one is all about the boys.
The Sound of Your Heart 1. My partner loves Kungfu Hustle so the fart & poo jokes made him cackle like a hen. I love the part where the whole family have to speak only English. Slapstick comedy at its best.
The information shared is of top quality which has to get appreciated at all levels. Well done…