K-netizens Recommend Six Low Rated When it Aired But Quality K-dramas Including Be Melodramatic and Bubblegum

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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.