K-dramas Ratings/Top Ten

49 Days – 8/8

9 End, 2 Outs – 6/6

90 Days, Falling in Love Days – 3/5

A Man Called God – 6/5

A Star’s Lover – 7/6

Age of Feeling (Inspiring Generation) – 7/6

Air City – 6/5

All In – 6/7

Answer Me 1997 – 9/9

Answer Me 1994 – 6/7

Answer Me 1988 – 8/8

Arang and the Magistrate – 6/8

Autumn in My Heart – 8/6

Bad Family – 9.5/8

Bad Guy – 5/5

Bad Love – 4/5

Beautiful Days – 9/8

Be Strong Geum Soon! – 7.5/8

Best Love (The Greatest Love) – 7.5/8

Big – 9/5

Boys Before Flowers – 7/6

Bride of the Century – 9/8

Capital Scandal – 6/7

Cheongdamdong Alice – 6/6

Chuno – 7.5/9

Cinderella Unni – 7/7

City Hall – 10/9

Coffee Prince – 7.5/9

Conspiracy in the Court – 9/10

Cruel City (Heartless City) – 10/9

Damo – 10/10

Delightful Girl Choon Hyang – 5/6.5

Dream High – 8/7.5

Dr. Jin – 5/4

Dr. Stranger – 8/6

East of Eden – 4/5

Empress Ki – 7/7

Fantasy Couple – 6/7

Fashion 70’s – 7/8

Fashion King – 3/3

Flower Boy Next Door – 8/8

Flowers for My Life – 8/9.5

Friend, Our Legend – 9/9.5

Giant – 9/9

Gloria – 7/7

God’s Gift: 14 Days – 8/7.5

Goddess of Fire Jeongi – 4/4

Goddess of Marriage – 5/6

Goodbye Solo – 9/9

Goong – 9/7.5

Gourmet – 6/8

Green Rose – 8/8

Gu Family Book – 6/6

Healer – 7/8

Heard it Through the Grapevine – 8/9

Heirs – 7/7

Hero – 7/7.5

Hong Gil Dong – 8/8

Hyde, Jekyll, Me – 5/4

I Am Legend – 5/6

I Do I Do – 6/6

I Live in Cheongdamdong – 10/10

I Need Romance – 7/7

I Summon You, Gold – 4/3

Iljimae – 6/7.5

Invincible Lee Pyung Gyeon – 7/7

Ireland – 6/7

It’s Okay, It’s Love – 9/9

Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love – 7/6

Joseon Gunman – 9/8

Joseon X-Files – 10/10

Jumong – 7/9

Kill Me Heal Me – 9/9

Kim Soo Ro – 6/7

Lie to Me – 9.5/5

Love Marriage – 8/7

Lovers – 5/6

Lovers in Paris – 5/6

May Queen – 4/5

Marriage Not Dating – 6/7

Mary Stayed Out All Night – 8/5

Marry Him If You Dare (Mirae’s Choice) – 5/4

Me Too, Flower! – 8/7

Miss Korea – 9/9

Missing You (I Miss You) – 5/6

My Fair Lady – 7/5

My Girl – 7/8.5

My Love Patzzi – 4/5

My Lovely Girl – 6/5

My Name is Kim Sam Soon – 9.5/9.5

My Princess – 7/6.5

My Secret Hotel – 7/6

New Heart – 8.5/9

Nice Guy (The Innocent Man) – 9/8

OB/GYN – 7/7

Oh My Ghost – 8/8

On Air – 8/8

One Fine Day – 5/3

Only You – 8/6

Operation Proposal – 6/6

Painter of the Wind – 7/8

Pasta – 7/6

Personal Taste – 5/5

Pinocchio – 9/8.5

Playful Kiss – 9/6

President – 9/9

Pretty Boy (Bel Ami) – 8/7

Prime Minister and I – 9/8

Protect the Boss – 8/8

Queen of Housewives – 7.5/8

Remember (Son’s War) – 7/7

Resurrection/Revenge/Rebirth – 10/9.5

Robbers – 6/6

Sang Doo, Let’s Go to School – 9.5/9

Save the Last Dance for Me – 7/7

Scholar Who Walked the Night – 6.5/6

Secret Garden – 6/8

Secret Love Affair – 9/9.5

Seodongyo – 9/6.5

She is Nineteen – 8.5/7

Sly and Single Again (Cunning Single Lady) – 7/8

Snow Queen – 8/8

Spring Waltz – 5/6.5

Spy Myung Wol – 4/4

Stairway to Heaven – 3/4

Summer Scent – 7/7

Super Rookie – 6/6.5

Surgeon Bong Dal Hee – 7.5/8

Swallow the Sun – 5.5/7

Tamra the Island – 9.5/8.5

Tazza – 6/7

Temptation of an Angel – 6/6

Temptation – 7/7

Thank You – 8/8

The Blade and Petal (Sword and Flower) – 8/7

The Devil/Mawang – 8/9

The Duo – 9/9

The Girl Who Sees Smells – 9/7

The King 2 Hearts – 9/8

The Kingdom of the Winds – 5/7

The Master’s Sun – 6/7

The Princess’s Man – 9/9

The Suspicious Housekeeper – 8/8

The Time I Loved You – 7/5

The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry – 9/9

Time Between Dog and Wolf – 9.9/9

Triple – 4/6

Two Weeks – 9/8

War of Money – 3/4

Warm and Cozy – 5/6

What Happened in Bali? – 9/9

What Star are You From? – 6/6

What’s With This Family – 8/8

When a Man Loves – 5/6

When It’s at Night – 7/6

Who Are You (Yoon Kye Sang version) – 8/8

Who Are You (Kim Jae Wook version) – 6/6

Will You Love and Give It Away? – 6/6

Winter Sonata – 7/7

Wish Upon a Star – 7/7

Witch Amusement – 4/6

Wonderful Days – 8/8

Yongpal – 7/8

You’re Beautiful – 8/8

You From Another Star – 8/8.5

Any drama I rated 8 or higher on the objective quality scale (second number) is a drama I would recommend for whatever genre it falls under.

MY TEN FAVORITE K-DRAMAS (in no particular order, and no testament to the quality of said drama – only that I liked them so very much):

– Time Between Dog and Wolf – Guns, amnesia, undercover operatives, beautiful first love, gorgeous overseas locale, stellar soundtrack, and, oh yeah, six different versions of Lee Jun Ki. I think that about sums it up. HK cops procedural combined perfectly with Korean melo-angst.

– What Happened in Bali – THE love triangle to end all love triangle debates – even the leading lady isn’t so sure who she loves. Outstanding acting by everyone involved. You won’t stop thinking about it for awhile after you finish watching it.

– City Hall – Mature, sexy, sizzling romance wrapped in a feel-good shell of a political fairy tale. The single best ending to a drama I have ever watched. It gives you everything you want, and then some more.

– Tamra the Island – Fun, poignant, dreamy – a fairy tale for young and old, innocent and jaded. Breathtaking cinematography, lyrical soundtrack, and the introduction of Team Park Kyu to the world.

– Damo – Naeuri-ahhhhhh! *collapses into a heap of tears and sobs*

– My Name is Kim Sam Soon – Not over-rated at all. Deserving of every accolade and recommendation. A romantic comedy where being unmarried and nearly on-the-shelf is not sugar-coated, but the possibility of romance is still heart-thumpingly good.

– Seodongyo – The drama that introduced me to K-dramas. You can call my love for it nostalgia, but its good on every re-watch. The one sageuk where the romance is given equal treatment with the historical intrigue. The OTP gets thrown every obstacle in the world, but you get all the ooey-gooey sweet moments and the forceful separations. In the end, you also get your happy ending.

– Beautiful Days – The only early Hallyu drama I adore to pieces. Watched it for the first time nearly ten years after it first aired, and everything worked perfectly to deliver the melodrama with the catharsis and the romance.

– Lie to Me – The qualitative absolute worst drama in this group, but quite possibly personally made me the happiest. The only drama to make me tangibly feel like I am experiencing falling in love all over again through two people onscreen.

– Sang Doo, Let’s Go To School – A story about first love, nurtured by the quiet strength of a man and the perseverance of a woman, a love story so pure and untainted that it reminds you that love is truly a beautiful thing to see.

THE TOP TEN K-DRAMAS I’VE WATCHED (again in no particular order, the best is my subjective standard of quality only, and I’m judging each drama within the standards of it’s respective genres – also, there are so very many K-dramas I have not yet watched):

– Mawang/The Devil

– Friends, Our Legend

– Goodbye Solo

– My Name is Kim Sam Soon

– City Hall

– Damo

– Joseon X-Files/Secret Investigation Record

– Giant

– Conspiracy in the Court

– Resurrection