Welcome to Kdrama and Ramen!

For me, “My Perfect Stranger” was a very pleasant surprise.  This character driven murder mystery/time travel drama is a gem of balanced genres and gripping story telling.  It manages to create a suspenseful mystery while avoiding a dark, violent tone.  If you prefer chilling serial killer stories, tight time-travel story elements, or passionate love stories, maybe you won’t enjoy the middle of the road approach.  But if you appreciate trace elements of all these things with a good dose of heartwarming family interactions, this one is a lot of fun.  The characters are well-written, their family stories are interesting, and the whodunit elements have plenty of well-executed plot twists.  I give “My Perfect Stranger” a 9 out of 10 ramen.

🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜

“Autumn in My Heart” is a tragic melodrama from 2000 with some dated elements and techniques but plenty of well-delivered sincerity and character driven story.  This tale of star-crossed lovers is a constant downward spiral that is heartbreakingly beautiful.  The well-developed characters and warm interactions make this emotional tearjerker a rich experience that will touch your heart.  This one is pure melodrama with angsty, introspective characters and heavy plot scenarios that will take you through the emotional wringer and leave you with a bittersweet appreciation of their stories. This show is the beginning of the 4 part season-themed drama series “Endless Love”.  I will be watching the other 3 in upcoming weeks, so stay tuned.  I give “Autumn in My Heart” an 8 out of 10 ramen.

🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜

“Autumn in My Heart” is a tragic melodrama from 2000 with some dated elements and techniques but plenty of well-delivered sincerity and character driven story.  This tale of star-crossed lovers is a constant downward spiral that is heartbreakingly beautiful.  The well-developed characters and warm interactions make this emotional tearjerker a rich experience that will touch your heart.  This one is pure melodrama with angsty, introspective characters and heavy plot scenarios that will take you through the emotional wringer and leave you with a bittersweet appreciation of their stories. This show is the beginning of the 4 part season-themed drama series “Endless Love”.  I will be watching the other 3 in upcoming weeks, so stay tuned.  I give “Autumn in My Heart” an 8 out of 10 ramen.

🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜

“The Good Bad Mother” is a small town family drama.  It focuses on the heartbreaking relationship between a single mother and her adult son, as they are given  a chance to relive pieces of his childhood and clear up important misunderstandings following his near-fatal car accident.  The drama is character driven and emotionally complex.  These characters are honestly portrayed and definitely flawed, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself disliking them, especially in the beginning.  Maybe I had raised my expectations too high.  I did find the story a bit hard to get into at first.  But I settled in after the first couple of episodes, so I would encourage you to not give up too soon.  The cast is amazing and the revenge element of the story is a fun twist.  First love, family, friendship, cute kids, betrayal, and legal suspense;  this drama has something for everyone. I give “The Good Bad Mother” a 9 out of 10 ramen.

🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜

“Link: Eat, Love, Kill” is a romantic mystery drama that hinges on a bit of sci-fi. Maybe it is just my inability to give anything starring Yeo Jin Gu a low score, but feelings were mixed on this one.  This drama is not perfect. The plot has plenty of holes that are frustrating and the overall pace of the drama is surprisingly slow. So, if you are looking for an action based, logical murder mystery, this isn’t a good option. But as a romantic drama with a bit of suspense, and touches of dark humor, this one does a nice job.  The cast was amazing, the concept of the lead’s mysterious “connection” was utilized and ultimately explained well, and the story of the missing sister is evenly paced throughout. Don’t let the unfortunate title scare you.  This one is neither gory or unnecessarily heavy.  You might even call it a “Beyond Evil” lite.  I give “Link:  Eat, Love Kill” a 9 out of 10 ramen.

🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜

“The Secret Romantic Guesthouse is a historical drama that blends the light fun of a rom-com with the more serious political intrigue of a sageuk.  For me, this blending really worked.  The drama struck a nice balance between cute romance and heavier, more serious plots.  The chemistry between the 3 male leads is enjoyable and the mystery of who each one really is keeps you engaged. I give “The Secret Romantic Guesthouse” an 8 out of 10 ramen.

🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜

“Black Knight” is a dystopian action drama that is short and fast-paced.  With only 6 episodes, it is definitely binge worthy and exciting.  This one doesn’t have a lot of time for backstory or character development, but the adventure element is enthralling  and the concept is interesting.  Kim Woo Bin is amazing and it is rewarding to see him back on the small screen and healthy enough to play a very believable action hero.      I give “Black Knight a 9 out of 10 ramen.

🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜

“Today’s Webtoon” is a business rom-com that focuses on workplace relationships and takes a peek behind the thriving industry of webtoons.  Although the overarching message behind this drama is about hope, it also tackles some difficult topics like abuse and loss.  I loved meeting the various webtoon artists and learning about some of their practices and techniques.  The plot isn’t overly complex but the range of character development is interesting and rewarding.     I give “Today’s Webtoon” a 8 out of 10 ramen.

🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜

“Delivery Man” is a crime mystery/ghost drama crossover.  Despite those 2 genre, which can be a bit dark or heavy, this one stays pretty light.  Of course, like other dramas that depict granting final wishes, some of the side stories are touching and bit heartbreaking, but not extremely emotional.  It’s a bittersweet kind of sad that is to be expected when you’re dealing with ghosts who are already dead.  The characters are simple and straight-forward and the over-arcing mystery is a bit predictable as it goes, but the story is fun and it all pulls together well in the end. I give “Delivery Man” a 7 out of 10 ramen.

🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜