Top 5 K-Drama Oppas to Love

Top 5 

K-Drama Oppas to Love

It’s Valentine’s Day! And what better way to celebrate the day of love and romance than picking 5 of the dreamiest actors in Korean Dramas! These men have been with us in our happy moments and our sad, comfort us, make us laugh and swoon, and of course they help us set unbelievably unattainable standards for actual men. Now how to choose just five? I set a couple of ground rules for this list: 1- Oppa must be generally well-liked by the public for both himself and his acting. 2- Oppa must be mostly active in dramas, not movies. 3- Oppa has to have a pretty high hit rate for good dramas. 4- This is my list, so my taste does get highest priority. So after much deliberation and consideration, here they are- five of the best Oppas K-Drama has to offer. 

5: Ji Chang Wook

Wookie is by far one of my own personal favourites, but he has a lot of fans out there. He’s shown a great range in the acting projects he chooses (melo, action, rom-com), and has solidified himself as one of the most well loved actors in K-Drama. I first came across him in ‘Bachelor’s Vegetable Store’ and then fell in love with him in ‘Healer’, where he turned his swoon-levels up to the max. Some of his older works include ‘Warrior Baek Dong Soo’ and ‘Empress Ki’ (admittedly, I’ve never watched either), and more recently ‘The K2’ and ‘Suspicious Partner’.

4: Seo In Guk

Seo In Guk is a superstar of the modern times. His acting credits start around 2012 and continue on strongly since then. He made a name for himself when he became our first ever Reply hero after starring in ‘Reply 1997’ and he has continued to gain momentum, fans, and love ever since. He’s managed to score a pretty good ratio of good and mediocre dramas, and (as far as I know) hasn’t been in any total and complete duds. Some of his bigger dramas are ‘Master’s Sun’, ‘High School King of Savvy’, ‘I Remember You’ and ‘Shopping King Louis’ to name a few.

3: Lee Joon Ki

Lee Joon ki is a special kind of actor where he brings a pretty large fanbase to whatever it is he films. Hundreds upon hundreds of fangirls (and I’m assuming fanguys as well) are willing to sit through hours of whatever the writers throw at us just to see Lee Joon Ki steal the show. He is perhaps an exception to my guideline 3 above, as he's recently been on a string of pretty bad dramas. I’m unfamiliar with practically all of his early dramas, but his more recent shows include ‘Arang and the Magistrate’, ‘Two Weeks’, ‘Scholar Who Walks the Night’, ‘Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo’, and ‘Criminal Minds’. Hopefully his next drama can have a good script as well as simply having him star in it- we always live in hope!

2: Park Seo Joon

Park Seo Joon started out pretty rocky with his drama debut coming in the form of ‘Dream High 2’ which I think is pretty widely despised and criticised by all except a small few. After scoring his first leading role as a noona lover in ‘Witch’s Romance’ he rapidly became an actor to watch for. He quickly followed this up as a delightful puppy second lead in ‘Kill Me, Heal Me’ which pretty much solidified him as a K-Drama star. His handsome features and amazing acting ability earned him a lot of love and ensured that whatever the drama, his massive fanbase is sure to sign on for at least the first few episodes. His latest leading roles have been in ‘She Was Pretty’, ‘Hwarang’ and the widely loved ‘Fight My Way’ last year. And as a side note, Park Seo Joon enlisted before he debuted, so we don’t even have to worry about him disappearing off to the army!

1: Lee Jong Suk

I hope no one feels offended if I call Lee Jong Suk the current King of K-Drama. Since starring as a scene-stealing side character in ‘Secret Garden’, Lee Jong Suk has been the leading role in every 16-20 episode drama he’s been in (excluding cameos of course). But what makes Lee Jong Suk more impressive is his uncanny ability to pick popular, successful dramas (with ‘Doctor Stranger’ being a small blemish on an otherwise winning record). Almost all his dramas become big hits both inside and outside Korea and include ‘School 2013’, ‘I Can Hear Your Voice’, 'Pinocchio’, ‘W- Two Worlds’, and most recently ‘While You Were Sleeping’. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

While You Were Sleeping

While You Were Sleeping

7/10

While You Were Sleeping

Genre:                            Episodes: 16                           Year: 2017

Romance

Fantasy

Synopsis:

Nam Hong Joo has dreams about the future while she is asleep, and these dreams always come true no matter how hard she tries to prevent them. Hong Joo meets Jung Jae Chan, a man who was able to prevent one of her dreams from coming true.

Cast:

Lee Jong Suk (Jung Jae Chan)

Bae Suzy (Nam Hong Joo)

Jung Hae In (Han Woo Tak)

Lee Sang Yeob (Lee Yoo Bum)

Kim Won Hae (Choi Dam Dong)

Ko Sung Hee (Shin Hee Min)

Shin Jae Ha (Jung Seung Won)

Min Sung Wook (Lee Ji Kwang)

Bae Hye Sun (Son Woo Joo)

Lee Ki Young (Park Dae Young)

General Thoughts:

There’s a lot that this drama does very well, and it pulls all its best elements together to formulate an interesting and enjoyable show. Sure, there were aspects of the show that could have been done better, but as a whole the series was pretty successful.

The beginnings of a great trio

While not my favourite of Park Hye Ryun’s works (there’s also ‘Page Turner’, ‘Pinocchio’, ‘I Hear Your Voice’ and more), this writer has a wonderful way of making characters really pop. While the story always moved at a good pace, and each different case was interesting in its own way, it was the characters that made this drama feel a bit more special than others.

While I love when he plays cool guys, I also love when he gets to make faces like this

Park Hye Ryun has worked with both of these leads before (and Lee Jong Suk twice), so it didn’t come as a big surprise that the characters and the actors suited each other really well. In my opinion, Lee Jong Suk is best when he’s cutely dorky with a dash of raw emotion thrown in- which is exactly how he was here. He shone in every scene he was in, and I think the writer’s thorough understanding of Lee Jong Suk’s strengths (does he have any weaknesses though?) made not only the character of Jae Chan stand out, but also Lee Jong Suk himself. I was a little less convinced with Suzy’s acting performance this time around, which is weird because I find her pretty okay in most things while others find her terrible, but this time when I think she’s not great everyone else thinks she’s done well.

Not amazing, not terrible

Anyway, I digress. There wasn’t exactly a particular type of emotion that Suzy struggled with, it was just that occasionally in a scene I could really feel Suzy acting, rather than only seeing the character. However, there were also times Suzy did really well. I loved her more goofy, weird moments, and she really sold that Hong Joo was a bit of an oddball- particularly at the start of the show during the leads’ initial interactions. Speaking of the leads interactions, I think I must be one of the only people who didn’t buy the chemistry between Suzy and Lee Jong Suk.

I am (surprisingly) not feelin' it

Most of the time I didn’t really 100% believe their relationship, and a lot of their cute moments felt scripted rather than natural. It's not to say that there weren’t some genuine, lovely moments between the leads, but those other moments where the chemistry was weaker was enough to have me lose a little interest in their love line.

Kim Soo Hyun X 2PM's Junho = The perfect face (aka- Jung Hae In)

Our second male lead, Jung Hae In, has just become one of my new favourite K-Drama faces. Not only is that boy ridiculously handsome (seriously, 100% my style), but he can act too! Despite my undying love for Lee Jong Suk, I was occasionally smacked with a bit of Second Male Lead Syndrome. It’s not that I wanted Hong Joo to ditch Jae Chan and date the gorgeous policeman, but Jung Hae In sold his one-sided crush in such a heartbreakingly believable way that I kind of wanted it to become real for him. And yet, a lot of the charm of the character was the way Woo Tak was content to like Hong Joo secretly while watching her be happy with Jae Chan. Seriously K-Drama, these are the second leads we love- endearing and sweet and generous without any brooding jealousy. The Dragon Club were a delightful bunch and I always loved their interactions with each other, especially as the drama focused on some smaller moments of how their friendship grew (my personal favourite being the all-inclusive breakfasts). I almost wished we’d had more scenes of the three of them together, as they had an interesting dynamic when it was the three of them that was completely different to how they acted in one-on-one situations.

Dragon Club, fighting!

Outside of our three main leads, I really adored Shin Jae Ha as our hero’s younger brother. The two had great chemistry together (dare I say more than what the leads had), and the scenes that the two shared often turned out to be some of the funniest in the whole show.

Spin off season starring the Jung brothers, please?

The two really nailed the bickering but loving dynamic and made for one adorable pair. Lee Sang Yeob did well as our villain, even if it did kind of feel like he was the only lawyer in the whole of Korea. I was surprised that I could dislike Yoo Bum's character so quickly after loving Lee Sang Yeob so much in his last role. He totally brought the bad guy vibes in less of an evil way, and more of a slimy, cunning way, which kind of made a nice change from our usual straight-up evil villains. For the side characters, the constant cameo parade was much appreciated. While it’s nice to have new actors and actresses getting smaller roles, sometimes it's also nice to have more experienced actors completely dominate the smaller characters. I adored Kim So Hyun so much (and she was in a love line with Shin Jae Ha!), and I kind of wished she’d been a permanent cast member. Each side character added a whole lot of depth to the show, and helped the story progress smoothly and not feel too strictly episodic despite the rather procedural format.

Kim So Hyun can totally star in the spin off season too

The show itself was shot beautifully and there were a whole lot of scenes that were just incredibly stunning. There was usually a pretty clear distinction between what was dream and what was was reality due to a slight change in the lighting or clarity of a scene, which helped the drama as a whole be a lot less confusing. 

What Was Great:

Story Progression:

With a lot of K-Dramas you can very clearly see the episode plans and how the writer introduces and then concludes conflicts.

From side character to major plot point

One thing that ‘While You Were Sleeping’ absolutely nailed was the way it introduced new characters that would bring new conflicts with them. The writer never waited until the previous issue had been resolved to bring in a new case-of-the-day, but often introduced new characters as extras in previous conflicts. It gave a sense of unity to the series and made it feel as though all the characters were really living in the same community. It also prevented these side characters from feeling like they were simply being thrown in for conflict’s sake. The barista and her murderous brother had been in the show as extras for quite some time before their main story arc was introduced. As our heroine had already had something to do with the barista and was her acquaintance, it made Hong Joo’s willingness to try and prevent one of her disaster dreams more believable. It’s got to be hard seeing something awful happen to someone you don’t know, but it’s got to be even harder seeing it happen to the sweet girl who serves you coffee every morning.

I'm so unaccustomed to Kang Ki Young being scary

It was a similar story with Myung Dae Goo. He was introduced to us in a previous case through Seung Won, so it felt completely natural that he would ask his new friend for help with his father’s case, and thus lead us to our final conflict. The way characters came in and out of the main spotlight was absolutely perfect and made the show feel really seamless.

We started and finished with the same antagonist

Not only did this flow give the show a smoothness and consistency, but it also encouraged confidence in the writer and how the final conflicts would wrap up- as it was clear that the writer had meticulously thought things through.

Young Cop:

What an impactful storyline. Despite being a character that was only really introduced as someone important later on in the series, Choi Dam Dong was a character that brought a whole heap of emotional weight.

He grew on me gradually until I loved him completely

I’m glad I can get Kim Won Hae’s acting from ‘Strong Woman’ out of my brain and view him as a serious actor again, because boy did he give it his all here. The character of the young policeman was often used for different purposes, but always added layers and depth to our main leads.

What a twisty twist

Whether he was offering our young hero words of advice or causing our heroine to question her capacity for darkness, he was always providing an intricate backstory for our characters and was a large part of what made them into the justice-seeking people they were. I also applaud the show for his final reveal. I had no idea that Choi Dam Dong was going to turn out to be the young policeman. None whatsoever. I was almost expecting them to introduce a whole new character as our grown up policeman. And Woo Tak was a pretty good ploy to add to Dam Dong’s cover. As Hong Joo and Jae Chan’s fathers were both killed by the runaway soldier, I automatically assumed that Woo Tak would have something to do with the soldier too (like Woo Tak was the youngest brother or something), and thus I ruled out Dam Dong as having any connection with the soldier at all because Woo Tak didn’t know him. It was an error on my part, but one I was happy to make as it made Chief Choi’s reveal that much more dramatic. I loved that he was also having dreams about Jae Chan and Hong Joo (not to mention it fit in with the theory of being saved=dreams) and that it had always been his goal to protect them.

Chief Choi is basically the best constructed character in the show

And this drama is the perfect example of how to execute a character death. Chief Choi had revealed himself to Jae Chan and they had ample time to reunite and bond over their shared history. They got the emotional reconciliation that I was dying to see, and they were able to look at each other for who they were and truly cherish each other.

TEARS

While the cause of death is a bit off-kilter (Yoo Bum just went crazy?) the death scene itself is perfect. It felt like Jae Chan returned to the child he used to be when he was around Chief Choi, and it was extremely evident in that scene. His grief and regret were all so plain, but it was Chief Choi’s happiness at being able to spend so much time with Jae Chan that made the moment really beautiful- even if it meant his death, Chief Choi would always seek out Jae Chan so that he could be his mentor and his friend, and would always be there to support him. Despite dreaming of his death, upon waking up Dam Dong’s first thought is to live well so that he can find and take care of Jae Chan in the future. He was such a pure-hearted character, and the show was so much better off for having him. I also appreciated that the show threw in a bit of commentary as to why Chief Choi didn’t just avoid his death if he’d seen it in his dream. The red leaf he’d seen had led him to think that he would die in autumn, which he didn’t, so it made complete sense that he was unprepared for his death at a different time.

A small but absolutely necessary piece of information

Despite this seeming like a small point, I actually think my take on Chief Choi’s death would have been very different if I had even the slightest belief that he could have avoided it. He was a perfect character from start to finish (even before we knew he was the policeman from the past), and his death was handled so perfectly.

What Wasn’t:

Where’d All Them Dreams Go?:

Not too long after the drama gets itself going, the idea of the predictive dreams kind of falls off the table. Originally it seemed as though changing the dreams was going to have some big effect on our characters, but that idea never really got explored.

Beyond the first few episodes, the future dreams were rather unimportant to the plot

In fact, rather than being an interesting fantasy element, the dreams just became convenient plot devices that were used to get our characters into action, or more often allowed for a quick save. Rather than being a mysterious and unknown entity, these dreams fairly rapidly became the only reason why our leads weren’t dead.

I mean, it's not like they're going to kill of one of the leads anyway

Beyond showing Jae Chan a vision of Hong Joo in a threatening situation (or Jae Chan for Woo Tak), the dreams actually did nothing. We rarely saw Hong Joo have dreams about anyone other than Jae Chan anymore, and so rather than upping the intensity of the series, the dreams instead only became a convenient way for the characters to know the others were in trouble. Which is a bit of a let down. I also didn’t really understand why the dreams stopped. It seemed to me that after solving the case involving Yoo Bum, Hong Joo (and thus I assume the boys as well) stopped having future visions. The drama didn’t explain at all why the dreams suddenly stopped, and I was kind of a bit disappointed that the main tie between our Dragon Club was dropped so quickly, unexpectedly, and so easily. 

Recommend?

Yeah. The drama itself is pretty good, but I feel like it’s one of those dramas that’s going to just get more and more popular, and pretty soon everyone will have seen it. And you just can’t be the only person who hasn't seen it.

There is much less sleeping than the title suggests

7 First Kisses

7 First Kisses

5.5/10

7 First Kisses

Genre:                                  Episodes: 8                          Year: 2017

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

On her 25th birthday, Min Soo Jin is visited by an Angel. Having never had a boyfriend, or even a kiss, the Angel grants Soo Jin 7 fantasies with 7 men. Soo Jin can only choose one fantasy to become reality, and can pick only one of the men she has met.

Cast:

Lee Cho Hee (Min Soo Jin)

Lee Joon Ki (Lee Joon Ki)

Park Hae Jin (Park Hae Jin)

Ji Chang Wook (Ji Chang Wook)

Kai (Kai)

Ok Taecyeon (Ok Taecyeon)

Lee Jong Suk (Lee Jong Suk)

Lee Min Ho (Lee Min Ho)

General Thoughts:

It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, as I only went in knowing the title and the cast. Usually I complain because dramas are just far too long, but in this case I was kinda left feeling like ‘where’s the rest of it?’.

Handsome men, handsome men- everybody loves handsome men

I mean, it was cute and it was a little funny at times, but each episode was over before you really got into it. I guess that’s the downside of having so many high profile actors- they’re either too busy, or you just can’t afford them for a whole hour.

It's basically just a whole series made for fangirling

But on the bright side, you can smash out this drama in less than an evening. Each episode sits at less than 10 minutes, and most of the episode is just Soo Jin being confused about what was going on. Most of Lee Joon Ki’s episode was Soo Jin freaking out, and sadly that did lessen the cuteness of it. The short episodes also mean that the sweetness is spread pretty thin- there’s no depth to anything and no room for the boys to grow as characters. On the other hand, it was cute how each boy was given a different fantasy- neighbourhood oppa, boss, secret agent, student, chaebol, actor. It was fun in an unsubstantial way. We only came for the boys, and the writers know that, so really its just showing off how cool/cute these guys are. The layout was a little weird for me- and maybe that’s just because of where I watched it, but it took me a little while to figure out how to get from one episode to the next as all the different endings were mixed in, so I started out going from the end of Lee Joon Ki’s episode to the Angel telling Soo Jin to pick one of the guys and was highly confused. But then I figured it out and it was all good. While the idea of the different endings is pretty fun, I do think I prefer the more traditional start-to-finish layout in my dramas. 

It's 'Healer'!

What Was Great:

Flower Parade:

The whole selling point of this drama is the boys, and they do deliver. Each boy is decked out in handsomeness and gets a pretty cool (or at least funny) scenario. The boys were all brilliant as all they really had to do was stand there and be attractive. Which isn’t hard for them. 

I would be fine with any of these situations, thank you

What Wasn’t:

What a Tease:

Yeah, so -spoiler alert- there are no kisses. The title is a big fat lie. Also Lee Min Ho’s ‘bonus episode’ was a bit of a joke- there’s not really even a hint of romance in it.

The kiss is a lie

It should really be called ‘6 Almost Kisses and Blink and You’ll Miss Lee Min Ho’. At the end of the day it’s not a huge deal, but when your sole selling point is that this one girl gets to snog seven amazing men, and then take out the snogging, you’re not left with very much. Once I realised what was going on it was easy to see the humour in the situations, but at first I was super confused. When the ending finished I thought that there’d been some mistake and that only half of it had been aired, but no. This girl doesn’t kiss anyone at all. Like, sure she gets to live in her fantasy world with the man of her choice and there’ll be kissing later for her- but not for us. We have to live in the crappy real world where the Ji Chang Wook’s and Lee Jong Suk’s don’t give a monkey’s ass about us. Boo the real world.

Re-watch?

Nah, fluffy as it was it was very disjointed. The episodes don’t flow together (as they’re all different fantasy/scenarios), and let’s be real- the romance is pretty light.

You can't really go wrong