I've spent quite a bit of free time watching Korean dramas (and one Taiwanese) during this break. In addition to those I've watched online, I had been watching dramas on TV as well. While I can't remember every drama that I've watched, I am guessing that I've seen at least 15 dramas so far. Some have made a lasting impression, while others I need to think thrice to remember anything about it. Here, I attempt to rank the dramas that I've watched:

1) Boys Over/Before Flowers

This drama deserves an absolute 10/10. While it was a little annoying having to read subtitles, like all Korean dramas, it does not deduct from the sheer perfectness of this drama. From the cast to the storyline to the soundtrack, everything is perfectly done. Even though this drama is an Idol show meant to appeal to female fans, there is also every reason for guys to watch it: flashy sports cars, MEGA-rich people, no shortage of beautiful girls, etc. The usually critical me can't find a fault with this drama!

2) Fated To Love You 命中注定我愛你

This Taiwanese drama is another 10/10! The only reason it is second, instead of first, is due to the relatively less professionalism of this drama compared to BoF. Taiwan has a smaller pool of actors and actresses compared to Korea, so I can't really find fault with the casting. QiaoEn is THE BEST actress I've ever seen, and she is the major reason why this drama is so good. However, that is not to say that the other actors or the director is not excellent, just that QiaoEn brought this drama from a 9/10 to a 10/10! <3

3) Jewel In The Palace 大长今

Dae Jang Geum may be considered the best drama of all time by a lot of people. The main reason why it is not my number 1 drama is that it feels less personal to me, compared to the above two dramas. Everyone has watched Dae Jang Geum. Everyone adores it. Every female fan has probably watched it at least twice. While I admit that it is also an excellent 10/10 drama, I'd rather give credit to the two slightly less well-known dramas above.

4) Likeable Or Not

Ranks 4 to 6 was hard to decide. They are all similarly great, but Likeable Or Not left the deepest impression on me, out of these 3. The most impressive part of this drama is the plot. There are four main families in the drama, and each of these families are connected to one another in at least TWO ways. Family A's daughter is married to Family B's son, whose step-sister in Family C is married to Family A's son, who was the ex-boyfriend of Family D's daughter, who is the first love of Family B's son. Family D's aunt is divorced to the uncle of Family B, who later married Sonia, who was living in Family D's house before. Confused? That is how impressive the storyline is! The characters are extremely intricately linked to each other, but at no point did the storyline feel forced in order to accommodate these complicated ties. Plus, this show's lead actress is Han Ji Hye <3

5) Pure 19

Another drama featuring Koo Hye Sun (from BoF)! I may be slightly biased towards this drama because it is one of the first I'd watched when I was younger. However, when I looked up some Youtube clips of this drama, it still felt extremely heartwarming! Definitely belongs to my top 5 list.

6) East Of Eden

Han Ji Hye as lead actress again <3 If I remember correctly, this drama has the biggest production budget out of all the dramas I've ever watched. The sheer professionalism of this drama is unmatched! Every scene and episode is worthy of being in a movie. Even the five main kid actors are always in character (special mention goes to Shin Dong Woo!!) The main drawback of this drama is its seriousness, as it is about politics and real life hardships. For people who are less of a fan of romance dramas, this drama should be on their number 1 spot!

7) Temptation Of Wife

Ranks 7 to 10 are still pretty good drams, but most of them have more major flaws than the dramas of rank 1 to 6. Temptation Of Wife is an epic drama. Plot twist here, unbelievable action there, dramatic backstabbing everywhere. My main complaints about this drama are the ending, and the length of it. The ending is just sad. Every minute of the last episode, I was waiting to see a "2 years later... Happily ever after!" scene, but it never came. I hate sad endings. The last 10 or so episodes also felt draggy and unnecessary.

8) Prince Turns To Frog 王子變青蛙

The first drama I can remember watching. Chen Qiao En!! <3 I can barely remember this drama, but I do remember that it was very good. And of course a show with Qiao En automatically gets an excellent rating (literally!).

9) You're Beautiful

An extremely popular drama! But I didn't really like it. This is another Idol drama, but unlike BoF, there are no flashy sports cars or beautiful girls (Park Shin Hye is okay I guess... but she's pretending to be a guy for 3/4 of the drama). The redeeming factor is the soundtrack. They even held a real concert to film parts of the drama!

10) Be Strong Geum Soon

Another drama I can't remember much about, other than the title. I recall liking this drama, but as far as impressions go, this drama didn't make any lasting ones!

11) Hong Gil Dong

I've only watched the last episode of this drama, and caught a few random glimpses in the middle few episodes. From what I've read this is a pretty good drama, but it has a sad ending! Automatic minus 5 points. Still, I wanted to list this drama here because Taeyeon sings the main OST <3

12) Wok of Life

One of the only Singaporean dramas I am impressed with, though I was only 10 years old when I watched this.

13) Miss No Good 不良笑花

A rather cheesy drama, but still decent. I had completely forgotten about this until I searched up some Taiwanese dramas.

14) Gourmet

Another drama I did not watch in whole, but whatever bits I caught, it was great! Will be higher up the list if I ever find a time to finish watching this.

15) Here Comes Ajumma

16) Golden Era Of Daughter In Law

17) Please Come Back, Soon-Ae


Dramas I want to watch:

Personal Preference - Quite well rated, with an experienced cast.
Sweet 18 - Han Ji Hye and Lee Da Hae!
Beethoven Virus - OST by Taeyeon!