2016 for the world of Korean Dramas was certainly a blast for Korean drama addicts like myself. It has spawn so many fantastic dramas with exciting and interesting plots that it produced the best ones I’ve seen in the last 12 years of my addiction faster than I can finish to watch them and make my reviews. It is my first time that I watched several K-Dramas while it was being shown in Korea. Normally, I can’t stand watching while a K-Drama is being currently shown because it is quite frustrating to wait for another day or even a week to see what happens. But, this year, I have certainly went through it painstakingly, and, boy oh boy, what indeed a pleasurable torture to patiently wait until the version with subtitle comes out. Anyway, although, there are truly many to choose from, there are some who certainly stands out for me. My top 10 favorite 2016 K-Dramas is base on the level of my intensity of excitement to know what will happen next to the point sometimes my addiction takes precedence of what I needed to do for the day.
# 10 Cheese In The Trap – This K-Drama certainly started strong for me. The character of the leading man was so interesting because he was a true blend of good and evil. His transformation as he discovers how to love and be loved and the progression of his romantic relationship was uniquely tackled in the earlier episodes. Unfortunately, something went wrong in the latter episodes that I can totally empathized with the ruckus created by the fans as the story unfolds.
Read My Review: http://theseoulinme.com/cheese-in-the-trap/
# 9 Cinderella and the Four Knights – This K-Drama is typical romcom but I still thoroughly enjoyed. It not only has 1 good looking guy but 4 of them. It made me smile, feel young and get entertained in the process. What I truly enjoyed is the revelation of the backstory of the leading characters. This K-Drama is not perfectly done but it has certainly given me a kick to simply enjoy the romanticism of it all.
My Review: http://theseoulinme.com/cinderella-and-four-knights
# 8 W Two Worlds – I must say I am certainly in two worlds by the time I finished watching W. One world, the writer, directors and the actors deliver a truly engaging romcom K-Drama that has thrill on it. Extremely refreshing to have a a unique plot unlike most romcoms. Second world, what made it good also made it bad. The premise of the story is indeed unique, however, it became a bit complicated and confusing especially on the latter episodes.
Read My Review: http://theseoulinme.com/w-two-worlds/
# 7 Pied Piper & Wanted – This is a tie between two suspense K-dramas. Pied Piper is a story about 3 characters whose lives get mesh because of a tragic event that happened 13 years ago while Wanted is a story of a known actress who’s son got kidnapped and she needs to do the bidding of the kidnapper to save her son. Both are so well done in varying degrees but on the same tone. I must say both were surprisingly good and depicts human frailty and cruelty in the most realistic way.
Read My Review:
http://theseoulinme.com/pied-piper/
http://theseoulinme.com/wanted/
# 6 Signal – This tops my suspense thriller for a K-Drama because not only it delivers such a suspenseful mystery, but it is also sci-fi. This K-Drama made what’s unbelievable believable. It was produced and created so well that it gave me a once in a blue moon unexpected gem to watch, something to see not only to entertain but gave me a reason why people like me gets addicted to watching K-Dramas and make it truly worth it.
Read My Review: http://theseoulinme.com/signal/
# 5 The K2 – I like Ji Chang-Wook in “Healer” but I like him even better here. It was action-packed from beginning to end. The story is tight and all the characters are interesting. There’s no side stories that drags and obviously done just to prolong the drama. Plus, it has a romantic angle that made everything even better to assuage my romcom addiction. In fact you won’t even notice the time has passed and will want more once the episode ends.
Read My Review: 
# 4 Another Miss Oh – Although, I don’t particularly find Eric Mun attractive but he’s definitely my kind of guy when it comes to edgy romantic korean dramas. He chooses well the dramas he gets involved in and he certainly didn’t disappoint me on this K-Drama. And, if you want to see a real passionate kiss in the K-Drama world, well, this is the best that you can get.
Read My Review: http://theseoulinme.com/another-miss-oh/
# 3 Moonlight Drawn By Clouds – I don’t normally go for Korean sageuk dramas but for 2016, I must say the K-World produced not only 1 but 2 great ones. It was well written and produced that every episode is such a delight to watch. Park Bo-Gum really gave Song Jong-Ki a run for his money when it comes to being a hunk on the K-Drama world.
Read My Review: http://theseoulinme.com/moonlight-drawn-by-clouds/
# 2 Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo – A flawed but much more raw and exciting sageuk drama for me on 2016. True that Moonlight Drawn By Clouds was better made, has a happier ending and a shorter title than Moon Lovers but this K-Drama just brought such a variety of emotions out of me that I can’t help but be more engaged on it and can’t wait to watch its next episode. Notwithstanding, my addiction to one of its OST song, “Can You Hear My Heart”.
Read My Review: http://theseoulinme.com/scarlet-heart-ryeo/
#1 Descendants of the Sun – What more can I say about this K-Drama that has not been already said? DOTS has certainly triggered my maximum craving for a K-Drama. Never have I experienced literally the “can’t wait feeling” for its next episode and the deep longing after it was over. Some criticized it for the lack of plot and that it fails to deliver the action genre but I believe they missed the point that the brilliance of this K-Drama is not on the plot but on its characters and it never claimed to be an action K-Drama but truly a romantic one. Song Joong-Ki and Song Hye-Kyo just ooze in chemistry together that I can’t help but be just like the rest of the world that got a full-blown DOTS bug. Thus, DOTS is my #1 favorite drama of 2016 and probably of all time in terms of entertainment value per se.
Read My Review: http://theseoulinme.com/descendants-of-the-sun-initial-review/
In addition to my 10 top fav K-dramas for 2016, there are 2 Korean dramas that are currently showing for 2016 and will end on the earlier part of 2017, Legend of the Blue Sea and Goblin. I didn’t include them on my list as it is not yet over and the jury is still out as how both these K-Dramas will pan out in the end. Although, I do look forward in following these 2 K-Dramas, however, I much prefer the Legend of the Blue Sea than Goblin. I know there are some critics who are saying that not much plot development is happening on the past episodes of The Legend of the Blue Sea but I must say same can be said with Goblin. And, between the two, the feeling of more disappointment is more on Goblin than on the Legend of the Blue Sea as far as plot development goes as well as the “product endorsement” scenes. Moreover, I much prefer Jun Ji-Hyun than Kim Go-Eun as far as actresses go. Kim Go-Eun is a good actress but I simply can’t relate to her, not in Cheese In The Trap and not in Goblin.
Another thing before I finally bid goodbye to the wonders that K-Drama world brought to us in 2016, I simply have to mention a great short web K-drama,
Touching You. As far as K-drama webcasts are concerned, Touching You takes the cake to be recommended as a “must watch”.
Read My Review: http://theseoulinme.com/touching-you/
2016 has indeed been the year where good and well produced Korean dramas have been a dime and a dozen and I can’t help but say thank you to all the Korean entertainment industry who made this girl truly happy being a K-Drama addict this year and I hope it will even get better on 2017 and the years to come. You truly made my break from my stressful life quite invigorating. Kamsahamnida!!!