Omona Original: The Best and Worst K-Dramas of 2021
With 2021 about to wrap up let's take a look back at some of the best, and the worst, K-dramas that aired this year. This list includes dramas that concluded in 2021, can only include dramas I have seen and I definitely haven't seen everything released this year, and is entirely based on my personal opinion (because all lists of bests and worsts are). There is no judgement if you loved something I hated or vice versa, this is all for fun! With all those disclaimers out of the way, let's dive in!
THE BEST
Law School
Plot: A professor at a prestigious law school and his students get involved in an unprecedented case. Kang Sol and Han Joon-Hwi are first year law school students. At school, she is surrounded by students who are smart and come from wealthy backgrounds. She feels insecure and even shameful due to her background but slowly learns about the true legal profession. Han Joon-Hwi is at the top among first year law school students. He is an attractive young man with leadership qualities, but he has a secret.
Why is it good? Despite having a relatively large ensemble cast it handles them well and manages to show a lot of character growth for most of them. It has interesting legal cases but where the drama shines is with its female characters, who have flaws, grow as people and support each other. It has good chemistry among all the law students, particularly Kang Sol and Han Joon Hwi, and Ryu Hye Young is charming as the main protagonist.
Vincenzo
Plot: At the age of 8, Park Joo-Hyeong went to Italy after he was adopted. He is now an adult and has the name of Vincenzo Cassano. He is a lawyer, who works for the Mafia as a consigliere. Because of a war between mafia groups, he flees to South Korea. In South Korea, he gets involved with Lawyer Hong Cha-Young. She is the type of attorney who will do anything to win a case.
Why is it good? I'll start off with the negatives, its probably a few episodes too long and for viewers who have seen the screenwriters other works (The Fiery Priest, Chief Kim) a lot of the characters and humour will feel very familiar. But for those who are going in fresh to it it will be a lot of fun, and features a great larger cast of characters who shine as much as the leads do.
D.P.
Plot: An Jun-Ho is a soldier. He is quiet and calm, but inflexible. Sergeant Park Beom-Gu notices Private An Jun-Ho's tenacity and ability to observe. He transfers An Jun-Ho to the D.P. (Deserter Pursuit) team. Their mission is to catch deserters.
Why is it good? It does a good job of highlighting the horrors of abuse within the military. It doesn't shy away from showing abuse of power is systemic and the effects it can have on the people who suffer under it. There are funny moments between the two main characters and the chemistry between them makes what would otherwise be a very dark watch a little lighter. Saying that, the drama still covers a lot of dark material and trigger warnings should be observed before watching.
The King's Affection
Plot: The Crown Prince's wife gave birth to twins, but twins were considered an ominous sign. The twin daughter was supposed to be killed, but her mother begged to save her life. Secretly, the twin daughter is sent out of the palace. A few years later, the twin son Lee Hwi is killed. The Crown Prince's wife hides her twin son's death and brings her twin daughter back to the palace and raises her as Prince Lee Hwi. Lee Hwi eventually becomes a crown prince, but she is afraid her real identity will be revealed. Because of her secret, Lee Hwi is unable to have anyone close to her. She hides her emotions from others and she makes biting remarks.
Why is it good? Although this is a romance drama the main takeaway from it is the character growth that the main female character goes through. Not only does she become a stronger and more confident leader, she becomes more emotionally open, learns to express herself and what she wants and stops hiding who she is. The romance is charming and cute, both leads are always supportive of each other, the male lead is often the character who is swooning over the female lead in reversal of usual drama tropes and they often sword fight together. It has a lot of likeable secondary characters although they don't always get the screentime to be fully fleshed out but overall the drama is delight and typical sageuk politics doesn't weight it down too much.
Run On
Plot: Ki Seon-Gyeom was once a popular sprinter for the national team. Due to a case, he quit the sport. He then begins to work as a sports agent. Meanwhile, Oh Mi-Joo writes subtitle translations for movies. She was thrilled when she first she her name as a translator during the end credits. She meets Ki Seon-Gyeom, who just quit being a sprinter. She feels they were destined to meet.
Why is it good? This avoids a lot of the fallbacks of typical romance drama writing, at least between the main couple, who struggle sometimes to understand each other but also do their best to try to communicate. There is no real grand overarching plot or dramatic cliffhangers but that's what's good about it, the story is character driven and relies heavily on dialogue. It may be too slow for some people but for me this was a real comfort watch.
Taxi Driver
Plot: Kim Do-Ki graduated from the Naval Academy and became an UDT (underwater demolition team) Official. His mother was murdered by a serial killer and his life changed afterwards. He is now a deluxe taxi driver and works for Rainbow Taxi Company. The company is not just an ordinary taxi company, they offer a special "revenge-call" service. If clients ask them to take revenge, Kim Do-Ki and his co-workers will perform the service.
Why is it good? Another darker watch, this may not be for those who don't normally enjoy the revenge genre. It has a great cast, highlights the frustration people have with a justice system that often fails people and provides vigilante justice instead.
Move To Heaven
Plot: Geu-Ru is a young man with Aspergers syndrome. He works for his father’s business 'Move To Heaven'. Their job is to arrange items left by deceased people. One day, Geu-Ru's own father dies. Gue-Ru is left alone, but his uncle Sang-Gu suddenly appears in front of him. Sang-Gu is a cold man. He was a martial artist who fought in underground matches. He went to prison because of what happened at his fight. Sang-Gu now becomes Geu-Ru’s guardian. They run 'Move To Heaven' together.
Why is it good? Dealing with the subject of grief, this drama is not always an easy watch, especially for those people like myself who cry easily, but it's dealt with sensitively and overall it's heart-warming and healing.
Lost
Plot: A story revolving around a 40-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man.
A 40-year-old woman works as a ghost writer. She hasn't achieved anything and she doesn't know where to go with her life. The 27-year-old man is afraid that he might end up as a nobody.
Why is it good? Okay, this really won't be for everyone as its a very slow paced melodrama, but for those who have experienced being sad, lonely and disconnected it's a very cathartic watch.
Inspector Koo
Plot: Koo Kyung-Yi is in her 40's. She is a former police officer, but now works as an insurance investigator and a private detective. With her smarts and excellent intuition, she is able to solve cases. Koo Kyung-Yi tries to catch a serial killer, who is a female university student.
Why is it good? I'll be honest and say this drama was very slow to start for me but the fun dynamics between the characters and complex and interesting female characters really make it.
Honorable Mentions
Entertaining dramas that had some flaws:
Beyond Evil, My Name
A decent drama but massively overrated:
Squid Game
Dramas featuring LGBT characters:
Mine, The King's Affection, Nevertheless
In 2021 we saw more dramas than ever featuring LGBT characters, some of the more notable ones being the dramas mentioned above which featured either main characters who are LGBT or LGBT relationships. There was also an increase in side characters who are LGBT like in Run On, She Would Never Know and Hometown Cha Cha Cha among others. Although none of the representation was particularly ground-breaking or substantial its worth nothing that it seemed to be a positive step forward with hopefully more to come in 2022.
THE WORST
Hellbound
Plot: People hear predictions on when they will die. When that time comes, a death angel appears in front of them and kills them.
Why is it bad? Maybe it was because I had high expectations but this was slow, dull and felt like a waste of my time when it finished in a very open-ended way. The CGI is also so bad I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be funny. It has a very solid cast but wastes them with bad material. If you want to watch a K-drama about cults 'Save Me' does it better.
Melancholia
Plot: Set at a private high school, which is a hotbed of corruption. A beautiful story emerges between mathematics teacher and a genius mathematics student.
Why is it bad? It's a student teacher romance. The romance element seems to happen after he has left school and is older but it's still gross.
Mouse
Plot: Jung Ba-Reum is a rookie police officer, working at a police substation. He is an honest person and tries to attain justice. He faces a psychopath murderer, who places the entire nation in fear.
Why is it bad? This drama is about being able to tell if someone has a 'pyschopath gene' and seemed to fall on the side of being pro eugenics at the end so... that's that.
Sisyphus: The Myth
Plot: A time travel story between a genius engineer Han Tae-Sul and his savior from the future Gang Seo-Hae.
Why is it bad? There are a few fun action scenes with Park Shin Hye in this and that is the total of the good things about it. Cho Seung Woo is not believable at all as some sort of playboy genius and I nearly died of shock when I realised this drama was going to push these two as a couple. He looks more like her father, they have absolutely no chemistry whatsoever and the plot is beyond stupid.
Nevertheless
Plot: Park Jae-Eon is a university student, majoring in art. He seems nice to everyone and he is usually cheerful. Yet, he is really indifferent to others and he doesn't want to have a romantic relationship. Unexpectedly, he falls for Yoo Na-Bi and begins to change. Yoo Na-Bi is an art student at the same university as Park Jae-Eon. In her past, she broke up with her first love due to his unfaithful ways. After that, decided to become unswayed by love. She then meets Park Jae-Eon and develops feelings for him.
Why is it bad? If I wanted to watch a woman make bad decisions I would just hang out with my straight friends more. Not only has it been sad to see audiences romanticise the unhealthy main relationship but this drama had only one redeeming thing going for it, the cute lesbian relationship between side characters, and gave it little to no screentime. Bad decisions all around.
omona, what were your favorite dramas? what dramas did you drop this year?
LAST YEARS POST
Source: AsianWiki (Plot summary and posters) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14