Brutally Reviewing All The Bad K-dramas I watched in 2022

Now that I’ve reviewed the best K-dramas I watched in 2022 as well as the ones I moderately enjoyed, here come the ones I deem to be bad and highly flawed:

Money Heist: Korea-Joint Security Area

Nothing to say here. It was a very mediocre, boring version of the real thing. There was hardly anything new or engaging about the storyline. No suspense, no music, and worst of all, no new drama. I mean, how did the creators think I was going to re-watch the same thing over again? Come on. And I had high expectations for the Korean adaptation. SMH. 

Forecasting Love and Weather

Park Min-young must have been dozing off while accepting to star in this drama.

Because, one, how could she choose a character this boring and soulless? Two, did show really think I was going to root for a troubled married couple who got together in the first place by cheating on their exes? Three, what in hell were all that weather jargon the characters sputtered on about? Was that all the characters had to talk about, including the leading couple who wanted to spend time together? 

This show had no direction. Rather, it was very confused.

The only redeeming quality it had for me was the third leading couple; the children’s book writer and the apathetic nerd at the forecasting company. These were the only real characters with entertaining quirks and exchanges. Save for them whose scenes I only gave my precious time to, this show would have been a huge zero in my books.

Thirty-Nine

It’s sad when you have high hopes for a female-friendship drama filled with names like Son Ye-jin (from Crash Landing on You) and Jeon Mi-do (from Hospital Playlist), only to be colossally let down (especially when you know K-dramas to do so well with friendship-centric shows).

Till now, I don’t understand why all the attention was placed on Cha Mi-jo’s (Son Ye-jin) sorrow upon finding out about her friend’s cancer. I mean, she’s not the one stricken with cancer or who’s about to die for God’s sake, so why? Why did I have to watch her mope and be downcast in every single scene, and be shown nothing else? 

Also, what was it with the whole “I want to sleep with you” line Kim Seon-woo (the male love interest) said to her on their first date? How random and disingenuous. You know, Thirty-Nine and Forecasting Love and Weather both have shallow starts to their major couples’ relationships in that they both have sex not even two episodes in. It’s just so boring, cheap, and empty and feels very western; not what I enjoy K-dramas to be.

That aside, 39 doesn’t have anything engaging to offer. No heartwarming friendship (I’m sorry I just couldn’t feel it), genuinely hilarious moments or interesting conversations. Just soul-draggingly boring.

Now We’re Breaking Up

Seriously, what on God’s earth were Song Hye-kyo and Jang Ki-young doing in such a terribly written drama?

I didn’t even need to watch more than the one episode I watched to know that it was going to be a very, very bad drama. It’s honestly shocking to know that scripts like this exist and that A-caliber actors gladly accept to bring them to life.

Song Hye-kyo’s same expressionless acting didn’t make things any better, likewise Jang Ki-young playing the same role of a flirt in love with a Noona. I couldn’t stand a second of the whole drama, including the very pointless sex scene (or so called one-night stand) the drama started with. Exactly who told some K-drama writers that such rushed, intimate scenes, without establishing any real connection between the characters involved is hippy and cool🙄?

Love in Contract

I started this drama hoping Park Min-young would not disappoint me again. Well, I watched only two episodes of this drama. Not because I perceived it to be bad, it was just not giving me anything strong to hold on to even though it’s a drama based on contract-marriage.

Park Min-young’s character picks have not been the best (at all) in recent times. She needs a character with passion and soul; one that feels alive.

That aside, the male love interest in this drama, Jung Ji-ho (Go Kyung-pyo) is so mechanic and mysterious to the point of seeming creepy. I had no sincere desire to get to know him. He just puts me off.

The drama also seemed to be love-triangle based and lord knows I grew out of the trope a long time ago (Honestly, I was more into the second male lead. I might have stayed with the drama if he were the main love interest).

Here’s to praying Park Min-young’s next drama is not simply shiny and rom-com esque, but actually substiantial and impactful.

Shooting Stars

How I looked forward to this entertainment-industry focused drama and Lee Sung-kyung. But how I rolled my eyes so much at the leading male character. His brand of childish and stalkery was exactly the kind I couldn’t stand. I wonder why these entertainment-industry dramas tend to infantilize and villainize celebrity characters to the point of them seeming unreal and exaggerated.

In the drama’s defense, I only watched about two episodes. So, there’s that. I couldn’t bother to watch the rest🤷‍♂️.

The Fabulous

Modern, neon-shiny and fashion-industry focused, how on earth wasn’t I going to check out this drama? Also, cute Chae Soo-bin and Choi Min-ho are in the drama so I was curious and even excited.

ALAS, only one episode in and the female lead is turning my stomach big time.

We open the show with her apparently having had reckless and regretful sex with someone we don’t know, but we later find out this is her dear, new boyfriend, so great. No problem.

HOWEVER, a few scenes later, she gets happy-drunk with colleagues at a club due to some incidence and THEN, has a passionate one-stand with her ex-boyfriend (who happens to be one of her colleagues). This is not the worst part. The worst part is that she meets up with her boyfriend the next morning in a rush (the same boyfriend she had slept with at the opening scene), and says nothing about the nasty cheating that transpired the night before.

Instead, she clumsily makes excuses for being late, wants to carry on as normal, and even almost plays the victim when the boyfriend calmly tells her why he couldn’t continue with their relationship.

I’m sorry, no matter how great the rest of this drama may have been (which I seriously doubt), I couldn’t have cared to know. That kind of female lead (no matter how nice she may be) is not someone whose story I want to follow or know about. I can’t stand impulsive, stupid female characters who have no boundaries or values. I just can’t.

I wonder what Chae Soo-bin was thinking choosing that character. Guess she thought the drama was too “hip” to pass on? I really don’t get it🤦‍♀️

And we mouve! Thank you for reading lovers! Here’s to hoping that this year, we don’t have to deal with K-dramas that get us bored, confused and fuming.😃😜