TOPFIVE Korean Dramas Of 2018

Since it's almost the end of the year and I haven't written another Korean drama post since my mid-year TOPFIVE drama post, I figured it was time for an update - especially since a lot of what I said in that other post is null and void. I put some dramas in that list that were currently airing, and unfortunately, they turned a tad sour after making it onto my list. If you're curious regarding which dramas on those list you should probably avoid: Wok Of Love and About Time. But why start on such an unfortunate note? Let's get straight into the most amazing dramas of the year!

Mr. Sunshine

This is the new drama written by the famed writer who gave us beautiful dramas like Heirs, Goblin, and Descendants of the Sun. Mr. Sunshine is a breathtaking tale of Japanese colonization of Korea and the resistance fighters who will give up anything to save their country. It is a glorious and gorgeous drama, and it's conveniently on Netflix - I highly recommend it. It has a superb cast, and the dialogue is so charming and witty that I just melt. There are twenty four episodes in the drama, and while that may feel long, it's actually quite perfect. I want to say that this is my favorite drama of the year, but I feel like that spot goes to the melodrama Nice Witch.

Nice Witch

This drama was in my last drama post as well. If you knew how much I loved it, you wouldn't even blink at seeing it again in this list. Long story short: it's about two twins, one evil and horrendous and dubbed "Ice Queen" (but not in the cute romantic way which means some male is about to get close to her and melt her heart - no, she's actually an awful Ice Queen who'd sooner shoot shards of ice at your face than be nice) and the other a beautiful soul, a mother of an adorable child and a terrible husband, and such a nice person. The premise of Nice Witch is that the mean sister falls into a coma after getting herself in trouble, but before falling unconscious, she begs her nice sister to take her place and pretend to be her. And then of course she meets this hot pilot, who thinks she's the awful Ice Queen who he hates, only to find that for whatever reason he's suddenly reacting differently to her. Cue swooning. Nice Witch is the nice twin's love story and character arc, and if you're looking for adorable romance, this is what you want to watch.

Hot pilot who avoids women ends up falling for the angel of a twin sister. (Nice Witch)

Is it even romance if it's not hate to love? (Nice Witch)

Life

Life is a medical drama with Lee Dong-wook as the male lead, but I don't think medical drama really captures what it's about. Life takes place in a hospital, yes, but it's much more about the politics of hospitals that anything else. I don't even know how to put this drama into words because it's that unique and brilliant, but it has a great cast, an amazing suspenseful atmosphere the entire time through, and although I wouldn't go for this drama if you're wanting romance, it's so so good. And also conveniently on Netflix. (I swear I'm not a sponsor for Netflix or anything.) The antagonist character is really the true gem of the drama, and the relationship between him and Dong-wook is...wow. But fair warning: if you watch this, you're not going to be trusting hospitals or doctors anytime soon.

Mystery Queen 2

If you read all my ravings about this drama already, feel free to skip ahead. If not, just know that the sequel to Mystery Queen more than lives up to its predecessor - it might even be better - and if you love mysteries and Sherlock Holmes, then you're really missing out if you have yet to check out the first season as well as this one. It features a ton of slow burn romance and cutesy angst - as opposed to the stressful kind - and the mysteries as well as the way the main characters go about solving them is truly fun to watch and really quite smart. All I want for Christmas is a Mystery Queen 3.

The Last Empress

I'm going to straight up be honest about this one and say that this drama is still in the middle of airing, so it's entirely possible that I might become bored of this one by the time it's finished. As of now, however, this is one of my favorite kdramas, partly because it features Choi Jin-hyuk and Jang Na-ra as the leads. We saw them together in Fated To Love You, but Jin-hyuk was the second lead at the time. The Last Empress begins with musical actress Oh Sunny (Jang Na-ra) catching the eye of the Emperor, but she didn't really catch his eye and it's all actually a conspiracy to cover up a crime. Jin-hyuk plays a Bodyguard aching for revenge against the throne, and he has some really cute moments with Jang Na-ra. Of course there's a ton of politics in this one, and you're really going to end up hating rich, royal persons, but hey, there's nothing wrong with that.