QUARANTINE REALLY SUCKED FOR ME.
It’s now been three months since my country has officially announced that it is going to be on quarantine. When it started, I actually thought I was going to love it being an introvert and all. But then I realized after a few days, for someone who is so used to leaving the house every day to go to work, staying and working at home really wasn’t all I expected it to be. I don’t know what it is, but somehow, I feel like being at home all the time, not being able to go out, do the things I love or just be outside in general without the fear of getting sick, felt suffocating – it was like I was alive, but I was always trying to catch my breath, always trying hard to breathe, trying to keep myself afloat, to not drown in whatever I was feeling at the time.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about the quarantine. I know that it’s necessary for our safety to be at home so that we don’t contract and spread the virus to everyone at home. Even though that’s the case, it doesn’t change the fact that I was having a hard time with it. When this entire thing started, I was already going through some tough time, but the quarantine made it even harder for my mental health. It was triggering my anxiety every day and I had no idea what to do to alleviate it. It was as if I was in a black hole with no chance of ever coming back out of the slump I was in.
Luckily though, I was scrolling through Facebook one day and have been reading posts, nonstop, about Crash Landing On You (or most popularly also known as CLOY) that was recently released on Netflix earlier this year. Everyone has been raving about it and I was like, “Nope. I will not be drawn to that hype. No way.” But… curiosity killed the cat. I started the first episode, and what do you know, I finished the entire 16 episodes in less than 5 days. That’s an achievement for me, since as of recently, I am not able to finish anything I start – not books, not tv series, not even a movie, literally nothing. So being able to finish this, made me really happy. After finishing it, I started another one, and another one, and another one.
Lo and behold, I was now able to watch quite a number of Korean dramas not limited to series but also movies. I won’t be putting full reviews as I intend to write one for them individually.
KOREAN DRAMAS & FILMS I WATCHED DURING QUARANTINE
CRASH LANDING ON YOU
LONG STORY SHORT: South Korean woman crash landed in North Korea. A North Korean soldier finds her and intends to send her back where she belongs.
This was the one that started it all. Looking for a cute forbidden romance that will make you feel all available emotions you can think of? Look no further, Crash Landing on you is for you. Don’t be fooled by the synopsis I put on there, a lot more things happen – a lot of cute and heartwarming things. Then again, there are also those moments that will make you angry and want to punch someone.
Overall, this is such a cute series that does not only rely on romance to keep you entertain, it also shower you with themes of family, friendship, and loyalty.
MY HOLO LOVE
LONG STORY SHORT: Girl torn between her love for an AI and the one who created him.
This is such an underrated drama. I think more people should watch this. I think the plot in itself is unique. A company created an AI that you can actually interact with using a pair of glasses. When you wear the glasses, you will be able to see a hologram version of the AI which was patterned to the creator himself. At first glance, you’ll think it’s about romance, it isn’t. My Holo Love explores the question of what makes us human. Is it enough for us to be a living and breathing creature for us to be called a human? The only gripe I had with this was that it wrapped up too quickly. This only had 10 or 12 episodes I believe. It could have been longer.
THE NEGOTIATION
LONG STORY SHORT: A guessing game between the hostage taker and the negotiator.
After Crash Landing, I wanted to watch more stuff by Hyun Bin (the male actor), so I went looking and came across this. OMG! IT IS SO FREAKIN GOOD! They’re the same actors from Crash Landing but their roles here are so intensely different that it took me by surprise how amazing they are here. The ending though is what sold this for me – I was sobbing like crazy. One thing I can tell you about this is, things are not always as they seem.
THE SWINDLERS
LONG STORY SHORT: The swindler swindles the swindlers.
Okay so this is my third from Hyun Bin on this list. I’m going to watch more, but this is my last on thist list I promise. The Swindlers is perfect. I couldn’t find anything I didn’t like about it. It was fun yet the story itself has weight. It wasn’t just an amusing story about swindlers outsmarting other swindlers, it was more than that. The plot twist towards the end though was golden. I was not expecting it, at all. It left my mouth open with shock, even after everything was explained, my mouth was still open, I was still shocked by how brilliant it was.
CONFIDENTIAL ASSIGNMENT
LONG STORY SHORT: North Korean soldier team up with a South Korean cop to find criminal that crossed borders.
Okay. I lied. There is this other Hyun Bin movie on the list. But I promise, this is really the last one. Haha. Anyways, this is more action-packed that his other movies. I was impressed. He should do more action films as it really suits him. Like The Swindlers, this was an entertaining film that will give you some laughs but will also pull on your heartstrings. His chemistry with his co-star was great, they were so funny.
FIGHT FOR MY WAY
LONG STORY SHORT: A girl-boy friendship which blossoms into something else that everyone will be envious of.
I’ll sum up my entire thoughts about this series in one word: adorable. This is the type of series that will make you wish that you have a guy best friend that you will end up with eventually. This series deals more with themes about friendship and believing in yourself and the things that you can do. An added bonus, you see Park Seo-Joon shirtless a couple of times, that’s a huge bonus – promise!
SUSPICIOUS PARTNER
LONG STORY SHORT: Prosecutor prosecutes the prosecution intern. But of course, things are much more complicated than that.
This is the longest series in this list. It has 20 episodes yet I breezed right through it because of the adorable cast of characters and their cute banters. Friendship and trust are two of the main themes here. If you don’t like romance where it takes forever for the two characters to be together, then you might get annoyed with this. LOL. There were agonizing moments where I sincerely just want them to finally just decide to stay together but since both of them were pretty stubborn, they just couldn’t get together. Don’t get me wrong though, I loved this series, and would recommend it to anyone who wants murder-mystery laced with romance kind of story.
DIVINE FURY
LONG STORY SHORT: A devil worshiper is disseminating chaos in South Korea and it’s up to hot Park Seo-Joon in a priest outfit to stop him.
I was not expecting Park Seo-Joon to be involved in such an intense movie like this one. The only things I’ve watched him on were cute romantic comedies so when I finished this I was still in shock by how good he was in this. The scenes were intense, the tension was there every time they had to exorcise someone. It was pretty scary. Plus, I would like to commend Woo Do-Hwan for doing an excellent job as the sinister devil worshiper. He was so effective in his role that no matter how good looking he was, he still sent shivers down my spine whenever he was on screen.
So these were all of the Korean dramas I’ve watched during the quarantine. I would like to clarify though that I am not new to watching Korean films and dramas, I just found a new love for them during this quarantine period.
I am definitely going to start watching more, I have a few on the list that I want to watch. I am currently in the middle of Strong Girl Bong Soon which I assume I am already going to end up loving.
HAVE YOU GUYS EVERY TRIED WATCHING KOREAN FILMS AND DRAMAS? WHAT WERE YOUR FAVORITES?
I’ve been getting more into kdramas during quarantine as well!! I’m actually rewatching CLOY right now because I love it that much lol. I ended up watching Memories of the Alhambra, because I am desperate for more Hyun Bin 😁 I started My Holo Love, but never finished it, though I may go back and do that. I also watched Live Up To Your Name, which I’m really gald I finally watched because it was adorable and it had been on my list since it aired. I want to watch Dear My Friends, My Mister, and It’s Okay To Not Be Okay soon, but I definitely think the first two are gonna be super emotional lol
Ohhhh yes!!! I cant wait for It’s Okay to Not be Okay with Kim Soo Hyun. 😍 i dont know what it is with kdramas but I find that, even with the formula that they have, it always seem to feel new everytime I watch a new one. I haven’t watched Memories of the Alhambra because I heard a lot of things about the ending. Lol. But I swear you should watch the Hyun Bin movies I’ve noted here, you will not regret them!! 😍
Memories of the Alhambra was entertaining (though more depressing than I thought it would be) and the ending wasn’t great but Hyun Bin looked so freaking HOT throughout the whole drama lmao. I definitely want to watch his movies (especially The Negotiation), but I prefer romcoms over action, so it’s a little harder for me to be motivated to actually sit down and start action movies lol
I haven’t watched CLOY cause all the hype makes me SO SCARED that my heart will get ripped into shreds!! My Holo Love sounds so cute – I definitely need to check it out! I’m currently finishing Meow: The Secret Boy with my sister and it’s just so adorable and cute, all the spring happy feels for sure! My favorite dramas of all time are Hotel Del Luna and Strong Woman Do Bong Soon!! <3
Haha. That was my fear with CLOY too!! But boy was I so happy to learn the hype was real. The hype was so valid. Also, I like me some amazing side characters – this one has plenty! My Holo Love has those hate to love relationship thats cute but to be honest I fell in love with Holo more. Haha. His innocence is so… refreshing. Haha. I have to check Meow. I havent heard of that one yet. What do you know? I am currently watching Strong Woman. Haha. Hyung Sik and Bo Young look so adorable. 😍
Great list! I have so many favorites. Fight For My Way is one of them. Also What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, Weightlifting Fairy, etc. I’m not yet updated with the recent ones like CLOY