A dedicated fan will always be biased about their favorite drama, am I right? But do the critics do the same? No, they don’t. Kdrama reviewed by critics are different from the reviews of the fans. Before praising a drama they go to the depth of the drama, critically analyze that particular drama and then give it the label of a good drama and then a masterpiece. So, you can trust the critic’s reviews more than anyone before you start watching any drama.
Allow me to tell you about some of the best-reviewed dramas by the critics. Hope my writing will help you.
Groundbreaking storytelling, unique plot, perfect character development, insane visuals, and high-class acting are the main concerns of the critics, so it is not easy to manipulate them. They give us unbiased reviews on the most popular dramas.
What Makes a Kdrama a Masterpiece?
Do you know what impresses a critic in a drama? There are so many things that are important for a drama to be called a masterpiece by critics. Kdrama reviewed by critics are the most trustworthy source because they emphasis on the qualities such as:
- Storylines beyond typical tropes. A unique plot is a must for a drama to get proper recognition.
- Another important criterion of a praiseworthy drama is its strong character development. If any character of a drama is beginning to end the same then it becomes an obstacle for the whole drama to be a good drama.
- Korea is strongly attached to its prestigious cultural history. And it’s also known as a fashion icon for the modern world. So a perfect mixture of culture and modernity attracts the critics toward it.
- The critics desperately want creativity from the dictator and the production team.
- Whether it’s a drama or a movie that connects the viewer with its emotion, the chosen song is used in a drama. A heartwarming OST is definitely a shortcut of making the drama alive in the hearts of the fans.
- Beautifying nature is a promising quality of a good drama, there is no one on this earth who doesn’t feel refreshment within nature, as they also praise the mesmerizing blend of nature and the story of a drama.
Top 5 K-dramas Considered Masterpieces:
Here I am going to give ideas about the top 5 dramas that were proudly called Korean masterpieces of all time by the critics.
Reply 1988 (2015-2016):
The time of the late 80s story revolves around a neighborhood where a group of family and friends live in harmony. The daily lives, friendships, and love of the then korea is the main themes of the drama.
Why it’s a masterpiece:
A heartwarming storyline, genuine love of the characters, pure family bond and friendship of the young people are the main attractions of the drama. The critics highly praised the drama because of its nostalgic power as it deals with a classical social issue and pure friendship and love which makes the drama loveable by everyone.
Sky Castle (2018-2019):
The story is about a group of aristocratic families who are highly proud of their position, education and class. The drama is a satirical one, showing how far a parent goes to secure their child’s success.
Why it’s a masterpiece:
Critics like the drama because of the way they truthfully showed the real face of class distinction and the cruel education system of Korea. The actor’s performance was no doubt super good and highly praiseworthy.
Signal (2016):
The plot of the story is so interesting. Two detectives of past and present, who are connected by a walkie-talkie. Both of them solve cases together.
Why it’s a masterpiece:
The critics make it a commendable drama because of its well-developed characters and story of a strong sense of justice. The plot is unusual and unique too, which draws the attention of the critics. It’s also praised by the audience as the actors played their characters so greatly
Kingdom(2019):
In the Joseon period, a zombie eclipse happens, and the whole country is in great danger. A crown prince tries to go to the depths of the plague that is making people zombies, the walking dead people.
Why it’s a masterpiece:
Zombie and Joseon’s history both sound too much different. Here is the key to the success of this drama. Both the plots blended so smoothly that they were praised by everyone from the critics to the audience. The mix of two different genres is so unusual and the writer did a very good job that brought a record-breaking success to the drama.
The Healer(2014-2015):
Let me mention a Kdrama reviewed by critics so highly. Healer, a combination of action, romance and thriller made the drama so powerful that it garnered praise from every level of viewers. A young man somehow gets involved in a years old conspiracy and finds the truth.
Why it’s a masterpiece:
The critics praised this one because of its strong plot and action sequence. The effective character development was also praiseworthy. The visuals also did its work. The chemistry of the leads and the blending of romance and action touched the hearts of the fans as they very often claimed it as their favorite.
The Role of Directing, Cinematography, and Writing:
Let’s talk about the most important things that make a drama worthy of watching, which are drama direction, skilled cinematography, and fine writing. Without a direction of a veteran and creative director a drama can never attract the fans, on the other hand a poor cinematography can not appeal to the hearts of the fans. So without a good script, good directions and cinematography a drama can’t even stand beside other dramas.
Directing :
What is good directing skill?
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Vision and Creative Control:
A director’s vision is everything to make a drama worth watching. A skilled director keeps the connection of the script, performance, and the actors’ emotions to the drama alive. This is so important for a drama to be a solid hit.
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Character and Actor Guidance:
The directors have to play a significant role to make a drama recognized as its expectations. With a skillful direction, a slow pacing drama becomes interesting to the fans. Also an innovative storytelling, using flashbacks, and past connections of a director makes a drama appealing to a fan.
Cinematography:
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Visual Storytelling:
A good drama can fall on its face if it fails to make a visual effect on the audience. Using the right color, light and frame is so important to create a friendly atmosphere and a mood to watch a drama. If a drama plot is not so interesting a fan can still watch a drama to the end just for its visuals.
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Symbolism and Aesthetics:
So many times there is no detailed explanation of a certain scene but still the audience can understand it by its symbols and aesthetics. Most of the drama suddenly goes to the past of o a character, but still differentiate the time of the past and the present. A right and skillful cinematography makes the body of a drama strong and understandable.
Writing:
A good script is practically the soul of a drama. Without a script there is nothing. A writer decorates a drama with a simple yet appealing story, strong characters, a unique plot, thought-provoking dialog and so on. It’s like an artist and his own painting, as an artist takes a color palette and a canvas and conveys his ideas and thoughts with his overwhelming feeling and makes a beautiful piece of painting, a writer does the same with a paper and pen. A writer transmits his ideas on a paper and makes it a masterpiece with all his skills. The quality of a drama depends fully on how good the script is. With compelling storylines, realistic dialogue, character depth and development and a unique theme coming from a writer, makes a drama celebrated to every level of the audience.
Fan Reception vs. Critical Reception
So many times liking and disliking views of a fan and critic can differ. A fan always does not go with logic and theory like a critic. Sometimes the fans reviewed Kdramas and Kdrama reviewed by critics can be poles apart. Because not every person has the same preference on any topic, and it’s not surprising at all to differ in a viewpoint with an expert.
Let’s see how fan reception and critical reception can vary:
Fan reception:
In so many points the preference of a fan and critics can differ. Such as:
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Emotional Connection:
As, emotions come directly from our hearts and that’s why we can connect our hearts with emotional staff more. Heart warming dialogs, memorable moments between the lead, the bond of family and so many other emotions touch our own emotions.
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Genre Preferences:
There are so many genres present in K-dramas. Fantasy, thriller, romance, legal and so many other genres which have their own different fan base. A thriller fan can not connect himself to romance no matter how good the drama is. At the same time fantasy lovers can never like a law-based drama. So genre preference is one of the main reasons for the difference between fans and critics.
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Fan Culture and Fandoms:
Fan plays a huge role in making a drama hyped. The logic is so simple that if you have a favorite actor or an actress you surely watch his or her drama. No matter how the drama story is, or how the character is, you will always like to watch your favorite actor. Again, the most known fan culture is shipping your favorite actors and actresses together. Another thing that The fans like to feel is a second lead syndrome. If a drama has a strong side lead or a second lead fans become obsessed with that. These things play an important part in making a drama hit without any critical analysis.
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Popularity and Hype:
Popularity of the hype is one of the biggest influences on Kdrama viewers. A new Kdrama fan always searches for the popular dramas to watch, not the critic’s opinions. There are so many dramas that are not gladly accepted by the critics but the fans cherish the drama like Boys over flowers, Descendants of the sun. On the contrary so many dramas are loved by the fans but not accepted by the critics, such as My Mister.
Critics reception:
There are some criteria for a drama to be critics’ favorite, such as like:
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Analytical Approach:
Before calling a drama masterpiece the critics thoroughly analyze the drama. The critics focus on the structure of dialog, the strength of the plot, the quality of cinematography and the depth of the theme. Like a fan, they don’t prioritize their emotions.
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Pacing and Cohesion:
The critics are strongly concerned about the pacing and cohesion of a drama because if there’s no connection between the first and last episode then the drama is surely a failure.
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Performance of an actor:
Fans often overlook the lack of performance of their favorite actor. Fans tend to overlook the acting faults of an actor or actress if they like them. But for a critic, actors ‘ lack of qualitiful performance is a big issue.
To sum up, the critics’ reviews are quite logical. Unlike fans, they don’t go for emotion but rather go for thorough analysis. The Korean industry took a big task on their shoulders to introduce Korea to the world. They are quite successful in it too. The Korean stars are now known globally. To maintain its world-class quality it needs to be perfectly criticized by skillful critics.
If a drama can satisfy the critics it means there is something really worth watching. Their reports are more effective and are more trustworthy than any other sources.
So keep going and take the Kdramas reviewed by critics as a guideline. And thanks for reading.