Do you know who is that group of the people who always give the most honest review of a drama? It’s the fans or the audience. Fans talk about a drama without any filter, they only speak about what they like and what they do not like without exaggeration. So following fan reviews can give one the best experience of watching dramas. So, if you follow the popular Kdrama reviews by fans, you can have the best experience of watching Kdramas. And guess what today we are talking about, in this article, we will know everything including fans’ perspectives, their honest reviews and their recommendation of dramas in every generation. Let’s begin.
Classic Kdramas with Unforgettable Fan Reviews
In the classical generation, we have so many superfine dramas like
- Full House (2004)
- Princess Hours (2006)
- Lovers in Paris (2004)
- Autumn in My Heart (2000)
- Coffee Prince (2007)
- My Name is Kim Sam Soon (2005)
- Secret Garden (2010)
- Stairway To Heaven (2003)
- Jewel in the Palace (2003)
- Boys Over Flowers (2009)
These dramas are the best of the classics according to the fans, let’s have a brief discussion of some of these.
Full House
Full House is adored by the fans for its unique plot, the chemistry between the couples and heartwarming scenes. The theme of contract marriage was so new in Kdrama and that’s the key that attracted more and more audiences. The playful bickering of the leads and pulling each other’s legs was so much enjoyable. And the slow realization of love and having a strong feeling for each other and ultimately expressing their love for each other was the most satisfying part of the drama. Because all the time fans were rooting for them. Do you know what was the most adorable thing in Kdrama history according to the fans? The Three Bear song. When the female lead sang the Three Bears song to make the male lead’s family smile that became the cutest moment in K-dramas of all time.
Cast: Rain, Song Hye Kyo and others.
Coffee Prince
The storyline of this drama is so fresh and the theme is so bold. The idea was new where someone takes disguise to make a living. Fans loved the humor and comic timing existing in this drama. This drama makes a bold decision to make gender orientation. Fans even loved the bond between the side characters and the main characters. The most memorable moment was the confession of the leads. When Han Kyul said He would like Eun Chan even if she was a boy, that scene gives butterflies in the bellies of the fans. The cinematography was also praiseworthy. The drama is set in a little cozy coffee shop where the staff are only boys. The concept was new and the characters were strong and that’s why this drama became a fan favorite.
Cast: Gong Yoo, Yoon Eun Hye and others.
Boys Over Flowers
What should I say about this drama? I, myself, am a fan of this drama. From here my Kdrama journey started. Everything about this drama is iconic. The story, the characters and the plot, everything is highly commendable. As a fan, I can say if you watch this drama, taking it as a classic without any comparison with the modern drama, then you will definitely be a fan of this drama. The iconic F4 and Jan Di will stay in your heart safely forever. But if you compare it with the modern day drama then surely you will find it boring. But honestly, I want you to watch it and enjoy this drama fully, it will not disappoint you.
Cast: Lee Min Ho, Koo Hye Sun, Kim Bum, Kim Joon and others.
The Most Loved Modern Kdramas, According to Fans
There are a lot of modern day dramas that are loved by the fans as much as the old fans loved the classic dramas. But because the fanbase is increasing day by day, modern day dramas are becoming more and more loved than the classics by the fans.
- Goblin (2016)
- Crash Landing on You (2019)
- Descendant of The Sun (2016)
- Reply 1988 (2015)
- The Legend of The Blue Sea (2016)
- Tale of The Nine-Tailed (2020)
- What’s wrong with Secretary Kim (2018)
- Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017)
- True Beauty (2020)
- Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (2016)
These are some of the best modern day dramas loved without any doubt and cherished forever.
Goblin
This drama is about the longing of a lonely god for the love of his life, his bride. The Goblin here is cursed with immortality and he is waiting for someone who can fix it for him. In the present day, he finds his bride but falls in love with her. This unique love story of a god and a human grabbed the attention of the viewers. The other couple and the secondary supporting characters were loved too because of their sweet yet complex love story, and the other characters’ performances. The iconic trio, Goblin, Eun Tak and the Grim Reaper is still one of the most memorable and celebrated trios in Korean Drama history.
Even all the OSTs of Goblin are fans favorites, not only favorites, all those are the masterpieces. If you like watching fantasy dramas then this drama should be on the top of your watchlist. But if you don’t like the fantasy genre then I am not sure how much you are going to enjoy it but you will not be disappointed.
Cast: Gong Yoo, Lee Dong Wook, Kim Go Eun, Yoo In Na and others.
Crash Landing on You
One of the most unusual storylines in Kdrama happens here. The political issue between South Korea and North Korea is not unknown to anyone in this world. And this drama presents a lover to us who belongs to the rival countries of each other. The North Korean soldier Ri Jeong Hyeok meets a South Korean heiress Yoon Se Ri and falls in love with her. They both love each other profoundly but their love is not accepted by their respective countries. Their love and chemistry is the magnet that attracted the viewers and fans of this show. To date, people suggest this drama to everyone. The depth of emotion is so well shown that it will make you cry and smile at the same time. Fans hold their hearts calmly with the unpredictable story and its ending. The second lead couple will make you cry more than the first leads. When you watch this drama you will find yourself rooting for both couples. You will find yourself smiling at some particular scene that will even make you feel love. The bonding of the main and supporting characters is heartwarming too.
Cast: Hyun Bin, Son Ye Jin and others.
True Beauty
To some people beauty is not everything again to some people beauty is everything. The second type of people makes everyone’s life hell. Lim Ju Kyung is one of those people who are bullied by people because of her face. When she was young everyone compared her with her sister, now she is a teenager and she is still insulted by people in her school and society. Now she decides to change everything. She learns how to put makeup on and look artificially beautiful. After putting makeup on everyone loves her including her friends and others. This theme of the drama was related to so many people in our society. But this drama became a comfort zone when Ju Kyung found Suho, who loved her as she is, her true self. Again we got here one of the most loved second leads Seo Jun. To be honest, when Seo Jun comes into the scene the fans of the drama divide into two parts because one part of the fandom wants Ju Kyung end up with Suho because he loved Ju Kyung from the very beginning even from their childhood, and the other part of the fandom wanted Ju Kyung to choose Seo Jun because they think he was more deserving than Suho for the fact that he protected her when Suho left her alone.
Cast: Cha Eun Woo, Moon Ga Young, Hwang In Yeop and others.
How Kdrama Fan Reviews Influence Viewership Trends
Dramas are obviously made for the fans so the reviews of the fans directly influence the viewership of a drama. Let’s discuss how this happens.
Impact of Word-of-Mouth Recommendations
There are so many dramas that don’t actually get recognition at first not because of the weakness of the story but because either they can not understand the theme at first or because of the release of so many dramas together in a year and a particular drama hides into the shadows of the big budget-drama. But when the fans highlight the reasons why that drama is worth watching the rest of the fans respond with it and give it a watch, such as the dramas Itaewon Class and My Mister.
On the other hand, a bad review from fans can make the other fans uninterested in watching a drama like Love Alarm season 2.
Viral Moments Created by Fans
In every drama there needs to have some iconic moments or viral dialogues to engage the fans with a drama, like a date in an amusement park, the male lead looking at the moon and saying pretty to the female lead are forever iconic. The confession scenes are always loved by the fans. If I highlight some of the most iconic moments or viral dialogues that fans love the most then those are,
- Do you like Messi? – weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo
- I like you, even if you’re a man! – Coffee Prince
- The umbrella scene of Business Proposal
- Confession of Ko Moon Young – It’s Ok To Not Be Ok
- The giant whale scene of Extraordinary Attorney Woo
- The candle scene of Crash Landing on You
- I am Groot – Vincenzo
- The sword scene of Goblin
- Ji Eun Tak saying “Saranghae” to Goblin.
- H, I, J, K scene – Bad and Crazy.
There are uncountable scenes and dialogues that are still stuck in both the hearts and minds of the fans. They edit and upload on social media every day and attract the general fans to watch the whole drama to understand and enjoy that particular scene.
To conclude, I would say it’s always the fans who are the main targets of the filmmakers so it depends on the fans whether a drama will get recognition or not. As they give honest reviews all the time they become a trusted source for the fans to make their watchtime enjoyable too. So it can be the best idea to follow the recommendations of the fans before watching dramas of any genre.