The songs featured during the recap: "Running" by Gaho and "Shake Shake."
The intense and emotional hackathon that tests our characters’ ambition, determination, and self-worth.
Seo Dal-mi’s rising ambition and her impressive performance as the new CEO of Samsan Tech.
Nam Do-san’s growing confidence, his romantic development, and his beautiful metaphor involving Tarzan.
The theme of imposter syndrome and how both Dal-mi and Do-san feel they’re not worthy — but believe in each other.
The critical role APIs, GPUs, data sets, and artificial neural networks play in tech — and how they’re introduced in the show.
Han Ji Pyeong’s internal turmoil, guilt, and shift from dismissive investor to personal mentor and backer of Samsan Tech.
The heartbreaking reveal that Dal-mi didn’t go to college because she wanted to buy a corn dog truck for her grandmother.
Dal-mi’s smart and humble recruitment of Jeong Sa Ha, a designer with top-tier credentials, by literally going down on her knees.
The competitive and cold dynamic between the sisters, especially in the brutal bathroom scene.
The sly arrival of stylish twins to In Jae Company and the challenge they pose to Samsan Tech.
Alex Kwon’s savvy evaluation of Samsan Tech’s potential, not just performance — and his pivotal vote that secures their place in Sandbox.
The ethics and motivations behind Han Ji Pyeong’s involvement in the letters, and Seo Dal-mi’s growing suspicions.
Our reflections on the character of Han Ji Pyeong and whether redemption is possible.
The amazing career of Kang Han Na, the actress who plays Won In Jae, including her roles in Moon Lovers, Bon Appetit, and her stint as a top DJ for KBS.
References
Data.gov, the home of the US Government’s Open Data
Hello, K-Drama Chat Community!
ReplyDeleteI’d love to share my top K-dramas of 2025. My top two are (1) When Life Gives You Tangerines and (2) The Trauma Code: Heroes On Call—both stand out for their strong performances and well-constructed, compelling narratives.
I also enjoyed several other series for more specific reasons rather than overall execution. Study Group, Tempest, Love Scout, and Dynamite Kiss each had elements that worked particularly well—whether it was the cast, a strong opening, or an intriguing premise that hinted at greater potential.
Sunghee and Joanna, even when I can’t comment in real time, I’ve been rewatching Start-Up alongside your podcast episodes. I first watched Start-Up early in my K-drama journey and, at the time, wasn’t influenced by Bae Suzy’s popularity. Now, with more context and a deeper understanding of storytelling choices, I’m finding myself watching the series from a very different—and more critical—perspective.
Happy Holidays to everyone!
Hi Irma, your comment about specific reasons for enjoying a drama made me recall another one I watched in 2025, although I think it was made a few years ago.
DeleteThe Winning Try is about a rugby team, and I have a rugby-loving family, so it was a must-watch drama for me.
The script and on-screen text included lots of explanations about the game, but obviously decided not to complicate things by mentioning that the version played in the drama was a pared-back game called Rugby Sevens, rather than rugby in its full form.
I know Japan has a strong rugby scene, so maybe this was an attempt to boost recognition and participation in Korea, as well as being a decent drama (with no love triangles!).
Thanks, Johanna and Sung Hee, for highlighting Gaho's song Running from the Start-Up OST. This song is one of three Gaho tracks I listen to regularly, the others being Yellow Light from King the Land and the one from Itaewon Class ... is it called Start Over? They are all great mood boosters!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you like the song Running! It's a song that gets played a lot in this show and yes, it's high energy and full of emotion. Love it!
Delete
DeleteHi Doremi, yes I usually have specific reasons in watching a Kdrama, that I love the actors, genre, or setting. Sometimes it depends what season in life I'm in, or what mood I have.
I really don't have anything of substance to add to what was said on the podcast
ReplyDeleteJust maybe groan on the unrealistic nature of hackathon, and the amazing results that were produced in such short time.
I am basing on what I watched this year, not what was released this year.
Kdrama has the opposite problem of American drama. Almost all the good roles given to women. While I can easily list 10 actresses without batting an eye, I struggled to name 3 memorable male leads. Only the first 2 I found them really very good.
My Top 3 Actresses:
Park Bo Young: Our Unwritten Seoul
Kim Tae Ri: Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born (Can't give her first spot everytime. Also the series was more of an ensemble)
Moon So Ri: When Life Gives You Tangerines
My Top 3 Actors:
Lee Jun Ho: The Red Sleeve
Park Hae Joon: When Life Gives You Tangerines
Lee Deok Hwa: The Red Sleeve
(I think I mentioned it when we discussed WLGT. I found the older version actors significantly better than the more famous and glamourous ones)
Best Guest: Yeom Hye Ran: When Life Gives You Tangerines
Best Ensemble:
Light Shop
Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born
...and the big one. My favourite top 10 dramas I watched in 2025 (Dynamite Kiss still didn't finish, but it is not getting there anyway) in reverse order:
10. Call it Love : 2023
09. Queenmaker: 2023
08. Our Movie: 2025
07. Love Scout: 2025
06. Light Shop: 2024
05. Our Unwritten Seoul : 2025
04. The Red Sleeve: 2021
03. When Life Gives You Tangerines: 2025
02. One Spring Night: 2019
01. Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born: 2024 (also joining my all times favourites)
The bottom series. Actually, nothing as bad as When The Phone Rings from last year, but my least favourite was: Beyond The Bar.
My most anticipated Kdrama for 2026 : Show Business, starring Gong Yoo and Song Hye Kyo. It is about the eveolution of Korean Entertainment Industry. It is 22 episodes, written by the same writer of Our Blues. This has the potential of becoming a major hit for me.
Seven Seas, it warms my Han Ji-min loving heart to see One Spring Night as your no.2 drama the year! 🫶
DeleteSeven Seas, thank you for sharing your top 10 and top 3s from this year. I'm going to compile everyone's list and see what comes out on top. I'm still ruminating over MY top 5. I'm laughing that One Spring Night made your number 2 spot, and made Malcolm smile!
DeleteTop 5? It's kinda hard to name just 5 so I would like to have a couple of honorable mentions. My #1 of this year is Tangerines, which crept into my top 5 of all time. The other 4, in no particular order: Our Unwritten Seoul, As You Stood By, Price of Confession, and Study Group. I love the majority of Tempest and Dynamite Kiss that's still ongoing, as my h.m. My idea of a top/favorite drama is if I kept thinking about it and feel the feels even after the drama is over. I also wanna mention some actors that left an impression for me: Go Hyun Jung of Queen Mantis, Kim Go Eun of Price of Confession, Lee You Mi of As You Stood By and Ji Chang Wook of Manipulated.
ReplyDeleteThank you as always for all your hard work and Happy Holidays to all!!!
Gosh, as soon as I published this I remember Park Bo Young of course! Oops.
DeleteOoh, you have some good show on your list, including a few that I haven't watched and that weren't on my "to watch" list. Thank you!
DeleteThank you for listening!
Hi Ellen, your list looks like mine. I will check out the other series in your list.
DeleteMy favourite Dramas of 2025 are When Life Gives You Tangerines and Our Unwritten Seoul. I also enjoyed Bon Appetit, Love Scout and Dynamite Kiss.
ReplyDeleteI dropped Genie Make A Wish, Squid Game3 and Potato Lab.
But none of the shows made it into my top five.
But what makes a drama excellent? For me it's a show I feel an urge to rewatch ( several times) at once.It must have great character developments ( not only for the main characters), compelling naratives, humour, good actors, a credible ending(not necessarily a happy one!) , emotional depth, relatable characters...The characters stay with you for a long time or even forever. An excellent drama grows on you after rewatching it.(My List:Cloy/Mr.Sunshine/It's ok to not be ok/..)
On the other hand there are shows you enjoyed very much, but you find minor flaws, when watching them a second time. They are still good, but not outstanding..
Oh my goodness, Dynamite Kiss! Every trope in the book, 3 romances, great cast and cheesy fun through the credits in the final episode. Not a top level drama, but a well-executed bit of light entertainment to finish the year.
ReplyDeletePro Bono is growing on me...
All, thank you for your Top 5 and Top Whatever lists. Love it all. I am compiling everything. Let's see if I can make sense of it all before this weekend's recording.
ReplyDeleteI am currently watching Pro Bono and loving it. Haven't started Dynamite Kiss yet but I will. I wanted something different after Because This Is My First Life.
Doremi, yes, Pro Bono grows on you. Our tsundere attorney is showing a lot of character and depth.
My Top 5 for this year is:
ReplyDelete(1) Trauma Code - because Ju Ji Hoon (he's the KING in fan service!)
(2) When Life Gives you Tangerines - because IU and Park Bo Gum and that very beautiful story
(3) Resident Playbook - because of the chemistry between Go Youn-jung and Jung Joo-won caught me by surprise
(4) 9 Puzzles - because Son Suk-ku and Kim Da-mi and that mind-boggling crime that they had to solve
(5) Heavenly Ever After - because of Son Suk-ku and his chemistry with Kim Hye-ja
Some other runner-ups:
Hyper Knife - Park Eun-bin displays her acting range by playing a psychopath in this drama. I did a double take as her character was so different from Atty. Woo.
Mercy for None - great comeback for So Ji-sub. And the villains also caught me by surprise-- Gong Myung and Choo Young-woo. They play sweet characters in their other dramas.
Can we also have variety/reality shows too?
There are some long-running ones (Running Man and Two Days One Night--both running more than a decade) but there are some short ones (around 10-12 episodes). These will really make you more curious with Korean cuisine and culture. Most of the cast members of these shows are actors so it'll be interesting to see your favorite actors being their real selves. Some of these I watch in VIU, (here in the Philippines) or Netflix so I'm not sure which of the streaming services in the US carry these variety shows.
Here are my favorites so far for this year:
- Culinary Class Wars - black spoons vs white spoons. And the editing was outstanding! Can't recall being excited over an ingredient. Season 2 is out and again a nailbiter!
- Rented in Finland - Lee Je Hoon and three other actors go to Finland and experience how it is to live there (and watch the perfect Lee Je Hoon ruin scrambled eggs) :)
- House on Wheels - Sung Dong-il (Reply 1988) and Kim Hee-won (Moving and director of Light Shop) go around Korea in their little house camper. For this season, they went to Hokkaido, Japan!