Find Me In Your Memory (Korean Drama)
An anchorman well known for his trademark sharp questions for his interviewee, our hero suffers from a condition (hyperthymesia) where he is unable to forget anything, including the most painful memories of his past. Ironically, our hero’s love interest will be an actress who has forgotten her past in a struggle to keep on living.
I had some reservations at first because the heroine’s over-optimistic personality really wasn’t the sort I would like. Thankfully, by the fourth episode (30 min/episode) we start to get a glimpse into the heroine’s backstory to shed some light into her character and the mysterious link between her and our hero’s past.
Going off topic for a bit, I was disappointed to see actress Kim Seul Gi is only playing a minor role as our heroine’s assistant here. I have liked her since her memorable role in Oh My Ghost (2015) and it seems about time that she should finally land a leading role.
This one is on Viki.com
Winter Begonia (Chinese Drama)
Set in 1930s China, Huang Xiao Ming plays a wealthy merchant who befriends a man who is a well known Chinese opera performer. Falling in love with the art of Chinese opera as the two men’s friendship grows, the wealthy merchant will eventually help his friend build a theater to help share their love for the art.
The two men’s dream is threatened in the summer of 1937 when the Japanese army invaded China. Unable to hold back as they watch the suffering of their fellow countrymen, the two friends are determined to fight to protect everything they hold dear.
This one would be awesome to check out for anyone who is interested in Chinese opera and its history. I avoid any drama set in this period of time in China so I won’t be following it…even if Huang Xiao Ming looks great here.
This one is on Viki.com
The Killing of Three Thousand Crows (Chinese Drama)
Once a carefree princess, everything our heroine treasured is destroyed in an instant when her father is betrayed by his own prime minister.
As a deity who is just passing time in the human realm, our hero knows full well that the last thing he should do is to get involved with our heroine’s life…especially knowing her fate as a princess is to die while trying to save her country. Unfortunately, the power of the drama god is apparently much greater than any deity’s will power and our hero will eventually fall in love with our heroine as she embarks on a path to find a divine lamp that is her people’s only hope. As if our heroine’s life is not hard enough, our hero’s real form is actually the divine lamp’s wick…so that means if our heroine really wants to save her country by lighting the lamp then our hero will die. No fear though, the show’s synopsis assures us this one will have a happy ending even if the road there is pretty bumpy.
Skate Into Love (Chinese Drama)
Our hero might be the “god of ice” in his university due to his impressive skill as a hockey player, but he still has vivid memories of his traumatic childhood thanks to his deskmate back then…our heroine. Believing that he has been given the perfect chance for revenge when our heroine unknowingly applies to be his assistant, our hero pulls some strings to make sure our heroine is hired as his assistant. Enjoying himself quite immensely in the process of exacting his revenge, our hero will eventually come to realize his childhood nemesis could actually push him to be better in hockey and he, in turn, would become the key to help her reignite the fire to pursue her dream once again. Our two leads will of course fall in love but as always, things get bumpy when first loves and disapproving Chinese parents get in the way.
The story is fairly predictable as you can tell from the synopsis but this one is worth considering anyway thanks to its very likable lead characters AND the great chemistry between them. I love the fact our heroine is completely clueless just how much of a nightmare she was to our hero. This of course makes our two leads’ interaction that much more amusing.
Rugal (Korean Drama)
Choi Jin Hyuk sure seems to like roles that require a whole lot of combat scenes, but then he always looks great doing them so I am not complaining. In Rugal, Choi Jin Hyuk plays our hero, a detective whose wife was killed by a criminal organization named Argos and he himself is accused of being his wife’s murder after Argos took away his eyes with a knife. Thanks to top-notch biotechnology, our hero regains his sight among other special abilities and joins others like him on a mission to bring Argos to justice.
This one is very bloody but the story is fast paced and action packed. I do have one tiny tiny problem though. Actor Park Seong Woong is supposed to be this scary evil villain in the story and his character really is but his character’s style here reminds me so much of his role in When the Devil Calls Your Name that I can’t help but want to laugh instead of having the appropriate fear/disgust emotion. As you can expect, it is kinda hard to have the right reaction to the story when you just want to give the villain a hug.
This one is on Netflix.
The World of the Married (Korean Drama)
A remake of the British series Doctor Foster, The World of the Married tells the story of our heroine, a successful doctor who seemingly has the perfect life…until she starts to suspect that her husband is cheating on her.
This one opened to high ratings and it is not hard to see the draw since the show did a good job of turning a good old story of a cheating husband into a suspense thriller. While I did enjoy the first two episodes, I lost interest once I realized the husband is just your run of the mill spinless douchebag who wants his family intact AND sleep around at the same time. My disappointment in the husband’s character aside though, the show does seem to have a solid story and an even more solid cast so I am sure plenty of people would enjoy this one.
Meow, The Secret Boy (Korean Drama)
As one who has always disliked cats, the last thing our heroine wants to do is bring one home…let alone a cat that used to belong to her first love’s ex. Unbeknownst to our heroine, the cat she has just reluctantly let into her house is no ordinary cat but one, much to its own puzzlement, has gained the ability to transform into human form after meeting her.
This one is based on a comic and is like every cat lovers’ fantasy. The show’s vibe is cute and romantic, with a beautiful cast all around.
My Roommate is a Detective (Chinese Drama)
Set in the 1920s, a young police captain decides to enlist some unconventional help (a plucky journalist rebelling against her rich dad and a cocky young man with 3 Ph.D. to his name along with a sharp detective mind) when he encounters a case where the best explanation is that the killer is a ghost.
I was intrigued by the premise but the first episode wasn’t able to keep my interest. Don’t let me stop you from checking this one out though because the show did have all the wacky elements that would usually interest me…but it just wasn’t working for me for some strange reason.
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Find Me In Your Memory is not available to European countires, so I think it is only licensed to North America like so many other Korean Dramas. That is why I can’t recommend Viki to us non-residents if they don’t prefer Chinese Drama. I can watch it with VPN but it is only updated fully for VVIP, notVIP and it is kind of cheating the makers. Dunno why Viki doesn’t get the licences for worldwide. It isn’t like I have to pay less than US or Canadian viewers.
Dang, I didn’t realize the licensing isn’t available to European countries. I guess I will have to rethink saying that certain shows are on Viki.
Thank you for your drama recommendations, I always look forward to them but particularly so during this pandemic period.