Penthouse (2020)

A who-dunnit-revenge drama set in a luxury penthouse with an enormous cast.  The plot focuses on the money hungry residents and their privileged children, their power struggles, and the death of a student (Jo Soo-Min) from a lower social class who somehow landed in school with the children.  

The plot gets tired fast.  Although the writers obviously try to leave each episode off on a cliff hanger, I don't find myself waiting on the edge of my seat for the next episode.  This drama is ongoing (December 2020, ending 4 January 2021), but even though I'm not watching much else I have not had the urge to catch up on (or finish) it in weeks.  4/10

True Beauty (2020)

A sweet idol drama following the life of high schooler Im Joo Kyung (Mun Ka-Young).  Joo Kyung was bullied for her appearance, but she learned to makeup techniques and transferred schools to re-invent herself.  At her new school no one knows her true face, except for one dark and broody person who of course becomes her romantic interest.

Based on a webtoon, this series has another classic light hearted romantic plot.  It is fairly predictable, the pace is steady, and the writers aren't leaving us on the edge of our seats every week.  It doesn't top my list of must-watch on-going dramas, but I do make a point to watch the weekly episodes when they air.  Although it's not-a-must-watch vibe, the cast has a great visual that I certainly appreciate which includes Astro's Cha Eun Woo!

Run On (2020)

A romantic comedy following two quirky characters.  Oh Mi-Joo (Shin Se-Kyung) is a translator that meets Ki Seon-Gyeom (Im Si-Wan), a national athlete.  Mi-Joo is a gun fanatic and Seon-Gyeom comes off cold and very straight forward.  

This drama has a fresh, albeit strange, plot.  Though the main characters are a bit odd and the writing is sometimes cheesy at best, Shin Se-Kyung and (idol turned actor) Im Si-Wan have great onscreen chemistry.  This is by far my favorite drama at the moment.  Also, it goes without saying that the two have a killer visual.

Cheat On Me If You Can (2020)

Kang Yeo-Joo (Cho Yeo-Jeong) is a meticulously observant murder mystery writer married to a serial cheater, yet "Korea's husband" Han Woo-Sung (Ko Jun) who vowed when they were married that if he cheated he should die.  

This drama has been slow.  I started watching it after a solid number of episodes had aired, since there weren't many others going on.  For a murder mystery drama I find it rather boring. 

Goddess of Revenge (2020)

Two people with a complicated fate work together to bring wealthy criminals who got away with their crimes to justice.  Kang Hae Ra (Kim Sa Rang) is a woman who was framed and whose reputation was ruined by her husband.  Cha Min Joon (Yoon Hyun Min) uses the opportunity to recruit her into his own revenge plot. 

This drama has a familiar revenge plot vibe.  It has a steady pace, and there are several arcs of Hae Ra and Min Joon going after various 'bad guys'.  Although I wouldn't call it bad, I do find many scenes skippable.  Not a particularly noteworthy drama so far.

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020)

"Goo Ra-Ra (Go Ara) is a pianist. She has bright personality. Something happened that caused her to become bankrupt. She doesn't have anything now and she is frustrated with her situation.

Sunwoo Joon (Lee Jae-Wook) doesn't care what other people think about him, but he has a warm heart. He is free spirited and doesn't have a specific dream or goal for his life. He makes ends meet by working part-time jobs.

Goo Ra-Ra and Sunwoo Joon meet at the small private piano academy LaLa Land in a country village."  -Asian Wiki Staff

This series is a light hearted romantic comedy.  The plot is fairly predictable, the pace is steady, and the writers aren't leaving us on the edge of our seats every week.  It doesn't top my list of must-watch on-going dramas, but I do make a point to watch the weekly episodes when they air.  Adding to it's not-a-must-watch vibe, the cast doesn't have any of my favorite actors/actresses.  The leading lady doesn't leave an impression, but the male lead (Lee Jae-Wook) has some heart-throb potential--he also won best new actor 2019. 7/10

Private Lives (2020)

A show about a pair of con artists whose gigs go sideways, because they fall in love.  

Cha Joo-Eun comes from a family of con artists, and although she disapproved of her parents' lifestyle, she fell into it herself trying to catch the woman who landed her father in prison.  In her latest con, she meets Lee Jeong-Hwan and believes she can finally put an end to her criminal career.  

Unfortunately, she is caught in a con herself.   The pair spend the show trying to find out how well they really knew each other and exactly how and why they ended up fooling one another in the first place.

This series is a real treat, I look forward to seeing it each week and would recommend it.  Although the writers aren't exactly leaving us on the edge of our seats for this one either, I haven't exactly seen particular spin on the classic revenge plot.

Seohyun back on the small screen after having done her time as part of the K-Pop group Girl's Generation, and while she isn't the best actress she has good chemistry with Ko Gyung-Pyo.  And although he is the second male lead, this series also features one of my favorite villian actors Kim Young-Min!  After seeing him in The World of the Married earlier this year, he's unforgettable.  He is also recognizable for his role as a rat in Crash Landing on You.  6.5/10

Tale of the Nine Tailed Fox (2020)

A fantasy drama about Lee Yeon who was once a nine-tailed fox mountain spirit. He sacrificed his life as a mountain god in order to ensure that the human he loved would be re-incarnated.  In the present, 600 years later, Lee Yeon is living as a nine-tailed fox in human form waiting and searching for his re-incarnated love.

Now THIS is a series that I eagerly wait on every week.  Highly recommend.  I don't watch many fantasy dramas, but when I do they always have a strong male lead.  This one is no exception.  Lee Dong-Wook has proven his acting skills in many dramas--more recently as another broody character in the medical drama Life, and I found it funny that in this series the writers have included a nod to his previous role as Grim Reaper in Goblin.  And of course I must mention the return of Kim Bum who was made famous in Boys Over Flowers, recently completed his military service (March 2020), and has somehow returned to the small screen looking even more youthful than when he took his break!  8.5/10

More Than Friends (2020)

"Due to a misunderstanding, Lee Soo and Kyung Woo-Yeon have held a crush on each other for over 10 years.

Lee Soo works as a photographer and he is attractive. Kyung Woo-Yeon works as a calligrapher. She has had a crush on Lee Soo for the past 10 years, since she was 18 years old." -Asian Wiki Staff

I tend to forget that this series is currently airing, and when I remember to watch it I have 2-3 episodes to catch up on.  Not much passion in this plot, and it's very angsty.  No big names in the cast lineup, and no stellar acting either (male leads are boy band members turned actors).  Still, I find it worth watching when I've got nothing else to do. 4/10

Search (2020)

A North Korea vs South Korea zombie series focusing a dog handler whose father died in a mysterious military accident which made a politician famous.  The title comes from the fact that the main cast makes up a search party looking for radio-active zombie targets that are causing trouble in the DMZ.

Another series I tend to forget about, not because it is boring but because it has several gimmick-y themes going on.  I'm not a big fan of action dramas, but it's not the worst (or best) one that I have seen.  The pace has been pretty slow so far, I typically fast-forward through about half of each episode. 3/10

Start-Up (2020)

Seo Dal-Mi lost her father after her mother and sister abandoned them due to his failed business ventures.  During this time her grandmother took in an orphaned teenager who became pen pals with Dal-Mi while she needed emotional support and friendship.  In the present Dal-Mi tracks down her pen pal in order to show up her sister, but he turns out to be different than the pen pal she remembers.  The two become business partners at a start-up factory and get to know each other "again".

I'm a sucker for tech dramas.  This series is a nice romantic comedy that tugs at the heart strings too.  There are also plenty of cute awkward goofy humor scenes.  The main characters are the typical underdogs, and the plot is the standard business vengeance plot.  The cast has good chemistry, and it gives me a little something to look forward to on the weekends. 8.5/10