“Refund My Time”: 5+ Anticipated K-Dramas That Viewers Regret Watching In July
Spoiler Alert
As K-Dramas continue to increase in popularity worldwide, more and more are released across streaming platforms. Yet, with great demand comes a mix of quality. Unfortunately, some recent releases didn’t live up to their hype. Sure, K-Dramas are shorter than most mainstream Western TV shows, but some still leave viewers feeling like they wasted their time, even if they’re 16 episodes or less. Reddit users shared what K-Dramas they regretted watching in July.
Here are 5+ K-Dramas that might be worth skipping if you haven’t watched them already…
1. Lovely Runner
This sleeper hit has been the talk of the internet. TvN’s romantic-comedy time-slip show Lovely Runner (also known as Run Away With Sun-Jae On Piggyback) is adapted from the webcomic Tomorrow’s Best by True Beauty screenwriter Lee Si Eun. Actors Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon star as Ryu Sun Jae and Im Sol, respectively.
Ryu Seon-Jae (Byeon Woo-Seok) is a top star who has been in the spotlight since his debut. His life seems perfect, but being in the entertainment industry has completely worn him out. Meanwhile, Lim Sol (Kim Hye-Yoon) loves Ryu Seon-Jae as an adoring fan. When she was little, she had an accident. Due to that, she gave up on her dream, but listening to Ryu Seon-Jae’s song on the radio gave her comfort and she became his fan since then. One day, Lim Sol hears breaking news that Ryu Seon-Jae has ended his own life. She feels deep sadness over the tragic news. Miraculously, Lim Sol somehow travels back in time to 15 years in the past. There, she faces Ryu Seon-Jae, who is a 19 year old high school student. She struggles to prevent his tragic future.
— AsianWiki
Despite its overwhelming popularity, not everyone thought its success was deserved. Some felt the beginning was stronger, showcasing a female lead with real-life struggles and a disability. Yet, for most of the series, she is without disability, and her character becomes “annoying.”
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2. Hierarchy
The highly anticipated Netflix K-Drama Hierarchy premiered on June 7 with all seven episodes, making for perfect binge-watching. This high-school-based thriller stars Lee Chae Min, Roh Jeong Eui, Kim Jae Won, Lee Won Jung, and Ji Hye Won.
Jooshin High School is the most prestigious school in South Korea. The school was established by the conglomerate Jooshin Group. Normally, only students that are chosen at birth to attend Jooshin High School are allowed. Those students include Jung Jae-I (Roh Jeong-Eui), who is is the first daughter of the family that runs Jaeyool Group, Kim Ri-An (Kim Jae-Won) who is the successor of the Jooshin Group, Yoon He-Ra (Ji Hye-Won) who is the youngest daughter of trading company International Yoon, and Lee Woo-Jin (Lee Won-Jung) who is second son of a powerful politician family.
Meanwhile, Kang Ha (Lee Chae-Min) is transferred to Jooshin High School. He possesses a pure and innocent smile, but he holds a secret. Due to him, the concrete world of Jooshin High School begins to crack.
— AsianWiki
Hierarchy was a huge disappointment for many. They felt it was a poor excuse for a “revenge” K-Drama and that there was little to no character development.
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3. Midnight Romance in Hagwon
In The Midnight Romance in Hagwon (also known as Graduation), Wi Ha Joon plays Lee Joon Ho (also romanized Lee Jun Ho) opposite Jung Ryeo Won‘s Seo Hye Jin, his former academy teacher.
After resigning from a big company, Lee Joon Ho returns to the academy where he’d studied, this times as an instructor. He’s motivated by his lingering fixation on his first love, academy teacher Seo Hye Jin.
Seo Hye Jin has been a Korean language instructor for the past fourteen years. She became a star after the legendary incident labelled ‘Miracle of Daechi.’ Just when her life begins to feel settled, former pupil and troublemaker Lee Joon Ho, who she’d helped get into a prestigious university ten years previously, shows up and stirs up chaos.
— MyDramaList
Wi Ha Joon fans were initially excited for the actor to break free from typecasting, as he finally was the male lead in a romance K-Drama. However, there were numerous complaints about this K-Drama, from it being too niche to lacking chemistry and romance to being too dark, with viewers having to turn their brightness to maximum.
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4. Dare to Love Me
Kim Myung Soo (INFINITE‘s L) and Lee Yoo Young star in KBS2‘s Dare to Love Me, a webtoon-turned-series.
Kim Hong-Do (Lee Yoo-Young) is single and works as a contract worker for the design team of a mid-sized apparel company. She does pretty much everything there, including running errands, and her colleagues on the design team look down on her, but she maintains a positive attitude and doesn’t give up on attaining what she wants. Her dream is to work as a designer for a global luxury fashion brand. She keeps moving forward for her dream.
Meanwhile, Shin Yoon-Bok (Kim Myung-Soo) is a successor of his family who lives in Sungsan Village. The village maintains the appearance from the Joseon period. He takes the appearance of a Confucian scholar and follows what the elders in his family says, but he is also a young man who is full of adventure and a rebellious spirit. He has a dream of becoming of a webcomic writer. To attain his dream, he runs away to Seoul. There, Shin Yoon-Bok meets Kim Hong-Do.
— AsianWiki
Fans of L were especially excited for this K-Drama, and they loved the cultural heritage aspects. Yet, it went downhill fast, according to viewers. Many felt the female lead was “done dirty” at times.
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5. Midnight Studio
ENA‘s Midnight Studio (also known as Midnight Photo Studio and Nightly Photo Studio) stars Kwon Nara as the female lead, Han Bom, and Joo Won as the male lead, Seo Ki Joo (also romanized as Seo Gi Joo). Kim Yi Rang wrote the script with Song Hyun Wook (The King’s Affection) as the director.
Seo Ki-Joo (Joo Won) is a photographer and runs a small photo studio. He is the 7th owner of the photo studio and the shop is only for ghosts. Seo Ki-Joo takes portraits of the ghosts that come into the store. Meanwhile, Han Bom (Kwon Na-Ra) is a lawyer who is passionate about her work and does not tolerate injustice. Somehow, she ends up in a partnership with Seo Ki-Joo’s photo studio. The studio also has two employees: Assistant Manager Go (Yoo In-Soo) and Baek Nam-Koo (Eum Moon-Suk). Assistant Manager Go is in charge of bringing in ghosts as customers and Baek Nam-Koo is in charge of taking care of small chores around the store.
— AsianWiki
Netizens had anticipated this K-Drama after the cast broke down in tears at the script reading. Overall, viewers were divided, especially regarding the leads’ chemistry. Some felt the K-Drama “missed the mark” and was just “messy.”
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6. A Killer Paradox
Netflix original K-Drama A Killer Paradox (also known as Murder DIEary) was highly anticipated. The Black comedy-thriller premiered in February with all its episodes, following college student Lee Tang (also romanized as Yi Tang), played by Choi Woo Shik, and detective Jang Nan Gam, played by Son Suk Ku (also known as Son Seok Koo). It is based on the Naver Webtoon of the same name by Kkomabi.
When one accidental killing leads to another, an average college student finds himself stuck in an endless cat-and-mouse chase with a shrewd detective who will stop at nothing to capture him.
— Netflix
While this is a relatively short K-Drama, many viewers felt it was good at the start but lost its plot by the end, especially after the time jump. To some, it felt like the star actors got wasted on poor characters.
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