I think it's pretty safe to say that I did not watch every single drama that aired in Korea in 2013, but out of the ones I did watch, there was one that I was obsessed with. There was another one I cannot believe to this day that I even finished considering how terrible it was but I'll get to that next week.  This week is a focus on the good and keep in mind once again that I did not watch every drama so this is what I consider the best drama of 2013 out of the ones I've watched (SPOILERS BELOW).

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BEST K-DRAMA

This has to be tvN's 'Reply 1994' for a couple of reasons.  Generally, the writing was absolutely superb, the episodes were edited in a way that heightened anticipation and each revelation. Not to mention, the OST was nostalgic and superb.

1. THE CHARACTERS

The characters are so vivid, colorful, alive, unique, and genuine.  I mean, of course K-Dramas are fun to watch because of the typical quirky girl and the cool guy who could freeze you with his stare but still look hot at the same time.  After a while, though, it can get kind of old, which is why this drama is so refreshing!  You feel like you could be there in the boarding house with them, drinking with them on weekends and trying to sneak into clubs on weeknights.  Where else will you find a character like Yoon Jin, who initially looks small and vulnerable, but turns out to be this violent character who curses like no other?  How about the idiotic brother figure Trash, who actually turns out to be this genius sweetheart?  This drama doesn't have main characters--it deeply explores each one's inner thoughts and conflicts so you feel like you're inside their mind rather than watching them passively on your screen.

2. THE RELATIONSHIPS

This drama doesn't just focus on the romance--it does a really good job of exploring and putting to the test all other relationships. Like that between friends, between a parent and a child, between a married couple, between siblings, and more.  It makes you emotionally invested, especially by making everything so realistic.  Remember that awful silence at the table as the family cryptically talked about going back to their hometown and you just know it's because of some anniversary relating to the young son who passed away?  Remember that awful moment in Trash and Na Jung's relationship when they had passed the honeymoon phase and was entering into the infamously difficult long-distance relationship?  'Reply 1994' doesn't really sugarcoat things--it shows all the frictions and tensions, but more importantly, how the characters deal with these hardships and overcome them.  Overall, this drama has a certain amount of depth that many other dramas lack. (In an additional note, love the narrations that talk about a specific theme or lesson for each episode).

Whoa, how'd I forget the bromance.

3. THE SETTING

Obviously, this drama is unique in that it is a retro drama that starts in 1994 and gradually moves forward to present time.  I was too young to remember 1994 all that much, but this drama still makes me feel like I belong somehow because everything seems to have been perfectly researched and incorporated--popular dramas, trends, technology, you name it.  It actually made me want beepers to come back--that's how much my mind had been taken over by this setting and it seemed so cute the way they call it a '??' (bbee bbee).  I kept wanting to talk in their dialect and whenever I even read Korean, I was reading in my mind with that dialect.  It was crazy.  The drama did an amazing job of bringing that time period back to life.

4.  THE MYSTERY

WHO IS THE DAMN HUSBAND, DAMN IT?!  This was a genius way to get people hooked.  The drama would keep dropping hints about the possible husband in the present-time scenes.  Not to mention, you would be on either Team Trash or Team Chilbong so there was that intensity to it--you were most likely rooting for one or the other, which was complete torture.  Even though I was pretty sure it was going to be Trash in the end, I was still really nervous it might not be (guess which team I was on)! Somehow, juxtaposing the past with present in which we know for sure she married one of the characters puts you more on the edge of your seat.

5. CONS

Honestly, a few things.  I skipped large segments at a time, partly because I was eager to get to the mystery of who the husband was and partly because I had no idea what was going on and it could get a bit tedious.  I think those parts were more for people who were actually capable of remembering most of the 90s.  Plus, I never actually lived in Korea so I don't know where all these places are located and what they're known for so a lot of that was just lost on me.

Well there you have it, the reasons why 'Reply 1994' was my favorite drama of 2013. Stay tuned for next week when I reveal what I thought was the Most Disappointing K-Drama of 2013!  Meanwhile, a lot of you probably watched more dramas than I did, so which one was your favorite of 2013 and why?