The year 2024 might be over, but I’m not done thinking about it yet, nor reflecting over all the great dramas, essays, and inspirations (okay, and aggravations) everyone shared over our Year in Review.
When it comes to the Beanie Awards, it was particularly fun, because there were some sure winners in my book that didn’t win at all, or ties I never expected — and sometimes the consensus even swung in the opposite direction. And while consensus isn’t everything (and no one enjoys being secretly contrary in her drama taste more than I do), it does shine an interesting light on the dramas, actors, characters, and elements that really resonated with everyone this past year. So, here are some reflections on a few of the Beanie Award entries and results.
Best romantic chemistry: This category gave us one of our most epic wins. I mean, reaching almost 64% of the Beanie consensus is impressive on a normal day, but on the topic of romantic chemistry — when we had so many OTPs with great chemistry this past year — it really says something. And it’s not undeserved, because in the face of an amazing lead OTP, our Business Proposal second lead couple clearly won the hearts of viewers. If ever a spin-off drama would be permitted, this might be the instance.
As much as I loved our second lead couple and their magical “I found you… my love” destiny, I actually voted for the OTP in Love All Play. Chae Jong-hyeop’s smile could melt the polar ice caps, and having him paired with Park Joo-hyun — a heroine who needed to be loved more than anything — made for a great watch. They managed cuteness, swoons, support, and honesty, all of which are a win in my book.
Favorite chaebol: Another award with a record-smashing win was our archaeopteryx Ahn Hyo-soep in the Favorite Chaebol category. ‘Twas a drama year full of great and romantic chaebols — be still my heart — but it’s clear from the results that the hard-working, food-loving, true-love-pursuing Tae-mu was the favorite. And who can argue with those results (even if you’re me, and you voted for your favorite underdog ever, Jung Il-woo.)
Best dressed female character: This might be one of the most satisfying wins from where I’m sitting — and I definitely voted for Geum-hee’s fashion closet. Using fashion and hair alone (okay, and some serious attitude) Business Proposal and Kim Se-jung were able to draw a hilarious and amazing line of distinction between our understated and hard-working heroine, and her loud and brazen alter-ego with the equally loud and brazen fashion sense.
In (another) year of excellent K-drama costuming — so often under-appreciated as we watch dramas — Geum-hee took home the big win with Beanies. Must have been the fishnet stockings.
Most over-used dramaland profession: In a poll that surprises no one, the profession of lawyer wins the award for the most ubiquitous dramaland profession, followed pretty closely by chaebol (is that even a profession?). Both of these designations ring true, but there’s only one I’m ready for more of in 2024. I’m sure you can guess.
Best ponytail/topknot situation: In one of the most perplexingly close races of the Beanie Awards, Mu-deok’s early hairdo wins by a hair over the ever-enjoyable Prince Won. And then there’s Kim Ji-hoon as Denver in Money Heist: Korea, who also put up one heck of a fight. But maybe this is an unfair fight? Assassin-maid hair versus princely locks versus hot criminal man-bun. Normally, I wouldn’t have to put all those things into one sentence, but this is dramaland, after all.
Best boss: In possibly the most unsurprising — and satisfying — win of the Beanie Awards, we have Kang Ki-young in Extraordinary Attorney Woo. His character might have been beloved by all (in-drama and out-of-drama!), but really this is most exciting because: Kang Ki-young! He has been an absolute gem in all of his supporting roles, so the attention and accolades (not only here but critically for his career) couldn’t be more deserved.
Best use of sweat: Not gonna lie, this was my favorite award of the year, but I’m actually shocked that Sohn Seok-gu as Gu didn’t take it home with a landslide. It can’t be that Beanies didn’t think he bore his angsty farmhand sweat well, could it? Nah… more like the toil and athleticism of our Twenty Five Twenty One fencing athletes won the hearts of viewers everywhere (mine included, but I still voted for Gu).
Biggest overall disappointment: In a drama year where the word “disappointing” was deployed by a frightening number of viewers, it’s interesting to see how these top options ranked. Now, I expected Why Her? to rank high, but the hundreds of votes for Thirty-Nine were a surprise. Snowdrop didn’t do half bad good either.
It occurs to me that so much of being disappointed over a drama is about the expectations we had. Some of them were set by the drama’s promotional materials, promised genre, or the appearance of a fantastic favorite actor. But also, there are those expectations we keep close to our chest: that feeling when you know you’re watching a story that’s truly speaking to you. Or, when you’re watching a story that should be speaking to you, but isn’t. Admittedly, I either dropped or didn’t even try to watch most of the dramas in this list, but maybe that’s okay, since they’re perfect in my head.
Made me squee the most: On the opposite side of the street to “biggest disappointment” we have the award for the drama that made you squee the most. And while Business Proposal is a worthy winner, and Extraordinary Attorney Woo and Alchemy of Souls are excellent silver and bronze medalists — what’s more interesting here are the dramas that got bottom rung votes. They’re all romances! They should survive on squees alone! (Perhaps the low votes indicate the sorry turns some of these dramas took later in their run.)
Most frivolous waste of talent: I also love this award category, because if you look at it sideways, it’s actually quite a compliment. These fine actors deserved better than the roles or dramas that they got, and as a tried and true fan of all four of these guys, let’s hope that 2024 brings them more of the limelight. Or a limelight that showcases their greatness, instead of making us sigh at how little screen time they got, or how undeveloped their character was. I definitely voted for Lee Soo-hyuk in Tomorrow, and I would have done so even if they never put him in a vest — but yeah, they did, and that cemented it.
Favorite OTP: For the last category of my retrospective, we have the Favorite OTP — possibly the most popular, beloved, and voted on topic. And I’d say the competition was pretty fierce. But unlike the Best Romantic Chemistry award above, Favorite OTP encompasses a whole lot more than onscreen sizzle: I’d argue it’s more about the soul of the OTP, and how much they embody the dramatic perfection that is the One True Pairing. We had a fabulous selection of OTPs this year — and many not even on the list that were equally lovely — but it’s nice to see peoples’ affections divided and all that love spread around. Let’s do it again next year.
BONUS ADDENDUM: For those asking in the comments, John #1 was the clear winner.
