Korea's leading film magazine, Cine21 recently published its comprehensive review of the Korean drama world in 2024, along with expectations for the coming year 2025. In this review, critics chose the most underrated and overrated dramas of 2024.
Among them, "A Virtuous Business" is considered the most underrated drama. The drama starring Kim So Yeon is actually a remake of the British TV series "Brief Encounters". The drama deals with a rather unique topic, selling adult toys in a historical village, but at the same time deals with social issues and complex characters.
According to critic Kim Hye Ri, "A Virtuous Business" does not isolate the topic of sexuality, but connects it to social issues of power and culture, resulting in an interesting approach." Meanwhile, critic Nam Sun Woo found the Korean drama to be progressive and charming, while still clearly addressing the core of its subject matter.
Finally, there is critic Bok Gil who also praised it by saying, "The story of 'A Virtuous Business' revolves around a married woman without children, a divorced woman, and a single mother who sells adult toys in a small village in the early 1990s."
Critic Bok Gil further said, "By making it a historical film, the film avoids unnecessary criticism while skillfully embedding timeless feminist issues into a relevant narrative, providing subtle enjoyment for female audiences." Next up is a drama whose popularity has been criticized as being too over the top.
Critics unanimously chose "Queen of Tears" starring Kim Ji Won and Kim Soo Hyun . According to critic Kim Sun Young, the drama relies too heavily on cliché Korean drama tropes, drawing comparisons to "The Clinic for Married Couples: Love and War."
"The Clinic for Married Couples: Love and War" was once aired by KBS. Season 1 aired from 1999 to 2009, and season 2 from 2011 to 2014, focusing on couples on the verge of divorce due to family conflicts. Critic Bok Gil criticized that in this work, "Class and status still hold absolute power."
Critic Park Hyun Joo agreed, stating that the drama faced harsh criticism for its poor storyline and lack of meaningful social commentary. Finally, critic Jin Myung Hyun described the handling of humorous situations in "Queen of Tears" as something that has deteriorated significantly. Interestingly, these critics' opinions are almost similar to TIME's perspective.
According to TIME magazine, the first part of "Queen of Tears" showed creativity in the K-Romance genre. However, the second part turned into a mess, recycling familiar cliches from other K-Dramas. Furthermore, the ending of the drama was considered lackluster, full of nonsensical and mediocre developments.
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