Dramaworld is a 10 episode short drama that tells the story of 20-year-old Claire Duncan (Liv Hewson) who has an obsession with Korean dramas. One day she is magically pulled into her favorite kdrama through her smartphone. With a little help from her guide, Seth (Justin Chon), she sets out on a mission to save the drama by making sure true love is achieved before it ends.
Well, Dramaworld was actually pretty cute and funny! It is Viki’s first original series, and I think it was done quite well with decent production and smooth transitions between the use of English and Korean. I was cautiously excited when this project was initially announced last year, but was unsure of exactly what we would get. Luckily, it was a fun little ride.
Yes, the drama is cheesy, but it works for the story. A lot of the acting is a bit rough too. But in some ways, it just kind of worked. If you enjoy parodies or if you’ve ever dreamed of getting to be part of a kdrama, then this drama is for you!
We have our average girl Claire who is obsessed with kdramas. Her life revolves around them, and her dad just doesn’t understand. Liv Hewson did well in this role and was really able to portray the excitement we fans feel when it comes to our dramas.
Justin Chon plays Seth, Claire’s guide in Dramaworld. He is a facilitator who makes sure things run smoothly. But when things go wrong in Dramaworld, Claire is brought in to help save the drama. Seth was a fun character on multiple levels.
Then we have our leading man Joon Park (Sean Richard). Joon is your classic kdrama hero. He’s a handsome and arrogant chaebol heir who owns a restaurant. Sean Richard sometimes seemed a bit stiff, but honestly, it worked perfectly for this drama. And I think he does improve as the drama goes along too.
Seo Yeon (Bae Noo Ri) is our classic heroine who is sweet and innocent who tries her best to get the attention of Joon. We’ve even got our sweet and handsome second male lead (Woo Do Hwan) to offer her some comfort.
Dramaworld is definitely cheesy, but it fits well with comical narrative since the primary purpose is to parody all of the kdrama clichés. There are hot guys taking showers, random drunk girls looking for piggy back rides, and guys always ready to catch a girl if she falls.
I also really loved this little montage that shows all of the dramas Joon Park has done. They are completely different dramas, but he has the exact same pose and expression in all of them! Haha, love it!
There are quite a few cameos too. I particularly enjoyed Han Ji Min, Choi Siwon, and Yang Dong Geun’s cameos. They each provided some really good laughs. I just wish the cameos could have been longer!
There is also a nice story that develops as the drama progresses. I was definitely interested in what was going to happen to all of our characters. I even wasn’t quite sure how the drama would actually end!
SPOILERS BELOW
We even got a nice twist in the form of facilitator Seth actually being an evil kdrama super villain. It turns out he is the one trying to disrupt Dramaworld so that he can become the leading man and get the girl. It was pretty fun.
And I really enjoyed Joon and Claire as a team. As they worked together to save Dramaworld, their connection grew, and their feelings became romantic. It was bringing to life all of those dreams of average girls all over the world to actually have that kdrama leading man sweep her off her feet and fall in love with her. It was seriously a lot of fun.
Then comes the time where Joon finds out he is actually just a drama character. I love stuff like this. After the initial shock, his feelings for Claire only deepen. But in order to defeat Seth and save Dramaworld, Joon needs to give true love’s kiss to Seo Yeon.
But in another twist, Joon can’t deny his feelings and ends up giving true love’s kiss to Claire! And Dramaworld is saved. The dream is complete with that! It really was very endearing and sweet.
But Claire has to return to her world and Dramaworld is reset for the next drama. But in a cliffhanger ending, Joon shows up in the real world to inform Claire that he needs her to come back and help save Dramaworld again! Haha, too cute!
Dramaworld really was a fun little drama. If you want something light and fun that’s on the cheesy side, I would definitely recommend it. And this is a time where I genuinely would love to see a season 2 for a drama. Wouldn’t it be fun to see Claire’s continued adventures in Dramaworld?
My Rating: 7/10
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