That's interesting to read, @teriyaki! I find it difficult to keep on being invested with large ensemble casts because I always find a subplot or two that are subpar, either in the plot or with my interest in it. So sometimes I struggle with large ensemble cast dramas because I. JUST. WANT. TO. GET. TO. THE. MAIN. PLOT! While I haven't seen most of the dramas you've mentioned, I'm loving Father is Strange now and I do agree with your thoughts on it. I love how Min-ha is the opposite end of the spectrum with his family, with his levelheadedness and calmness under all situations whereas his family has hysterics and histrionics mastered. Haha! Maybe I should try more dramas with a large cast before putting them off completely. Had fun reading this!

I've haven't watched any 50 episode dramas because I was aware that I won't be able to keep track of the progress since it requires a long term investment. But a lot of people have praised some of these family dramas & I wonder if I should check them out...

I shy away from long dramas because it will take a lot of commitment. I started watching Rebel but stopped after a handful of episodes because i found out its 30 episodes. ? its a great drama (from what I've seen in the beginning and last few episodes) but I have a short attention span and limited hours in a day to spend. Thank goodness for recaps since it helped fill the gaps. But I would like to give it a try. Been hearing good things about Six Flying Dragons, maybe I will start with that.

That's one of my favorite scenes in Answer Me 1988. I wasn't familiar with Park Bo-gum when I saw it, but the interaction was so powerful that I was like, "Dude, this kid's got it."

What a lovely post. Thanks for sharing.

Nice post, @TeriYaki!

My first 50 ep. drama was Ojakkyo Brothers and it was such a positive experience that it cured me of my long-drama commitment-phobia. I agree that longer dramas with larger ensembles can be especially rewarding. I find that spending half a year with a cast of characters often means that I feel that I really get to know (and love) them more deeply, and their character growth can feel a lot more organic because it doesn't have to happen so quickly. And I, too, love the meaningful connections that can happen between characters that you wouldn't necessarily expect to be paired-- the High Kick team was especially good at creating those. The intergenerational bonds that develop can be especially heartwarming-- like the one in Five Children between nine-year-old Woo-ri and "Haraboji" (who was actually her step-dad's ex-father-in-law).

I hope we get plenty more family dramas like Five Children and Father Is Strange: dramas with lots of heart and very little in the way of histrionics.

Mr Bae and Dol-yi were a big part of my enjoyment of The Return of Iljimae one of my first Kdramas and their scenes in China were heartbreaking. I've since watched and enjoyed more 24 episode dramas and I do want to try some longer shows. I think I'm going to start with Six Flying Dragons which I've wanted to watch for some time and then Father is Strange which several Beanies have recommended. That's the Autumn and Winter sorted then!

The longest k-drama I've watched so far is Empress Ki and repeated it for more than five times already, I really love and all but I must say that a 16-20 episodes drama is better for my health(HAHA) because I tend to desperately wants to finish a show as soon as I can and do binge-watching a lot which is not very convenient for a 50+ episodes show.

That scene between taek and Sung appa is one of my favorite too. That moment when taek says, 'I miss my mom everyday', the age gap between him and deok sun's dad vanishes ; taek understands his pain, since he has gone through it too, also later I got to know that PBG lost his mom too, which makes the whole scene a lot more meaningful and thought provoking, rather than it would in another time.

I don't mind watching long saguek dramas (such as Jewel in the palace, Dong Yi, Empress Ki), but somehow I don't have enough patient to tune in to long daily/weekend modern dramas because most has draggy plots :l

@TeriYaki, this is nicely written, such a good vibe.
I don't like it when heroes have almost no friends or family moments - they seem lonely. But long time dramas develop main and some of the minor characters and they feel more relatable and full. It just makes me so happy when a supporting character feels like the hero of his own life, however small part of it we see.

The only thing I don't like about a ton of characters is that it's hard for me to keep track of them with my small brain. It doesn't help that some actors do two or even three roles in different dramas AT THE SAME TIME, which just confuses me further. But once I get past the setup time, you're right, it is more fun! You can always find something to like in a subplot if you don't like what's going on in the main plot.

Knowing how much I love subplots and tertiary characters in dramas, this makes me think that I should give weekend dramas a new try. I love seeing all the great senior and character actors and love seeing newbies getting their chance as well. Thanks, TeriYaki!

Thanks for the post! It was an interesting read. It's fun to see how peoples opinions and tastes are similar or different from mine. Or how peoples tastes have changed over their drama watching history.

Lots of Beanies seem to love The Return of Iljimae but I really did not like it (my mom watched it separately and was confused why I suggested such a bad drama to her). The only reason I watched all of it was the glowing review from GF and JB and the hope that I might eventually see what they saw in the drama. I admit it was beautiful but it was not good in so many ways.

Thanks for a lovely article, TeriYaki!

I started out watching sageuks, so I was already dealing with large casts. Indeed, one of the things I appreciated was the many side characters with touching arcs of their own, although I admit it was difficult to keep track of who was who. Nowhere was this more difficult than in Joseon-era dramas with a zillion guys wearing gats.

Luckily, AsianWiki came to my rescue. The cast mugshots are a godsend, not only for identifying the characters, but for identifying actors whose performances I enjoyed so I can watch their other works. I keep the drama's page open in a separate tab for ready reference. It really helps. ;-)

My second sageuk turned out to be a daily drama with many memorable side characters and sub-plots. THE KING'S DAUGHTER, SU BAEK HYANG ruined me, in fact, because its 108 half-hour episodes endowed even minor characters with meaningful back stories and plots. Comedy provided much-needed relief when the baddies were getting away with murder. I've since watched a couple of 50-episode dramas (HWAJUN among them), but haven't quite worked my way up to JUMONG, although it's on my list.

I started watching other genres after a couple of years, but it was only this spring that I got around to marathoning FIVE CHILDREN, which I loved. It has a different vibe from the shorter dramas, and I enjoyed spending more time with an endearing flock of personalities.

One of the things about big ensembles is that it gives the Dramas different narratives, themes and layers of truth.

One of my best loved Dramas of all times is 9 ENds 2 Outs, since it touched on so many themes. One of my favorites was the uncanny friendship between the Call Center lady and the failed editor. It spoke about loneliness and lost time in such a lovely way.