Unfortunately the cameos and Justin Choi are the only things worth watching in this short series. The concept sparkles but there is no character development. We're not given any reasons to connect with the main characters or to care about what happens to them. The lead Claire is paper-thin. She has zero depth. The leading male Joon was wooden. Both leads struggled with their acting. Their portrayals either felt forced, flat, or awkward throughout the series. And their love-line never took off.
Dramaworld also tries to spoof the genre but none of the things fans love about K- dramas are present beyond shallow acknowledgment that the tropes do, in fact, exist. The tropes are used more like, "Look a cake. Cakes are funny. Everyone loves cakes because they have eggs, and flour, and sugar, and milk " That's about as much insight as Dramaworld gives into K-drama and its fandom. It lays out all the tropes and then points at them while saying, "Tee hee! Isn't this funny. It has umbrella scenes, and shower scenes, and super sweet heroines, and jerky heroes, and piggyback rides, and mean moms " And we, the audience, are left to wonder "yeah, and ?" Dramaworld feels like a giant commercial instead of a series we're meant to connect with. I hope Viki changes the writing and directing team and tries again with better actors and a smarter script.
Dramaworld also tries to spoof the genre but none of the things fans love about K- dramas are present beyond shallow acknowledgment that the tropes do, in fact, exist. The tropes are used more like, "Look a cake. Cakes are funny. Everyone loves cakes because they have eggs, and flour, and sugar, and milk " That's about as much insight as Dramaworld gives into K-drama and its fandom. It lays out all the tropes and then points at them while saying, "Tee hee! Isn't this funny. It has umbrella scenes, and shower scenes, and super sweet heroines, and jerky heroes, and piggyback rides, and mean moms " And we, the audience, are left to wonder "yeah, and ?" Dramaworld feels like a giant commercial instead of a series we're meant to connect with. I hope Viki changes the writing and directing team and tries again with better actors and a smarter script.