OK. I'm not sure why or how I got into this. The only thing I can think of is my tendency to watch something new and different. I might have read a few articles in my weird and twisted news feed about Korean dramas. In any case, here I am. Hooked. To soap operas. In a language I don't know.
I've thought about it. I wanted to understand why I liked these so much. It must be tickling some part of my brain and what is it. They are sometimes contrived, sometimes goofy, some of the things I find unforgivable in most other shows. What in the world is going on with me?
I think I've figured it out. It's a mix of things. I'm going to open my noodle a bit here, so please be kind.
I think I've figured it out. It's a mix of things. I'm going to open my noodle a bit here, so please be kind.
1) I think the audience for these shows are women. Now, these don't pass the Bechdel Test at all. But it isn't just the women's conversation that revolves around the opposite gender. The men's conversations and actions also are focused on women. So relationships are usually the focus. But with the audience being women, they are written differently. The women are intelligent. These aren't women that have no aspirations. They want to be successful. They want to be educated. They aren't written for easy disposal. So I want to see stories about intelligent women. I'm drawn to them. These provide the women's side of life as well as the men's.
2) These are romantic stories. I love those things. It wasn't until later in life when I fully embraced that part of me. I get emotional about love and loss. That doesn't mean I don't suck at it, I do. I still struggle and fall all over words, but it doesn't make me any less of a man or person because I acknowledge that part of me. And these men in these stories cry, sometimes profoundly so. If their love dies, it clearly affects them. I still don't know if that this isn't part of the female fantasy of these shows or if Korean culture actually accepts this or even just acknowledges it as a goal, but it is there. The picture above is from Gaurdian: The Lonely and Great God. It is a story of a man cursed to roam the earth until he finds his true love, and she actually is the one that has to kill him. Lots of emotion in a story like that. Lots of love, betrayal and loss. And they portray it.
3) Asain actors and actresses are attractive. That's my own deal. Nothing objective about it.
4) They do a good job of portraying frustrations with dating and relationships. You hold back things you shouldn't. You don't say things you should. This is the reaction I had with 500 Days of Summer when I first watched it. Finally, a well-written show about the frustrations and idiocy of dating and just all the things that can go wrong, and go right.
5) A lot of these rotate around ghosts, the supernatural, or food or some combination. I think this is the culture filtering through, and I like seeing how other people see the world. I think they have a much healthier attitude towards food than we do.
6) These are long-form stories. They run about 16+ hours total. While that is long, it does let you get to really understand the characters. You start to care about them. You sometimes can't get that in a 2 hour movie and if the story goes several seasons like in America, you run out of things to say. While there is a lot of filler, they do tend to keep the story going, albeit with lots of side-quests.
If you want, I can give you what I have watched. there are lots and lots on Netflix, a few on Hulu and a good repository on viki.com. That last one requires an account but it is mostly free. You just have to deal with the ads. I haven't gotten to the point where I'm willing to pay more for them. Plus, with the library on Netflix, there's enough to keep me busy.
2) These are romantic stories. I love those things. It wasn't until later in life when I fully embraced that part of me. I get emotional about love and loss. That doesn't mean I don't suck at it, I do. I still struggle and fall all over words, but it doesn't make me any less of a man or person because I acknowledge that part of me. And these men in these stories cry, sometimes profoundly so. If their love dies, it clearly affects them. I still don't know if that this isn't part of the female fantasy of these shows or if Korean culture actually accepts this or even just acknowledges it as a goal, but it is there. The picture above is from Gaurdian: The Lonely and Great God. It is a story of a man cursed to roam the earth until he finds his true love, and she actually is the one that has to kill him. Lots of emotion in a story like that. Lots of love, betrayal and loss. And they portray it.
3) Asain actors and actresses are attractive. That's my own deal. Nothing objective about it.
4) They do a good job of portraying frustrations with dating and relationships. You hold back things you shouldn't. You don't say things you should. This is the reaction I had with 500 Days of Summer when I first watched it. Finally, a well-written show about the frustrations and idiocy of dating and just all the things that can go wrong, and go right.
5) A lot of these rotate around ghosts, the supernatural, or food or some combination. I think this is the culture filtering through, and I like seeing how other people see the world. I think they have a much healthier attitude towards food than we do.
6) These are long-form stories. They run about 16+ hours total. While that is long, it does let you get to really understand the characters. You start to care about them. You sometimes can't get that in a 2 hour movie and if the story goes several seasons like in America, you run out of things to say. While there is a lot of filler, they do tend to keep the story going, albeit with lots of side-quests.
If you want, I can give you what I have watched. there are lots and lots on Netflix, a few on Hulu and a good repository on viki.com. That last one requires an account but it is mostly free. You just have to deal with the ads. I haven't gotten to the point where I'm willing to pay more for them. Plus, with the library on Netflix, there's enough to keep me busy.
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