Koi Fish

agree!! but also i didn't really feel like there was a ton of chemistry to begin with so idk how they would've ended it

i find it interesting that you've chosen to respond to my comment in quotes, but i'll clear up a couple misunderstandings:
"true to life" > sure, i'll concede to the fact that some people undergo the same experiences as portrayed in the drama, but that being said, the drama itself didn't seem to intentionally have made that choice to have song-ah not be as invested (this type of plot didn't add to the drama, it took away from it)
even when she wasn't thinking about her past relationship, she still didn't seem invested in the one she was in with hyun seung (again, this hesitancy didn't add to the drama in any way, shape or form because it was barely resolved in the ending)
"the ml's awareness" > first of all, the way this was portrayed in the drama was . . . interesting to say the least. when someone is in relationship or rejects you, you shouldn't try to pursue that person (you should respect them and their choice) and the drama plays his actions (of pursuing her no matter what) off as extremely romantic (in my personal opinion, i didn't love this choice).
there is a difference between pursuing someone and loving someone from afar: sure, you can crush on someone who's in a relationship (although that doesn't seem like a smart choice), but pursuing someone who has rejected you or who is already in a relationship (as i said before) disrespects that person and
their choices
"loving blindly"> there are plenty of people who love blindly (take this in a metaphorical sense) an example is wives who continue to love their husbands despite their abusive treatments, or partners who stay together without full trust in each other (people who know they will get hurt by their partner but continue to love them)
when i say loving blindly i mean this: rather than "awareness" of wrongdoings, i refer to people who love others despite the red flags (they are ignorant or choose to be ignorant because they believe they love someone)
and here we see hyun seung love song ah even though he knows he will get hurt (which is frustrating to watch because he deserves so much better!)
also the way they chose to end the drama and their relationship was too rushed and felt insincere
^_^

sure, that's life, but i respectfully disagree that you don't need a reason to love someone for a long time. unrequited love is extremely painful and often occurs because people don't realize that the person they like doesn't give a crap about them. unhealthy relationships continue because people don't realize the flaws in their partner. while loving blindly is beautiful and ideal, it simply isn't realistic and rarely works out. the drama was frustrating in the sense that the ml didn't ever realize that song-ah didn't like him back as much or wasn't as invested in him as he was in her. the story they used wasn't true to life, and even if it was, the way it was portrayed was hard to watch.

while that may or may not be true, i think that the fact that she didn't like him as much as he liked her played a huge role in straining their chemistry and is a reason i didn't enjoy the drama as much

agree

personally didn't enjoy this one it felt like the chemistry was bit forced and also felt like song ah didn't like hyun seung as much as he liked her. i did like the divorce subplot, but apart from that, the drama was pretty stale in my opinion.

they should just pair the sml with the fl they have so much more chemistry at this point

Okay, point taken, some people spread hate and that's not great because it spreads negativity, but I do think that BR writers likely knew they had the potential to stream on Netflix (considering they were aiming for a global audience) and still made mistakes that offended a lot of people, unfortunately. I guess I'm just trying to clarify that the writers had no excuse for being ignorant, and although I do agree that hate is extremely toxic, I personally understand a lot of the backlash and criticism that this drama received.

They probably didn't (and shouldn't) target only their South Asian audience, and here's how I know: they stream on IQIYI, which signed a content sharing deal with Netflix in 2017, meaning that Backstreet Rookie will likely be on Netflix soon. Netflix is an international streaming platform. There's an article I can link if you would like. I also did read about their business strategies, and streaming on IQIYI was a strategy meant to promote their global presence, which you may read about here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2020/08/04/iqiyi-international-app-adds-k-content-thus-promoting-global-appeal/#357ec7555721.

Additionally, I doubt that they're ignorant to the point where they don't realize that the Kdrama industry already has a huge international audience. Thank you for recognizing that what BR did was ignorant, but I think that the research shows they already knew their audience.

I respectfully disagree again: I don't think (assuming you aren't a part of the BR production team) you have the resources to know what exactly the makers were thinking when they created BR. What we can talk about, though, is what the makers should have been thinking when making BR. I highly doubt that they were ignorant to the point where they didn't think about international viewership, and the fact that they received criticism on their racist humor (especially during the international BLM movement) should curb other dramas and drama-makers from being insensitive about such issues. To clarify, yes, I have an Indian name and heritage, but I am an American citizen.

As for what you say about single-race entertainment industries, I think that Korea is a clear exception. After the Korean wave, Korean culture (from Kdramas to Kpop to Kbeauty and more) has influenced entertainment and etc. across the world. The bottom line is, they likely know they have an international audience; this isn't the same as Bollywood. Anyways, I hope you understand that BR has no excuse for using racism as humor: that's all I'm trying to clarify here.

Thanks for clearing that up, I guess I wasn't sure exactly who you were talking about there.

Ratings on websites like kisskh can effect viewership ratings, especially if people are watching on platforms like Netflix, Viu, and Viki. That directly conveys to whoever makes the dramas that certain ideas are problematic. Regardless, I respectfully disagree with what you said about how Backstreet Rookie was made solely for South Asians. The Kdrama industry very clearly has international viewership now, thanks to the Korean wave, so I do think that (especially with the BLM movement occurring right now) using blatant racism as humor is a move that was extremely inappropriate. Just because Korea was fine with it doesn't make it right at all. Again, not trying to hate, just stating the facts. I can link an article about BLM and racism if you would like.

Gotcha. I guess I misunderstood your comment, but I'm not sure about what you said about disrespecting other peoples' point of view. If you re-read my comment you'll see that I didn't disrespect anyone's point of view, so I'm not sure what you're getting at there.

Okay, I don't think that people who were disappointed with the drama all hated on it. In my opinion, the plot line was just too dry and the romance progression was too slow. This isn't hate, it's just an opinion. I have so much love for the main lead actors, especially since I've been a JCW stan for 2 years, but the drama in and of itself just wasn't my cup of tea. The blatant racism wasn't funny either. I'm definitely not putting my opinions on the internet because it's "trendy and cool". People post their opinions with hopes that the drama industry will improve based on what people like and dislike. I just think that everyone is allowed to share their opinions on this drama, good or bad, and you shouldn't call them out on that just because you don't agree with them.