Amastris Dratwka

Yeah, naw, the coincidence are real, not that relationship, if you look at it without Shipper eyes.

He didn't renew his contract with VAA, and his contract was up in Oct, 2019. He works under his family's agency, managed by his dad now. lol.

Nadine, had re-upped her contract in 2014 to 2024, then again in 2016, I think, to 2029. She's now suing VAA for 'predatory practices' to get out of her contract. She's stuck in a lawsuit with them.

But, it's no coincidence that the relationship was announced to be over after so many years, only months after he left VAA. ;)

You know what, even with Abe as a zombie, if an American writer wrote all the Founding Fathers as pieces of crap, and advanced British dialect, music, styles, and sensibilities in place of anything American, not just once, but twice, and tried to make it seem like everything that the USA is and has been was influenced 100% by Britain fullstop, and American citizens having little influence and import, I'd spit on the projects too. Zombies are one thing. 100% insulting the entire heritage of a nation, its traditions, music, for the sake of zombies is an entirely other thing. You don't need to promote another country as your own to get there, period.

Even Abe Lincoln and George Washington did not do half of what King Sejong the Great did for his nation and its citizens around 300 years before the Founding Fathers' time. He gave them their written language so even the poorest could be literate; traditional Korean medicine; gave people station and merit based solely on their talent and not their class; helped labor including through taxation by changing that based on your ability to pay and prosperity. Heck he was so forward thinking that in the 1400s he was already giving SLAVE class women MATURITY LEAVE as well as giving paternity leave.

NOW, have a drama, where the writer & production are influenced by Chinese investors, and then that drama makes out Korea as fully Chinese influenced, devoid of its own identity, where its citizens even speak in a Chinese dialect, and then make their beloved humanitarian king, who disregard class status in order to care for his own people, to be a person that thinks solely about class & status within his own family, while people speak banmal to him...and you'll understand that this isn't merely being pissed off about seeing Abe Lincoln as a zombie, which also got criticized for 'historical inaccuracies', but like depicting Abe as a racist hater out to get POC. I think a LOT of Americans would be pissed if someone attempted to CHANGE history to THAT extent...

SO... unless you really understand the FULL context, it's best to just stay out of it.

I'm the LAST person who believes in cancel culture, but in certain situation, where things are just really over-the-top, there's room for offense. There are examples out there, especially in religious circles, where certain things are just way too sacred to be spat on. This situation is no different. Koreans have a right to be pissed off...

AND it's obviously no coincidence that its the same writer embroiled in the controversies around Mr. Queen. It's also no coincidence the writer is of part Chinese ethnicity who signed a drama writing deal with Jaiping Pictures, a company that has indicated, during the 100th year anniversary of the CCP, along with the CCP's renewed push for propaganda + 'Wolf Warrior Diplomacy' of not allowing any criticism of the CCP & China whatsoever, to invest in 4-5 dramas in 2021 with OTHER FAMOUS Kroean drama writers in attempt to form "producing partnerships with Korean domestic boradcasters, large OTT & production companies". Let's be clear, the Chinese representatives are attached to the Chinese National Academy, majority are Chinese nationals, and their purpose and goal is to PROMOTE, via propaganda, CCP Chinese historical view, and influence, period.

Again, if you don't understand the historical importance amidst the backdrop of China's "Northeast Project" with the reinterpretation of Gojoseon, Goguryeo, and Balhae being historically Chinese NOT KOREAN, and laying claims on North Korea HISTORY, and the FACT that the very company THIS writer signed a contract with, Jaiping Pictures, is committed to promoting the ideas outlayed in China's "Northeast Project', you seriously don't understand the MULTINATIONAL and DIPLOMATIC problems involved in regards to this Chinese NATIONAL PROPAGANDA. This is what the CCP looks to with AVG citizens. That they are more interested in being entertained than the cultural ramifications AND THE INFLUENCE ON YOUTH that entails. You wonder why the CCP spends ALL its time CENSORING certain topics within their own country, NOT ALLOWING CRITICISM OF THEIR COUNTRY, all for the very reason, IT INFLUENCES YOUTH, and that you don't understand, in a CAPITALIST NATION why that matters. The Chinese get it. That's how the CCP can function while taking away its citizens freedoms.

If you further don't get where I'm going with this, then you need to add the backdrop of recent INTERNATIONAL discussions regarding the unification of North AND South Korea and juxtapose that with China's "Northeast Project" push to rewrite history, along with China's more recent attitude towards military action against Taiwan, as well as its deferment of governmental elections to the end of the year in Hong Kong. China believes that any current talks on this matter are similar to Silla and Tang Dynasty and that China is required to be a part of the talks, US troops must leave the regions, economic agreements including special RIGHTS for future investments in Korea be validated, and Chinese military allowed to be stationed and a part of the stabilization process. These are things that China has been pushing since 2017, and the instituting of Chinese academic nationals in the involvement of upcoming KOREAN dramas used for propaganda purposes are NOT going unnoticed by South Korean citizens. They're not interested in having their history distorted in a way that disavows its own culture so that the CCP can claim cultural dominance over the entire region for their own POLITICAL purposes, attempts at colonization, and imperialism while pretending others are the historical imperialists. That includes revising history to claim the attempts of nuclear expansion in the region is a direct reaction to aggression by the USA, when the USA/Korea have been involved in military maneuvers predate any NK nukes by a decade. In the entire history of the DMZ there has and certainly won't be any aggressive invasive move on the part of the USA or Korea. The ones lobbing bombs over civilians heads are not them. But, by China parring things down in these terms of "US aggression", it can pretend that it is the ONLY reasonable party in the mix, and the 'international peace keeper' while bolstering its influence over the entire Korean peninsula, making it truly the only real winner in any solutions.

Let's not for a second believe that Koreans are so far removed from their own historical cultural awareness of what it was like to pay alms to China for its existence as a "tributary state" and the fact the China is using academia to reinvigorate the Tang Dynasty's "ethnic and cultural" importance in Korea, its claims that its part of Chinese history, NOT KOREA'S HISTORY, and that Koreans believe it's anything BUT utter nonsense.

Okay then, I get it.

Well, but for a new actor who first started acting in May, 2019, and who already received a new actor award this past January 2021, as well as filming his 5th drama, as a supporting actor in a highly anticipated novel adaptation drama, I think that the Chinese entertainment industry thinks he’s a good actor. It’s actually quite impressive to be so new, and have 3 of your 5 dramas already released within only 1 year and a half, considering how long it takes for dramas to release.

Anyway, you complained about the kiss scenes, then said he needed to improve so I thought you meant he doesn’t know how to “kiss” act which, if you watched ‘Maiden Holmes’ you’d know very well that’s not true. And as far as that drama is considered, as his first drama, his acting was extremely good. Have to take into account that the actor is quite smart, in that he got scouted at his university where he was majoring in electrical engineering and a member of the Aerospace Agency around 2016. It wasn’t something that he planned on doing until 3 years before. his first drama that ended up being a starring role with an older more experienced actress as his co-star.

No, hate.... I see you have your definition of new and inexperienced. I just look at the overall quality, comparative to what’s already out there. For me, his just as good now than some of the current *hot* young top Chinese actors. ;)

For international fans information on how subs work for us if the movie isn’t released to any official international streaming company:

The average wait for the DVD is 6 months. Depending on the popularity of the work, a subber will get provided the subs around that time.

Watch his 1st drama where he was the lead, Maiden Holmes, then say that. lol.

You are welcome. =)

This is an IDOL drama. The fact that he got cast in a lead role at all is a big accomplishment, since he is also a new actor who got his 1st drama only in 2019, and debuted the end of 2020. He's already got 5 dramas under his belt, with 3 of them already aired, including this one, which is HUGE in the world of C-dramas that take forever to release from announced production, & completed filming/editing.

The male lead for this drama, He Luo Luo, came in 2nd for 'Produce Camp 2019' and was a guest member for 'Produce Camp 2020' and a member of the idol group R1SE. Since this is an 'idol drama', it's meant to feature and debut him as an actor for the future. His success does somewhat get based on how well this drama is received. This is his 1st lead role. Tbh, he's lucky he has such a NEWLY popular actor playing lead along side him, since, I suspect, not just his own fan base, but Zhang Ling He's fanbase is coming to watch giving him even more exposure. If he can keep up with Ling He's acting skills, it will be to his benefit.

On another note, Zhang Ling He doesn't need anyone's help. He's already becoming extremely successful, and has already won an acting newcomer award in January, 2021. His 1st drama was released in August, 2020... so, that's a pretty huge achievement.

Here is the online novel of the original work for 'Ashes of Love': [https://www.99csw.com/book/9193/index.htm] by the author Dian Xian

Here is the online novel of 'Ashes of Love 2' that author, Dian Xian started writing Feb. 7, 2020. I'm not sure if she considers this a completed work but based on her own comments, the novel isn't well written as she'd like. If you think it's an actual sequel including the male/female leads from the original, you would be mistaken. Please read it for yourself. [https://www.ihuaben.com/book/3289721.html]

Per the writers own synopsis of the story, it's about:

'The daughter of Flower World's Fang Zhu, Ye Lan Ruo, is born during the time of the Great Demon War.

During the Great Demon War, Emperor of Heaven, Run Yu's spiritual powers are greatly reduced so he enters the mortal realm to restore his powers. As a mortal, Run Yu meets Ye Lan Ruo who also happened to be in the mortal realm. They both fall in love at first sight, but upon return back to the immortal realm, Run Yu forgets it all.'

Thus, it has a very similar story base as 'Eternal Love: Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms' and doesn't involve much of the original characters of Book 1. As far as I can gather, the only original characters in Book 2 are Run Yu, Liu Ying, Mu Ci, Immortal Yuan Ji. There are references to new characters like Ye Lan Ruo, Lu Bai Chuan, Xian Ye, Wan Neng Long Tao/Dragon Immortal, & Yue Xia Xian Ren/Moon Immortal.

So, good luck with your hopes for a Season 2. I suspect if it gets done, after 5 years, not only will it not include the original cast, it won't be based on Dian Xian's written novel, and suspect they'll need her permission to adapted her novel into a sequel of their own creation. As it stands, per the author's own words, there's not a finely tuned and completed write work to base a drama on.

Hmm... I think you're not in the medical field and either don't understand addiction vs dependence, as well as the differences between what substances you're abusing and for how long. You likely don't know of anyone who has really gone through this process either to say it's impossible. I link an article so you can understand the process.

Let's be honest here. The guy is in the pharmacology field. He's a long time pill popper. He's not been sober for the majority of the time he's been in prison. The dude was taking 'cold medicine' while in prison while *not* sick. In essence, he was using the ingredient in the medicine DXM as an opiate for hallucinogenic effects and it's similar to taking PCP or Ketamine. The dude didn't always have that slow speech, as seen in his flashbacks, which are likely due to overuse of these kinds of drugs that can cause severe brain damage with over use for an extended period of time. Look up the list of drugs that do this and Ketamine, DXM, Heroin, LSD, GHB, Cocaine, & Meth are some of those drugs that can induce brain damage.

From this drama's posting at the beginning of various episodes either the month or the season, we know that Han Yang was still taking meds past May and into July. He told his significant other he had stopped doing drugs for 3 months. He's a druggie trying to keep his relationship. He lied. It was only, at most, a month at the time of that visit.

So even if it's months afterwards, I think you have no idea how hard it is to get off substances like meth, heroin, DXM, etc. Opiates are some of the worst to try to go clean from, tbh.

As stated in the artice, "...The first week of withdrawal is typically the worst, but be prepared for some symptoms to last longer. Symptoms typically last up to one month, but can linger for several months. Symptoms that can last longer than one week include tiredness, depression, anxiety, and trouble sleeping..." Per Han Yang's symptom's that have lasted are the tiredness, depression, and trouble sleeping which fits completely. Also, you're not taking into account that the prison isn't a Detox Ctr. They didn't provide him with methadone or anything like that to get over his withdrawal symptoms. He got an IV, because his vomiting was a sign of loss of electrolytes, but, thankfully, he hasn't had any seizures. He's not getting medically attended to during the process, so it's no walk in the park for him, and his character is acting in a consistent fashion to the withdrawal from the types of drugs he was using.

https://www.healthline.com/health/coping-opiate-withdrawal#risks-and-benefits

It's just curious. One of the bigger deals is supposed 'gaslighting' but I'm confused how Knetizens run with shit. Let's break it down:
1) The supposed person 'gaslighted' denies it.
2) The supposed person 'gaslighted' brought up issues blaming his former agency and, via his lawyers, accused the agency of causing the problems by not listening to his concerns about his health.
3) The supposed person 'gaslighted' was originally 'outed' by tabloids as being in a relationship with another women with a similar name, and that similarly named women was accused of 'gaslighting' him.
4) After mutual denials of a 'relationship', another actress' name is brought up as the cause and 'gaslighting' by tabloids....

...I gonna assume that this actress didn't hand over her cellphone data to the tabloids. The actor, himself, is denying all of this, so I'm gonna assume that he didn't hand over his cellphone data to the tabloids.

Exactly who was it that obtained PRIVATE cellphone data and distributed it to the tabloids, and why am I supposed to trust this when they didn't even get the initial "relationship" accurate??? Who is the ones actually doing ILLEGAL actions, and 'gaslighting' manipulative stories to sway personal sentiments towards others???

Why do people blindly believe whatever the press/media say and think they have no agenda to it whatsoever? In this day and age, if you believe ANY news outlet, no matter HOW reputable they are, you're naive.

It's explained the reference towards the end of the drama, but I just wanted to get the way it translates in Chinese is all, just to be more specific. It doesn't have much importance past that.

I guess some people are in for full transference of actors, but, for me, the ones from S1 that needed to be in this drama were, and the others who were replaced, I felt, were for valid reasons and didn't effect the continuity of the drama at all. I know quite a lot of rom-com lovers who preferred S2 to S1...and others who just, plain, like the plot of S1. It's just personal preference...and since it's concentric dramas of the same world, with no story mixing that isn't apply explained, it's not really required to watch S1 or S2 in any order or together at all. They hold as standalones in that aspect. However, if you're a fan of the novels, love this type of story, they both provide you something fun to watch. ;)

I don't care about Fan Wars and all of that. I just brought it up to point out that the adaptation was no where near the original material, for whatever the reasons, and it's acknowledged. Fans "annoying behavior" didn't have anything to do with how good or bad the script was written, and the actors can only act what they give them. =/

I truly appreciate your efforts.

I will admit this about your article: Despite any negative reviews, I'm now willing to watch this drama all the way through in order to disgust your POV and see if you prove me wrong.

Thank you for testing boundaries and taking the risk. You deserve so much praise for that.

There's nothing wrong with agreements and disagreements. We've come to a point in time where to debate is to name call and throw a fit. It's utterly refreshing to have a back and forth discussion about a topic without it ever having to take a personal slant. It's just differing perspectives...heck, we could have been sitting on the stage of opposing debate teams. In the end, we bow to each other and shake hands! =)

It's public knowledge that Zhao Liying was unhappy with the adaptation and posted the now infamous "Hamburger" weibo comment literally stating the screen adaptation lacks in many ways to the original content. Of course, it's the actors who end up bearing the cost of the results of poorly written scripts that change and crucify the original source material. They should be able to voice their displeasure, even though, for decorum's sake, they rarely do. =/

[Edit]
Then you have dramas like Go Go Squid, where the actual author of the novel writes the adaptation and takes it upon themselves to rewrite the content. It was obvious Mo Bao Fei Bao knew that, in order to air, her novel would have to be reworked for the screen. Dramas that can be construed as promoting online videogaming is a 'No-No' to the CCP. So, to get ahead of it, she made sure SHE was the one deciding how that would be adapted to get past the censors and put on-screen. ;)

I thought the article was well written and posed with reasoning they attempted to back up. I also thought it was a bold statement, and wasn’t attempting to criticize the writer for their persuasive essay.

In that vain, I’m in my 50s, an international business major, minor in finance who worked in aerospace & industrial manufacturing and was employed by companies like All Nippon Airways. I’ve spent my life doing SWOTs, gathering information to analyze, or compare/contrast [i.e. juxtaposition] and provide my findings to executives. What I wrote was based on this tendency.

My comments were only my analyzing thoughts, and, just like any good debate, I tried to provide my reasoning with data so as to show my efforts and backup the fact that I was simply providing another point-of-view not trying to attack the writer, who is a very good writer and should definitely continue writing articles and never back down on making bold statements!!

It’s exciting to have this kind of back and forth that really makes people think about what they are watching in more than a superficial way! I praise the writer for doing this and their respectful dialogue!

https://kisskh.at/article/impacting-kdrama-industry-sisyphus-the-myth#comment-6027593

I'm sorry. I think you misunderstood my point. It's no longer enough to start off well in the international market, but important to maintain the audience. The current climate of Hallyu entertainment, with the success of BTS, and the Oscars, along with NetFlix increasing SK's GDP, forces TV/Cable Execs to have a higher bar to overcome for their *stockholders*. You cannot get around that. Losing money on your drama is NOT an option, and *will* make Execs 2nd guess the genre in the future.

We cannot look at all these affects in a vacuum. Your comparison to 'The King: Eternal Monarch' has to overcome a LOT of caveats:

1) Prior to The Covid19 Pandemic, 'Parasite' became the 1st *foreign* movie, period, to win Best Picture Oscar in the 92 year history of those awards. Let that sink in.

2) 2 months after the Oscars, The King: Eternal Monarch, with a big budget and production company, Studio Dragon, that has produced the likes of, 'Guardian: The Lonely and Great God'; 'Mr. Sunshine'; & 'Search: WWW' released this drama to NetFlix at a time when the USA had started into the 1st lockdowns. NetFlix viewership was an explosion, and that must be taken into account.

3) Even so, the IMDb ranking, Americans ranking system similar to China's Douban, has 'Monarch' *still* rated much higher than 'Sisyphus'.

4) By the end of the airing of 'Sisyphus', the ratings were tanking that 'Mouse' even overtook it. If the Asian market critic reviews give it a rating of 1.5/5 stars, and pan it as having a horrible, illogical ending, that's VERY hard to overcome: [https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3128902/k-drama-review-netflixs-sisyphus-myth-disappointing-and]

What I'm going to say is, I think at this current time, Execs will look at dramas that have success both at home & abroad, and being able to do both is important to them, since they've already tasted this kind of success.

To that end, this drama doesn't even hit JTBC's Top 10 where 'The World of the Married' tops the list and 'Itaewon Class' ranks 3rd, & "Something in the Rain' ranks 10th. This was supposed to be JTBC's 10th Anniversary Drama, and it didn't really do well. It's kind of a slap in the face of JTBC, tbh.

Then you look at 'Taxi Driver' that has been reviewed on the Forbes Magazine website putting SBS on the map, and tvN's 'Vincenzo' becomes that cable network's 6th best drama of all-time. You'll have to note that the international critics are all talking about South Korean "REVENGE" drama styles, and touting it as very good. If anything, these 2 dramas will have more impact on how dramas are made in the future. I'd suspect what JTBC will do, when looking at the landscape, is veer away from any Big Budget production with a complicated plot.

I will always come from the prospective of the ROI to the Execs, because, fortunately OR unfortunately, money will always talk to them first.

I'll preface my point regard this drama's impact with the fact I have not watched this drama yet. I also have to admit that, in the past year and a half, K-Dramas have tanked in their appeal to me, when I've always been an avid K-Drama watcher.

To truly have a cultural and industrial impact the drama has to make execs stand up and take notice. It not only has to capture the audience's imagination but it needs to translate to income as well. So, as far as I can tell, based on the national/international reviews from big news media, this drama never past 3rd place and even with a slight uptick at the end, basically dropped to 6th place midway through, a clear indication it didn't retain its audience. That's not gonna move networks to invest this kind of money into a project in the future, and in fact, might cause hesitancy, since this drama obviously lost them money.

Regarding impact on K-Drama industry, let me address the fact that the drama doesn't even have to be "good", as in sophisticated & well-written. South Korea has worked hard on its industry, and the other dramas you mentioned indeed had their impact. But South Korea entertainment industry is at a point where it is looking to be international not just national, & with that viewership is essential.

Take 'Descendents of the Sun' that came out 3 years AFTER 'Nine" Nine Times Time Travel'. This drama, that has a 8.7 rating on MDL, is probably the single most impactful drama for the Hallyu Wave to date. South Korean Entertainment Industry can be categorized as pre-'DotS' & post-'DotS', whether you liked the drama or not, it doesn't matter.

'DotS' became so popular it caused a major increase in tourism, not just to South Korea but to Greece. It even drew tourism FROM Vietnam. It was the most-watched show on Viu in Singapore, Thailand, & Hong Kong. It's popularity even lead the CCP to issue warnings on Weibo about the dangers of watching too much K-dramas. In the US, it boosted Viki's streaming impact over traditional American streaming sites and English speakers started to add KBS World to their cable channels. Due to the popularity it NetFlix acquired the rights to stream it as well. Additionally, the filming sites got restoration money and to this day receive many tourists and attention. It boosted the entire SK GDP, and created many new jobs. Reports indicate the drama's direct/indirect economic effect was ~$880 million USD.

Why do I bring up 'DotS'? Because it's thanks to this drama's trajectory that you were able to see a South Korean receive an Oscar for acting this year, and for a movie like 'Parasite' to receive Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay over any American productions, thus making it the 1st non-English language film to come in to win it all ever, after a 92 year history of the Academy Awards. That's no small feat. This is post-'DotS' era. These are the expectations to be considered game-changing nowdays.

Pre-'DotS', you had Korean Americans [NOTE: Americans] trying to get Hallyu Wave material to convert to the US market to little success. For me, there are 2 dramas that stand out that helped grade the road later paved over by 'DotS' that has lead to Hallyu success: 'The Good Doctor' & 'Nine: Nine Times Time Travel'. As we all know, Kim Yun Jin, 'Lost' actress, who ended up becoming a producer/exec with, at the time, ABC's production company, Fake Empire Productions, that has produced 'Gossip Girls', attempted to get 'Nine' remade in Hollywood, but the deal fell through. On the other hand, Lee Isaac Chung, did the same with 'The Good Doctor' and succeeded in getting the American remake, and although it has mixed reviews, it's currently in its 4th season. Success for an American drama is based on how many seasons it can successfully achieve.

These are 2 dramas, with very differing subject matter, that were unique in many ways, that successfully aired in the same year in South Korea. This is the year that via Viki & DramaFever apps increasing popularity were driven by dramas like these. Many English speaking viewers started to switch to watch these dramas. This is the year the DramaFever started co-producing dramas with 'The Heirs'. Viki didn't attempt to self produce until the creation of Dramaworld in 2016. Thus, as you see, through the years 2013/2016 show where specific dramas caused a reverberation in their impact. This is what changes the direction of the Hallyu industry. In the case of 'Nine', even in 2016, you can see through South Korean news outlets what the intention and hopes are for the future of the Hallyu industry, and how important it is to them to break into the US market [https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20161017006300315]. The expectations were even more apparent post-'DotS'.

Post-'DotS' has seen NetFlix invest more an more into the Hallyu industry. DramaFever was a casualty of this effect. DramaFever got acquired by Warner Bros in 2016, but they abandoned the entire thing in 2018 for 1 reason and 1 reason alone: the INCREASED cost to invest, partner, and acquire content due to bidding wars where none existed prior to 2016. [https://digiday.com/future-of-tv/dramafever-casualty-big-money-ott-war/]

So, with the pre-'DotS', post-'Dots', post-'Oscars' in mind, for a drama to have impact nowadays, the bar is really very, VERY high. So, even having not watched 'Sisyphus' yet, I can feel arrogant enough to say, this drama doesn't fit that bar.

With older dramas that aired prior to the creation of MDL, you have to take the ratings with a grain of salt. The productions are very lacking to today's offerings so someone new to K-Dramas that watched some big Hallyu production won't necessarily appreciate the older K-Dramas for what they were back-in-the-day. If the have a fairly higher rating, you know they're a game-changer.

So, I'd like to juxtapose the dramas you've named to 'Sisyphus' to make my point. Starting from worst to best, although 'Sandglass', a 1995 drama, has only been rated by just over 172 users, it's impact was obviously so good that the rating is ~8.0. Same with 'Hwang Jin Yi [2006] being rated ~7.9 from 1.7K out of 4.4K. These dramas still remain in the minds of those who watched them back -in-the-day.

'Winter Sonata [2002]' gets a 7.7 rating from 3.8K out of 8K+ indicating they're watching it. Being a 'makjang' with such a high rating speaks volumes. With new Hallyu lovers coming in after streaming from NetFlix, there still are many that don't understand Old School K-Dramas and what a 'makjang' is at all. Many rate melodramas poorly because they feel they aren't "real" or promote "poor behavior", not realizing that this is EXACTLY what a MAKJANG is supposed to be. Take out the 'getting away with murder', 'spousal abuse', 'amnesia', 'hidden identity', etc. etc. then the drama ceases to a 'makjang' anymore. So, strictly speaking, having a 'makjang' this highly loved shows it was a game-changer.

'My Girl [2005]' is obviously beloved with you've got 13.7K out of 23K viewers giving it ~7.8 rating. This became a template for a lot of K-drama rom-coms afterwards. This brought in many international women who wanted less 'sex' and more 'romance' on their screens. Hallyu entertainment brought a new kind of spice that was so much more well-written and executed than the 'Hallmark Channel' Christmas specials were offering. Again, it was a template that, although repetitive, many foreigners still didn't get bored with it.

'My Girlfriend is a Gumiho [2010]' put Fantasy/Supernatural on the table. This expanded the appeal of rom-coms into so many new aspects and has had such a wonderous impact on the Hallyu market in so many varying ways. This is a much beloved drama that garners an ~ 8.1 rating from 25.5K viewers out of 48K.

In a post-'DotS' ~ post-'Nine' world 'Sisyphus' seems to fall flat in its appeal. This is a big budget NetFlix investment. NetFlix has continued to invest more and more and more in Hallyu industry post-'DotS'. You have to compare the investment NetFlix put inton 'CLOY' 'It's Okay to Not Be Okay' & 'The King: Eternal Monarch' and have them exceed the sales revenue those garnered, which was a record-breaking $135m USD, about a 25.9% increase from the prior year. Without a major ROI breaking even and making further impact in comparison, this will be considered a dud by the studio Execs. There's no way around that. Their expectations are not the same as they were even 3 years ago. Being that, in SK, this drama never went over 3rd, and ended with lower and lower ratings, I don't see how they feel good in investing big budget when they can get more out of a show like 'It's Okay to Not Be Okay', which garners a ~9.1 rating from 38K out of 69K viewers. It's coming up on a month post-airing of 'Sisyphus' and it's rating of ~7.8 comes from only 4.3K of 14K viewers, indicating that there was very little interest in the drama at all. On top of that, a show like 'It's Okay to Not Be Okay' had added marketing value in that, the script writer was able to actually produce the children's books and EXPORT them internationally to fans of the drama.

If, in the future, a show wants to do a big budget like this, there's no doubt in my mind that the execs will think twice about spending the money. Money talks, whether we like it or not, and businesses will always revert to looking at the ROI over anything else. =/

Just my 2 cents, for what it's worth.

This has been set back to air sometime between July and August, with no confirmed release date. Broadcast reporters aren't even sure it will be released at that time either, or if it will be set back again, so bear in mind this still isn't set in stone whatsoever:

https://www.sohu.com/a/457984273_263594

The filming of "Dream Awakening Chang'an" officially ended on October 23, 2020. PD stated that they're looking at releasing it sometime in 2021. Some of the sites said it was going to air this month, but so far, it's not listed to broadcast even for May. So, we'll have to wait and see further.