Eleison

It is quite fluffy and the humor leans heavy into the cringe end of things (Strong Woman Do Bong Soon level). But it is just SO cute, and Tae Goo is completely and utterly darling.

It's also a rom-com without a serial killer side plot. That's a rare Kdrama these days! 😅

Agree with all this!! Good observations and examples!

I think it's more cohesive as a story, for sure! There are some lovable characters, character arcs and moments in Season 2, though.

Yeah, true! It's a weird fixation and annoying for all of us to read over and over. My one consolation is since I blocked him (@mooc), he can't see my posts. But it's unfortunate that I still see his. *massive sigh*

Has this specific trope become a recent trend? Maybe, but it will shift and change just like each era of Kdramas have. It's not the world-ending issue he's making it out to be. MLs have always been some version of smart, pure, intelligent, rich, athletic, gifted, royal, sefless, or tender, and they fluctuate amongst these features in all the Kdramas. This is just how they're written (just like how martial arts movies have Kung Fu or Tae Kwon Do, etc. they're the genre and nonnegtoiables of the formula). He also said there have been zero FLs recently who are "virgins," and that's just not true. Lovely Runner and My Sweet Mobster are just two immediately off the top of my head who don't fit his claimed sterotype. I could list tons of dramas over the years with "virgin" FLs, too.

I think one of the reasons why dramas tend to have "pure" MLs OR FLs is because it's a little more interesting to watch people fall in love who haven't before (or who haven't very often). Getting to watch the MC make mistakes, overcome them, face challenges while still new to incorporating a person into their lives is more entertaining often than watching someone super experienced at it. It creates the "drama" when they're babies at love, so to speak.

I wish I could convince everyone on MDL to NEVER respond to his posts. I bet he'd go away if that happened. It's boring when no one gives what you say the time of day. 😏 (In a similar vein (but a bit random 😅), I think if media stopped covering active shooters and never showed a picture of them or released their names, active shooters would become less of an issue in the U.S.; unfortunately, media cares too much about money, and they continue to feed the twisted attention-seeking). I think trolls/contrarians are the active shooters of thoughtful internet discourse. 😂

Haha, will do!

And same, usually if I dislike a show a lot of people liked, I can almost always see why people liked it even though I didn't.

But to be fair, in a community it can feel isolating to disagree with the majority. It can also make you feel like it reflects poorly on your taste, as if you can't identify "good stuff," so maybe that's why people get so affronted by the discrepancy? Especially when they can't see why people liked it even though they didn't? 🤷‍♀️

It's just kind of off-putting when they assume the majority of people rating a drama are dumb, fangirls or obsessed with certain actors (if they disagree) rather than considering they might have different taste or preferences. "It must be terrible if I don't love it," seems like kind of a narcissistic conclusion, no?

💯

Okay, yeah, I don't see that info on the app. Whoops! My bad.

I've found more underrated dramas have much pleasanter threads. "My Double " for instance; love the vibe on that thread!

There is one person in particular (but sometimes there are more than just him), who likes to point out that MOST Kdrama MLs are virgins (and that this is stupid and unrealistic to most real men who exist in real life and that makes shows like this garbage (he doesn't use the word garbage, haha)), and the FLs are not always virgins or have a dating history and so it creates this double standard, and whenever a Kdrama comes out that seems to be another instance of this trend (which is also largely just, um, a Kdrama), he posts about it frequently. This person has failed to realize that MLs inexperienced in love is true of MOST Kdramas, and especially rom-coms (FLs are also often inexperienced in love), but still feels it's necessary to point out the ML's supposed virginity and take issue with it. Not sure what he thinks he's accomplishing, but maybe he just wants to annoy people, and if that's his goal, he's succeeding. 😑

Where are you seeing 38,000 ratings? Maybe the app's infrastructure doesn't allow me to see it (some things that show up on a browser don't show up on the app). I was under the impression that to be deemed a "watcher" you have to rate it, but I guess you could just designate your status as "currently watching" without rating it. So, I think I got that wrong. 😂

Regardless, I think we can agree a lot of people rated it, and the second point I made still stands. 😉

Yes, while old Kdramas have a definite cozy quality to them, there are some things I appreciate about newer dramas, like less toxic relationships and jerk MLs.

I usually prefer the ones Netflix gets the rights to and then airs on its platform, not as much the original dramas Netflix produces on its own.

And yes, I've noticed that! Cdramas do seem to be sticking the landings more than Kdramas these days. Not sure why! I mean, censorship is still strong with Cdramas, and maybe it's getting weaker with Kdramas as creators and consumers start taking on more Western entertainment tastes. I know people complain about the pitfalls of censorship and think it's awful and draconian, but I actually think it forces people to be more creative when they can't show whatever they want on screen. When they have to work within parameters, it often forces them to create more compelling content because they have to be so intentional and without resorting to cheap shock tactics or lewd comedic spectacle. I could be wrong, but that's one of my theories. :)

Have you seen Downton Abbey? Literally the reason that show (the 1st Season is the best) is compelling is because the two main leads don't sleep together until the end of Season 1 (when they get married). After that, it gets less interesting. All the interest came from the sexual tension and build-up that came from the characters' values of choosing not to have sex right after they "fell in love." Again, the characters having to work within boundaries made for an interesting story.

I think they mean it is a kind of "soft porn" (I assume) not due to the skinship element but because the idea of a virgin ML can indulge a woman's "fantasy" about what a man in a relationship is like and reinforces a "myth" (the "myth" that "you can find men to date and marry who are still virgins") in the same way that porn gives men a fantasy of what women can give them in sex. I get why someone might venture the comparison, but it's still just not on the same level (for a variety of reasons) and does not need to be repeated AD NAUSEUM.

And it's remains the average of even more voters than you mentioned--it's almost 70,000 now!

But they also claim they are the same people making thousands of fake accounts giving it 10s. 🫢 Guys, I don't think even the biggest fangirls are THAT invested. How do you even keep track of thousands of passwords?

True, true. That's why I'm selective with Netflix dramas. I don't fully trust their Kdrama storytelling instincts and direction, so I do my research before giving one a shot.

Haha, I use the app, so my block attempts don't work. I still see their posts; I never use my laptop for MDL, so I can't be spared. 😭🤮🤢

I actually think I'm going to lose my mind it drives me so nuts. I'm speaking in hyperbole, but a few people on here just hop from thread to thread and post the same dense garbage over and over and over again. 🤯 I think they believe they will single-handedly change everyone's minds and get them to believe that Kdramas with virgin MLs are all trash (or, to quote one, "soft porn"); or they just take a morbid delight in getting everyone riled up and angry.

I really wish they would start a blog and stop annoying people who just want to enjoy dialoguing about, say, "a horse race" without constantly coming across someone "beating a dead horse" in the process! PLEASE. Pretty please?

Haha, nope, not alone. If I wanted to watch a show that was basically a Western TV show, I would have. I wanted a Kdrama and got a Western TV show with Korean actors instead. I actually am grateful for Korean censorship, it allows for the kind of content I want to see. I don't want to hear obscenities, bawdy innuendos right and left and watch people getting demolished on screen. Pass!

Yes, I LOVED how they portrayed his leadership. He always tried to find the 3rd solution no one thought was an option or maybe didn't even think of!

Agreed!

I know, it was a great drama! Very idealistic, but goodhearted and the kind of idealism I find inspiring rather than fantastical. 😂

I won't be watching D.P. 2 (didn't care for the original D.P.; too gory and crass (or in other words, too "Netflix" 😂)) but I would like to see Jin Hee in another drama. :)

Well, for English speakers, this kind of lisp (with the "s" being pronounced as a "th") usually crops up as a kind of speech impediment and people can sometimes be trained out of it with tongue (myofunctional) therapy. But from what I've seen in historical Kdramas, it's "put on" for a role only, and not the way a actor actually speaks, usually. For instance, the same actors with the lisp in the sageuk won't have that lisp in a modern drama.

Hmmm... I'm not sure what you mean by those that speak with a nassaly sound... ? Can you give an example? 😂