StageIII

If they like TKEM and BR, there is a very good chance that they dislike this show. Their taste buds are clearly different. I think it is also acceptable to judge a show whenever you do not like it through watching a few episodes. If you do not like the style for example, then you do not need to watch 16 episodes to come to an opinion. I mean, if you go on a date and you do not like that person after talking to him/her for an hour. Are you the one to continue dating that person to learn him/her better, so you can formulate a good opinion of that person? Probably not. The other way is more difficult. It takes more dates/ more episodes to discover whether that person/the show is the one for you. IMO, all the "10s" are more peculiar. It is like a blind declaration of love - marrying after two dates. Anyways, their ratings also did not really do much as the show went up from a 9.1 to a 9.3.

By saying that he dressed up as Bob Marley is racist in itself. The style is Rastafari and since Bob Marley is Rastafari, he dressed up like that. If you see a Muslim wearing a turban, would your reaction also be: "Why is he dressed up like Osama Bin Laden?". I think you are stereotyping yourself without you even realizing, but I can be wrong

I do not mind that they cut that epilogue out. It is one of the most powerful moments in the whole episode, it is a bit too much with Jae Su crying like that haha

CLOY, IC, When The Camellia Blooms, Hospital Playlist. There are quite a few actually with simulcasts. But it is irrelevant to this.

Ratings are not for approval, but they do direct the future of kdramas. Also, since most kdramas are not pre-produced, the writer can change the writing to fit the audience's taste. This can lead to the decline in quality. There are still 12 episodes to go, so bad ratings can ruin quite a lot. You have to remember that TVN's main goal is to please the Koreans, not the rest of the world.

It is a given that it would be number 1 in SK. It is still KSH of course. Even if it is popular on Netflix, I do not expect millions of Korean Netflix-exclusive viewers. Let's say that 50% watch it on TV and 50% on Netflix (a very generous prediction), then the rating would still translate at most to 10%. Definitely not CLOY-numbers or even IC-numbers.

Even if they are top 10 in most Asian countries, they are not amongst the top in the countries that matter the most such as India, Japan and the Philippines.

But the most important way to gauge the popularity of this drama is via trending lists on online platforms such as Naver and Nate. When CLOY or TWOTM would be broadcasted, at least 30-40 of the top 100 articles would be about the show. But with this drama, there are at most 4-5 articles trending and mostly appear somewhere at the 20-25th place. This is about the same buzz as Backstreet Rookie receives.

It is unfortunate, because it is another melodrama that does not perform at par. Although I would not qualify it as a ful-fledged fantasy, the fairytale and Tim Burton-esque way of telling the story makes it very fantasy-like. This is another fantasy-ish drama that does not perform optimally.

It is quite ironic to call someone out for cultural appropriation, whilst you are referring to the characters as the guy that is dressed as "Bob Marley". Imagine I go to a Rastafari and ask him: "Why are you dressed like Bob Marley?"... Haha, I think he will glare at me.

It might not be a bad rating for TVN's normal weekend dramas, but it is definitely not up to par to KSH's standards (this guy is doing 20%+ on public channels). He is the best paid drama actor for a reason. It is also his comeback drama.

It would be okay if the drama sucked and was cheap, but it is quite the contrary. It is actually good and also high-budget. If you have ever had the hopes to watch even more dramas with these kinds of heavy plots, you can only hope for better ratings. As it now looks, melodramas (but also fantasy) are dead and instead slapstick-comedies and makjangs are becoming the norm. Just for your information, the producers were working with targets of 15%+.

This drama is also not doing awesome on Netflix either. Number 8 in India, Number 5 in Japan and Number 2 in Philippines. Only Number 1 in Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

This story is not really trending. In fact, the story about the complaints of SYJ touching KSH's abs is getting quite some traffic.

I am not making up excuses. I never said that I was okay with KYJ's behavior.

Just to make it clear, I was not discussing the drama when I was responding to you. I was responding to your statement "I think I live in another world". Only to this part of your whole post - nothing else. I wrote my message to confirm your assumption. My comment did not have any extra meaning or something. It is free of any judgment. It is like responding to a question such as "Why is there almost no beef in an Indian supermarket?" and I reply with "Because to Indians, a cow is holy". It is that general, you have to interpret my comment at that level. If you never stated: "I have the feeling I live in another world", I would not even write that message.

To be honest, my message is a bit useless. It like telling you Texas is different than New York and that you should not be surprised that they do not like Barack Obama in Texas. By saying this, I am not saying that I support Donald Trump instead. Hope you understand it...

I am not proving anything. I am just saying that if you are talking to East-Asians that every word that they wrote down about cheating etc. is actually also their beliefs.

You are thinking that they are kidding you and look the other way because of their biases, but I am just saying... there is actually the likelihood that they really believe it IF they are East-Asian. Even another commenter - Grace - can confirm what I said.

I did not mean anything with it apart from that. Don't be so sensitive about it...

Thanks I was not making excuses for KYJ. I am only trying to say that people from East-Asia are definitely different than people in the West. Thus, when Pranksalot said: "I have the feeling I live in a different world", I was responding with a message in the vein of "Yes, you are right and it is even crazier than you think". But he thinks I am excusing their behavior and attacking him/her... Pranksalot is one peculiar person...

I am not trying to debate you. I am responding to your claim "I have been feeling that I am living in a different world". I only said: "You 100% are". I did not talk you out of your opinion. I only made you aware that you are talking to people with different beliefs, which is undoable. It is like telling a Christian that God does not exist. In his book you are talking shit, whilst you actually might not.

For someone that really likes to post messages, I noticed that you really do not love listening to other people. You are not flexible at all, but quite obsessed. Almost Asperger-like?

Yes, but prior to applying she does not. When he told her, she was saying I am sorry for your girlfriend, because you will be mine. Something like that... I think it was the first time she actually heard it.

I do not know where the population from the comment section comes from, but if they are East-Asian, I think you are literally living in a different world. East-Asians do not have Judo-Christian morals, but Confucian beliefs. I saw some mention by other commenters about it as well.

This creates some astonishing differences. For example, in Japan sex and cheating is not a big deal. Research has shown that 1 in 200 girls have been in AV (Japanese porn). Some girls attended prestigious universities such as Waseda, Keio, Sophia etc. The majority of the couples also cheat. Although Korea does not have a dedicated porn industry (it is illegal), their view on sex is largely the same. Salary guys going drinking in a host bar for example...

Although the previous part was based largely on facts. I also have my own explanation. Korea is still a country that is based on heavy competition, and marrying up is very important. The Koreans literally approach it as a competition. Marriage is mostly also not done out of love, but because it is expected. It is more of a social contract. Since marriage/relationship is such a loose institution, it is also less meaningful.

Furthermore, since finding the right partner is quite competitive/difficult, adhering to your rules are difficult - this would result in plenty of forced singles. There are less men than women in Seoul (for every 100 females, 95 males).

I don't think she actually knew he had a girlfriend. She felt quite down when she first heard it.

I think where the story goes a bit astray is why she did not look for him earlier. Why wait for three years? They were both adults back then. She had his phone number, so she had plenty of opportunities to contact him.

The most important part to high ratings is pace. Nowadays dramas do not really have build-ups. It needs to be quicker. Even in this day and age, I am thinking that masterpieces such as My Ahjussi and Misaeng will have trouble pulling in numbers. I think TVN is just not good enough in the editing and production department anymore. They are clearly losing ground against the competition.

Another factor is that TVN does not have an own "face" unlike the competition. Especially JTBC understands very clearly what the audience wants (veteran, revenge/thriller dramas), but also TV Chosun for example with its Sageuk dramas.

TVN is wishy-washy in the weekends. One day they have a rom-com (CLOY), the next day a fantasy (Hi Bye Mama), then a melodrama (When My Love Blooms) and now something of a melodrama, but advertised as a rom-com (?!). If I am a viewer and I am tuning in for a rom-com with Kim Soo Hyun (as advertised by Netflix et al.) and they serve me a melodrama, I would zone out as well.

Also I think dramas about healing are not good for Saturdays and Sundays when the weekend is all about fun. There is a reason why KBS2 has "Happy Sunday", MBC has "Sunday Night" or SBS "Good Sunday". Sunday is all about light entertainment. Not a heavy drama.

Undoubtedly Be Melodramatic is a good drama, but to say that they received critical acclaim is a bit far-fetched. No big nominations from the award-giving bodies and since no one was watching it either, I am wondering what kind of acclaim you are referring to? I would rather qualify Be Melodramatic as an underrated drama that was only appreciated by a few

But there are not a lot of actresses at his level of fame that can also act or are of his age.

Slightly less popular in fame, but still good actresses might be people such as Moon Chae Won or Han Hyo Joo, but apart from them? Who else? Han So Hee? She slurs too much to fit the ethereal perfect princess role.

But even without any star outside Kim Soo Hyun, 7% viewership ratings for cable is definitely not some astonishing feat anymore. Even the smaller channels such as MBN and OCN are able to get these ratings nowadays. In fact, this drama opened with 6%, it should not be too hard to maintain this rating. Dipping into the 4-5% means that people are straight up refusing to watch it, because they seriously dislike the story.

Let's be honest here, outside the nice CGI and good acting. This drama is nothing particularly different than a standard melodrama about healing. It might be refreshing to many new k-drama watchers, but to veterans such as the Koreans it is just another drama. And to younger viewers, there is just not a lot of swoon-worthy moments. This drama is stuck between two target groups and catering to none.

Same here... One of the reasons that Korea or countries such as the UK have such vibrant entertainment industry is because the focus is on acting and the plot. I had the small hope that with a bigger budget and good storytelling, the dramas and movies would be alleviated to a new level. However, I noticed it only becomes more Hollywood-like. This does not pertain to this show specifically, but to shows such as Vagabond and The King.

Also, I think JCW should make it perfectly clear to Saet Byul. There is no problem with saying: "I am in a relationship with my girlfriend and I do not want to leave her, so please stop." Instead he is giving her hope and mixed signals.