burhaa aadmi

Fascinating article, thank you! Such an amazing amount of work put into gather, collating and presenting the data for your article, bringing to life a a very interesting topic. I was pleased to see that when it comes to checking how it ends before starting, the most common response was the one I'd have gone with "depends on mood". For example I've seen many people rave about "Something Happened in Bali" without any mention of the way ended ( a LONG way from definition 1), but I'm pleased I did know beforehand. And the excellent "Damo" actually opens episode 1 with its closing scene, so viewers know straight way whether the Drama fits their own definition of a happy ending. I think your closing screencap is the perfect example of an ending that can be described as happy because of feeling right for the story and the characters, well done!

Yes, I think that would be the dream - J content that stays true to itself AND makes subs available freely through properly licenced channels.

Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply. It was of course, just an opinion piece, the intensity of some of the reacions a nice reminder of how much Dramas matter to many. I guess my predilection for J Dramas might be made easier by the fact that kind of stories I enjoy watching are less reliant on the high production value "gloss" that modern K Dramas unquestionably deliver well.

Thanks for your comment - I was especially interested in your comment about the asadora, as I'm about to start watching my first asadora shortly. I've heard good things about the emotional depth in Okaeri Mone, looking forward to checking it out

It's interesting that you mentioned Prison Playbook as feeling Americanised. A Korean friend of mine who does not watch K Dramas urged me to watch it because he enjoyed it as a very authentic depiction of Korean prison life. He said it reminded him of his 2 years in a Korean prison

And you made my day by your kind reply, thank you🙏

I am definitely not a fan of makjang, I guess it depends on how one defines "old", but most of the K Dramas I enjoyed would probably be considered "Old" by many MDL users, being from the early 2010s, and none of my faves from that time are makjang in the standard defintion of that word

Thanks for your comments, I'm pleased the article is generating reactions. It's interesting that what we in the West think of as "natural" may be quite culturally specific as a concept derived from European theatre traditions. When I got into watching Hindi cinema decades ago, I was struck by how OTT the acting style seemed compared to Western naturalism. Then I read some interesting material o how that style derived the fact that travelling actor troupes in India performed across language boundaries meaning that their acting had to make clear what their words might not. Perhaps there are similar historical/cultural influences behind the "old" style of K Drama

Thank you for sharing your enhanced perspective from you experiences in Korea, it's great to hear from those who can add more information to my limited pov.

"Just let me give you my money, pleeeeeeease!!!" THANK YOU for this, I feel exactly the same way. I'd love to be able to consume J ent in a way that rewarded the performers properly

Thanks for taking the time to give such a very detailed response. You're absolutely right that this was an opinion piece, I did make that clear, and invited others to share their opinions. Which is why I'm grateful that you did. As for Vincenzo, I actually did give a very specific example of how it is different to other K Dramas, comparing it with another Drama SJK starred in, but it seems that example may predate your K Drama viewing.

My viewing choices are VERY idiosyncratic and not shared by many, but I think it's nice when fans can share their differing perceptions on a very subjective range of experiences, thanks again

Thank you for taking the time to share such a well-balanced reply., It's definitely not a binary proposition, no "yes/no" "black/white" kind of answer, which is why I took a few months to work out how to distill my ramblings into something that might be mistaken for a coherent article.

Thanks for your reply. I definitely agree about the "filler" problem, it's why I skip C Dramas over 40 eps these days

Thanks for your thoughtful reply - I especially liked you comment that J doramas just don't run out of ideas. If it's quirky or different, it's Japanese, I think :)

"Japan doen't need the world to watch or listen to them" Exactly! This sums up the impression I get too, thank you

You're absolutely right, thank you. Availability is a big issue, which is why I touched on it a few times in my article

Thanks for your reply. I think that sageuks are definitely one area in which K Dramas definitely retain their Koreanness👍

"rip kdramas 2005-2018" a nice summary, thank you!😁

"All that being said, that is my personal preference" Absolutely true for all of us, thank you!

Thanks for your comment. It's interesting that you say K Dramas probably have a higher average score for you than J Dramas, even though you end up saving more J Dramas