You make several valid points, especially aabout the bias toward nostalgia and "white saviour" complex, but making sweeping ad hominem generalisations about those who have a different pov is likely to prove suboptimal for getting those points acknowledged.
Thanks for a well-structured look at something many have experienced and that most will. I started watching K-Dramas long before the 2018 start date you chose for the framework of your piece, so it was fun to read a retrospective of a long ago journey.
I especially liked your encouragement to look beyond Korea. I completed 100 KDramas in the first 6 months of starting, but it took me another 10.5 YEARS to reach 300 completed, in large part because TW and J Dramas began to match my developing tastes bnetter. So I was delighted to see Trillion Game and especially the OUTSTANDING Someday or One Day referenced in your piece. And for crime thrillers in particular, there's a JDrama network that makes basically nothing but - lookout for WOWOW Dramas.
On the subject of tropes, it is impossible to avoid them. No one will ever be able to keep finding trope-free entertainment, so I prefer to think of tropes as ingredients in a recipe. The ingredients may be the same,. and the recipes may be similar, but the skill of composition and the exact amounts of each ingredient can still produce very different end products. So looking for originality of execution can help. I've found this has helped me enjoy KDramas again, after gongi throguh many of the issues you wrote so well about.
Finally as another recommendation in gratitude for a very interesting read, I would you encourage you to 'look back' if you can. With the exception of "Friends" almost all the content you reference is recent - from 2018 onward (VERY recent for an old person like me😁) As someone who's watched around 400 (OLD) Indian (most, but not all, Hindi) movies, I loved your reference to the subcontinent. But from across Asia, there is so much older content that is worth looking out for. Here's a few to consider, from different countries, years and genres if you're able to access them. Happy hunting and thanks again for a really enjoyable read!
Mars (TW) 2004 Orange Days (JPN) 2004 Kimi Wa Petto (JPN 2003 Coffee Prince (KR) 2007 Woman (JPN) 2013 Punch (KR) 2014 D-Day (KR) 2015 Night Light (KR) 2016 Prison Playbook (KR) 2017 Circle (KR) 2017 Avengers Social Club (KR) 2017 Falsify (KR) 2017
I added a couple of my J faves, so I'm happy to see them getting some love 😀 Thank you for creating the list!
I wouldn't use the number of followers as a guide. I've been quite active on MDL for nearly 5 years, and I still follow exactly ZERO people, not even any of the actors I added to your list. I've never seen the point.
I cxall this "aural aesthetics" and it's very personal and very subjective. It's also the reason my first Thai Drama is likely to be my last. The language just doesn't fit my personal, subjective sense of aural aesthetics and so I find it challenging to listen to.
Nice article - interesting that no one ever went back to fully rewatch their first drama.
I haven't rewatched My Princess, but of the just over 100 Dramas I watched in 2013 after that one, I've rewtached 22 of them: TW - In Time With You 4 times, They Kiss Again 3 times; Korea - Capital Scandal, Queen In Hyun's Man, I Hear Your Voice and Coffee Prince 3 times each and Goong NEARLY 3 times. I gave up on Goong on my most recent rewatch about 80% done. Then here's a bunch that I've watched twice
This was so cute. Got some nostalgia feels from some of the writers. 480p and 360p fansub with no legal ways to…
For me, Pasta has a very special place in my Drama watching history: The very first Drama I EVER dropped. Nine full episodes where every character except oe only ever seemed to have one line "Yes Chef!" was enough for me. 😂
Cooking is also VERY prominent in Dae Jang Geum. I absolutely REFUSE to use the name MDL gives it because Dae Jang Geum was a real historical person and the Drama is all about her, so naming it after her makes sense. Plus, it remains a VERY, VERY rare KDrama for having a FEMALE GENIUS lead. That made putting up with 6000 hours of cooking classes in the Drama worthwhile. :)
OMG the memories... Back in 2010, the 13yo me watching Devil Beside You in 360p at a random fansub with english…
As afan of Mike He, if you haven't already, do check out Imperfect Us, he's very good in that. VERY different from his early stuff of course, but as a fan of Ariel Lin, I enjoyed seeing the two of them together again after Love Contract
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law
You make several valid points, especially aabout the bias toward nostalgia and "white saviour" complex, but making sweeping ad hominem generalisations about those who have a different pov is likely to prove suboptimal for getting those points acknowledged.
I especially liked your encouragement to look beyond Korea. I completed 100 KDramas in the first 6 months of starting, but it took me another 10.5 YEARS to reach 300 completed, in large part because TW and J Dramas began to match my developing tastes bnetter. So I was delighted to see Trillion Game and especially the OUTSTANDING Someday or One Day referenced in your piece. And for crime thrillers in particular, there's a JDrama network that makes basically nothing but - lookout for WOWOW Dramas.
On the subject of tropes, it is impossible to avoid them. No one will ever be able to keep finding trope-free entertainment, so I prefer to think of tropes as ingredients in a recipe. The ingredients may be the same,. and the recipes may be similar, but the skill of composition and the exact amounts of each ingredient can still produce very different end products. So looking for originality of execution can help. I've found this has helped me enjoy KDramas again, after gongi throguh many of the issues you wrote so well about.
Finally as another recommendation in gratitude for a very interesting read, I would you encourage you to 'look back' if you can. With the exception of "Friends" almost all the content you reference is recent - from 2018 onward (VERY recent for an old person like me😁) As someone who's watched around 400 (OLD) Indian (most, but not all, Hindi) movies, I loved your reference to the subcontinent. But from across Asia, there is so much older content that is worth looking out for. Here's a few to consider, from different countries, years and genres if you're able to access them. Happy hunting and thanks again for a really enjoyable read!
Mars (TW) 2004
Orange Days (JPN) 2004
Kimi Wa Petto (JPN 2003
Coffee Prince (KR) 2007
Woman (JPN) 2013
Punch (KR) 2014
D-Day (KR) 2015
Night Light (KR) 2016
Prison Playbook (KR) 2017
Circle (KR) 2017
Avengers Social Club (KR) 2017
Falsify (KR) 2017
https://kisskh.at/article/roads-less-traveled-dramas-with-less-than-1000-viewers
Cooking is also VERY prominent in Dae Jang Geum. I absolutely REFUSE to use the name MDL gives it because Dae Jang Geum was a real historical person and the Drama is all about her, so naming it after her makes sense. Plus, it remains a VERY, VERY rare KDrama for having a FEMALE GENIUS lead. That made putting up with 6000 hours of cooking classes in the Drama worthwhile. :)