Help me understand this: How are little sexual scenes upsetting everyone? Since when sex is something new? I keep…
Personally, i don't mind whether a drama has sex scenes or not, but i find that a lot of the time when kdramas have sex scenes, it doesn't really fit with the story, it seems like an uneccesary addition that has no affect on the actual storyline, so id rather just not have one. One thing im not exactly pleased about is that in sex scenes ive seen in kdramas, the woman is fully naked, but its never the same for the man, he still wears some form of clothing, and so when thats the case, id definitely rather not watch the sex scene. I dont know how to explain it, but it just makes the woman seem 'cheap' in a way, and that just disgusts me. Im not sure whether you've watched it, but there was an extremely irrelevant, unnecessary sex scene in A killer Paradox where the woman was fully naked but the guy was fully clothed and i was honestly so disgusted
Help me understand this: How are little sexual scenes upsetting everyone? Since when sex is something new? I keep…
Not having explicit sex scenes in dramas (maybe some skin bared in gritty noirs and the like, but definitely not in any other genres) was one of the draws of kdramas as compared to Western media. I for one (speaking just for myself) am more likely to watch something not really in-my-face all the time, I do NOT need to see tits and bare buttocks to know they're intimate with each other. Not to mention that it's usually the woman who is getting the full-frontal treatment, and never the man (who is mostly, if ever, seen from the back). It's pretty low level of entertainment, and I - speaking for myself, again - do not like nudity as a means to an end. Some of the scenes I've seen (usually in NF/D+ etc-produced dramas) are not even really needed, like that totally unwarranted sex scene in A Killer Paradox, for example.
Kdramas didn't have that kind of scenes (or not many, and when they did, it used to be pretty important) before production (or budgets) were taken over by Western streaming companies, that demanded whatever they knew would make people watch.
Also, while SK always was a step ahead in horror, it didn't used to be so CGI-heavy and most of the best dramas had their weight in the psychology of horror. I already mentioned it below - SH the first season had lots of scare jumps and gallons of blood and even some mild almost-nudity, but it's strength was in the psychology of human relations under stress. I watched as a captivated audience, and I usually do not like horror (at all, though I did watch some). The second and third season downgraded into lazy plots, lots of meningless action and deaths of MCs for the sake of shock, and didn't really have a satisfying ending. It did have lots and lots of CGI monsters and overkill fighting scenes. And they were very meh.
More is not always better, and it looks like streaming sites financing new shows want to milk anything possible out of the freshness of kdramas (whatever is left of it) but westernize them too, so that it makes the most people watch those shows. What quality they are means very little, as long as they LOOK pretty and they draw the public for that first (and usually only) stream-watch.
For myself, TBH, I don't mind. I have plenty other de-stressing mechanisms and there's always one good drama among dozens of bad stuff that I can find. But it doesn't mean I don't see it changing, and yes, some if not most of the new stuff is catered to a more international audience (which also means it's losing its original flavour that made it so appealing in the first place.)
" However, as you watch more and more K-Dramas, eventually reaching around 50 - 100, you may start noticing similarities in plots, characters, and tropes across different series."
Well, it took me about 5 korean rom coms to notice the pattern in the storylines back in 2020 (aaah the lockdown!Good old times!;-)). It never bothered me much when there was interesting content on that structure. True, it took me a bit longer to figure out all the tropes...
But, the intrusion of Netflix brought with the american money, the american way of making series and basically took the soul out of K dramas. Korean actors may be paid better, but the experienced viewers are being chased away. So I am avoiding Netflix stamped dramas as plague. Those that are not NF, mainly fail to grab and /or keep my attention and I have been dropping them like hot potatoes.
I am watching mainly japanese dramas now days and hoping and praying that Netflix does not put their grabby little greedy fingers on them too. They are trying and so far rather failing from what I gather. Japanese dramas are a peculiar, quirky and original lot. Difficult to fit into a NF mould!
Good points well made. I feel like there are so many bland dramas at the moment getting high scores for fan service over plot. Healing drama = nothing much happened but it was 'nice' and inoffensive. I got into K-Dramas for the lack of jump into bed Romance ( 5 hours just to hold hands - sweet) and the lack of reliance on 'excitement' for plot. Perhaps I'm just old and grumpy and tomorrow I'll wake up all enthusiastic again (and not bald please!)
I remember 10 years ago, there were so many dramas to choose from. Me, I was following most of the airing shows and they all had their charm, some more, some less. But I loved the experience 🥰 For me, it was a getaway into a new world. I loooved it so much and I looved how everything was different from western shows.
Nowadays if I find myself up to 10 good Kdramas a year, I call that a good one but sadly, year after year I find myself watching less and less Kdramas. I feel that hyped ones are just that, hyped and not really that good. Then all the stuff I hated in western shows are slowly crawling in my Kdramas. I also feel that now they are focusing way too much on looks and giving lead roles by looks and some good actors lose on getting well deserved lead roles because they don't meet the perfect standard.
Other thing is episode count. I loved my dramas at 16 episodes for years but now with, evident quality fall, I feel that 10 to 12 episodes, to tell a good story without much fillers, serial killers in romcoms, truck of dooms.... etc. , is more than enough.
I think serial killers in rom-coms should be banned. 😆
I predicted it would be a disaster when Netflix released XoXo Kitty, Everybody trying to ride the Korean wave Now there is only quantity and little quality. I miss old kdramas a lot. Now it's all copy-paste.
"Is it just me, or does it seem like K-Dramas, especially those tailored for a global audience, often prioritize satisfying Western viewers?" ..I also felt the same way... Also, my introduction to kdramas was with a romcom, but I do not see authentic korean thrillers anymore and I do not know why there's no OCN dramas anymore...
Yeah it's losing its charm when they mass produced the same tropes in multiple k-dramas. After a few times, you can decode the ending and recognize the pattern.
Back in the day 9 out of 10 kdramas were watchable... now you get lucky when there is 1 amongst 10 that you start and actually finish. But I cant agree on thriller and horror because when they do it they either completely westernize the show or turn it into some stupid makjang and make it ridiculous...... Especially netflix produces trash on a daily basis... only for mainstream... I dont even consider most of these shows k-dramas because its basically an american drama with korean actors. Kdramas once had this appeal and they were special bc they werent like american shows. No over the top violence, no crazy sex scenes.... but now especially the violence part went up like crazy... being even more unrealsitic than the american stuff.... A lot of viewers are just annoyed by what kdramas turned into....
Ling Yuan is as obsessed with our male lead as we are. He is lamenting he has to buy his own chocolates. Should that have been as funny as I found it? I'm dying of laughter.
The title is misleading. The male lead is annoying *VERY* in the beginning but by episode six he's started to grow on you. It's humor is simple but charming, and the story fairly engaging and not draggy for the most part. It is amateurish but does not take itself seriously. The cast is interesting and fun. For a low budget obviously full of beginners, it's got it's own charm and a very happy ending. It's not an 8 by any means but if you have a hard day this is the one to watch.
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One thing im not exactly pleased about is that in sex scenes ive seen in kdramas, the woman is fully naked, but its never the same for the man, he still wears some form of clothing, and so when thats the case, id definitely rather not watch the sex scene. I dont know how to explain it, but it just makes the woman seem 'cheap' in a way, and that just disgusts me.
Im not sure whether you've watched it, but there was an extremely irrelevant, unnecessary sex scene in A killer Paradox where the woman was fully naked but the guy was fully clothed and i was honestly so disgusted
Kdramas didn't have that kind of scenes (or not many, and when they did, it used to be pretty important) before production (or budgets) were taken over by Western streaming companies, that demanded whatever they knew would make people watch.
Also, while SK always was a step ahead in horror, it didn't used to be so CGI-heavy and most of the best dramas had their weight in the psychology of horror. I already mentioned it below - SH the first season had lots of scare jumps and gallons of blood and even some mild almost-nudity, but it's strength was in the psychology of human relations under stress. I watched as a captivated audience, and I usually do not like horror (at all, though I did watch some). The second and third season downgraded into lazy plots, lots of meningless action and deaths of MCs for the sake of shock, and didn't really have a satisfying ending. It did have lots and lots of CGI monsters and overkill fighting scenes. And they were very meh.
More is not always better, and it looks like streaming sites financing new shows want to milk anything possible out of the freshness of kdramas (whatever is left of it) but westernize them too, so that it makes the most people watch those shows. What quality they are means very little, as long as they LOOK pretty and they draw the public for that first (and usually only) stream-watch.
For myself, TBH, I don't mind. I have plenty other de-stressing mechanisms and there's always one good drama among dozens of bad stuff that I can find. But it doesn't mean I don't see it changing, and yes, some if not most of the new stuff is catered to a more international audience (which also means it's losing its original flavour that made it so appealing in the first place.)
Well, it took me about 5 korean rom coms to notice the pattern in the storylines back in 2020 (aaah the lockdown!Good old times!;-)). It never bothered me much when there was interesting content on that structure. True, it took me a bit longer to figure out all the tropes...
But, the intrusion of Netflix brought with the american money, the american way of making series and basically took the soul out of K dramas. Korean actors may be paid better, but the experienced viewers are being chased away. So I am avoiding Netflix stamped dramas as plague. Those that are not NF, mainly fail to grab and /or keep my attention and I have been dropping them like hot potatoes.
I am watching mainly japanese dramas now days and hoping and praying that Netflix does not put their grabby little greedy fingers on them too. They are trying and so far rather failing from what I gather. Japanese dramas are a peculiar, quirky and original lot. Difficult to fit into a NF mould!
Gosh, I almost forgot: Great article! I loved it!
I feel like there are so many bland dramas at the moment getting high scores for fan service over plot. Healing drama = nothing much happened but it was 'nice' and inoffensive. I got into K-Dramas for the lack of jump into bed Romance ( 5 hours just to hold hands - sweet) and the lack of reliance on 'excitement' for plot. Perhaps I'm just old and grumpy and tomorrow I'll wake up all enthusiastic again (and not bald please!)
For me, it was a getaway into a new world. I loooved it so much and I looved how everything was different from western shows.
Nowadays if I find myself up to 10 good Kdramas a year, I call that a good one but sadly, year after year I find myself watching less and less Kdramas. I feel that hyped ones are just that, hyped and not really that good. Then all the stuff I hated in western shows are slowly crawling in my Kdramas.
I also feel that now they are focusing way too much on looks and giving lead roles by looks and some good actors lose on getting well deserved lead roles because they don't meet the perfect standard.
Other thing is episode count. I loved my dramas at 16 episodes for years but now with, evident quality fall, I feel that 10 to 12 episodes, to tell a good story without much fillers, serial killers in romcoms, truck of dooms.... etc. , is more than enough.
I think serial killers in rom-coms should be banned. 😆
Now there is only quantity and little quality.
I miss old kdramas a lot. Now it's all copy-paste.
Also, my introduction to kdramas was with a romcom, but I do not see authentic korean thrillers anymore and I do not know why there's no OCN dramas anymore...
Especially netflix produces trash on a daily basis... only for mainstream... I dont even consider most of these shows k-dramas because its basically an american drama with korean actors.
Kdramas once had this appeal and they were special bc they werent like american shows. No over the top violence, no crazy sex scenes.... but now especially the violence part went up like crazy... being even more unrealsitic than the american stuff.... A lot of viewers are just annoyed by what kdramas turned into....