November, 2020.On an ordinary evening spent wandering aimlessly through television channels, I stumbled upon a drama wrapped in awkward dubbing and unfamiliar language. By all means, it should have been forgettable. And yet, something about it lingered long enough to make me stay. Later that night, curiosity led me to YouTube, where I found the entire series and watched it from beginning to end in a single sitting. Yes, even in its terribly dubbed form. The drama was Boys Over Flowers! What seemed like a fleeting coincidence became the quiet beginning of something much larger. From there, I found myself drawn into the world of East-Asian dramas: stories filled with longing glances, aching silences, devotion, heartbreak, and the kind of emotions that linger long after the screen fades to black. Not long after, a friend introduced me to K-pop as well, and somewhere between those late nights and countless stories, this world became a second home to me. And truthfully, I have never once wished to leave it behind. |