Getting Hooked on K-Drama

I have been an avid South Korean Drama (K-Drama) fan since 2003 when a local Philippine TV Station aired a Filipino-dubbed of the drama Autumn in My Heart. I remember being glued to the TV every day, watching the story unfold and even sharing a tear or two along with the characters. From then on, I have preferred watching K-Drama more than anything else (well Game of Thrones and Stranger Things are an exception.)

Nowadays, you can watch K-Drama with sub titles online. Reading while watching is a lot of work. So, I would usually select on my list of suggested K-Dramas on what to watch. But still, my deciding factor on whether it’s worth my time is in its first three episodes. If by the third episode I am not hooked, then it’s time to move on to the one on the list.

So what is the real deal about K-Drama and what gets you hooked? Below is the is list on why I believe you get hooked on K-Drama.

1. The Length

The thing about K-Drama is that they usually never have seasons like American Dramas and nor have a lot of episodes like a Philippine Drama that would run for more than a year with no season breaks. A K-Drama would either be a daily 30-minute drama that would have more or less 100 episodes, or two episodes per weekday drama that would usually last an hour with no more than 25 episodes (or 50 episodes for weekend dramas). So after it’s run, you move onto your next drama so you could fill the void the previous drama left. (Yup, that’s how addictive it is.)

2. The Story

K-Drama writers have a unique way of telling their stories. Some subjects might seem cliché or overused like stories about mistresses, rich girl/poor boy (vice versa) love story, amnesia, or long-lost child story arc, but the way they tell the stories varies from drama to drama.

Veering away from cliche topics, one of the series that have good writing is the Reply Series. The first of the Reply Series is “Reply 1997.” This tells the story of friendship, family, and love while centered on the story arc of how it is to be a K-Pop fan in the 90s. The premise of the series is that it starts with present day setting and then takes you to a series of flashbacks in the life of the characters, which in turn keeps the viewers guessing who ended up with who among the characters. The same storytelling was also applied to "Reply 1994" which focused on the lives of people living in a boarding house, and "Reply 1988," which was an ode to the late 80s. Though not a sequel of each other, if you dare to watch the series, there are some cross-over characters that have affected the course of the story. By far, the best among the series is "Reply 1988." It also contains story of friendship, family, slice of life and moreover love.

Reply Series

And about love, K-Dramas can definitely serve you all the right kinds of "feels" when watching how the characters come into terms with their feelings, their confessions, jealousy, and even trying to show love in the little things they do. They do tend to be melodramatic, but it seems that is the formula that works best for them and fans do love that kind of stuff.

3. The Acting

No matter how good the script is, you need good actors and actresses to make the characters come alive. A good example of great cast ensemble is the cast of the drama Goblin. The first time I heard about the project and its synopsis, I was a bit skeptical on how they would deliver this story. The story of a goblin who protects souls, looking for his bride to end his immortality, then add to the mix a Grim Reaper who needs to take the soul of the bride. What does a Korean Goblin look like? Boom! It should look like Gong Yoo (Train to Busan guy). How about Grim Reaper? Here’s Lee Dong-wook with his naturally pink lips. Yes, they are eye candies, but they brought their A-game to their acting. They laugh, you laugh. They cry, you cry. They express their love, you fall in-love. You can really feel the emotions they want to convey. They throw their lines naturally, work in great synergy, and even throw adlibs here and there (based on the director's cut video). Like not one of them is out-of-place and works perfectly. Moreover, you end up having a hard time discerning that actor from his character. Yes, it happens.

Goblin

I have not included cinematography and soundtrack into the list but what I listed is basically the essential part of what I look for in K-Dramas that gets fans hooked. How about you? What do you like about K-Dramas?