Korean Dramas (K Dramas) Discussion Thread

[FirePuppy]

I believe "K" dramas -- both shows and movies alike -- are equally naughty. Aside from being overemotional, a lot of them, especially those taking place centuries ago, also contain all kinds of violence that should never be tolerated in real life. Therefore, I myself avoid "K" dramas at all costs.

Anyone else?

 

[Fone Bone]

I have no idea what that is. Get off my lawn.

 

[FirePuppy]

I have no idea what that is. Get off my lawn.

What??? You have no idea what a "K" drama even is? Are you sure this is the first time you've ever heard of such a thing?

 

[Fone Bone]

No. I've never heard of it.

 

[Francisque]

I have no idea what that is. Get off my lawn.

K dramas refers to Korean dramas

Korean drama - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And?
Even if they're violent?
I find many American traditional linear TV shows (mostly ABC, NBC etc.; not the likes of FX and HBO, of course) to be on the opposite side of the spectrum: fake as hell

 

[Fone Bone]

Then why is there a picture of My Little Pony and Peppa Pig in the opening post?

Honestly, the original post telling me they are avoiding dramas from a specific country strikes me as distasteful

 

[Pooky]

Renamed for clarity

If there are any Korean Drama fans here feel free to discuss them here, don't feel constructed to debating whether or not they are "naughty"

 

[FirePuppy]

Then why is there a picture of My Little Pony and Peppa Pig in the opening post?

I only did that to illustrate my distaste of the genre this topic is about.

 

[Francisque]

Then why is there a picture of My Little Pony and Peppa Pig in the opening post?

Honestly, the original post telling me they are avoiding dramas from a specific country strikes me as distasteful

That

Moreover, there are some renowned Korean dramas that are actually very structured and good, or so my friends are always telling me
It's bad to generalize dramas only because they came from a specific nation: same as you can't generalize a banal procedural drama from ABC with an award-winning drama from HBO such as The White Lotus

Or a banal production from my country such as "Elisa di Rivombrosa" with an award winning TV dramas such as My Brilliant Friend or Romanzo Criminale

 

[harry580]

me when I see that meme:

 

[Francisque]

OT: but I think most of the general "bigger channel" TV around the world has quite a generic vibe, of course more than others
E.g. I for instance think Turkish drama is often quite bad, but nevertheless, there are some good products

Anyway: I can't stand many "generic" linear TV production, both from the US (mostly the big five and beyond) and my country
Then of course, there's the exception, but on the main channels you're always going to cater the mass which is going to be more "sensible" about topics such as violence (I don't see the problem, if well contextualized), sexuality, social issues and so on; at times it gets as flat as a pancake

Especially in countries like the US, as it's quite known (on the big five); but many countries are capable of creating something good, especially those wealthier ones which have more investment going on

Netflix and the likes these days are SO much better

 

[Golden Geek]

Parasite is technically a K-drama, certainly naughty, certainly violent, and better than My Little Pony or Peppa Pig.

 

[FirePuppy]

Parasite is technically a K-drama, certainly naughty, certainly violent, and better than My Little Pony or Peppa Pig.

But when I mean "naughty" in my way, I mean completely avoidable from watching.

 

[BigFatHairyDeal]

Going to be super semantic here, but here goes. K-drama is no more a genre than anime is. Within anime, there are many different genres, e.g. mecha, suspense, fantasy, etc. "Drama" is a genre. "K-drama" just tells you where the drama comes from and may have cultural idiosyncracies. It's probably the cultural idiosyncracies that's made K-dramas so popular Stateside in recent years, as well as throughout the Pacific rim in the late 2000s.

My dad and wife are Korean, but I'm not particularly into K-dramas. I'll watch a few based on friend recommendations, but I tend to agree K-dramas are too over the top. Way back when I was taking Korean language classes in college, we'd watch a few movies here and there, and we all felt the melodrama was palpable. And on another potentially inflammatory comment, one visual thing about K-dramas I hate are Korean beauty standards for both men and women. I mean, the ladies look fantastic, but I hate the social pressure it puts on women to look a certain way, far worse than in the US IMO. And the guys just look... let's just say I don't approve LOL.

Anyway, if I type much more, it's just going to become a rant post. But saying avoid "K-drama at all costs" is really akin to saying "avoid anime/US TV/telenovelas at all costs." I can sympathize with the general sentiment, but you're saying that out of thousands of hours of content spread across hundreds of shows and movies, there aren't a handful of good exceptions?

 

[FirePuppy]

I can sympathize with the general sentiment, but you're saying that out of thousands of hours of content spread across hundreds of shows and movies, there aren't a handful of good exceptions?

At least not to me.

 

[BigFatHairyDeal]

At least not to me.

Ok, that's fair. We should all set our own standards for what to watch. I'm just curious, though, if you have any specific examples of why K-dramas are worse (for you) than other dramatic shows or movies. I don't think they're necessarily worse with the melodrama than day- and primetime soaps from the 1980s and 1990s; have you ever sat through an entire episode of Melrose Place, Dynasty, or All My Children?

Clarifying my earlier post, "K-Drama" is an all-encompassing term that tends to include non-dramas, too. Namja Set Yeoja Set ("Korean Friends") and High Kick are a couple of older shows that typically get lumped in with actual Korean dramatic shows but really are more aligned with sitcoms.

EDIT: Upon further consideration, you may have a better point that I original acknowledged. There's probably a reason why 20th century soap operas aren't popular Stateside anymore...

... or maybe K-Dramas picked up steam Stateside because people stopped making shows like Beverly Hills 90210. This subject is complicated...

 

[FirePuppy]

Ok, that's fair. We should all set our own standards for what to watch. I'm just curious, though, if you have any specific examples of why K-dramas are worse (for you) than other dramatic shows or movies. I don't think they're necessarily worse with the melodrama than day- and primetime soaps from the 1980s and 1990s; have you ever sat through an entire episode of Melrose Place, Dynasty, or All My Children?

The worst example is that characters often leave with sore shins for committing certain crimes. Remember China's Qing dynasty?

Another example is that there is sometimes too much shouting (which is bad for anyone in real life), unlike in any of the three American soap dramas you mentioned.

 

[Space Cadet]

Going into this thread, I was not expecting the responses I've seen so far, huh.

Anyway, I have watched K-dramas and I have enjoyed it but just like any output from any country, you'll have your really good shows, you'll have your decent shows and then you'll have shows that are not very good. That being said, I can see why they have become popular in the west in the past 5-6 years. There are some unique things that you don't really see in American stuff.

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

Out of the recent Korean dramas, I've seen Squid Game on Netflix and A Shop for Killers on Disney+.