I’m a list person. I have a list for every single thing in my life from a to-do list, a list of books that I want to read, a running shopping list, and in the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing different k-entertainment lists that I’ve been keeping track of. You’ll be seeing my top 5 lists of stuff like my current celebrity crushes, my favorite k-drama female protagonists, my favorite k-drama male protagonists, my to-be-watched k-dramas, and you know, stuff like that.
This week’s Wednesday Five will feature five things that I Love about K-Dramas. I’ve got an obsessive personality where once I get into something, I really get into it and I won’t come up for air until I’m over it. It’s been about 2 years since I started watching k-dramas and I’m not seeing any signs of my obsession cooling and it’s mostly because of these five things.
Korean dramas are rich with culture, with unbelievable talent, and they provide the needed escape that I need from my everyday life. I used to only read books for that escape but now I’ve added Korean dramas and I find myself a lot lighter these days because I’m doing a better job of balancing all of the things that I love and not just throwing myself into one of them. So, if you’re a friend or family member of mine and are wondering why I love Korean dramas so much…here you go.
1. The Food
I’ve started, not just eating more Korean food since I started watching k-dramas but I’ve also started making Korean food. Every single drama that I watch has at least three scenes when the characters are eating food that looks amazing, even if it’s just ramen, that shit be looking good as hell. My next thing that I make is going to be one of those rolling egg omelets. Japchae and kimbap are my absolute favorites.
2. The Visuals
There is no denying that there are many, many beautiful people in Korea and a huge chunk of them star in k-dramas. Along with their good looks, they are really good in these k-dramas. Therese is probably sick of my on-going dialogue of, “DAMN HE’S FINE” every ten seconds in every drama that we watch together. I have so many favorite actors and actresses because they be killing the visuals game on these k-dramas. It’s never a bad thing to watch pretty people on screen and that’s why this is one of the reasons I love k-dramas. They introduced me to Park Seo Joon, Kim Tae Hyung, and Lee Hyeri.
3. The Friendships
There have been some solid friendships in almost all of the k-dramas that I watch and each time, I love them more and more. I love all of the friendships too. The bromances, the girl squads, and even the friendships like the one pictured above. Their friendship in particular sticks out as one of my favorite k-drama friendships because the love and care that they showed for each other, always having eachother’s backs through thick and thin is what friendship is all about. No smoldering glances, no hidden romantic love, just a genuine connection of support for the other. K-dramas do such a great job of portraying that and it’s one of the reasons I love watching k-dramas so much.
4. The Romances
I’m a romantic at heart and will always ship and support a love match so it goes without saying that I love the romances in k-dramas. There have been some really good ones too. I love that k-dramas showcase all of the different tropes so well too. There is a k-drama for every trope and the pairings for each k-drama are so good. The visuals I mentioned before, in a second chance romance? Love it. In a unrequited love? Yep, love it. The romance between a gumiho and a college student? Yeah, I’m in! I love romance in all its forms and I love romance in k-dramas the most.
5. The Settings
No matter what k-drama you’re watching, at one point or another, you’re going to be hit in the face with the beauty of Korea. From the different palaces, to the beaches of Busan and Jeju, the fields all over, it’s all super beautiful. Even their amusement parks are beautiful and k-dramas showcase that beauty all the time. It’s one of my favorite things about k-dramas. So much beauty.
Honestly, my favourite thing about k dramas is that for the most part they are a single season and done. That isn’t always the case and I do notice that when a series has a lot of international interest it finds itself getting another season but I like that it will all be wrapped up with that limited run, no dragging out my romance for 5 seasons and then being a total let down. That’s the other thing I love, the romance is always so well done, western media has a few lessons to learn on that front. I’m rarely let down by a k drama romance.
That’s definitely a big plus for me too. I love that we get a solid 16 episodes of a story told and then we can move on to the next drama. No lingering and longing for ten years. We get, at most 8 weeks of pining but we also get resolutions quick time too.
Yep, k-drama romance is the best! It’s why I’m still stuck down that rabbit hole, haha.