Monday, January 1, 2018

An Entirely New World...

About a year and a half ago, I started watching Korean Drama and suddenly an entirely new world opened up for me.  I came upon it, looking only for a way to pass some time. 

Let me explain...You see, about a year an a half ago my Grandmother passed away.  At the time, I was living with her and helping to care for her and when she passed, that house seemed rather large all of the sudden.  I was working...A LOT.  But when I would go home, the house just seemed big, and in the evening, it just seemed strange for it to be so quiet.  So, I opened up my Netflix and a K-drama that I had seen show up in my "recommendations" was there once again.  I had ignored it for literally years, but this night, I thought, "You know, I'll give it a try.  I will have to read the subtitles, so at least it will keep my focus on something other than this empty house."  And with that, I began my journey into the world of Asian Drama.

The first drama I ever saw was a classic in the world of K-drama (though I had no idea it was at the time) called "Boys of Flowers."  This was a show that revolved around the lives of some very very rich and popular boys, with the nickname of F4, and one very poor girl who rather accidentally comes into their world.  It is far fetched, it's got some crazy hairstyles and fashion, it is even rather unbelievable in parts, and it had me seriously dealing with second lead syndrome (where you want the second lead guy to end up with the girl because he's a way better match for her) but I loved it.  It was a fun story that totally took my mind off of what was really happening in my life and that was what I had been looking for.  And it introduced me to K-pop for the first time.  I was looking up the groups that sang on the soundtrack and downloading some of the songs because they would get so stuck in my head.

From there, I started watching other Asian Dramas.  Not just Korean, but also Japanese, Taiwanese, and Chinese too.  I had to very quickly realize that the titles in English sometimes sound quite strange and didn't always reflect what the show was really about, but I loved the shows.  Some of the first ones I watched were:

Miss Panda and Mr. Hedgehog:  This is another Korean Drama. The story of a patisserie chef and the girl he works with.  This one had not only a cute romance story, but also an interesting mystery and every episode showed them making some sort of amazing sweet food that had me craving cake like you wouldn't believe.  In fact, I scoured a Dollar General store looking for Little Debbie's one day because I just couldn't take it anymore.  I NEEDED cake.  HA HA!  (True story...the Dollar General had remodeled and I couldn't find those cakes until I had been through the place like 3 times.)

Minami-kun no Koibito: My Little Lover: This is a Japanese Drama.  It follows the story of a high school girl who somehow shrinks to about 3 inches call.  She is found by a neighbor boy who was a childhood friend and they try to find a way to get her back to her original size.  It's super cute and just fun to watch.  

Inborn Pair: This is a Taiwanese Drama.  I really enjoyed this show too and it was one of the first I saw that dealt with an arranged marriage.  It was fun to see the two leads literally forced into a marriage that they had not planned on and watch them realize that they are, in fact, perfect for each other...though it will not be an easy road to get to that realization. 

So, why this blog?  Well, the reality is that I know very few people who share my interest in K-drama and K-pop and I wanted an outlet to share my thoughts.  So I plan to post on here about the shows I'm watching (or have already watched), the music I'm enjoying, and even about how I'm learning the language.  If you are interested in these things I hope you'll follow along and share your own thoughts and recommendations. 

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