How a KDrama Changed My Life

About 4 years ago, I lost both my Grandparents unexpectedly within weeks of each other.  One was of natural causes, but the other was not and to say that my world was in chaos would be an extreme understatement. During this time of grief, anger, sadness and confusion, my mind was often overwhelmed and in the evenings, when I would go home from work to the now empty home that I had shared with my Grandma, it could be a bit more than I could handle at times.  

One night during all this, I turned on Netflix and it recommended the Korean Drama (KDrama) "Boys Over Flowers." It had been recommended to me several times before, but I'd been uninterested in watching anything with subtitles.  However, this night, it occurred to me that I would have to focus on the subtitles to watch the show which would keep my mind occupied so I decided to give it a try.  I had no idea how pressing "play" would change my life.

As I watched the show, I was intrigued by the storytelling and the fact that there was so much happening in each episode. I also found it interesting that the soundtrack was repeated throughout the show.  Each character seemed to have their own song that would play in various parts of the story.  Plus, the drama was clean. Though Netflix often likes to add swear words that are not there, the reality is Kdramas are generally very clean and family friendly.  What a breath of fresh air to my weary wholesome entertainment parched soul.

From that drama, I branched out to other Asian Dramas and began to watch shows first from Japan and Taiwan then eventually including China, Thailand, and other countries. As I watched I became curious about Asian culture and wanted to know more. Because I am quite conservative, it was so cool to FINALLY be seeing my lifestyle and values reflected in the shows I was watching.  I had not seen that in American television in ages and it was so pleasant to see my world reflected in those shows.  

The soundtracks led me to Kpop which I love and now listen to all the time.  As a former music business major, I am intrigued not only by the phenomenal talent showcased by the groups, but also in the way it is marketed and promoted. When KPop got popular here in the USA all of the sudden, it was the first time I ever felt ahead of the cultural curve.  When young people mention their favorite artists they are usually shocked that I'm already quite familiar with that group and generally know more than they do about them.  LOL.  

A few weeks into my drama watching, it occurred to me that my church was going to have a massive convention before long and that there would be delegates who spoke Chinese, Korean, and Japanese there.  I thought it would be so cool if I could greet them in their own languages.  So, I downloaded beginner lessons audiobooks for all three languages.  I started with Chinese and the tonal aspect was too scary for me, so I set it aside. When I started the Korean lesson, one of the first things it said was that if you learn Korean, it would make learning Chinese and Japanese easier.  I am very much an audio learner when it comes to language, so since it seemed like there was more Korean language content available online to watch and listen to, I decided to focus there.  So my language learning journey began and continues to this day.  Now about 4 years later, I'm still not great since I rarely get to practice, but I do understand quite a bit and can speak more than people realize.  I'm taking one-on-one tutoring from time to time now and that is helping too.

As I continued to learn about the culture, study the language, and watch television from South Korea, there began to stir in me a desire to see the country for myself.  To see the places that I'd seen only in pictures and video and try the foods and activities I'd only heard about up to then.  After doing some research I discovered that though, it would take some time for me to be able to afford it, that a trip to South Korea was not terribly expensive and if I planned well, I'd be able to go in a few years.  However, another issue was my size.  I've had weight issues all my life and I knew that if I wanted to go overseas, I'd need to lose a lot of weight.  First so that I'd be able to comfortably sit in the plane seat for the trip and 2nd so that I could do all the things I wanted to do while I was there.  So, that began my weight loss journey.  

As I learned about the food in South Korea, I started changing my way of eating so that I'd be comfortable eating the foods I'd find there.  I've been a very picky eater most of my life, but I knew that would not work.  Korean food tends to be spicy and full of veggies...two things I'd always avoided.  I needed to get used to those things.  For about 2 years I worked on learning to like vegetables as well as increasing my spicy food tolerance.  Then in October of 2019, I joined Weight Watchers and continued my weight loss journey in earnest. I have recently also added more exercise in my life as well and that too is helping with the weight loss.  I'm now down around 83 pounds (with much more to go) and have lost 71 inches. I've lost 5ft 11 inches off my 5ft 7 inch frame, but I've got more to lose, so I press on.

One of my biggest goals for my trip to South Korea was to be able to hike Mt. Hallasan (pictured below).  I want to see the beautiful scenery in the photos for myself.  When I began my planning, that would not have been possible.  My size would not have allowed it.  Now, I am encouraged that I will be able to do it.  When I go and take a picture from the top...I may just burst into tears from excitement of finally reaching my goal...one more than 4 years in the making (by the time I go).

People often ask me, "Why are you learning Korean?" It feels so inadequate to say that I became interested through a drama, even though it's the truth.  With the exception of my Faith, nothing else has caused so much positive change in my life as pressing "play" on that Kdrama. I started learning a new language, am studying new cultures, changed my bad eating habits, and am on my way to a healthy weight and lifestyle...and the reality is, it all started with "Boys Over Flowers."  I'm so glad I watched it. 

Great Shows For K-Drama Beginners...

If you are new to watching Korean Dramas, it can seem a bit odd at first.  Just getting adjusted to reading the subtitles is something that can take a couple episodes to get
used to.  Plus, there are cultural differences to adjust to as well.  So in this blog, I want to give you a few things to be aware of when watching Korean Dramas and then I will give you short list of a few that you might enjoy to get started.

First, physical contact is a big deal.  It's not unusual for the main characters in a romance to not even hold hands until a few episodes into the series.  In fact, there is a term for physical contact.  It's called skinship and this refers to literally any kind of physical contact.  From hand holding to putting your arm around someone to kissing...it's all skinship.

Second, we are used to there being lots of special effects or cgi in the shows that are popular in the USA, but those are not as common in Korean Dramas.  That's not to say it never happens, but its not the norm. It is my understanding that most Korean Dramas are airing even as they are being filmed so not a lot of time is allotted for editing and special effects.

Lastly, there is often bullying of some form in the shows.  Sometimes it's in a school, sometimes it's a parent to the girlfriend/boyfriend of their child, and sometimes it's someone else.  But bullying is awful in Korean shows.  It can be cruel and sometimes hard to watch because the people are so mean...though it is rather satisfying to see them get their comeuppance in the end.  So, fair warning...

Ok, now to introduce you to a few Dramas that are good for the beginner to K-drama.  These are all available through Netflix, Dramafever.com, or Viki.com if you are looking for a place to watch them.

Let's start with a mini-drama.  These are usually only a few minutes long and are a great way to begin your viewing.  Dream Knight (available on Netflix and Dramafever) is an idol drama starring the members of the K-Pop group GOT7.  This is truly a bubblegum type show.  Somewhat silly, somewhat funny, somewhat cheesy, but that being said, I like it.  In fact, I am currently watching it for the 3rd time.  Why?  Why not!  First it is short.  There are only 12 episodes and each one is around 10-12 minutes long.  Plus, I like the music in it and the story is cute.  It reminds me of the kind of shows I watched as a teenager like "Saved by the Bell" and "California Dreams".  Just fun and easy to follow.

I loved the drama Something about One Percent.  This is a remake of one called 1% of Anything (Both can be found on Dramafever), but I like the new version much better than the original.  It's a fun and sometimes funny show about two people who get thrown together through very strange circumstances and end up falling in love.  It's such a cute show.

As for classics in the K-Drama world, I really enjoyed Boys over Flowers, Goong, and Full House. All of them are romantic comedies and all are fun.  Boys over Flowers has literally every drama trope there is within it's 25 episodes, but it will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the first K-Drama I ever saw.  Goong and Full House are both dramas that follow semi-forced marriages between couples who either don't know each other well (Goong) or don't like each other (Full House).  Goong is about a prince who must marry and the non-royal girl who it was arranged he would marry when he was born.  She has to adjust to both marriage and being royalty all at the same time.  Full House follows a woman whose goes out of town and finds that her home has been sold when she returns.  She makes a deal with the man who bought her home and all sorts of craziness ensues.   I liked both of the shows and, personally I find them all re-watchable as well.  All three of these can be found on Dramafever and Viki.

If you are looking for something with a bit more action, may I suggest Descendants of the Sun. I loved this drama and have watched it twice.  It has action, romance, humor, disasters, heroic events and more.  The four main characters are all great fun to watch...especially when they interact together, but the extended cast is top notch as well.  It was a super popular drama when it aired and I can easily understand why.  This show can be found on Netflix,  Dramafever, and Viki.

So, that's my intro to Korean Drama.  I'd love to hear what you think if you are just starting your journey to Dramaland or if you've seen these shows. 

Until, next time...



 

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.