My First Year in Dramaland

November 2019 I was sick, very sick. Severe vertigo and bronchitis and I had a lot of time at home which meant a lot of screen time. The show that kept popping up on my Netflix was this Asian drama called "Crash Landing on You". I liked the trailers and the plot was intriguing. North Korean falls in love with someone who's an "enemy" so I put it on my list and that inevitably changed my 2020. December 13 it debuted and after watching the first two episodes, I knew I was hooked. It was cheesy (which I've come to learn, it can get MUCH cheesier) but it also had those tropey moments I love in romances- the falls in the arms, the lingering looks and the accidental hand touches. Thus started my journey...

I think the first thing I did was start googling "how to watch kdramas". Obviously I knew about Netflix but I didn't really know what to start watching there. Several sites came up and I realized that they weren't that reputable. I stumbled upon Viki and I remember clicking play on "Hot Stove" and really enjoying it and then at the end of the second episode, I was expecting the third episode and it said "Available in 364 days". What. the. heck? Thus, came the lesson on streaming services and subbing and license rights!

I don't remember how I started the kdrama twitter. I think I was just searching for people watching CLOY but I noticed that the show Doctor Romantic 2 was showing up a lot. I thought what a dumb title, what does that even mean?? Well I found it on a site somewhere and I liked the cast so I paid for a month of Kocowa to watch the first one. That was the first one I finished- in like four days and then I learned about having to wait for subs for DR2.

Learning about the tech and the various streaming services wasn't the only issue I had to deal with...getting used to the language and reading captions was another. When I first began all the words ran together. Like I couldn't even distinguish a characters name out of the sentence (then I learned about Korean sentence structure!). Over time, my brain learned the nuances and I am now able to proudly pick out words here and there and sometimes interpret without captions! I'm also learning the alphabet and learning how to read at least the names when the production companies post on Twitter. I've "delighted" my close co-workers with Korean culture nuances and even gave a Hangul lesson to my interns.

Creating my to watch list was greatly influenced by the K-Three! I think I went back to their first videos on their site and just wrote down all the names of dramas they loved. So thank you ladies! I believe February was the first time I participated in the first Monday kdrama chat and that's when my twitter journey of kdramas began. I believe JJ and Trish Milburn and k8ekol were the first to friend me! I've slowly added new buddies and have had the opportunity to chat and be buddies with some fabulous women and a few men from all over the world!

When the COVID shutdown hit, I'm not sure I would have done as well as I did without kdrama twitter. Living alone with family 4 hours away it was a really long three months at home and even now I still depend on the kdrama twitter to lift my spirits when I've been stuck in this house for days on end trying to quarantine. So thanks to all of you! You won't know how you've made me laugh, exposed me to new cultures, and generally provided a great comfort in a very trying time. I'm still 99% clueless about kpop though unless its an OST.

Some of my favorite things from kdramas is the importance of family, food and being warm. I love when they cover each other up in blankets. Or make sure they are eating. Their love of side dishes. Holding hands above the females heads getting in cars. Umbrellas! Always making sure the female isn't walking on the street side.

Some things that make me scratch my head- the level of drinking they can do, the disdain for orphans, adoption and divorced women and the amount of bullying and violence in kids vs. kids.

I've since expanded some to cdramas and a couple of tdramas but I don't think I will ever love them as much as my kdramas. Kdramas just feel like home.

So here's my wish list for 2021 kdramas/cdramas:

1. Less bullying of kids. Less mean girls.

2. More emphasis on hand holding; maybe some hand kisses

3. If you are going to do time travel/fantasy, do it right.

4. If you don't stick your landing in the final episode, will people even remember 1-15?

5. It's okay to not have 16 episodes.

6. Cdramas- It's okay to just have 24 episodes.

7. Cold male, warm female is tired. Lets do warm male, warm female more. I want to see the smiles.

8. Not everyone has to be either poor or rich.

9. More kisses

10. Make me a drama that will blow me away!

This has been a great year and I suspect 2021 will be even better! I am looking forward to the world improving, hopefully chucking all the masks and having some great dramas to dish on for the next year!