KDrama Addicts Anonymous (thread 2)

[boatyardblues]

A quiet corner of MN for serious addicts of Kdrama, or the Kdrama-curious. Most of our viewing is drawn from Netflix and Viki, but the more seriously addicted have other sources, including dramabus. To our surprise, we managed to fill a whole thread, which is full of recommendations (and ones to swerve): www.mumsnet.com/Talk/streamed_tv/3337309-K-Drama-recommendations?pg=1

We have some recommendations for newbies:

My (current) top 5 – all Netflix
Live
Prison Playbook
Don’t Dare to Dream
Black
His Master’s Sun

Betty’s top 5
Black (Netflix)
Fight For My Way (Drama bus)
What’s Up With Secretary Kim (Viki)
I Hear Your Voice (Netflix /Viki)
Don’t Dare To Dream (Netflix / Viki)

Bea’s top 5
Strong Girl Bong Soon (netflix)
What's Wrong With Secretary kim (Viki)
She Was Pretty (dramabus)
Healer (netflix)

Our lovely occasional posters who have lived in Korea, are Korean or have Korean partners/family members pop up to provide the context for some of the more baffling cultural references.

We love a good kdrama bingo card to mark off the regular tropes – white truck of doom, drunk/med evac piggybacks, stalkers, rooftop apartments etc

We also stray into Korean cookery and kpop when the mood takes us. To get to grips with the lingo, try dramaloveaddicts.proboards.com/thread/24/korean-word-day?page=1

If you want to join us down the kdrama rabbit hole, pull up a chair, say goodbye to early nights and get stuck in…

So yes my time was rewarded. It’s just different to WFKBJ and the others in tone.

I’ve been sucked in to My ID is Gangnam Beauty though there are some uncomfortable bits about image.

Bulgogi Steak & japchae was a hit but no one else likes kimchee so looks like I won’t be making it 😞

😭😭😭... Really enjoying Pinnochio... Though at the moment it all looks too tragic!... I'm sure it'll turn out fine but I'm heartbroken for the big brother and Dal Po!..

Boatyardblues!... Bettys

Ooops... Let me carry on....
Bettys will have to reassure you with Cheese!... And whilst you're at it... Please reassure me with Pinnochio!! 😭😭😭

Yy all good with Pinocchio though brother obv on wrong track

Ji Sub In The Tub!! I didn’t just spend 20 minutes randomly googling those words, honest I didn’t 😂

Ep 1 of Oh My Ghost - about 15 min in. Go to the source material, Betty.

Oh My Venus - doh!

"Was in Wagamama earlier & see they have added some Korean dishes to the new menu, including steak bulgogi with kimchee (yum). Is Korean food and culture on the cusp of breaking through in 2019? Feels like the “hallyu” (Korean wave) is about to break in the UK/Europe. There was quite a bit of media coverage of the kpop phenomenon last autumn before BTS’ UK dates."

Kim chi has been on the menu at Wagamama for ages, hasn't it?

And as far as I've seen, Korean food has kind of come and gone as a 'thing' in the UK.

"I strongly agree about kdrama showing men experiencing a far wider range of emotions and vulnerability than most western telly. In Live I was really struck by the male officers from the precinct all turning up at the maternity hospital to coo over their male colleague’s new baby, with the older officers talking openly about how much such a happy event lifted their spirits."

I think this is not really correct. There are certain emotions that are 'allowed' in Korea but are not in the west and vice versa. Cooing over babies/kids/cute stuff - allowed. Family is (at least outwardly) the most important thing. Actual vulnerability/sadness etc - not so much. There is still very much the idea that men should be providers/manly/never cry/be strong blah blah. Men might say babies are cute etc, they don't do a lot as regards actually raising them.

(Married to a Korean, still live in Korea (mostly unfortunately - don't hate it here, but certainly don't love it.) My husband is quite different to many Korean men but still pretty unable to discuss emotions etc.)

That’s interesting that there are still limits to expressing emotions, IAm. There was another very macho cop in Live who realised (too late) he’d stuffed up his marriage and was very sad/remorseful, but I’m struggling to remember whether he was ever showing it in front of anyone other than his wife and possibly his elderly father. Probably not & I guess being sad in private is what repressed men (and women) do the world over.

What is Korean society like for women in real life? There are so many jokey scenes in kdrama where women get blind drunk and the chaps see them home safely. Actually, watching Cheese in the Trap earlier was the first time I’ve seen date rape/exploiting very drunk women addressed, as ML rescues FL from the clutches of a college peer who his friend has told him has form for taking blacked out drunk college girls to motels to have sex with them. Is it the same as here, where its a huge risk factor for sexual assault?

Look at me, turning in before 1am!

Betty - I agree that the non-traditional protagonist (personality/conduct - he is still filthy rich & heir apparent to a conglomerate) is a master stroke. My interest is piqued sufficiently to see Cheese in the Trap through. I got half way through ep 4 last night.

"That’s interesting that there are still limits to expressing emotions"

When I say limits, I mean like expressing any actual negative emotions except anger is essentially forbidden. For women, anger is also forbidden. Imagine the stiff upper lip of the UK to a factor of about 10000. It can be nice sometimes to get away from the moaning and groaning of the UK, but you can't even say you had a shitty day without someone telling you to cheer up, say 'you did a good job' or something. I swear those kinds of phrases (himnae; sugohaesseo) actually give me the willies by now because they just feel like people saying 'shut the fuck up'.

"Is it the same as here, where its a huge risk factor for sexual assault?"

If you go to a motel with a guy, he can't be convicted of rape. So yeah. The police/friends/family will also have very little sympathy. Rape within marriage/relationships is basically accepted. The situation for women here is grim in many ways.

There's very little sex ed, and it's seen as 'slutty' to even discuss sex. So people are very misinformed, very few women take contraceptive measures, high rates of abortion, definitely no attempts to ensure the woman enjoys it. They wouldn't even know where to start. (My husband is not included in this lol.)

Yeah, honestly, it's grim sometimes. It's very much like the UK/US in the 50s.

If you go to a motel with a guy, he can't be convicted of rape.

(The scene in Oh My Ghost where ML angrily berates the FL for crashing in a shared motel room with all the male sous chefs after a drunken night out makes more sense now.)

"(The scene in Oh My Ghost where ML angrily berates the FL for crashing in a shared motel room with all the male sous chefs after a drunken night out makes more sense now.)"

I'd take that to just be about his jealousy than any concern for her personal safety. (Jealousy is a BIG fucking thing here, it's seen as showing that you care about the person. I hate it. Sometimes my husband asks if I'm jealous because he had a business meeting with a woman or whatever and I'm like...why the actual fuck would I be jealous? He's stopped doing it now, because I really can't stand it.) Also, this all innocent and pure image women (and to some extent men) are supposed to present would definitely be severely hampered by that kind of thing. Personal safety? Less of a concern, generally, although men will make a big deal of walking you to your bus stop and whatnot, but I rarely felt they actually cared that much when I was dating.

I haven't seen it though, because Jo Jung Suk's smarmy face irritates me (he was in every advert going for a while there, and I mean, EVERYTHING and EVERYWHERE, thankfully he seems to have disappeared a little this year) so of course, I could be wrong.

There's very little sex ed, and it's seen as 'slutty' to even discuss sex. So people are very misinformed, very few women take contraceptive measures, high rates of abortion, definitely no attempts to ensure the woman enjoys it. They wouldn't even know where to start.

IAmAlwaysLikeThis thanks for the information, it puts some stuff that seems strangely over the top in dramas in to a bit more context. For example in one thing I watched, a woman commits suicide after a one night stand, which seems far-fetched to say the least (other factors involved but you get the gist)

Also in what I'm currently watching - My ID is Gangnam Beauty - the obsession with looks and the male arrogance towards plain/chubby women is astonishing. While I know it's fiction the way women are treated as objects is awful.

I think it's safe to say it's all to be taken with a pinch of salt... Just as we hope the UK can't be judged portrayals in Eastenders / coronation Street or whatever people watch these days!... If it hasn't got subtitles... I'm not watching! 😂😂😂😂

I don’t know whether its the pain of an early start or the mountain of emails I’m crunching through,but my ‘kdramas in pyjamas’ withdrawal is severe. 😭

I'm trying to keep to the mantra... "dramas in pyjamas"... Thus no watching in the day time as there would be absolutely nothing done!!... Unless I'm being particularly slovenly and am in my pyjamas in the daytime! 😭😯😯😯😯😯😯
Though a quick surf here and there or a YouTube behind the scenes is allowed!... I can't go completely cold turkey! I'm not a masochist!!... Bettys!... Have found some nice commentary scenes with park min young and Grrrrr JCW which are lovely!
They are always sooooo mortified when a kissing /romantic scene appears! 😂😂😂

“a woman commits suicide after a one night stand, which seems far-fetched to say the least”

Suicide is unfortunately a big thing here and people do kill themselves over perceived shame more than in the west.

Women are hugely objectified. It is very rare to see a woman without full make up, hair done etc. There is so much self loathing, it can be quite uncomfortable tbh. (Hearing very skinny students talk about how fat/ugly they are for example.) Some fringe feminism stuff is starting to pick up these days but it’s very much in its infancy and there’s a lot of pushback from men.

IAm How prevalent is cosmetic sugery? A colleague mentioned that the BTS lads are supposed to have had lots of sugery, which shocked me as they are so young. Also, having a nose bridge seems to be mentioned as a good thing with depressing regularly, so I’massuming that’s part of the beauty ideal.

It is beyond common, especially for the rich (you see a lot of it in the Gangnam and apgujeong areas.)

BTS have definitely had work done. It’s nothing to do with age here, it’s to do with creating a look.

People hate having a small nose here. It’s all about the Roman nose which is obviously quite rare for Asians.

Most women have had eyelid surgery at least. I know several who’ve had their whole face changed ie nose chin etc.

It’s also not really frowned upon like in the west. It’s seen as respecting your self and presenting yourself well.

Grr JCW!

Good lord! That man can do it all... action man... Nerdy man... Sultry... Nervy... Dorky... Handsome... Knitwear man... Mountain climbing man.... ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️😭😭😭

Thanks IAm. I really appreciate your patient explanations on all things Korean.

DH and I were discussing the BTS ‘look’ over Christmas as they are quite homogenous (although perhaps only to our untrained eyes), whereas DH noted that Western boybands emphasise the differences between members to build separate fanbases for each member. There seems to more emphasis on uniformity and a ‘band look’ with BTS.

If you are still about & up for another query, what is the obsession in kdrama with “meat!” and especially “Korean Beef/beef” all about? Is meat very expensive? Do most people eat a largely vegetarian diet and see meat as a special treat unless you are very wealthy? I can’t square the seeming abundance of meat recipes in my (albeit English language) Korean cookbooks and the excitement about having meat in kdrama.