Beautifully written @sailorjumun :-)
This is exactly what I feel while watching dramas, & I felt like quoting each sentence to say "me too" till I realized the entire article is so relatable.
Still, to put it shortly... "I get enough of ordinary life in MY life." This. Probably this sums it up.

"To me, dramas are the friends I turn to when I need to relax or when I need to recover from a hard day—the friends who help shut out the rest of the world. And if I escape my own world, of course I’d prefer escaping to the most exciting world possible."
Yes, yes, yes! This was a lovely piece, and I relate to it so much. Escaping to a drama world always recharges me, and relating to the characters somehow helps to take away some of my own stress. If they can do it, I can do it too, yknow?

Eh, I'm still waiting for my toast kiss too. A girl can dream.

For me, dramas were a place to escape to, a place for adventure and unbelievable coincidences. I used to really enjoy those boy meets girl and entire story revolves around boy and girl getting together, but recently those dramas have been feeling un-authentic. To be honest sometimes coming home from a crappy day, I don't want to watch perfect characters go through their happy-go-lucky days. Even when they have conflicts, it can seem very generated instead of natural. Sometimes watching our candy-girl and charming guy smile and bat eyes is just too much for this embittered viewer lol. It's kinda hard to go back to standard-formula dramas after age of youth 1&2 and Again, Oh Haeyoung because sometimes characters in more standard dramas are just filling up time without actively moving towards something (idk how to explain this well?). It's like eating empty calories.

So I def agree that when a fantasy drama is done well, the viewer isn't constantly reminded that it's a set and that these are costumes. The story is so good that we just accept something fantastical can happen (for me Arang and the Magistrate did that, well most of the time). While fantasy and makjang dramas are still fun, it has to have more supporting the story, not just the element of magic or gods (Habaek just felt very empty to me and I couldn't get into it). Since kdramas always follow seasonal trends (vampires, gods, robots, ghosts) I do find myself wanting to watch more relatable dramas like age of youth or queen of mystery. Their experiences are still quite exciting and suspenseful, but the characters feel more grounded in their decision-making. Fantasy drama characters can be relatable too though, even as they battle supernatural enemies or back flip off a cliff. I definitely agree with what you wrote about fantasy! It's all about the ability for a drama to let you "escape" into a world that you could realistically believe was possible, whether that be back in time (like the reply series!), present day society, crime-fighting or mystical realms. I want to write more, but i've already written too much, heh.

Yes to all of this! A fantasy drama with relatable characters will suck me in every time without fail.

Thanks SailorJumun! Nicely expressed.

I'm an in-betweener too. I straddle both sides of many arguments... or is that being a fence-sitter!!! Well anyway, I tend to see both sides or more than one person's point of view. It makes dilemmas a real issue! LOL.

It's true that I watch for the escapism, to relax, to have something different to focus on, and yet I want this escapism to be close enough to reality to be relatable, to make some sense and to give me an inspiration or two, or a revelation about my mundane life.

Generally with the dramas that I did not drop, this has worked out ie those dramas have served me well. A good story, well told, will always deserve an audience. And dramas well recapped and reviewed as is done here, have had something more added to them. Thanks to you and all the staff of DB for making 'strange escapism' and 'dramatic reality' comprehensible, ... for adding your thoughts so that shows are that much more thought-provoking and for giving us new ways of seeing a thing, thus upping the inspiration in the inspiring. 💝 😃 Cheers!

Indeed. I guess we're in the same boat after all. haha

Totally with you on all counts, my friend. I watch dramas in almost exactly the same way. :)

I really like this :) I really resonate with how you feel when watching dramas

i never really liked makjang dramas before.. now that i've been working in a new environment, i'm just welcoming any kind of dramas to watch.. but i'm saving dramas like Rescue Me for the holidays since my mind can't take that heavy emotions now..

A girl can definitely dream...I think that lately kdramas have re-ignited that feeling for me that dreams are worth aspiring to and that it's never too late to start dreaming a new dream. I'm in my mid-twenties and therefore relate to the majority of the characters I see in the dramas. I have never been in love so I relate to all of these late twenty somethings who are barely experiencing that in their lives for the first time as well. I agree that there is comfort in the package of a kdrama yet at how fresh and new certain themes can feel like you mentioned the innocent excitement of first love with Gu Miho :) and those very real feelings of fear and remorse experienced through the quiet and moody Park Do Kyung in my favorite kdrama Another Oh Hae Young ;)

Totally agree with everything u said in the article!!

Sorry but 2017 is going down for me as the year K drama's bombed. I have watched pretty much everything that came before but mostly this year even things that started out good have bombed. I am not sure why but at the same time I do not think it is me. I watch a drama, or even a dorama, get drawn in and want to watch the entire series and live in the makebelieve world, only to find it develops in a way I cannot bear to watch. Meanwhile there is a lot of fandom supporting some individual actor or dramo that seems to be irrational. The actor does not have dramatic talent, just following, the drama is messsy and unfulfilling. I hope this will just prove to be a blip. Meanwhile the good people of South Korea and Japan are at the mercy of ideots in North Kore and Washington.