Humans have always had the allure of a Gold Rush. History has shown that the surge toward instant wealth lasts only 6 to 10 years before it ends, usually suddenly. The same can be said for modern wealth chases: the domain name frenzy, the web site content click bait churn, trendy apps, to new social platforms from facebook to TikTok. The formula seems to hold true in K-drama production.

Netflix entered the Korean drama market in 2016. It has produced, invested or licensed more than 130 SK projects. In 2021 it invested $450 million in Korean content. It rode the Korean wave with several global hit series. But last month, Netflix stock plunged more than 35 percent on the news that its global subscriber base went down 200,000, a first for the company. It is a bad omen considering press reports show that the main driver of early stream adopters was not original content but reruns of classic shows like Star Trek, Seinfeld and Friends. A recent survey of Netflix users indicated that a majority were just not interested in original or new shows. Executives said part of the problem is that there may be 100 million “free” users (using someone else’s account) and the trend that subscribers are willing to cut and run after only a month of binge viewing what they want to see. Executives stressed the dire problem action plan with possible solutions: advertising in shows and cutting costs (especially for new content). The latter seems to be a given as Netflix began axing several programs already in development, including ten of its green lit animation series.

The cycle of something new to maturity to being left behind continues to churn and burn companies, especially in media. The gold rush of throwing money into Korean content may be over sooner than we think; affecting both local production firms and actors betting on big paydays ahead.

Only 2 seasons future. I like spring and autumn as much because of good weather all around but this time spring became the summer.
What summer have in store for everyone - Good thing is less humidity.

Temperature going up as well as high humidity is good recipe of natural suffering. In the meantime energy has become costly, prices f gas going up - coal - carbon emissions.
So you have to look for wind and solar energy but that is also not progressing as fast. Nuclear energy has nuclear waste issues.
Big Headache all around.
Poor nations and small nations gonna be affected most and they are the ones doing better job whereas those who are mainly responsible are still enjoying, not ready to see their privileges and way behind on climate goals. Well, Mother Earth gonna do proper justice - sooner or later. Justice doesn't discriminate.

It occurs to me that many, many kdrama plots can reasonably be called "sustainable" and "environmentally friendly", by which I mean "Made From 100% Recycled Material".

Just want to say:
Thanks to DB for sparking up the site with lots of new tweaks lately! I’m especially fond right now of “Caption This”! ❤️😁❤️
Well done to all!

With the Baeksang awards, my poetic waxing about Juvenile Justice within my subconscious weren't just mine alone. Very big congratulations to the writing team. The awards also did good justice to Lee Hye-young after one drama decided to go for her heel.

Hearty congratulations to all the winners.

I continue to watch the show Tomorrow, even though, frankly, the show veers from incoherent fantasy to disturbing reality, without much overall narrative logic, as far as I can see. It is, however, so sincere in its sympathy for people who are driven to attempt suicide, and so earnest in the inspirational messages it tries to convey when saving its characters, that its hard to dislike it.

Plus, who am I kidding: Kim Hee-seon. And the director was obviously catering to the huge and influential kdrama audience of heterosexual men in their sixties, because about every 3rd camera shot is a close up of her exquisite features.

But this week the show brought up an important issue that I think deserves a lot more attention: pet suicides. Even I, a life long pet owner, had not thought that many of unexplained pet behaviors were actually cries for help. For example, I had always been told that the strange disappearance of my first pet, Goldy the Goldfish, associated with the flushing of the toilet, was an accident involving one of my parents. But now I realize that Goldy, desperate to escape the constant scrutiny of its every action as it swam aimlessly around its little bowl, probably decided to flush its misery away. And was the gerbil, whose name I can’t remember now, actually attempting to run itself to death on the exercise wheel before it was snatched out of its cage by Oscar, our cat, playing the role of Grim Reaper Park Joong-gil?

Just after we watched the pet suicide episode, my wife and I were alarmed by a loud crashing of cutlery from the kitchen. Noticing that our somewhat portly Labrador had uncharacteristically wandered away from her pillow, we rushed in, fearing that the dog might have been made desolate by our attempts to put it on a diet, and was grabbing a knife to harm herself. To our great relief, it turned out she had simply hoisted her herself vertical, with two paws up on the counter, and had knocked some dirty dishes off trying to lick up a piece of kibble that had escaped her bowl.

Still, the next day, at the recommendation of her pet therapist, we took her to the park to chase squirrels and rabbits. Unlike suicidal pets, these wild animals seemed quite eager to avoid their own demise. (Not that they were under any threat from my dog, who has never come within 10 yards of what she chases). Our dog is once more contentedly snoring on its pillow. We can thank “Tomorrow” for its timely intervention!

I was working while listening to my "OST 1" playlist. Angels of the city (Jugglers OST) started playing and I thought "I miss Baek Jin Hee..." and then I had 6 tabs open with her dramas and decided I have to watch Missing Nine one of these days.

My concentration is amazing.

Ps. I've discovered how Netflix subbers got "BACK Yi Jin". It was the autocorrector of their phones.

Happy Friday to all!

Random thoughts..
I've read some early comments about "The Sound of Magic" that complained about the musical aspect of it; one person said there was too much singing (*), and I wonder, why would anyone expect a musical drama to not have singing?!?

It's as if I went and made a comment about "All Of Us Are Dead" having too many zombies, or something lol!

Point is, I really don't get people like that, biggest pet peeve of mine xD

*there really isn't that much singing either, btw, compared to other musical dramas/movies I've seen, just fyi ;)

The result of the 58th Baeksang Art Awards for tv shows :

Grand Prize: “Squid Game” I guess it's not surprising with the international success.

Best Drama: “D.P.” I'm so happy with this choice, it was my favourite Netflix's drama.

Best Director: Hwang Dong Hyuk (“Squid Game”)

Best Actor: Lee Junho (“The Red Sleeve”) How Kim Nam Gil for “Through the Darkness” couldn't win? Or Jung Hae-In in D.P. At least, they had interesting roles, different from the usual ones.

Best Actress: Kim Tae Ri (“Twenty Five, Twenty One”) She was very good. But I was hoping Park Eun-Bin would win. She was really great as Hwi, a very unique role.

Best Supporting Actor: Jo Hyun Chul (“D.P.”) I'm happy for him. Lee Deok Hwa in “The Red Sleeve” could have been a great winner too.

Best Supporting Actress: Kim Shin Rok (“Hellbound”)

Best New Actor: Goo Kyo Hwan (“D.P.”) So happy for him! He was really good in this role. I hope we will get to know his character's past in the second season.

Best New Actress: Kim Hye Joon (“Inspector Koo”)

Best Screenplay: Kim Min Seok (“Juvenile Justice”)

Best Art Direction: Jung Jae Il (“Squid Game”)

TikTok Popularity Award: Lee Junho (“The Red Sleeve”), Kim Tae Ri (“Twenty Five, Twenty One”)

Well, it’s come for us at last - my daughter has covid. It is next to impossible to keep her isolated from the rest of us in our house so I’m guessing the rest of us will be down soon. Hopefully it’s not too bad for all of us!

I know this is hypocritical to say given the reality of non-recyclable plastic usage in most parts of the world but given KDramas soft power, it would be so good if they come up with an industry wide code about characters not constantly using non-recyclable plastic bags. Cultural change doesn’t happen overnight but it would be such an important message to send to the rest of the world as well as reduce their own environmental footprint.

In My Liberation Notes, I feel as though Chang-Hee is attracted to Mr Gu but he doesn’t quite recognise it himself. Does anyone else think so or am I barking up the wrong tree?

How charming is Shin Hyesun in Still 17? I hadn’t seen this before and just find it so lovely and humane (the coma lasting 13 years and the person waking up with no physical effects deserves a huge side eye but I just rolled my eyes and moved on). And, Ahn Hyoseop has matured so much in 4 years. He is a delightful goofball in Still 17.