i was hesitating on watching Secret Love Affair because i heard it had a lot of makjang elements but this gives me hope. has anyone seen it? is it ridiculously over the top or is it realistically good?

Oh WOW, really?

Oh give it a day.

Remember when CNN was going to take the high road in news and the public said screw high road we want what we want.

Yeah SBS is about to learn an important lesson.

People like trash tv.

I like makjang dramas in doses...like maybe one drama a year at most. It only gets tiring when you watch a lot because the plot starts to really look irritatingly stupid. I don't get how people would think makjang dramas equate to boring at all. There's so much drama packed into every episode with twists and turns every few minutes.

I really enjoyed Flames of Desire/Ambition even with all the birth secrets, potential incest, etc.

I applaud this decision.

My take is that premium makjang dramas are not bad from time to tome, but the key is here the word premium. If one wants to reach for intensive emotions and extreme plots, one should make sure to do it well, otherwise the outcome is lame or laughable or both (maybe that's why people think makjang=stupid).
But the other thing that often comes to my mind while watching a drama is that life is often stranger than fiction anyway, one just needs to take a good look to find wonderful stories to tell. No need to make up twists that call for a big fat WTF???, sometimes really less is more. Though that "less" is more difficult to write well and act convincingly. If that is what SBS is aiming for, I hope for nice dramas in coming months.

Hahahahaha, nice try SBS!

So. Not. Buying. It.

SBS will hold to it too!
Untill a drama rating start to go down of course then bring back the makjang!

The revolution is here!
On another note I could summarise your long definition of makjang in 1 word "telenovelas"! I remember one I watched as a teenager called "la mujer de mi vida", good Lord! U think kdrama mothers are evil, think again! The only saving grace was the 2 leads-gorgeous as hell!

*Slow claps*

They will keep their word.....................not.

I hope that this will allow sbs to think out of the box I would like it to be more like jdrama's more

I commend SBS for taking the first step towards eliminating makjang from their dramas...although I don't know if they themselves can hold themselves to it if (and when) their ratings drop. Their weekend dramas of late were makjang-leaning, so I'm actually surprised that they would be the ones to come out like this and go against the very thing that seemed to be garnering them ratings.

By the way, Feel Good Day is pretty good as a weekend drama -- caught the first two episodes the other day and liked it enough that I'm attempting to watch the rest this weekend :) There are a lot of actors in there that I like, and it's similar to Triangle in having this throwback familiarity to it.

But it's weird that they'll have a press conference for it when it's already aired 6 episodes...maybe it was postponed until now due to the ferry?

eh, but I like 'em soapy. I hope what this really means is they're keeping out those unnecessary what-the-fuckeroo scenes (which we all know are purely driven by ratings -hello, writers who think they can take the easy road to writing a hit drama) but not, y'know, banning the whole shebang.

Don't think it's possible to completely rid of makjang tropes but it's already telling that i happen to be watching only SBS dramas atm (doctor stranger, YAAS,angel eyes) -- I've preferred mainly SBS dramas over the other stations in recent years because i find their shows more refreshing or atleast more watchable.

Thank you, JB, for explaining the meaning of that word. For some reason, I always thought that a show had to deal with adultery for it to be called a makjang.

A supreme court justice once said that when you see pornography, you just know it, that it did not need additional explanation. I guess it is the same way with a makjang drama. It pushes things to the extreme that you just know it when you watch it.

Soaps are nice, but there are many types of viewers and not everyone loves makjang-riddled plots. They are an easy way out for those who cannot find other ways to keep audiences. Makjang is cheap and manipulative.

With viewers outside of the core drama audience turning to foreign shows and cable for different types of genres and stories, I can see why the Big Three would be wise to consider this. New technologies, new ways to make money, new types of audiences (in both age and taste) they can make money from.

It's a shame to only do one thing for one type of viewer. So I personally welcome any diversity and willingness to at least try and be more creative with their writing and what they have to offer. And audiences will adapt. Makjang is a time-spending device anyway.

I love Makjang!!!

Great writing! Another drama immediately came to mind that looks like a typical makjang on paper (first love, cousins, adultery, terminal illness) but is elevated by its quality writing, directing, and acting, is "90 Days, Time to Love". I highly recommend this drama, please watch!

Off topic, sorry, but I am curious if anyone has taken language lessons at Italki and if so, are they going to do the 25 hours of training in 2 months challenge?

I sort of love a challenge.

#italkichallenge http://promos.italki.com/2014-italki-world-cup-language-challenge/#.U3VHwfldWSo

I've never taken italki lessons. I heard they cost $10/lesson so it is $250 and you have to get 25 lessons done between June & July or forfeit your $20 deposit. But it is like a new year's resolution that you bet with your friend ... it is something to motivate you to really do it.

OooOooohh.

Bs. Makjang is such an important part of the drama system. As someone raised watching novelas, I would know.

Like someone pointed above: SBS is 'bout to learn a lesson.

I used the terms makjang and sageuk in a recent discussion about Korean dramas with my language exchange partner. I thought he would be impressed that I knew such terms, but he wasn't. haha Well, I'm still proud of myself for learning some Korean terms.

Hmmm, I still don't get it. About makjang, I mean. Well, I thought I did. But then with more and more explanations coming in, I only became more and more confused with which dramas are makjangy an which are not. I guess I should watch Princess Aurora or other dramas that Javabeans mentioned as makjangy above to really grasp the meaning. Oh, and one question, can Bride of the Century be categorized as makjang? Imho it had almost all (or maybe all?) drama cliches there is but still made me sit in front of my laptop till the end.

Thanks to EP Kim Young-sub
SBS will make no soap.

I find this policy ridiculous... When it's good, it's good... whatever the genre, makjang, rom-com etc... I'm not a fan but I don't see why there shouldn't be room for that kind of dramas, along with feel good shows. As long as the quality is there.

Instead, they should make a couple of rules compulsery :
-Ending that makes sense & doesn't ruin the whole experience
-Kisses that look like kisses (already implemented on cable...)

just watched 4 eps of this drama, and it's quite nice... actually it's a heartwarming drama with concentrate on family relationship.. i love love family focus drama, that's why i'm enjoying this..
but still not sure about the makjang-free thing.. so far,the possibility it's going to be makjang is there, and heck it has 50 eps..
dailies Ugly Alert has 100+ eps but it manage to be makjang-free.. so yeah, let's see about this..

Speaking of "not making sense" and "over the top crazy"; I'd rather they announced No More Blood and Gore Medical Dramas. Ever. Please, SBS!

lol and here i thought makjang has something to do with their chili sauce or bean paste or something related to kimchi and in turn what has it to do with dramas?!!

IS GOLDEN CROSS A MAKJANG???

Oh. Way to go SBS! :)
I hope they get rid of the live-shoot system next. ;)

After reading all these comments, I've come to realize that in the US for us old enough to remember, Watergate was makjang!