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Theme of the Month: How have your K-drama tastes changed over time?

Thanks to you all and your wonderful submissions, our first series of Theme of the Month posts was a hit with all of the Dramaland Catnip topics—I never knew there were so many tropes that I was a sucker for, and even if they weren’t all tropes I would have named myself, each submission struck a chord of recognition. The catnips were a blast to read!

For July, we’re changing up the theme to ask you all how your drama tastes have changed over time, whether that time is the past few months or the last twenty years. It’s something I’ve thought about a lot lately as I find myself reaching for shows that I would have bypassed in previous years, and wondering at the shift.

Which brings us to July’s prompt:

Are the dramas you gravitate toward now different from when you started out? Have you experienced your tastes changing over the years, or as you’ve watched more and more shows? What prompted the change? Or will some preferences never change?

Tip: You may write about whatever dramas, genres, or experiences you wish, but to give you some direction: Consider narrowing your focus to one type of experience/genre/reason that has guided the change. Did you find your idea of romance changing after getting married, perhaps? Or did having children change your perspective in a way that altered your taste in favorite dramas? Maybe you entered the workforce and have a new appreciation for workplace comedies. (Ha, maybe they’re not even funny anymore, just painfully real.)

 
To submit:

  • Email your submissions to [email protected]. If you have a registered Dramabeans account, include your handle so we can link to it.
  • Include at least 1 image, though more is preferred.
  • Suggested length is between 500 and 1,000 words.
  • Deadline: We will post these on a rolling basis, so we’re taking submissions now. We will cut off accepting submissions on July 25. If you miss this month, join us for a new theme in August!

(Also: You’d be doing me a great favor by naming your documents and attachments something other than “Changing tastes” or “Theme of the month” or “Dramabeans,” please! You don’t even know how confusing it is to deal with a folder containing dozens of submissions all titled “Dramaland Catnip.” Much thanks!)

 
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Great idea, I look forward to reading these! I only know that I've become a lot harder to please, and that I always come back to Jumong and my first love: sageuks. ?

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Jumong! ❤❤❤

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Oooh. I see that a different way. Sageuks provide a touchstone for where we've come from. When the hierarchical stuff happens it makes me pity their ignorance and happy that so much progress has been made since then.

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When watching sageuks, love them by the way, I always invariably think - if only you had social media... the number of misunderstandings that were sorted out using a fast rider on horseback...

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I thought it was just me. I also don't like it if the woman speaks jondae while the man speaks banmal. Its either they speak both respectfully or casually, no middle ground here for me.

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Jae Hee! I never lost my taste for him, but Dramaland refuses to satisfy my craving (with anything other than dailies *sob*).

Looking forward to reading these posts a lot! And hopefully contributing this time :)

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Jae Hee ?❤

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Jae Hee T______T

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Jae Hee!

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Jae Hee ♡

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Jae Hee!! :3 (Please someone show me how to do a heart on the laptop..I can include a heart if I was using my phone but not my laptop)

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Alt +3

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Thank you, but it didn't work for me. I think I'm doing something wrong. Let me keep trying.

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Jae Hee as in Sassy Girl Chun-hyang Jae Hee? Heol I miss himmmmm

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Miss Jae Hee.

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I wish my taste of drama is like what it is used to be. Sigh. I'm practically more sinister, pickier, darker, and bitter in choosing a drama ? I give meaner comment about drama. And I become disloyal too: Try to insult me, drop; lazy writing, drop; inconsistent character development, drop. Lol. Is it what growing up supposed to be like? ?

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Me too! I used to watch everything under the kdrama sky but over the years I've been dropping dramas like flies. I'm getting pickier of what I want to watch, and if I don't want to watch something, not even the most popular or critically acclaimed dramas can make me. Sometimes i feel like a stubborn teenager who's trying to go against the world LOL

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I thought I was only one like that, I start watching 5 dramas and after 4 weeks in best case scenario I am watching only one of them.
I guess over time, we realize that time is precious and we don't have to spend another hour for something we don't care about.

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As I only started watching dramas a year ago, I'm only now just getting settled into this stage. The first six months, I was a She-Zombie. K-drama binges all night long, work the next day, back again to K-drama. It took me a lot of effort to pull myself together. ^^ And now I catch the beginning of almost all new dramas, but continue only 1 or 2 that I really like. Because time as you say, is precious and I have (or should try to have) my own life.

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It used to be hard for me to drop a drama. I stuck with things no matter what, which is a personality trait that carries over into other areas of life. Now, I am more quick to drop things although there is always that thought that things will suddenly get better the minute I do so. LOL.

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time is precious and we have 'finer' taste...?
hahaha

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"Is it what growing up supposed to be like?"
Well, yes? Lol.
I have been dropping shows like crazy, not finishing any kdrama at all this year despite starting out many. And it doesn't make me feeling guilty at all! Strange things :p
Life happens, we have more things to tend to in real life, I guess (?). Or the effect of being burned by bad dramas too many times catching up. Or simply getting bored and choose other stuff to entertain myself. In my case, marathoning Gossip Girl since it's on Netflix. Not necessarily a better choice, but the heart wants what the heart wants haha.

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I've pretty much just kept with romcoms lol so I'm excited to read these submissions!
Also can I just add how much I'm loving this theme of the month series! It's so fun to read about everyone else's drama experiences hehe

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Ditto. I am actively enjoying saeguk for the first time with 7DQ, but other than that my tastes are pretty much what they've always been.

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Short answer? My tastes have changed because I now get my drama suggestions from other drama beanies. (Thank you to everyone who has suggested dramas.)

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Sounds like a fun feature! But does it mean that there will be no beans of wisdom and spill the beans??

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Even though it was an awesome series of posts, I'm kind of glad the catnip theme is over. I knew there were many things that kept luring me to k-dramaland, but I hadn't realized there were that many. It's rather sobering, like "this is your brain on drugs dramas".

My viewing tastes have changed some over the years-- it'll be interesting to compare notes with everyone.

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My tastes have changed so much. I've practically treated my k-dramas as my social science term papers. I've become more analytical, intolerant, cynic, and realist.

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Sageuk is still my fav genre although these days sageuk focus too much on romance. I noticed myself is no longer love romance drama as much as I did in the past. 2000s was the golden days of melodrama, but if you give me the same drama these days, I may not watching it except if they casted someone I like.

Anyway, looking forward to read these posts.. :)

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2000s was indeed the golden days for melodrama. I started watching Kdrama thanks to 'autumn in my heart and winter sonata'. I was hooked since then. I didn't mind crying a bucket for them.. Gosh..
then came the marriage contract theme 'full house', followed by Kim Sam Soon, and soon Goong 1. From there on I began to hate kdrama with heros/heroins with terminal illness..
Nowadays, I got pickier of course. I want dramas to surprise me with new plots, they need to have good actors, writers, PDs ect... thus, I'm always grateful to have dramabeans to guide me on which new drama I should watch and should avoid, because as everyone said Time is precious :)

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So I think I'm skipping this month's theme. My prefrences hasn't changed much. I still love what I've always loved <3

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Same, though that's to be expected from me cause I started watching dramas beginning of 2016 which isn't long ago.

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I've been watching kdramas for nearly a decade ?

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Me too. In fact, this year would be my 10th year in kdrama fandom.

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I saw that pict then I clicked.
OMG when did I watch Witch Yoo Hee? at my high school period that kind of cheesy drama always be my favorite, until I graduated and went on college I realized that crime and mystery is more appealing. I've had enough of pinky-romance dramas.
But actor and actress are still being my ultimate reason to watch it or drop it tho.

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Taste definitely change over the year. I was rewatching City Hunter (I loved it back then! This secured my love for Lee Min Ho more than BOF) but watching it now, I grow frustrated by the alpha-male-lead character who has a hard time in being honest about his feeling. He likes a girl? Well let's make him do all jerky things to her face, she will def fall in love this way!

(Also it's hard to take him seriously when he goes to work in singlets.)

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Over the past five years I've become an anti-romantic and I no longer feel the need to complete shows. It's such a satisfying feeling to drop shows

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Wow! I can't wait. Now to get thinking on what I'm going to write. I do wonder though @javabeans I sent in my entry for last month's catnip before the deadline closed but mine wasn't posted :( was wondering if maybe the mail wasn't received or if there was meant to be some sort of notification confirming receipt of mail or something.

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Yes to this new theme , recently I tried for the first time to watch Flower boy next door and I can't finish it while knowing that if I had watched it a few years ago , I would have totally loved it.
Is it how adults begin to drink coffee despite the bitterness ? I'm still not on that level ^^'

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Also I liked Witch amusement (the picture) back in the days, but watch it again would certainly be a failure

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Off course, My taste in drama start to change overtime. My enjoyment start from only enjoying character journey whom played by my favourite actor in a drama, to wanting enjoying drama/movie as the whole package. From watching drama only to entertain, to watching a drama and look at it as an art and start to appreciate the effort behind the camera.

When the first time I watch a movie or tv series, I'm not that bothered by dubious acting by actor, well because I hardly even noticed a bad actor in the first place. If I started to notice, then their acting must be very bad LOL. And now Just like that, After watching countless drama and movie, you start to notice the quality acting of the actor. I'm not that expert to judge it though.

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Oooh new theme!!
Can't wait to see all the articles.
I want to send something too but I was thinking maybe this time I'll send something worth publishing & not too crappy, so maybe I'll read a few articles to understand how to do it.

So I won't be hasty this time & try to send a proper article written by a grown up lol

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Should I admit this or not? Here goes...When I first started watching kdramas, the language barrier helped to conceal the bad acting. I could tolerate pretty much any level of acting but now I'm so much more discerning. I could not stomach My Secret Romance this year, but would have loved it circa 2010.

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I am fiercely loyal to actors I like, so it's hard to get me to watch a show even though it may be popular. The only change so far is I watched Fated to Love You two weeks ago, and discovered Jang Hyuk. I have never watched a single drama of his, but was smitten after the drama.

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I'm so glad you discovered Jang Hyuk! He's one of my faves. When I need a pick-me-up, I watch his shampoo commercial at the beginning of FATED TO LOVE YOU. ;-)

CHUNO was the first show I saw him in, IIRC, and I was impressed to pieces because he does his own badass stunts. (Ditto for Lee Joon-gi and Kang Dong-won. Thanks, guys, for turning me into a sageuk junkie.)

The man goes all out and throws himself into challenging roles. BEAUTIFUL MIND was a tour de force because of his nuanced acting. All I can say is, watch his eyes.

PTME - Jang Hyuk's tap dance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvtxRRABVBc
This behind-the-scenes segment of him learning to tap dance is longer than the actual scene in PLEASE TEACH ME ENGLISH. ;-)

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Hiya, Pakalana! I love that shampoo commercial! I love him with long hair!

After I finished Fated to Love You I went to look at all his dramas. Chuno seemed great....but does he wear that vest thing throughout the drama? Because I can't concentrate on the scenes when he's walking around and flaunting his six-packs. So I had to stop. This was early in episode 1.

Then I tried Successful Story of a Bright Girl, and he seemed so different...that wasn't the Jang Hyuk I remembered from Fated. So stopped at episode 6.

Switched to his movies and watched Innocent Thing. Finished it, but, boy, was I traumatized. Am now valiantly struggling with Merchant, and I think I'm going to stop soon...fast forwarding to all the romance parts, which have yet to appear....they keep arguing over merchant stuff it's so tiring.

May try Beautiful Mind. Attempted Voice but it was so violent. So in the end, went back and rewatched Fated. Oh, and I watched the drama special he and Jang Nara appeared in, Old Goodbye. Seriously the most depressing show ever. Where's my golden, flamboyant Lee Gun?

Is Please Teach Me English a movie? Because I didn't hear him speak a single word of English in the clip haha.

I reread what I typed and I'm whining non-stop to you haha. I just want Jang Hyuk as Lee Gun, and to be paired with Jang Nara, my most favorite OTP ever. I cried so much watching the drama, so sad and so heartbreaking.

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Hi, YY!

I went on a similar crusade to watch all of JH's works, but have gotten sidetracked. I have seen a bunch of his earlier stuff as well as BEAUTIFUL MIND and VOICE. It is a very mixed bag of widely differing characters. But to me, that's one of JH's charms. He doesn't play the same types of characters over and over, and he's not afraid to portray flawed, less-than-perfect human beings.

does he wear that vest thing throughout the drama? Because I can't concentrate on the scenes when he's walking around and flaunting his six-packs. So I had to stop. This was early in episode 1.

ROFLMAO in utter incredulity! Er, you seem to be really serious about reading subtitles. How the heck did you manage to pry yourself away?!? ;-)

To answer your question: Yes, he wears the vest for pretty much the whole show. Maybe you could desensitize yourself by watching in 5-minute increments... On the other hand, if OLD GOODBYE got to you, you might want to give CHUNO a pass. It all depends on how you like your anti-heroes to end up.

BRIGHT GIRL'S SUCCESS is the earliest of his dramas that I've seen. Yes, his character is very different from Lee Gun. I think of him as a half-wit prince. Also in the show is Yoon Tae-Young, who was phenomenal in THE KING'S DAUGHTER, SU BAEK HYANG, and quite good in STRIKE LOVE.

BEAUTIFUL MIND is excellent, but if you're not into medical shows, skip it. If you live for romance, don't expect much. It's there, but Park So-dam is underutilized in the later episodes as the focus shifts around to hospital politics. Do yourself a favor and read the recaps first. I live-watched it as it aired, and the discussions were intense. If you're into character studies and psychology, however, you'll like it. Plus the ensemble cast is terrific.

I survived VOICE. It is intense, and bloody. JH's character is pretty anti-heroic, with tragic family circumstances. Kim Roe-ha turns in a terrific performance as a baddie. The show is very dark indeed. If you're prone to nightmares, skip it.

Have you seen SHINE OR GO CRAZY? Set in Goryeo and Balhae, JH plays Wang So -- the same historical figure Lee Joon-gi portrayed in MOON LOVERS, but with a very different twist. As is often the case in sageuks, political marriage trumps true love; but while it lasts, Wang So's pseudo-bromance with merchant Shin Yool is a hoot.

I enjoyed GREAT AMBITION / DAEMANG. It has an excellent cast, and is set in Joseon, with mercantile activity a big part of the show. Nice bromance with Jo Hyun-jae in his first turn as a crown prince, IIRC.

More on movies below.

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@YY: Jang Hyuk films

I had to watch THE BEST / ZZANG (1998) without subtitles. It features some impressive dancing and rapping. During the high school musical competition, the underdogs put on a wild show that leaves the audience stunned. The closing song has dandy harmonies. Excellent! It looks like JH is doing his own stunts in several gang rumbles.

VOLCANO HIGH has two versions: the original Korean release with rock OST and English subtitles (122 min.), and the 80-min. US release with hip hop OST and dubbing by American rappers. It feels like a mashup of the Ramones' ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL, a dash of the Sharks vs. the Jets from WEST SIDE STORY, and flying martial arts moves spoofing THE MATRIX. I didn't understand the ending, but guess there's some Zen angle to it. Or perhaps Kyung-Soo finally learns to control the powers he acquired as a kid when he fell into the tank of (electric?) eels during a lightning storm.

PLEASE TEACH ME ENGLISH is a comedy about a womanizing salaryman who enrolls in English classes. One of his classmates has her eye on him even as he has his eye on the teacher.

WINDSTRUCK (literal title: LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO MY GIRLFRIEND) has a killer soundtrack and hilarious moments, but also a twist that you may not like. I liked it a lot. Very touching. Jang Hyuk as beta male gets falsely arrested as a purse snatcher by hardass lady cop.

In DANCE WITH THE DRAGON, a young boy growing up in the boonies is entranced by ballroom dancers when his mom takes him to a theater. He dreams of becoming a competitive dancer, and moves to Singapore. It's a blast to watch JH tango. Alas, his dance instructor has a jealous ex who is a martial arts champion.

FIVE SENSES OF EROS is a collection of five short films. The first segment, “His Concern,” features JH as a harried businessman who boards the KTX for an out-of-town meeting, and instantly falls for the businesswoman seated across from him. It's love at first sight for her, too. Very steamy, and also very touching. Cha Hyun-Jung is delightful as the gallery curator. Their philosophical conversation over dinner mirrors the exhibition description she wrote for the gallery's website. It took me a couple of viewings to catch on. JH's internal musings are wry and self-deprecating. He conveys emotions exquisitely with his eyes. -- I also enjoyed “I'm Here” and “The 33 r d Man,” which has a great twist.

MAYBE / RABBIT AND LIZARD: Lovely OST! Deliberate, understated account of a young Korean adoptee who returns from the US 23 years later in search of her biological mother. Instead she meets her father's sister, only to learn that both parents were killed in an accident. She has one other quest: to find out how she got an oddly-shaped scar on her left shoulder. It resembles a lizard. At Incheon Airport, she encounters a taxi driver slumped to the ground beside his cab, overcome by chest pain. Open ending.

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Oh my goodness, Pakalana, what an awesome, brilliant reply! Thank you so much. I will save this and make it my go-to list when I need my Jang Hyuk fix. I'm going to pore over this list slowly and carefully, and it should be on Open Thread so everyone who wants to join me on my Jang Hyuk Crusade will be enlightened as well LOL. I'm going to start with Windstruck. That's how much you have helped me, my friend. Thanks again! If I need to ask more questions, I'm going to go to your wall.

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@YY,

As promised on your fanwall:

The first installment of a 2-part interview with Jang Hyuk circa 2010 on HanCinema.

[INTERVIEW] Actor Jang Hyeok - Part 1, 2010/03/11
http://www.hancinema.net/interview-actor-jang-hyeok--part-1-22564.html

The link to part 2 is way down towards the bottom of the page.

Soompi has a terrific recap of DRAMA FESTIVAL 2014: OLD GOODBYE. Kudos to akinahana89 for a thoughtful -- and thought-provoking -- summary. It explained a lot, thus enabling me to more fully enjoy the drama.

https://www.soompi.com/2014/11/12/recap-old-goodbye-mbcs-drama-festival-special/

Another JH sageuk: TREE WITH DEEP ROOTS. (SIX FLYING DRAGONS is the prequel, but his character is not in it.)

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I guess my taste of dramas has changed from romcom to all kind of genres because I practically watch all kind of dramas now.

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