So, so, so, sad. I had no idea about all the volunteers and the YouTube channel. Thank you for archiving your memories so, at the very least, we who are just now getting into kdramas can appreciate those that went before us, and the road you all forged for us.

This was a really great write-up, @ohsoenthusiastic! While I was not a big DramaFever user (I also used MySoju as a kid who loves dramas before), I really loved the content on their YouTube channel and it was really sad that it was gone forever. Thank you for sharing your experiences on the DramaFever community. I hope you will feel at home here at DB community!

thank you for sharing >.< the belief i have about programmes/platforms that have formed communities is this: that sometimes, for whatever reason or circumstance, it will come to an end. the programme may end or the platform may close down. but, if the friendships and connections made there are worth maintaining, then those are the most important and should be kept for as long as possible ♥ i hope you still keep in touch with the DF members you have a good connection or friendship with!

Wow @ohsoenthusiastic, I knew some people were really upset about the death of DramaFever but I had no idea of the extent of community built around it. And you're right - all these things can disappear with the wave of an uncaring corporate hand.

I wish I'd known about the Video Drama club - that sounds awesome.

I hope you have found a taste of community here at DB instead.

Great write up. I'm sorry you lost that community. I only used the site for watching dramas but it really was such a gem to find when I first discovered dramas.

I was never a part of the Dramafever community but even the thought of putting myself in your place and Dramabeans in place of Dramafever saddens me to no end! *sending you virtual hugs*

I just realized how emotionally dependent we can get on online communities! I am not as active as I used to be 2 years back but DB is that place, the safe haven where I can come and talk about my worries or spout nonsense and I will always find people supporting me in both!

Gah! DB! Please always flourish! 💕

Aww, to get to hear the story of someone behind the scenes of dramafever, is something I’m so happy you shared. It was a serious big blow to me as a viewer to suddenly login in and see that horrible page. At that time, I was slowly watching things in Viki and watching more in Dramafever, cause it had more dramas I was following. I was really becoming attached to the site. So when that happened, it was so tragic for me and my friends.
But like you said, to suddenly see everything, from their Instagram and YouTube channel just disappear was so sad. So, I’m so glad you shared this post and story. Thank you for sharing! We shall never forget of Dramafever’s contribution to the drama world.
Now I’ve been being more appreciative of Viki, as it is the only legal site as of now, that I can follow most dramas I’m trying to follow.

I sorely miss Dramafever for its ease of use, the quality of playback, and the back catalogue of titles. But I didn't know that such a deep and committed community resided within it. So, as much as I am still angry about the manner it was pulled from users, I am now sad you, @ohsoenthusiastic and your fellow DF volunteers, that you lost such a valuable platform.

I've only been a DB user for a fraction of its life, but I would miss the Beanies if they suddenly vanished. (btw, I miss vanished beanies. Don't anyone else disappear) Your post makes me want to archive all the APAD shenanigans, the BTIOFL and My Ahjussi recap discussions, and so much more. Just in case the overlords decide to pull the plug. (Please don't do that overlords. Mary and the rest of the minions are too delightful to leave so cruelly unemployed.)

I also have no idea about the community behind Dramafever. But it's the first site I used when I fall to the rabbit hole aka kdrama and it satisfied my new hunger of good quality drama. I was shocked and gutted at the abruptness of the shutdown (I thought it was a glitch on my phone app and i kept uninstalling and reinstalling the app to my own stupidity).

I'm really sorry for your lost community. RIP Dramafever.

That was such an emotional read. Dramafever being unavailable in my region, never had me checking it out for dramas but I would see the articles or insta. That alone made me realize that they have a dedicated community of commenters but lest I knew there was a lot more to it.

DB has been my only main community that I cherish. Since the beginning DB's model has been to include people and connect them even except for dramas. There is a certain charm in talking to people anonymous to you but unlike myspace or other social media sites, DB is the safe space where as I guess people belonging to diverse cultures and age ranges give me way better advice than my best of friends in times when I need them. I love how people matter here. How people care. Just as egads mentioned, I also miss the people who left and I hope other people don't. Hope you find a good community here too.

Hugs @ohsoenthusiastic! I hope you find a new community and new friends and could keep in touch with old ones. (Oh I never knew, you could volunteer on Dramafever (it was never available in my region), I knew about it on Viki and the community on Viki is very strong and supportive. )
Thank you for the write up, it shows how inconsiderate people can be when shutting down, at least they could give a prior warning for people to archive their stuff and be prepared for it.

Awww... *hugs* I haven't commented on DB for a long time but delurked for you. I hope you managed to keep in contact with your online friends.

I empathise with losing the YT channel. I was gutted when we lost videos on viki way back when when things were not licensed. Since I used to be an uploaded.

Online doesn't mean the end of friendships. I know a few group of subbers who became friends. And one group- they meet up since they are in the US and I am not- who sent me my baby showers gifts. And another who visited me halfway across the world.

Friends comes not only from being in physical proximity but shared interests. Besides dramas. Another friend has become my go-to cooking advisor on Korean recipes. It is wonderful that I have friends all over the world because of Kdramas. But someone has to take the first step to get out from behind their username.

Hope you find a community you can hang out with. I cherish the friends I made online and learnt so much from them.

All the best.

The powers that be screwed everyone over (employees, subscribers alike) when they just shut down without notice. I have friends that cried! Now I mainly watch dramas on VIKI/Rakuten (before I had VIKI AND DramaFever). VIKI still has good content, but DramaFever took away the binge factor and more reliable subs as well. Plus now there is the insecurity in the back of your mind that at any time VIKI could shut down too. Hey, they've already changed their name and subscriber content fees. It's not a leap.

This is such a beautiful write-up, thank you for sharing it here with us @ohsoenthusiastic. I cannot imagine the world without dramabeans, this community is my online home -- and to suddenly, without warning have it all taken away sounds terrible. Hope you were able to keep in touch with a few of the folks at Dramafever!

so sad it disappeared without a trace. i loved that site as well as mysoju. thank you for the explanation/heartfelt memories of it. that must have been so hard yet i am grateful for the time i spent on it and the wonderful people behind the scenes like you. still miss it and so glad dramabeans has survived so far. things are fleeting. enjoy them while you have them.

This is what happens when the big boys realize that the little guys are making money in a niche market that looks profitable. They either shut you down, shut you out or buy you out. I miss Drama Fever. I had subscriptions with both DF and Viki, but I liked that the subs were fast and professional over at DF (but I really appreciate the efforts of the subbers at Viki...thank you subbers!)

I wasn't shocked that it occurred as I felt that it was inevitable, but I was shocked at the suddenness of it all. I am pretty sure I was in the middle of one or more dramas when it happened.

DramaFever was the main platform I used for kdramas when I started watching several years ago, so I was sad when it got shut down. But I had no idea about the community it fostered. Thanks for sharing, @ohsoenthusiastic.

ohsoenthusiastic, thank you for sharing. i was an sometimey dramafever follower. but you have my props for being a member of the video drama club. you & the other members brought much joy to the youtube world. that's what i miss the most about the demise of dramafever. the dramafever community was a loss to those of us who watch asian dramas.

also, thanks for reminding me of mysoju! i loved that site. they had the best way of tracking dramas. there is no site that really compares to how they listed dramas. they were my 1st love too.

I am not at all over losing DF and miss it all the time. I continue to be upset and heartbroken about it even though I have premium subscriptions to both Viki and Kocowa.

Omg...there goes my broken heart again 😭😭😭 I was soo pissed and heartbroken when it got cancelled. It's like a breakup you didn't see coming. Dramafever is on a different level! DF has shows that you can never find in other legal sites. Viki, Kocawa and Netflix can't still fill the void :(

Even though, I am Viki long time fan. I miss Dramafever due to they have more variety of kdramas and Chinese dramas then Viki and KOCOWA.

One thing I don't see mentioned here that is really important is that DramaFever was originally owned Independently. It operated for years beautifully that way. Well, at least as far as the viewer could see. Then somewhere around 2016, Warner Bros bought DramaFever and it wasn't long before it went downhill and crashed. Whoever it was that originally owned DramaFever I bow to. Thank you. To Warner Bros, I'm more tempted to give a rough should bump to as I walk away empty handed.

What a great idea to post about various sources for kdrama consumption. I had no idea of the fan history behind DF.

Hulu was my original gateway into kdramas. I can't remember exactly how I found DF, but once I did, I rarely used Hulu anymore (and this was before Hulu went to subscriptions.) (I want to say some of the shows on Hulu eventually either had DF or Vikki's ad snippet at the beginning, but I'm doubting my memory at the moment.)

I did have some love hate moments with DF when they went to the subscription model because I often could only afford a one month here and there, and would end up binging like a crazy woman. They often didn't cancel on time and my funds then did not have any wiggle room. That led to a few angry complaint emails. XD

The one thing I miss TERRIBLY now that DF is gone, is the subs they had for historicals in the early days (before I started finding other sources for kdramas overall) were amazing. Whomever did them went out of their way to use more casual common English for the lower classes and set a perfect tone for any palace and upper class related dialogue.

When I later found Vikki (before they dropped the other k), I rarely ever watched historicals there because although I was very impressed by the fan subs, they just did not match the quality of tone on DF I'd come to expect. I eventually assumed that DF must get their subs direct from the broadcasting companies because they were just that darn good to me.

Now that I'm learning what a broad volunteer group they had, I wonder if my long held assumption was wrong! If anyone reading this is or knows who used to sub the historicals on DF back in the day: To you--or please pass my words along to them--my heartfelt thanks. Your work was an immense pleasure to experience, and it really helped shaped my love for the genre. I truly miss how much your style enriched watching them.

Thanks for writing this. I also miss DF. I think On Demand Korea got a lot of DF video. For some reason, subs don’t seem to come with. Not everything is subbed. Time between Dog and Wolf is there which is cool because I never found it on a legal site before. Also some historicals are there. I don’t know if anyone else noticed, but Viki seems to be dropping much of their old stuff. You always think there is endless time to get to a series, but this doesn’t seem to be the case. Gotta watch them while we can 😁!

"Thank you for nine great years..." that sentence made me so angry.
A year before DF demise, when I learned ATT&T wanted to buy TW, I told people just wait, if ATT gets to by Time Warner (who owned DF) that will be the end of DF because it doesn't make enough money. So I wasn't a bit surprised.
I feel your pain and thanks for sharing your story. Hopefully the employees have gone on to better things.
For this reason and others, there are certain companies I boycott.

Thank you for all of the lovely comments, everyone. I wanted to give a little love back to Dramafever after it showed love to me for so long. I hope I achieved my goal.

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