Dramabeans snapshot

by stroopwafel

Current minions

Hi Beanies! It’s been a little over two weeks since our premium supporter program launched and we have a few updates to announce. First, we’ve heard your requests and the Beanie badge design has both been changed and can now be toggled on and off. We also have the option for a one-time purchase now, as well as an annual purchase, both in addition to the original monthly option.

Our tech team is still working on some of the other requests and issues, so please bear with us in the meantime.

We also know you had questions about why Dramabeans needs help and who’s funding the site now. To answer your questions and to provide some background, we put together this Dramabeans snapshot.

 
Why does Dramabeans need help?
Javabeans mentioned some of the difficulties she and girlfriday had faced, and that we were close to shutting down twice in the past few years. In short, running a website and putting food on the table at the same time isn’t as easy as it looks, and server costs are soaring.

Who is currently financing Dramabeans?
We’re currently funded by two individuals helping out from behind the scenes. They prefer to remain anonymous, but rest easy — there’s no big chaebol or South Korean government initiative that funds Dramabeans. Instead, they’re just awesome people who care about promoting Korean dramas and culture all over the world.

Why did they get involved?
The first time Dramabeans was unable to continue financially, one of our current investors came in and supported the site for two years. Then, when he couldn’t do it on his own anymore, he brought in another individual to bridge funding to support Dramabeans. Sadly, Dramabeans is still running in the red. With our only source of revenue being the banner ads, the costs of keeping Dramabeans up and running have become too difficult to bear without some help.

How can you help Dramabeans?
We understand that not everyone is able to offer financial support, but if you are able, becoming a premium supporter would go a long way in helping us. The benefits include an ad-free Dramabeans experience, a virtual supporter badge (now optional!), two months of KOCOWA for free, and the eternal gratitude of all Dramabeans minions.

Number of premium supporters as of April 12, 2020

You can also subscribe to the BeanieBox, our monthly subscription snack box. If you’re a snack-loving foodie, it’s a convenient and fun way to test out a whole bunch of tasty Korean snacks (with some surprise goodies to boot).

If you’re not located in one of the countries we ship to, help us spread the word about the BeanieBox on social media to any foodies or snack addicts.

Follow our official Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts and share our content directly from there. Our writers and editors put a lot of thought (and squee) and heart into our articles. Please don’t copy-paste them.

Finally, to all Beanies, thank you for supporting us and for being with us. With your help, we hope to be around for a long, long time and continue to give drama lovers a place to share all things K-drama. *Roll credits*

Founders
javabeans
girlfriday

Current minions
stroopwafel
dramallama
LollyPip
Saya
CandidClown
lovepark
tineybeanie
SailorJumun
murasakimi
Laica
TeriYaki
tipsymocha
abirdword
Regals
Sunny
missvictrix
tccolb
quirkycase
selena

Alumni minions
HeadsNo2
gummimochi
odilettante
awcoconuts
hanshimi
chickachunga
mary
chocolatte

 
RELATED POSTS

• Support Dramabeans: Premium supporter program