Don't worry. A loading lag might be headed towards dramabeans today :)

😂😂😂

The theme is "unpopular" opinion :p

I cannot believe that I forgot PPL lines being included in the script. The actors should be driving, wearing, vacuuming, eating without commenting on the product. The only exception is where it is a well known traditional dish where there are distinct options so it’s not a brand but is promoting the dish. E.g. sauce on the side or mixed in or egg mixed in or left on top of ramen. These are genuine reasons for making or breaking friendships as they can ruin a meal and happen in real life. All countries have a variation on this theme so everyone will relate to it. In all other cases the product should be visible on screen so we can see the name but that is all. Especially, annoying is when people are on their own and then comment out loud on how soft their skin is after applying the lotion or how lovely it smells.

Current offender to be name and shamed is Kopiko which has become the new Subway.

I have a preference for pretty boys so the abundance of flower boys being so popular in the dramas is great for me so it is disappointing when they are naturally gorgeous to be let down by make up. I can’t bear to see a very bright lipstick or the foundation not being thick enough to cover the 6 o’clock shadow creeping in because they took so long to film the shot.

The wrong foundation being used to make the actors look really pale or a strange yellow or brown that is clearly not their natural skin tone. If it’s down to the lighting then if I can see it so could the people on the set. It just makes me wonder whether they were using apprentices or the make up budget was too small as we all know the Korean make up market is extensive so there is no need for top actors to be made to look ridiculous.

THANK YOU for saying this. The head slap thing has irritated me for YEARS. I see it in Japanese shows too and each time, I flinch.

I think a literal opposite of what you just posted would be considered unpopular :D

I agree with the last ten minute wrap being removed as an option in any drama.

🤨. No writer or PD must see this. I'm filing a motion to dismiss, overrule, anything... anything to keep the hawt onscreen🤭

Same here. I actually feel secondhand embarrassment whenever I see those scenes.

I don't really care about it. I see them as a way to balance the miniskirts or minishorts and high heels that the actresses have to wear in Summer as in Winter.

Agreed I know we are all adults but seriously I find it unnecessary to have males or females flaunting their bodies as part of the package unless it makes sense for the role.

In Love in contract the female lead is wearing less and less to the point she did an in the face high kick whilst wearing a skirt and because it was so short it did not prevent her being able to do this.

What?! Shower scenes are ABSolutely relevant to the plot!

Shower scenes are crucial plot elements and there is so much to discern. I can go on, but here is a shortlist.
1) The first one to remove clothes and shower is the ML. This reduces the risk of 2ML.
2) It’s in those shower scenes we look for scars/fire burns etc which reveal clues about the ML’s past. Was he abused? Does he have a fire trauma?
3) Also, characters with tattoos give us clues during shower scene - ah, snake tattoo - he is a villain. Dude, he is a cheater. So much to infer.
4) This is crucial - they way the lead showers can give us a lot of insight into his personality. Is he brooding, is he thoughtful, is he lonely, is he troubled. There is whole lot to unpack here.
5) When a ML showers we know he is clean and follows good hygiene. Like who wants to root for a ML who isn’t clean?

p.s. also, it can (debatable) motivate one to hit the gym. Health is wealth.

The shower scenes are so absurd that it is part of the drama-experience for me.
And there are so case where they manage to integrate the fan service in the plot such as in It's ok not to be ok with the travelling on Kim Soo Hyun torso.
I funny agree that showers often bring nothing to the plot, however I find it refreshing to have the male objectified as the female are in occident. (I am wel laware that it is more a kind of regression than a real societal progress though)

I agree the 25 + year long unrequited love needs to go. Surely there is 1% or less potential for this to happen in real life yet 90% of dramas have the second leads having their love from childhood to adulthood and then once rejected continue to either have short term unsuccessful relationships or go on to have a monk like existence because that person is their soul mate and they won’t give up. I like the relationships where they have gone on to marry others and have happy enough love life but only if that relationship ends do they reconsider going back to the first love/never declared love etc. If this happens I would prefer for them to then become the lead couple and get together rather than become a bitter second lead.

I agree to everything, except for Soo Young's character in Run On. It was my first drama of hers so without any prejudice of liking her as an actress, I can say her character was well written well. She had to fight against misogynistic people and I liked that she put romance in the backdrawer to focus on her more pressing issues.

Me too! I find the shoelace-tying especially jarring. I mean, unless the character is injured, carrying lots of heavy things they can’t put down, or heavily pregnant, and therefore unable to tie their own shoelaces, this way of showing you care about someone is not for me. However, I wonder whether it’s somehow related to showing respect by touching another person’s feet?

I think that was part of the backlash from SITR, but SYJ's character had flaws but did not or could not change.

I agree with your statement, some people are just really stubborn and are set in their ways.. A lot of times the things we want people to out grow are usually the habits we find annoying about them.. It takes time for someone who hasn't been receptive to love to show affection themselves. A lot of times as well, if the person doesn't view it as a seeious problem they will never see the need to change, maybe to them it isn't such a big deal... (I'm talking more along the lines of emotional traits) but for example, I would have been okay without the redemption of the male lawyer from EAW. He's always been that way and he didn't see the need to change. But once you start harming others or effecting others lives, I think that's when they should insert a personal growth arc...

Agreed but I also think it depends on the plot of the drama. Some of them do need that arc and some don't. Some pretend to have it while doing nothing to the character.

I think this is such a great point! I can appreciate why it feels narratively unsatisfying to us as viewers, but realistically, people don’t always grow/change their ways, and that should be OK. There are consequences to that, of course, but always having a growth arc seems to imply/require a homogeneity of character that strikes me as kind of boring.

I don't mind a character not changing too much even if they HAVE fundamental flaws. It really all depends on the story itself and what I feel the needs/goals for that story are. Side characters especially I'm more lenient with, and main characters too I don't mind if they continue to struggle with imperfections, trials, etc whatever it is.

The one exception to this is that I really struggle in a drama when I don't feel like I can root for the main leads. If I'm following a morally grey or evil character who has morally bad goals for the show and is doing morally terrible things, and there's nobody I can really support as a moral root in the story, then I just struggle to watch it period.

And some characters even with a fundamental flaw can not grow. A sometimes prefer and old school villain. (If Voldemort start introspection and repenting the fun is lost)

Agreed. People need to read Javaneans' precise explanations on makjang. It has evolved into a bad trait on db but it is not.

I totally agree with this. Makjang done in an appropriate story can be fabulous. The 2019 drama GRACEFUL FAMILY is a textbook example of this. For anyone who has not seen it- do.

People always look down on makjang, but in my opinion, Penthouse and Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce) absolutely deserve their high ratings. Makjang writers have a skill to make a large audience tune in.

The part that bothers me about this particular arc is the seeming shock that comes after the female lead receives a kiss. Don't tell me you don't know what a kiss is all about. Even if it's your first time, don't give me that stunned, wow!-so-this-is-how-it-is look. It's cringy😂. It's more annoying when the FL is clearly written as not innocent and a non-virgin. It's not it at all.
Just a random addition, you see that slow-mo that is meant to display the aura of an actor or actress...once or twice is enough. Beyond that, it becomes a recipe for eyerolling.

I don't think you chose the good examples. In Secretary, he has a trauma, in My Love he became sick when he kissed and in Bossam it was a sageuk and she was a princess.

But I agree with it. It's why I'm not a super fan of college KDrama. The romance is like the highschool drama except they can drink alcohol. The only one who did more realistic was Nevertheless but the romance was toxic...

I'll actually be a voice from the other side: as someone who really values being a virgin before marriage, I look to kdramas as a great source of content where I feel like they focus a lot on the development of a relationship without the need for sex before marriage.

I totally agree about the wide eyes "don't know what to do with a kiss" sentiment, however. I just enjoy that by and large, kdramas tend to find a happy medium where characters can get to know each other and flirt and be sensual without becoming sexual (and if it does lean that way, then it's generally done off screen)

YES!! To all of this!! I'm not saying we need to see bed scenes of Western quality, but characters who are experienced somewhat or have lust or physical attraction to their partners. More sexual tension!!

We can have our actors have the hots for one another or feel turned on as normal feelings in romances (I'm talking for adults!!).

Also, I wish we would get more hugging and intimacy in romance shows. I don't want to see kissing, but skin-ship through fixing or touching their hair/ears. I think Law Cafe does this aspect very well. I find those scenes very heart-fluttering because it feels natural to what a real couple does.

Lots to unpack! One of the dramas that people love that perplexes me is Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. I enjoyed watching it but was so uncomfortable by the mix of serial killer and rom com plot. This is especially since the the serial killer dressed the women in a wedding clothes. Many dramas have serial killer/stalker plots. I'm not liking that! Darker plots are truly ascendant and mixing it with rom-com elements is tricky for us viewers! As for mental health, I do find it troubling how many dramas make the cure of mental illness and addiction be finding true love. But, it is a drama made for entertainment so I'm not sure how entertaining it would be if the plot simply was someone getting appropriate mental health treatment. It's Okay That's Love is one of the few that does address this. I would add that I'm not completely comfortable with the portrayal of characters that are on the spectrum. Even Attorney Woo annoyed me a bit in this area. But, still, it is entertainment and entertainment needs to remove me from real life, not take me to real life. So, I'm mostly forgiving, but I do often wait to see if the plot will be too upsetting to me.

same, I enjoy it when it's done well. The only thing I don't like is if they totally set it up in the preview like something I've been anticipating for forever will happen in the next episode, only for it to really have been a throwaway not even a turned on it's head scene.

Are you me? lol

I like love triangles too. Although I don't think all dramas should have one, but I'm not likely to complain when there is one.

I don't need strong empowered female characters to enjoy a drama either. I actually think my definition of strong might be different from others.

I TRULY dislike JJH's acting.

Thank you! I feel so seen.

I enjoy a good love triangle, especially when it's fair game lol

Perhaps the problem is that kind and compassionate women aren’t viewed as strong and empowered? I wonder how much of this dichotomy is determined by the viewers’ cultural lens?

I’m like you - I am perfectly happy with a compassionate and kind character, and to me, those characteristics are not mutually exclusive with strength and empowerment.

I feel this as an introvert sometimes - if I’m not always very upfront about my opinions, that’s seen as a weakness or a shortcoming somehow. But I’m genuinely interested in other perspectives and trying them on when I get the chance to meet someone very different from me. It doesn’t mean I don’t lose it sometimes and give people a piece of my mind, but maybe I just do it less.😅

Oh my gosh re: strong empowered female leads. As someone who works very hard to be both compassionate and kind, I have very strong opinions that those two particular characteristics are the TRUE marks of what it means to be strong and empowered. It takes WORK to be kind. It takes WORK to have compassion on others and be generous. It takes WORK to act with generosity of heart. Being sassy, centered on one's own well being and many other "empowering" characteristics actually come more naturally to our natures and don't necessarily mean one is in command of one's self or representative of personal power. End of mini rant :) I just get really bothered by the way "strong" female leads are often portrayed. They come off as impolite, unkind, and unwilling to listen to or work with others much of the time. And no, I don't think I see that only in female characters. I know what inconsiderate, rude and unwilling to work with others looks like in male characters too, and I don't like it there, either.

Agreed

Oh, agreed! All the way!

Yes... and I also don't mind loose ends that kind of get dropped off in a storyline. What I want is a drama with enough depth that if they tried to tie up every last loose end then the drama would get too long.

Don't budge ehhehehe. I've tried the first 4 eps, found the writing very silly and the FL badly acted, heavy handed, predictable and yet absurd. Bailed and did not regret it.
Same for Come Hug Me.

re: kids dating. I can't think of any dramas off the top of my head where they're going on dates etc. but I'm also not a fan of the young kids who have a "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" in their elementary school and it's supposed to be just totally normal like its a part of being an elementary school kid. Kids crushing on each other and teasing about it I get, but not actually forming relationships.

The kids dating one is interesting to me because that's absolutely what kids were doing when I was in elementary school. It was just part of the culture. When I was that age I thought it was really silly, but almost everyone else I knew had a boyfriend or girlfriend before they turned 14. So kids holding hands and telling everyone they're "dating" in dramas just reads as normal to me. Is it not like that in other places?

Don't worry, I didn't like that show either. I don't even remember the yelling. Just that nothing was genuine or likeable. Everything felt forced and staged.