It's hard for me to know exactly, since I have a hardcore swiftie living under my roof. But I have heard them mentioned in for example satire clips without anybody explaining to the audience "You know, I mean fans of Taylor Swift". And also, as I understand, Swifties more or less rule the world, so if the world don't know who they are, it better get with the times. 😉

There are a number of "mashups" combining English and another language, especially among immigrant communities. In English-speaking countries, you'll hear "Spanglish," "Konglish," "Chinglish," etc.

The French have resisted letting English creep into their language. They even fight about whether it should be called "Franglais" or "Frenglish"! They have laws mandating that at least forty percent of songs broadcast by domestic radio stations be in the French language. I wonder whether that includes their classical music stations that broadcast opera?

@babylilo
Wow. Respect, but I guess that means you wouldn't even hear one K-pop song on the radio by mistake? 🥺😆 Joke.

Btw, I don't know many mashups between Spanish and English. I straight up use English words while speaking in Spanish, and most people around me do the same.
I don't use social media (except for DB), and when I speak with new people the only things I pick up are slang from different countries/regions (but it's still all Spanish).

The only mashups I remember (because I use them), are the typical turning nouns into something else: like "googlealo", google it/search for it. Which I say a lot to my family LOL. Or "kpopers", kpop fans. Which I heard a lot growing up.

Yeah. I think they are referring to using straight English words mixed in a Spanish sentence when they say Spanglish. I think the term is a little derogatory because it usually suggests someone who doesn't know the actual language. Also, confirm blackbox is straight English unless it has a different meaning in Korean.

@enriquequierecagar - I suspect my comment was not received with its intended snark. I was trying to imply that some people have a double standard: they decry the "Westernization"and sexualization of Kdramas, while being enthusiastic fans of Kpop, which has both of those attributes. I'm not in the least offended by the cultural appropriation, skimpy costumes, or overtly sexual dance moves. It's just not my taste in entertainment. I don't listen to the radio and have never watched a Kpop video through to the end, but I don't think the Earth would open up and swallow me if I did. 🤣

I've worked in a predominantly Hispanic community near me, and I hear people speaking Spanglish all the time, switching back and forth between the two languages, even within a single sentence, as in this video:
https://youtu.be/bP0CSjvVU1w?feature=shared
You'll find something similar, but in Korean instead of Spanish, in the movie Minari.

@mreverything thanks for the explanation. My only reference of the word "Spanglish" is an old Salma Hayek movie. LOL

Then yes. I use the Spanglish often. And Koreanglish and Spanrean (or K-span LOL)

@babylilo the joke was because of what you said about France and the rules for broadcasting. But I just noticed that I read wrong. I understood that the songs most have at least 40% french lyrics. But what you said is different. The joke doesn't work anymore, ignore it. 😂

And thanks. I finally understand the concept thanks to you and Mr Everything. I think it becomes a common thing when you have someone that speaks the same languages. You know you don't have to translate, so you don't have to worry about which words (language) comes out.

Wow, I've never thought english having many ways of saying something. I always thought other cultures and languages have that aspect.

@britney other languages can have the same thing, but vocabulary-wise English is very broad. I had a teacher who studied both languages English and Spanish (he's dutch), and he mentioned that English has waaaaaaay more words than other languages because of mixed roots/adopting terms from other languages. That's why sometimes there's like 10 words for 1 thing in English.
Or at least that's what I remember from what he said (disclamer: neither my teacher nor I studied linguistics or anything related).

The Danish word for broken Spanish spoken by unskillful Danes is "skraldespandsk" combining "skraldespand" (dustbin) and "spansk" (Spanish).

I'm so jealous!
Off topic, but I want to learn Italian so bad. 🤣

I studied it in college, but used it most often in the context of working in opera. As a result, my Italian conversation sometimes sounds wildly out of date, similar to referring to my older brother as 오라버니 (orabeoni) instead of 오빠 (oppa).

Wow. That sounds awesome!

I also tried to take Italian classes in college, but sadly too much was going on back then and I had to give up on it. I got to assist to a few lectures so I only know the pronunciation rules.
At least that helps when I want to sing Ti Amo, Gloria or Il Mondo during karaoke. 😅

@enriquequierecagar - Have you heard the Gipsy Kings' version of the song "Volare?" I'm not sure what you'd call it; maybe Spatalian? I can sing along with the chorus, but not the rest.
https://youtu.be/X8TOhb_4jU0?feature=shared

I didn't know this version! 😯

I know Te Amo, Gloria, Felicidad, etc. But I didn't know there was a Volare Spanish ver.
Spatalian! I like it.
Sometimes I try to sing the OG versions, but I forget the lyrics in the middle so I have to switch it to Spanish. 😅

Yes. I think "F" always turns into "ㅍ" (p). So that's why it turns into 파이팅 (paiting).

화이팅 (hwaiting) has the same meaning.

That reminds me of a kdrama, I don't remember what it was but it had Lee Jun Young in it (I'm strongly leaning towards it being May I Help You but it might've been something else). In the scene, his character is reading english letter to someone and the sender ended the letter with "let's fight" but they were going for 화이팅/fighting.

I can't remember the situation but I think the sender was raised abroad but was trying to connect with their grandparent so they were attempting korean so it may have been a mix of english and korean or just english. Ugh! That's gonna frustrate me haha. Regardless, it's sweet.

@britney Please Don't Date Him. A restaurant halmoni gets a card from a Russian friend and the female lead uses google translate to translate it into Korean which turns the Fighting! to Let's fight 😄
There are various scenes to show the male lead that smart phones can be useful and this is one of them.

@midnight thank you!
Still a sweet scene haha

Oh, like Reply 1997? That's first and only Slice of Life story I've seen.

I just think there should be variety especially if there's so many options for broadcasting.

I think in a similar vein is weekenders. I've never watched any but people on here keep commenting about the death of the weekender and how the ratings aren't what they should be but aren't weekenders like traditional, classic kdrama vibes? Why wouldn't people be watching them?

Yes Reply 88 can be consodered a Sol family drama. Weekenders are more like makjang family dramas. Imo they are very different from even classics i would say.

Well put. I should have been more specific. There are shows where there's a fairly strong consensus about their "awfulness," and it can be lots of fun to hold them up to ridicule. There are some American movies I rewatch time and again precisely because they're awful. I even own a book called "Bad Movies We Love." Schlock has its own particular kind of entertainment value.

As far as "the notion that we think we can, or should, only enjoy masterpieces," I have no problem saying that I absolutely DESPISE The Sound of Music and It's a Wonderful Life. But I appreciate that they are well-made films, and don't think any less of the people who love them. Just don't try to convince me I should love them, too.

I think people often scoff at fluffy rom-com as bad because they are fluffy, but to me there is allot of good rom-com out there that are well written just as there is bad written without substance. people often look down on rom-coms but if you ask a writer they are actually the hardest to write.
I think any type of graphic scenes should be well thought out and have a reason for the story to be present in it. A sudden graphic scenes just for shock value without a reason is bad writing and never ad anything to the story (if there is not a reason for it). Beside if you only relay on shock you gonna have to amp it up next time and your tool box get smaller.
Storytelling evolve as we as a society changes, so what tropes worked in the past will not work now. This is also why I think even kdrama story is different from the past. Another different is that now many movies director also works on streaming dramas and they gonna have a different flavor.

That book sounds awesome.

😂🤣🤣 Happens.
I have a little too many "masterpieces" I dislike so I have a problem naming them all. LOL

"Just don't try to convince me I should love them, too."

I think that's something really hard to learn/understand as humans. If we love something we need to make everyone love it too. In the past I had that problem—extreme level. I think (hope) I'm not that bad now. 😆😅

@enriquequierecagar - I have the opposite problem. My family and many of my acquaintances think the things I'm into are boring and/or bizarre. I hesitate to share about what I'm reading, watching, or listening to, as the usual response is either a condescending look or an eyeroll. Even my book group thinks my taste in reading is strange!

But that's exactly what happened to me. 🥺
I used to want to share everything but all the disappointing reactions made me tone it down.

Now I only have very few and specific people I bother with some stuff. I also stopped getting excited everytime a stranger says they like the same things I do, because it's NEVER the exact same thing (genre/era). Most of the time, we're not compatible at all.

Yeah, Hallmark are fluffy and fantasy but they're also TERRIBLE. I think part of the reason Bridgerton is so popular is because it's giving audiences a fluffy romance with high production values. I've always described Kdramas as like Hallmark movies, as in they cater to women audiencecs, with good production values and writing. Romance fans are starved for content in the west.

I'd say romance is part of a lot of shows in the west, too. But since the shows are supposed to go on forever, there will be a slow upbuild from enemies to will they/won't they and then this phase will last for years. Like Brooklyn 99 and New Girl and The Good Place (I love that show) and ehm, ... Parks and Recreation, and all that.

Eric Mun could have chemistry with a metal pole as far as I'm concerned

👌

Totally agree with Que Sera Sera and Eric Mun, and Jung Yumi.

@gikata I really tried hard to make clear that you were definitely NOT the conservatives I was referring to, but my writing failed me--one more qualifying phrase was needed. Subtle was referring to you, although perhaps a "sophisticated critique" was more what I was going for. My trouble is that I write too sloppily and hastily!

Your point about shows structure is a good one, but I associate that with the massive economic changes that U.S. "Big stream" providers have brought into Korea, albeit with the willing cooperation of studios like CJ enm.
I still think, though, that complainers (NOT YOU) who zero in on violence and sex have this simplistic view of less developed, innocent Asian people vs. a debauched Western capitalism, which demeans both cultures.
Speaking more abstractly, and more pretentiously, I think global pop culture in general pretty interesting in how, on the one hand, it blends and homogenizes, and how, on the other hand, it never quite loses traces of its national or regional origins. That's one reason why I appreciate your pop music posts--the artists you highlight sometimes have a voice a LOT like generic U.S. pop stars, but their sound is distinctive at the same time

@gikata - I, at least, never got the impression you were a conservative or a dinosaur. Where it gets murky for me is labeling particular changes as either "good" or "bad." I agree with you about some of the recent developments in Kdrama that you think are for the worse, but there are other changes you decry that I don't see as always being negative.

For example: If I don't think a show needed or would benefit from a second season, then I simply choose not to watch it (The Uncanny Counter). I have been happy with some other shows having multiple seasons (Hospital Playlist), and frustrated with shows where I've forgotten some of the plot threads by the time the next season arrives (Sweet Home.

At any rate, change is inevitable. In some cases, I just resign myself to going with the flow, even when I don't like where the flow is headed. 🫤

@hacja no offense taken then))) But the dinosaur offer still stands - trust me, I've got much worse!

Ofc it's all about money at the end of the day - what else? But this element is really ridiculous, esp since even now most kdramas are written without potential sequel in mind and many of those who do fail to gain enough audience to proceed with that, yet we keep getting this pointless fragmentation. Like with the aforementioned example of "debauched Western capitalism corrupting innocent Asians" QUEEN WOO - what is the point of 2 weeks break here? When the whole thing is only 8 eps long? Just freaking air it 2 episodes every week like any other TV kdrama and you'll achieve the same "buzz tail" without looking like pretentious morons...

One thing that worries me is that kdrama local market is not that big compared to China etc, so there is a more prominent need to export the content it produces and thus taking in mind international viewers preferences. Even more so now when industry is struggling. Bet there are surveys and data analyzes for this matter, probably giving an entirely wrong picture to investors... I'd love to be as optimistic as you on the matter, but it's already September here and I've yet to finish 1 Korean show this year. It's a truly scary place of mind rn for a veteran kdrama watcher and someone's got to take the fall for it - we cannot blame all of it on cdrama guys simply having better wigs, can we?

@babylilo TY! I'm a Snake at most

I don't mind seasonal format per se either - there are shows where I appreciated it and where I wish it happened even tho it didn't. It's like a good old "hit drama gets last minute extension" kdrama thing all over again, but on a much larger scale. Only that most such dramas did not truly benefit from those extensions outside of cash grab aspect.

And it's not like we always know beforehand the final amount of seasons certain drama will get to avoid the ones with sequelites, are we? Pretty sure SQUID GAME etc was not planning a sequel before becoming too profitable for its own good. Starting a kdrama expecting a complete story only to suddenly find out during last episode that it ends on "to be continued... someday... somehow... maybe, if no one dies, gets cancelled or replaced" doesn't feel like a lot of fun to me. That I can find literally anywhere else in abundance. If the flow is really not going where I'd like it to, perhaps it's time to change a river... Which would be sad after all me and kdramas went through together.

People in general being more inclined to READ - even if only subtitles - than before is such a genuine shocker that I'm still processing that, sorry not sorry))) Are you 100% sure it's not a fever dream or isekai into fantasy story?

@gikata
Apparently, there’s a trend among the younger generation to watch tv with subtitles on for everything—even when it’s in their native language. I’ve seen a lot of theories why (TikTok?), but I can’t tell if any of them are valid. I keep subs on nearly all the time, but it’s because I’m getting old and my hearing sucks.

Gikata - way up higher in this thread - said something like " ... back in the days when child actors could actually ACT."
And that got me up out of my chair (no it didn't, but, metaphorically it did) because ... well, I already explained why.

I so much prefer shows that have and end. I could wish for K-dramas to use that possibility of planning better, but all in all I prefer one to four episodes that swim around a bit, trying to make it last untill the planned ending, rather than a show that swims around for years !

Glitch is on Netflix. (They also a Korean show by the same name.) I watched Bloom on Hulu. I haven't seen Pushing Daisies, but I'd say the two shows I mentioned are a lot darker. The excellent French version of Glitch is called The Return. Not sure where to watch it.

As to second seasons, I put shows into one of three categories: 1) leaves the audience hanging at the end in a way that is obviously leaving the door open for season 2 (Life on Mars); 2) could stand alone as a single season, but leaves enough unexplored material to make a second season worthwhile (Signal); 3) I love it so much that I just want more! (Hyena.

... undermined smaller producers and independent studios ability to get investors and top talent for their works. Even large players like CJ and Lotte who work with western OTTs are losing money and market share. It is like when Main Street in a small town is overwhelmed when a new Walmart is built on the edge of town.

You mentioning something being banned reminded me of something I'm curious about. From what I understand, China has a ban on gay content or it's somehow censored and yet it has alot of shows or content like that?

@britney used to, not anymore - BL (censored intro bromance or not) dramas were banned few years ago, making all such completed shows pulled off from official platforms (but everyone still knows where to find them lol) and unaired dramas shelved indefinitely. As of now mainland China is NOT making any gay shows, but there are a few coproductions smartly registered overseas that, again, don't air in mainland OFFICIALLY so they're fine that way. I think gay novels/manhua were censored to a degree as well, but nothing super harsh in comparison because well, it is not a mainstream stuff. I think as long as there are no graphic sex scenes (this applies to GL/het fiction as well on some online libraries), you'll probably be fine. Not that it ever stopped a massive demand for such content...

And the original Mr. Queen is strictly cis-heteronormative, as we all know 😉
When people can't express certain things they end up in all corners and nooks of stories, often poetically and elegantly, sometimes frustratingly halfways. Sometimes both.

@ceciliedk yeah, it was SO tame that previously free from censorship mini-dramas started to get regulated too afterwards^^

I recall catching some glimpses of the most recent BL coproduction on tumblr - looked very much like a standard cdrama, for better or worse, just with addition of gay makeouts. Makes me wonder how really those unaired shows would've been received if public only had a chance to watch them...

Otome means "girl". Basically young females targeted content in this case. Otomeisekai is transmigration female-centered story (often with strong reverse harem elements). Like otome games are dating sims for girls etc.

Whoops!! That kind of guest can be pretty uninvite-able if it were anybody else. 🙈

I commend your in-house music critic's taste.

@seeker from my understanding, authors of these tracks were directly involved into choosing who's gonna perform their stuff, so we cannot fault Yuning for being too good at his main job, I suppose)))

This is where we slightly disagree with my second kid, but it's OK, he's still a young tail not mature enough to get the appeal of Buddhist chanting in music))) He LOVES qin tho

Gikata then I stand corrected. Obviously the lyricists would select him. In that case the opposite would be true. Everyone would want to invite him over. 😂

Well tbh chanting music is an acquired taste which I personally love but I can understand certain people don't "get" it. When I once had a K-drama style accident - I didn't get amnesia (sadly) but for and year and a half I couldn't listen to music as it would hurt my head.

@seeker we need a survival show for songwriters - and drama producers - fighting over him, that would be epic!

The amount of weird music and other media I grew up surrounded by made me very broad-minded genre-wise. Chanting isn't even that high on peculiarity scale))) In case of furry music critic I think it's simply the rhythm that he doesn't like. Or lack of strings - being a cat, he believes that strings in any form make everything better^^

God, sounds awful! 1.5 years without music? I'd go irreparably insane in a week...

💯 that survival show would indeed be epic.

Hehehe the reason I survived was not "no music" but calming soothing music with no percussion played at no more than volume 3. I soon learned a whole new appreciation of "only vocals" kind of songs. 😂

I sure hope her case is resolved now. But I read somewhere that they are planning to replace the FL and face swap so I dunno. The fact that its in discussion may give as the solid chance we are waiting for.

@jillian I know when you've read that - ignore said article and site altogether, they're the definition of old news in this case. Rumor about face swap - and particular actress used for it - was a thing MONTHS ago and even then it was simply 1 Douban comment blown out of proportion. Girl in question isn't even FL material yet by any means, no one would offer this job to her even if face swap was really meant to happen.

How about just winter? Will you watch a winter drama?! Cuz I'm hoping to have beanies to watch and discussing the upcoming Snowy Night 😉

@zindigo winter is OK - I did watch and love an entirety of SNOW FALL where it was literally snowing pretty hard in every single episode))) It's really just ice - me and my injured leg had too much of bad blood with it over last 3 decades.

I'm not sure about SNOWY NIGHT tho - trailers are gorgeous, but I'm so-so about lead actors and heard source material is BE. Maybe I'll be more in the mood for cold angst when the time comes - it's planned for November, I think?

@gikata I'm so sorry to hear about your issues with ice 😬

I had also heard that Snowy Night is likely to have an SE/BE but I want to give it a try anyway. Those trailers are compelling! Last I heard it might be an October release, but you know how that goes. Well, let's see how we feel about watching it when it's actually available!

Woot!

@kiara sorry^^ I've spent UNGODLY amount of time on that news report, so...

Can share a highly sus rumor tho - about it air-dropping on Monday. THIS Monday. Take it with a bag of salt etc)))