I think it’s time to take a break from currently airing Kdramas, because to be honest…they haven’t been doing it for me for a little while. I’ve been telling myself I need to take this break for a few months now, but then a Kdrama would come up that would draw me in. And then promptly let me down. (Oh! Youngshim being the latest example.)
Jdramas have honestly been ticking all of my boxes and fulfilling my drama needs lately, and I really want to get more into Chinese and Taiwanese dramas, as well as go back to the Kdrama vault for dramas I’ve missed, or that were popular when they aired but for some reason, I never watched them. I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of gems in that vault.
This post is going to be my reminder/push to follow through on this Kdrama break. I can always come back to Kdramas later.
It seems to me that for a number of Kdramas that are produced nowadays, they aren’t that much different. The main plots seem to be the same or similar although the packaging looks different. They are about people having some kind of trauma, revenge, violence, affairs, and everything that seems to reflect Greyson reality of being a human; but they seem to miss that kind of charm that sparked joy they did so well in older dramas.
Or perhaps I just want simple things such as the good always beat the bad, and a hard-working and earnest girl always gets the guy? Perhaps I just want something as straight and simple as that.
I think that’s part of my reasons as well. There are still some Kdramas that peak my interest, but they either end up being a disappointment or they aren’t the sorts of stories I’m craving in this season as a drama lover. Like you said, a lot of Kdramas right now are very gritty and grim, focusing on heavy topics or revenge or characters that are just selfish and reckless and unlikable. There’s a place for these stories, but they aren’t what I’m interested in right now. And you aren’t really seeing straight romance/rom-coms anymore, which is one of my Asian drama staples.
Kdramas also just feel different than they used to. I can’t put my finger on what it is, but there’s something they used to have that isn’t there anymore and it leaves a lot of stories feeling lacking to me.
I actually just did a tally, and in the last 3 years have looked like this for me and Kdramas:
~Started 15
~Dropped 7
~Completed 8
Of the 8 I’ve finished:
~2 are dramas I loved
~2 are dramas that I enjoyed but that still had some flaws
~The rest were either a mixed bag or really disappointing
So of the 8 Kdramas I’ve finished in the last three years, only four were really worth it. I haven’t been having a lot of luck with Kdramas the last few years, lol.
“Or perhaps I just want simple things such as the good always beat the bad, and a hard-working and earnest girl always gets the guy? Perhaps I just want something as straight and simple as that.”
Truthfully, I’m kind of missing some of that myself.
I can sympathise totally! I haven’t intentionally taken a break from kdramas yet but there’s not been much lately that I’ve really enjoyed watching. Especially in comparison to last year, and that feeling has only been increasing throughout the year so far. That said, some of the upcoming dramas look good though, so better or for worse I’ll give them a shot, but I’ve been exploring much more on the Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese side of things too lately. I suppose not having all my eggs in the one basket means that I won’t feel as let down if a drama does go a bit sideways for me!
I definitely feel you! Kdramas this year have unfortunately been an underwhelming bunch as a whole. While I’m not planning on taking a break anytime soon (still holding out hope for some upcoming shows before they inevitably disappoint me), I totally understand people moving away from the medium for a bit.
Like you, shows from other countries have increasingly been fulfilling my needs for strong storytelling and compelling characters. I know it’s almost a taboo to admit on this site, but I’ve slowly been rediscovering my love for English-language television. There’s just so much great stuff out there! And much of it very much exploring and telling the kinds of stories that pique my interests the most. I’ve just finished live-watching the last season of Succession, a show that has almost makjang-like elements in its surreal writing and heightened characters, and yet somehow depicts our hellish late-stage capitalist reality with a kind of sharp clarity I rarely see in media of any medium. I now realize just how much I miss this sort of content from my tv shows and how lacking a lot of kdramas are in comparison. Because you’d think with all the increasing prestige and budgets, a creator out there would try to create something actually new and creative, but apparently not. Kdramas, as a medium, feels like it’s stuck in a rut.
Sorry, I got a little rambling. I just have a lot of thoughts on this topic and it was also the perfect space for me to sit out my feelings on maybe my favourite new show ever, which I fully expected to be a kdrama and is not.
I know I am replying late, but I just browsed your Fan Wall here. I recently watched two Jdramas that I highly recommend: Full Time Wife Escapist (We Married as a Job) and Turn to Me Mukai Kun. Both are now available on Netflix NA.
Turn to Me Mukai Kun is on my to-watch list. I don’t have Netflix or most other streaming services though, so I have to find other ways of watching dramas.
Turn to Me Mukai Kun will be worth your effort to find and watch. If you care to scroll down my Fan Wall a bit, I put up a couple of images/links about it. What amazed me the most about this show is the incredible script; it contains some of the most intelligent and thought-provoking dialogue that I have ever seen concerning human interactions and relationships.
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OhSoEnthusiastic
June 8, 2023 at 1:02 PM
I think it’s time to take a break from currently airing Kdramas, because to be honest…they haven’t been doing it for me for a little while. I’ve been telling myself I need to take this break for a few months now, but then a Kdrama would come up that would draw me in. And then promptly let me down. (Oh! Youngshim being the latest example.)
Jdramas have honestly been ticking all of my boxes and fulfilling my drama needs lately, and I really want to get more into Chinese and Taiwanese dramas, as well as go back to the Kdrama vault for dramas I’ve missed, or that were popular when they aired but for some reason, I never watched them. I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of gems in that vault.
This post is going to be my reminder/push to follow through on this Kdrama break. I can always come back to Kdramas later.
mmmmm
June 8, 2023 at 3:49 PM
Yes, I actually feel the same.
It seems to me that for a number of Kdramas that are produced nowadays, they aren’t that much different. The main plots seem to be the same or similar although the packaging looks different. They are about people having some kind of trauma, revenge, violence, affairs, and everything that seems to reflect Greyson reality of being a human; but they seem to miss that kind of charm that sparked joy they did so well in older dramas.
Or perhaps I just want simple things such as the good always beat the bad, and a hard-working and earnest girl always gets the guy? Perhaps I just want something as straight and simple as that.
mmmmm
June 8, 2023 at 3:53 PM
*grey-ish reality
OhSoEnthusiastic
June 8, 2023 at 5:51 PM
I think that’s part of my reasons as well. There are still some Kdramas that peak my interest, but they either end up being a disappointment or they aren’t the sorts of stories I’m craving in this season as a drama lover. Like you said, a lot of Kdramas right now are very gritty and grim, focusing on heavy topics or revenge or characters that are just selfish and reckless and unlikable. There’s a place for these stories, but they aren’t what I’m interested in right now. And you aren’t really seeing straight romance/rom-coms anymore, which is one of my Asian drama staples.
Kdramas also just feel different than they used to. I can’t put my finger on what it is, but there’s something they used to have that isn’t there anymore and it leaves a lot of stories feeling lacking to me.
I actually just did a tally, and in the last 3 years have looked like this for me and Kdramas:
~Started 15
~Dropped 7
~Completed 8
Of the 8 I’ve finished:
~2 are dramas I loved
~2 are dramas that I enjoyed but that still had some flaws
~The rest were either a mixed bag or really disappointing
So of the 8 Kdramas I’ve finished in the last three years, only four were really worth it. I haven’t been having a lot of luck with Kdramas the last few years, lol.
OhSoEnthusiastic
June 8, 2023 at 5:52 PM
“Or perhaps I just want simple things such as the good always beat the bad, and a hard-working and earnest girl always gets the guy? Perhaps I just want something as straight and simple as that.”
Truthfully, I’m kind of missing some of that myself.
lapislazulii
June 8, 2023 at 4:52 PM
I can sympathise totally! I haven’t intentionally taken a break from kdramas yet but there’s not been much lately that I’ve really enjoyed watching. Especially in comparison to last year, and that feeling has only been increasing throughout the year so far. That said, some of the upcoming dramas look good though, so better or for worse I’ll give them a shot, but I’ve been exploring much more on the Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese side of things too lately. I suppose not having all my eggs in the one basket means that I won’t feel as let down if a drama does go a bit sideways for me!
ladynightshade wants her own ryu sunjae
June 8, 2023 at 7:23 PM
I definitely feel you! Kdramas this year have unfortunately been an underwhelming bunch as a whole. While I’m not planning on taking a break anytime soon (still holding out hope for some upcoming shows before they inevitably disappoint me), I totally understand people moving away from the medium for a bit.
Like you, shows from other countries have increasingly been fulfilling my needs for strong storytelling and compelling characters. I know it’s almost a taboo to admit on this site, but I’ve slowly been rediscovering my love for English-language television. There’s just so much great stuff out there! And much of it very much exploring and telling the kinds of stories that pique my interests the most. I’ve just finished live-watching the last season of Succession, a show that has almost makjang-like elements in its surreal writing and heightened characters, and yet somehow depicts our hellish late-stage capitalist reality with a kind of sharp clarity I rarely see in media of any medium. I now realize just how much I miss this sort of content from my tv shows and how lacking a lot of kdramas are in comparison. Because you’d think with all the increasing prestige and budgets, a creator out there would try to create something actually new and creative, but apparently not. Kdramas, as a medium, feels like it’s stuck in a rut.
Sorry, I got a little rambling. I just have a lot of thoughts on this topic and it was also the perfect space for me to sit out my feelings on maybe my favourite new show ever, which I fully expected to be a kdrama and is not.
PYC
June 9, 2023 at 8:32 AM
I have reserved the next couple of months to finally binge Succession – can’t wait!
Ghost of Tim (eccentric observations from a male perspective)
October 29, 2023 at 8:30 AM
I know I am replying late, but I just browsed your Fan Wall here. I recently watched two Jdramas that I highly recommend: Full Time Wife Escapist (We Married as a Job) and Turn to Me Mukai Kun. Both are now available on Netflix NA.
OhSoEnthusiastic
October 29, 2023 at 8:49 AM
We Married as a Job is one of my favorite dramas of all time. I love every single thing about it. (My MyDramaList review, if you’re interested: https://mydramalist.com/profile/OhSoEnthusiastic/reviews/142523)
Turn to Me Mukai Kun is on my to-watch list. I don’t have Netflix or most other streaming services though, so I have to find other ways of watching dramas.
Ghost of Tim (eccentric observations from a male perspective)
October 29, 2023 at 9:00 AM
Turn to Me Mukai Kun will be worth your effort to find and watch. If you care to scroll down my Fan Wall a bit, I put up a couple of images/links about it. What amazed me the most about this show is the incredible script; it contains some of the most intelligent and thought-provoking dialogue that I have ever seen concerning human interactions and relationships.