Beanie level: Chaebol’s poor doppelganger

Well, here it is in a nutshell. Official notification that Dramafever is going out of business. Shame! https://www.google.com/amp/s/variety.com/2018/digital/news/dramafever-k-drama-shutting-down-warner-bros-1202982001/amp/

3
0

Does anyone know what’s up with Dramafever? They haven’t updated their dramas since last Thursday. I live in the US and without DF, my ability to legally watch kdramas is greatly diminished.(End Rant)

4
13

    Look into the fan wall.

    They are shutting down

    1
    1

      Do you happen to know why? And why they chose to shut down suddenly without informing their subscribers first? I understand if they file for bankruptcy or something, but it is good business practice to inform one’s customers if they’re going out of business.

      0
      0

    You can get Viki or Kocowa. Viki has a $9 option that gives you Kocowa too. The downside is Viki is slow with the subs sometimes. I have Kocowa so I’m going to get Viki Pass Standard for $4.14 a month.

    0
    1

      I do have Viki. I’ve subscribed to them since 2013, but absolutely refused to pay the additional funds required for Kocowa. Not that I miss public broadcasting kdramas that much, since my main staple was cable kdrama content. Viki hasn’t been consistent with their cable dramas, and their subs are often incomplete and delayed, though better overall when complete.

      3
      1

        Kocowa is more expensive ($6.99 monthly) but they have dramas and variety. No movies though. I subscribed in Jan, I said I would give it a year to see how it goes. Things are going to get interesting real fast with the DF shut down.

        1
        2

          The balance that DF and Netflix provide is the cable dramas. Viki and Kocowa are mainly the big 3–KBS, MBC, SBS. Viki will rarely have a tvN, OCN, and jtbc drama. So it’s pretty much the cable dramas we’ll have a lot of trouble with for now–aside from the ones the Netflix and Amazon get.

          3
          4

            Yep. I really would love for Netflix to get the cable dramas since I already have it. Maybe now Viki can pick up some more cable dramas, since DF was their main competition in that area.

            1
            0

            Netflix needs to start uploading content live. not wait for all episodes to end.

            3
            0

            @thatstp One of the things I really loved about DF was their timely subs. They were no joke with that. Viki on the other hand is very unreliable. So I’m not too fond of the idea of them getting more cable dramas. Then you have Netflix and the infamous delay with episodes. Screwed on either end.

            2
            0

            @hades completely agree. Viki had better subs but you had to wait a long time for them. Sometimes they are 2-3 episodes behind. Let’s not talk about if it was an unpopular drama.

            3
            0

          @hades I know right? DF may not have had the most perfect subs but at least they were timely and mostly accurate. You can wait days for volunteers to finish subbing on Viki. And I grew tired of hearing that volunteers work for free and so are not obligated to finish subbing on time, especially with the increased prices for Kocowa. One would expect that they should start compensating their subbers by now. DF was also mad affordable for someone like me who’s on a tight budget. Makes me wish that DF management had remained independent and not sold its soul to Time Warner & AT&T. Now we are seeing the results of corporate greed at its finest. AT&T is planning to set up a streaming service that will rival Amazon Prime and Netflix, they fail to understand that a good number of kdrama subscribers have little interest in American shows – full of sex and violence. I quit watching American TV a number of years ago and I haven’t looked back. Kdramas have a lot of heart, it’s rare to find that on American TV.

          5
          2

            And loved their offline content feature. For someone like me who commutes an hour one way it was a perfect way to catch up on dramas. Am going to miss this so bad :((

            3
            0

            I hate to be that person, but every time someone would say subbers are working for free it irritated me so much. They worked in trade. So not paid money but not for free either. Also if I pay for a service things really should run a bit smoother. I think that’s why Rakuten started with the subbing program. It’s not as nuanced as the volunteer subs but it is faster.

            1
            0

Love this: ❤️Mystery unveiled over child actor’s face in ‘My ID is Gangnam Beauty’ http://m.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20180803000660#cb
👍🏾 Kudos to the PD for his choice in portraying the subject

3
6

    Didn’t they show her as a little girl? When she was being teased by the 3 boys

    2
    1

      Yeah, they did. But I feel the emphasis there was that she was bullied for her weight and not her looks. But I think they made a good choice in deliberately avoiding filming the teenager’s face and only focusing on the chin and eyes which were not considered “pretty” in Korean culture.

      0
      1

        I guess that makes sense but that kind of implies that it’s more acceptable to make fun of someone because of their weight? The director says he doesn’t show her face because “it could offend viewers with similar features” but doesn’t apply that same logic to kids who are overweight

        0
        1

          True. That’s a good point. I thought of this as well. Perhaps the PD wanted to drive home that with will-power she was able to overcome her weight issues but could do nothing about her looks and was still relentlessly teased so she resorted to plastic surgery as a solution to her problems. I personally have no issues with how either child/teenager looked. I’m a firm believer that true beauty comes from within, but I guess we are supposed to follow the heroine on her journey to self acceptance and love.

          1
          1

            That’s a really good point, I never thought about it that way

            0
            0

    Nobody is as ugly as our herione makes herself out to be. I also think the PD did the right thing. <3

    1
    0

Merry Christmas 🎁🎄 and a Happy New Year to Everyone!

9
1

Okay. So now we know why Ruler, Master of the Mask and Suspicious Partner each have 2 episodes a day. Is this the new way of life?? https://www.soompi.com/2017/05/14/broadcasting-stations-struggle-survive-despite-chinas-ban-korean-cultural-content/

1
3

    I just read that too and it means I will no longer complain about it. Although I’m not sure it’s a good strategy to actually have them split in two, instead of just doing commercials the ordinary way. If Koreans have to pay more for their vod service, they might just lose a lot of viewers.

    0
    1

      I was just thinking about this as well. Maybe another solution is to find alternative markets for their products other than China and Japan? The Hallyu wave is becoming more popular in Europe and the US as well. I wonder how much Dramafever and Viki pay for licenses to air their shows? Maybe pass on some more costs to the international audience? I like how Netflix is testing the waters by investing in Man to Man. Maybe it’s a sign of things to come? Though I personally don’t find it advantageous to me that Netflix buys the shows and restricts the content to its channel. I just feel that no matter how many ads you run, there’s a limit to how much the Korean public will pay for their entertainment.

      0
      1

        I was thinking the same way about Netflix. On one hand, it’s a dependable investor, but on the other hand, it’s restricting access to current fans. I’m not sure how many new fans would be made through Netflix. I guess it would depend if Netflix suggests/advertises it as much as the American shows.

        1
        0

credits to asianjunkie.com
3
0


2
0

Here’s my man, Choi Jin Hyuk, unapologetically honest and keeping it real about actors and actresses who say they don’t care about ratings. ****credits from Asianjunkie.com
3
0

https://0.soompi.io/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/04102731/53rd-Baeksang-Arts-Awards-Television.jpg

0
1

Currently RecapPing

back to top
Follow @dramabeans: