K-Dramas: 아이구!

[joshleejosh]

Since I visit my parents for Christmas most years, my actual winter break TV usually ends up being Korean dramas. I am not immune to their charms: fancy costumes, absurd hair, and Every! Emotion! Amped Up! To! 11! Of course, since my parents are getting direct Korean feeds, I have to watch without subtitles, and since I only speak like six words of Korean, it makes following the shows kind of a challenge.

 

Empress Ki is apparently the big new series of the fall, and it's on Hulu, so I can actually understand what people are talking about. It starts out as an adventure in the "girl dresses as a boy and somehow no one notices" vein (á la Mulan or As You Like It), then pivots into palace intrigue between empresses, concubines, etc. (sort of like Reign minus the vague supernatural stuff). There's also a bunch of political wrangling and a few wars breaking out here and there, because if there's one thing you can count on K-dramas for, it's lots and lots of plot.

 

Do K-dramas only appeal to Koreans (and Koreanophiles? Is that even a thing?), or do other people enjoy subtitled bulk melodrama?

[Edna Crandall]

My white mother is OBSESSED with Korean dramas. I can kind of see the appeal when I watch with her, but I don't go out of my way to watch on my own. She did live in Korea for a few years in the 70s, but doesn't speak Korean or otherwise obsess about Korean things. We got some sort of fancy cable when I was 11 or so and a big selling point was the Korean channels. 

 

I didn't know you could get any of the shows on Hulu. Maybe I'll try and keep up with one she watches so we can discuss. 

[Abidarcy18]

I have recently (3 months ago) been introduced to Korean dramas and am now obsessed. I just binged watched City Hunter and the King 2 hearts in the last 3 weeks. CurrentIy watching I need romance 3 and liking it so far.

My favorite (out of the 7 I have watched till the end) is Coffee Prince.

[Ankai]

I learned about Jewel in the Palace back in 2005 (also back when I still lived with my parents and the AZN network was still around). I got obsessed with K-Dramas back then, despite some misgivings that I had about the dead-space pacing and the occasionally awkward scene structure and the overly-bright lighting and the need to sap characters of their personalities when they finally fall in love. I kind of fell out of love with K-Dramas around 2010, but I will still occasionally give a snoop of a couple episodes on Hulu.

[Callasin]

Is anyone watching Two Women's Room on SBS or Wonderful Days on KBS?

[SVNBob]

I didn't know you could get any of the shows on Hulu.

Not just Hulu, but there's also a sub-Hulu site called DramaFever.  It mainly deals in Asian programs (K-Dramas and K-Variety, with a sprinkling of J-Drama and I think a C-Drama or two), but also has some Spanish-language programs.  Plus some shows get Spanish subtitling in addition to the English.

I primarily watch the big 3 K-Variety shows they have: 1 Night 2 Days, Infinite Challenge, and Running Man.  But based on those, I do have a few dramas in my queue to watch.  The newest of them is Emergency Couple, which I picked up because I am a fan of the lead actress, Song Ji Hyo.

[edra]

Haha, I was just about to make a foreign dramas thread :).

[BizBuzz]

My mother is 91 and binge watches Korean dramas every day. She tells me all the time that it is way better than any American TV show. She says, they laugh a lot, they cry a lot, they yell a lot, but they all love each other and it is "clean" TV. I have so far resisted getting involved, but I have to say, I am intrigued.

It doesn't help matters any when my 14 year old knows the words to some Korean pop music and listens to it on her computer all the time!

And oh yeah. She says all Korean actors/actresses have the whitest and straightest teeth!

[Raja]

Do K-dramas only appeal to Koreans (and Koreanophiles? Is that even a thing?), or do other people enjoy subtitled bulk melodrama?

Some are dubbed to Tagalog and shown in the Philippines. I was surprised when one was broadcast on one of the Filipino networks in America

[SVNBob]

And as I said above, there are several K-dramas with Spanish subtitles on Dramafever.  I imagine the crossover potential there is with a telenovela loving audience.

[Raja]

But then the Filipino networks American outreach stations all claim to keep[ expats in touch with Las Pinas. They have a full plate of homegrown teleserye to rotate through along with the news, game shows the Philippines versions of The Voice, Got Talent etc. To see a dubbed  K-Drama show up, which might be one in ten teleseryes rotated through the years seems as weird as them rebroadcasting American or Australian TV 

[Athena]

Do K-dramas only appeal to Koreans (and Koreanophiles? Is that even a thing?), or do other people enjoy subtitled bulk melodrama?

 

K-Dramas are very popular among East Asians. Almost all the top and popular K-Dramas get subbed or dubbed into other Asian markets: China, Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand, Japan, Malayasia, etc. Some K-dramas that do not do well in South Korea end up doing well internationally; I think Playful Kiss is the best example of this.

 

Korean culture (music, tv, film, fashion and technology) has heavily influenced East Asia in the last two decades so the majority of the people I know in the West who watch Asian dramas are people of Asian descent like myself. It depends on various reasons but I enjoy the style, the sense of humor and they can be very entertaining.

 

I've noticed that there a big group of Western viewers such as @BizBuzz 's mother like k-dramas because of their "clean" factor. South Korea is in some ways much more conservative than Taiwan, China and Japan. Their TV programming results in very little sex, bad language or gore. Up until a few years ago, most couples didn't even French kiss on the shows and sex is only ever vaguely alluded to, never shown on screen. I enjoy watching K-drama romcoms, but they are sometimes way too chaste for me which can be great if you have kids or dislike watching that kind of thing.

[Chrissytd]

Not just Hulu, but there's also a sub-Hulu site called DramaFever.  It mainly deals in Asian programs (K-Dramas and K-Variety, with a sprinkling of J-Drama and I think a C-Drama or two), but also has some Spanish-language programs.

There's also Viki, which also has a large amount of Tdramas, Cdramas, and Jdramas.

 

I enjoy watching K-drama romcoms, but they are sometimes way too chaste for me which can be great if you have kids or dislike watching that kind of thing.

One thing that sometimes bugs me about romcoms is that the setup is the same rich guy, poor girl. It can get a little repetitive.

The only drama I'm watching at the moment is Secret Love Affair.

[glitterpants]

I didn't know this thread existed! I'm a sucker for silly rom-com tropes so I tend to gravitate towards k-dramas with that kind of premise. I'd say my all time favourite is Coffee Prince, and lately I've enjoyed Personal Preference (haiii Lee Min-Ho). I'm currently making my way through The Prime Minister and I (a tabloid journalist and the prime minister fake a relationship to avoid a scandal), You Who Came From the Stars (romance between an alien and a popular actress!) Reply 1997 (we follow a group a teenager during that year), and a Witch's Romance. 

 

Does anyone here watch j-dramas too? I know k-dramas have been a lot more popular and thriving lately but I've really loved the ones I watched years ago (and I like their shorter format too) so I'm looking for more recent recommendations.

Edited June 15, 2014 by glitterpants

[Athena]

@glitterpants , I haven't seen a lot of j-dramas, but I'd like to. I quite liked Hana Yori Dango which I found much better than the Korean Boys Over Flowers (also with Lee Min Ho - great eye candy show but that's it).

 

My favourite is Coffee Prince too. I really have a soft spot for Yoon Eun Hye. She was the best thing about Princess Hours and she was fun in Lie to Me as well. I also liked Playful Kiss a lot and found Rooftop Prince mostly amusing. I enjoyed You Who Came from the Stars as well.

[glitterpants]

@glitterpants , I haven't seen a lot of j-dramas, but I'd like to. I quite liked Hana Yori Dango which I found much better than the Korean Boys Over Flowers (also with Lee Min Ho - great eye candy show but that's it).

 

My favourite is Coffee Prince too. I really have a soft spot for Yoon Eun Hye. She was the best thing about Princess Hours and she was fun in Lie to Me as well. I also liked Playful Kiss a lot and found Rooftop Prince mostly amusing. I enjoyed You Who Came from the Stars as well.

 

I loved Hana Yori Dango too and never warmed up to Boys Over Flowers (it actually got worse as it went along, I thought). I also really liked Matsumoto Jun in Kimi Wa Petto, which has such a strange concept but completely works.

Yoon Eun Hye is fantastic! There's a genuine quality to her acting that is so appealing. I've tried watching  a couple of her more recent dramas (including Lie to Me) - I never really got into them, but I may have been spoiled by Coffee Prince. 

[BuddhaBelly]

I got sucked into Korean dramas by 100 Year Inheritance on Netflix and I've been caught up ever since. It's a good thing I watch a limited amount of tv now because I wouldn't have the time. I'm a bit sad because the current crop of dramas aren't doing it for me and I'm slowly giving up on Hotel King because I can see it going off the rails. The mid-late summer crop looks amazing with Joseon Gunman, Night Watchman, Three Musketeers, It's Okay, It's Love and the Fated To Love You remake.

[edra]

I got sucked into Korean dramas by 100 Year Inheritance on Netflix and I've been caught up ever since. It's a good thing I watch a limited amount of tv now because I wouldn't have the time. I'm a bit sad because the current crop of dramas aren't doing it for me and I'm slowly giving up on Hotel King because I can see it going off the rails. The mid-late summer crop looks amazing with Joseon Gunman, Night Watchman, Three Musketeers, It's Okay, It's Love and the Fated To Love You remake.

I gave up on Hotel King on episode 2, just wasn't feeling.

 

Currently watching Glorious Day and the OTP are just so good and cute together, really like the couple. After initially giving up on Triangle, I picked it up again and it's gotten quite good, despite its slow start, which is opposite to Dr. Stranger which seems directionless at the moment. Really wanted to watch Big Man, but not a fan of both leads - one is too quirky, the other to blah. Never even bothered with the over-hyped You're All Surrounded.

[muffkins]

My 13 year old daughter (she is my avatar) watches any of the Korean shows she can find on Netflix.  She likes them because they are romantic, but not sexual.  I find some of the concepts very old fashioned, but the stories are fairly easy to follow.  I get a little bored when she is binge watching them, but I would rather she watch those shows than things like The Walking Dead.  I have a hard time with gore in full colour on my living room wall.

[SVNBob]

The site for K-Dramas and other K-programming that I keep talking about, DramaFever, is having an anniversary sale.  Since they're now 5 years old, they're offering their Premium service (HD, commercial-free) for $5 a month, which is half their normal premium subscription rate.

 

They're always adding new shows too.  Recent additions include High School - Love On, a school romance story about a teenager and his guardian angel, and Joseon Gunman, a historical about the son of the last swordsman of the Joseon period using the new technology of firearms to get revenge after his family is murdered.  I've added the latter to my queue to watch.

 

(ETA: On a side note, I just found out their customer service/support department is also very good.  If you e-mail them about an issue, like billing (which mine was), you first get an automated response.  It says they received your mail and that a human being will read and respond to it within 24 hours.  And I did get a friendly and professional response within that time-frame and did get my issue resolved.  So more points in their favor.)

Edited July 22, 2014 by SVNBob

[BuddhaBelly]

Anyone keeping up with the mid summer shows? I'm really enjoying Fated to Love You and It's Okay, It's Love. Oh and Marriage, Not Dating. I was into Joseon Gunman at the beginning but like all sageuks I get bored as time goes on. I'm happy I like this set because the previous group was terrible and I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy what's coming next.

[MrMattyMatt]

I just love K-dramas!  I got hooked on them for a while this past winter.  Oh the never-ending crying and love triangles, how could you not get hooked?

 

Sadly, I can't seem to find them anymore in my Amazon Kindle Instant Video searches.  

[BizBuzz]

I just love K-dramas!  I got hooked on them for a while this past winter.  Oh the never-ending crying and love triangles, how could you not get hooked?

 

Sadly, I can't seem to find them anymore in my Amazon Kindle Instant Video searches.  

 

My Mom (92) is addicted.  She has a Drama Fever account and that is where she gets most.  I have given her access to my HuluPlus account and there are tons on there as well.  She rather watch on DF because no commercials. 

[Athena]

Another site that I've used for video streaming of Asian TV and movies is Viki. They also have a premium subscription line, but you can watch a number of dramas with ads on the site. 

[MrMattyMatt]

Thank you @Athena - I'm assuming they are subtitled, correct?

[Athena]

Thank you @Athena - I'm assuming they are subtitled, correct?

 

Yes, several languages in fact. The site use to be primarily run and subbed by volunteers similar to how "Wiki" is maintained. 

[BuddhaBelly]

 

Sadly, I can't seem to find them anymore in my Amazon Kindle Instant Video searches

 

There are tons of other resources. Viki.com is one. Dramafever is another. These are two that get licensing and of course there are other sites where shows are hosted and subtitled by communities.

[ouinason]

I love Kdrama so much. I got started with Lie to Me on Netflix by accident, I thought it was the American show and wasn't paying attention when I clicked it. I now troll Crunchyroll, KDrama (which is now SoompiTV), Vicki and Dramafever looking for new stuff. Just finished Glorious Day, A Little Love Never Hurts, Mama, Jang Bo Ri is Here and am still working on Secret Hotel, What Happens to my family, Modern Farmer, My lovely girl, my spring day and other stuff.

I like Vicki the best only because I can watch it on all of my devices on a free account and the timed comments on the screen can be a hoot. There is nothing better than snarking on something and looking up to see other people do the same.

Plus Vicki is by far cheaper for a paid account than the others at only 4 bucks, which means it doesn't conflict with my World of Warcraft budget, lol.

[BatmanBeatles]

My daughter started watching Boys Over Flowers. It's so cheesy, but we like it and there is plenty of eye candy for her. My husband even likes it, which surprises me.

[Chrissytd]

A few days ago, I completed Fabulous Boys (Taiwanese remake of You're Beautiful). I vaguely remember YB since I watched it 2011 but I prefered FB over it.

[VCRTracking]

I typed in "Pinocchio" in my Tumblr search, meaning the story of the puppet brought to life as adapted by Disney. What I got were not only items about that in my tag but stuff about this Korean drama of apparently the same name that was made last year. I looked it up on Wikipedia and the plot sounds insane.

[Fei Wen]

I'm watching Signal, which reminds me of the movie Frequency. Two cops, one from the past and one from the future, are able to communicate with each other through a two-way radio. Depending on what information they share with each other and what actions they take, certain people are saved and others die. Quite a nail-biter!

Cheese in the Trap is an interesting college romance. The main guy is complex. He seems like a good person, but is manipulative and calculating toward those he thinks deserve it. Neither the main girl nor the audience know whether to trust him or not.

One More Happy Ending really surprised me with a sudden Conan O'Brien cameo. Very surreal! Wasn't expecting to see him on a Korean show.

[STFUFrank]

I'm new to Korean dramas thanks to a friend of mine. I've since watched Coffee Prince and Oh My Ghost. I'm beginning Goblin and on Hulu I'm watching Heirs. I loved Coffee Prince and Oh My Ghost. 

[Maelstrom]

I watched my first Kdrama (You From Another Star) and boy was I hooked. I think I've watched probably about half a dozen or so since then. I Hear Your Voice and Healer were among my very faves. I haven't had time to immerse myself in any for a couple of months, but I'm thinking next month I'll just get a Viki or Dramafever subscription and catch up on some of the shows that caught my eye (Goblin and While You Were Sleeping being at the top of the list - I love fantasy/scifi and anything with Lee Jong-Seok).

[cheeztoast]

I've fallen down the K-drama hole on Netflix. So far I've only watched Hello, My Twenties (Age of Youth in Korea) and Let's Eat. I don't know if they are exaggerating the amount of food that tiny Korean people eat (I used to be a tiny Chinese girl, now a medium-sized Chinese lady) but it is amazing. I know I will end up watching everything that Netflix now suggests. I am doomed!

[SVNBob]

Netflix now has an original K-drama...except it's not totally a drama.  I think it's actually at the intersection of K-drama and K-variety.

The show is called Busted!, and it's a pretty cool concept.  Like a standard K-variety show, the cast is made up of celebrities from various professions (comedians, actors, idols).  But instead of just being themselves, they're playing "roles" and there's an over-all dramatic arc to the series.  Each of the cast are playing detectives of some kind, and the first episode brings them together to form a mystery-solving team.

First couple of episodes are out, and they're pretty good; a nice mix of serious and silly.  The remaining 8 episodes will be coming out on the same schedule of 2 per week (the second ever non-American Netflix production to get this kind of release schedule).  Definitely worth a look.

[STFUFrank]

I'm eagerly awaiting the Korean remake of Suits to appear on Viki or DramaFever. I've only just recently gotten into OG Suits (The US version that starred the newest Duchess Meghan Markle) and now I want to watch the Korean version. 

[STFUFrank]

It's a sad day. DramaFever closed. Thank god for Viki but I still need to find a platform to finish watching Emergency Couple. 

[Maelstrom]

Wow, that is sad about DramaFever! I kept thinking I'd restart my subscription when life settled down but never got back to it. Like you say, thank goodness for Viki. It better not go anywhere, it has the best subtitles I've come across.

I recently watched My Horrible Boss on Netflix, mostly because I'd enjoyed the male lead in I Hear Your Voice, and was quite pleasantly surprised. It had good leads and a good story, with minimal angst and melodrama. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun Kdrama.

Edited October 21, 2018 by Maelstrom

[ouinason]

Everyone needs to watch "The Last Empress", that is some damn crazy melodrama.

[STFUFrank]

On 4/4/2019 at 4:17 PM, ouinason said:

Everyone needs to watch "The Last Empress", that is some damn crazy melodrama.

I watched that one too! I was pretty surprised at how steamy the scenes were with the Emperor and his mistress/secretary. That was quite racy for a Kdrama. 

[ouinason]

If you wanna cry like a little baby, watch Hotel Del Luna.  

Doctor John is a good medical drama, though I think the translated name is a bit off.

If you want family drama, watch the Great Show

I'm trying to watch Graceful Family, but it kind of pisses me off how horrible the characters are.

And I like Extraordinary You, life inside a romance manga... as a side character.

[SVNBob]

Season 2 of the Netflix original Busted! that I posted about last year is coming on November 8th.  It ended on a good cliffhanger, so seeing that get resolved will be nice.

From the description, there's going to be more recurring characters this season.  Several guest stars will be portraying a division of the Seoul Police that the main cast will be working with throughout their cases.

[cynic]

I've become addicted to kdramas and am so sad there's no activity here. 😞

Edited May 31, 2020 by cynic

[Maelstrom]

I love Kdramas too, cynic! :) What are you watching?

I've just started Oh My Ghost, and I can see why it's a bit of a classic though it's five years old now. Lots of fun, good family and friendships, and the lead actress is doing a great job with dual roles of sorts. Also, I'm always a sucker for fantasy elements in any story.

I go through phases where I'll watch several, and then not watch any for months. Granted it often depends on real life busyness and whether there's anything that catches my interest on Netflix - unfortunately Hulu's subtitles are extremely hard to read on my tv for some reason. Which sucks, since they often have dramas that Netflix doesn't. But one of these days I'll have to just give in and restart my Viki subscription, so I can dive back into Kdramas for real.

Edited June 1, 2020 by Maelstrom

[SVNBob]

7 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

But one of these days I'll have to just give in and restart my Viki subscription,

There's another service you might want to look into: Kocowa.

It's a joint venture between the three main Korean networks (KBS, SBS, and MBC) that was designed to be a central hub for their international streaming distribution to other services like Viki.  Also, the shows on Kocowa are professionally subtitled and don't rely on crowd-sourced fan-subbing.

[ouinason]

that's interesting.  I looked at Kocowa, but at the time thought I was fine with Viki and didn't want to get another service involved.  I think I will look there again since a lot of the shows I want to watch on Viki are region locked for me.

 

I don't watch dramas on Netflix that much because the subs are small and you can't adjust their size, color, and font like you can on Hulu and Viki.

[Maelstrom]

On 6/1/2020 at 10:21 PM, SVNBob said:

There's another service you might want to look into: Kocowa.

Ah, I remember coming across that name years back before I signed up for Viki. I'll have to check them out again and see what kind of selection they have. Thanks!

On 6/2/2020 at 5:13 AM, ouinason said:

I don't watch dramas on Netflix that much because the subs are small and you can't adjust their size, color, and font like you can on Hulu and Viki.

Funny, Netflix's subtitles don't give me a problem (I made it through all 50 eps of The Untamed with no trouble) but Hulu's do when I watch through a Roku on my tv. Small, skinny yellow text, wtf? I can adjust them just fine on my computer but prefer watching from the comfort of my couch. Too bad all these streaming services can't just all offer adjustable subs on all platforms, right, and make it easy on us.

Edited June 3, 2020 by Maelstrom

[ouinason]

That would be nice.

 

I'm legally blind though, so the white text on the screen is a no go for me.  I do watch some things on Netflix (like Kingdom) but I prefer not to.

[Maelstrom]

Finished Oh My Ghostess, and it's definitely one of the best I've watched. The two leads turn in some excellent performances, and the supporting cast are all quite good too. The story hits all the right notes, and I have to say that the villain ended up being one of the most chilling murderers I've ever watched on a tv show. But thankfully the murder and mayhem didn't take over the show like most US shows nowadays, and all of our characters got a sweet ending. Highly recommend for anyone who hasn't seen it. There's a Thai (I think) remake of it as well.

So despite telling myself I'd give Oh My Ghostess time to settle in my brain, I turned around and started another one, also on Netflix, called My Only Love Song. It's about a bitchy actress in a period piece who ends up time traveling back to the era in question, via magic VW bus. It's ridiculous and completely absurd but in the best way. Definitely the show to watch if you want to laugh a lot without having to use your brain, and still be entertained.