Viki

How did you discover k-drama?

#1

Just curious. Personally I’m into Scifi, History, Politics, to lesser extent drama, fantasy, comedy and romantic stuff. I like the Walking Dead series, but the series season had just ended and I didn’t find anything new on Netflix or HBO. Ofc I was searching for series in familiar languages that I understand, being dyslexic and all. I had some very limited exposure to Chinese films, like Hua Mulan (which I had to watch on 90% speed), which I really liked. Until I just stumbled onto this just released Netflix series of Kingdom, set in Joseon Korea, with a Zombie outbreak. I really liked it. Though didn’t start watching any kdrama after bindging that, though what it did was plant the seed and destroy some bias about foreign language media (that you have to watch it on 90% speed and invest lot’s of time into it), which was important. So in august 2020 when I again ran out of series to binge on Netflix (western series availability in Finland on Netflix isn’t always good, though getting better), I found this series about North Korea called Crash landing on you, I watched some trailers, saw that they had actually made North Korean costumes, uniforms, sets etc. look really authentic, nothing like the norm, I got interested. Binged it. And then the flood gates opened and I just started going from one series to another. For a while, my Netflix page only recommended kdrama :smiley: . Haven’t stopped since, though, now I take breaks from kdrama by watching other stuff, like Star Trek Discovery, A discovery of Witches etc. before picking up on kdrama again. :slight_smile:

Looked if there where any similar topics already created, but didn’t find any so created this topic. Odd that it hasn’t come up before.

#2

I was learning Korean and at some point I went looking for things to watch in Korean … and was lucky enough to discover Viki. :slight_smile:

#3

Similar topics:

#4

‘First Drama’ and discovering a new genre is imo different. I have had lot’s of ‘first dramas’ over the years, like Watching Hua Mulan as mentioned. I’m looking more for the story and connection why someone keeps coming back. Sure, their similar and for some even almost one and the same. There’s a reason for why I like kdrama, but haven’t discovered cdrama even though I had some ‘firsts’ in cdrama :slight_smile:

#5

In one word: peer-pressure. :joy:
In a long sentence: Feeling left out and tired of hearing the the same Disney Channel plots over and over or ‘different’ plots containing suicide, high school kids jumping in and out of bed and vampires everywhere, I made the switch to the world of chaebols, chicken shops, accidental kisses and eight hours waiting for the couple to even hold hands and didn’t look back :joy:

#6

If i talk about how i discovered k drama i had say that c-drama or if i say more accurately an Ad open the doors of k drama to me cause my first asian drama was ’ Put your head on my shoulder’ (c-drama) which i accidentally discovered from an ad from then on started watching this and at first i had no idea that c-drama and k-drama are different but after some research and all i finally got the difference and hence i discovered that i am actually watching k-drama :joy::joy:cause after watching Put your head on your shoulder , i started Whats wrong with secretary kim (which was amazing) and now here i am calling myself a k,c-drama and k-pop fan :triumph::triumph:

#7

I AM SO GLAD TO HAVE FOUND VIKI! Normal people doing really good movie stuff!
hmm, You want the Truth? Ok. Here you go… I don’t know if I ‘discovered kdramas’ or grew up in a kdrama type environment. :laughing: History lesson.

Here you go - San Francisco demographics - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_San_Francisco

#8

This is true, not to the same degree as the western counter, I feel kdrama does similar things with europeans or americans, often potraying them as dumber than the Korean character or having a obviously Austrian play as an American etc.

Indeed, it’s not only racist issues they have imo, but a bunch, in this sense as kdrama is newer, it hasn’t gotten all the same biases. Though I do se things like domestic violence, stronger traditional roles etc. Though I have to say that imo kdrama has more equally developed ‘independent’ storylines than western dramas. Western dramas tend to focus more on one “main” character, though there are exeptions to these in both western and kdrama.

As for language learning, one reason I want to learn Korean is so I would be able to multitask and/or passively understand korean, though I’m still at a very basic level. :slight_smile:

I’m super curious about life in other places, hows life in the bay area? Concerning multiculturalism, do everyone get along etc. outside the media industry discussed here? :slight_smile:

Though I would happily talk politics, but it’s banned in the community rules, so I’m curious about the more mundane stuff :slight_smile:

#9

It’s like any other teeming population - 12-15 million people? - full of interesting people and places to go and things to do. Friends and foes live there. It’s very diverse. Lots of fusion and crash. Since it is on the Pacific Rim, there is a very high Asian population in the Bay Area. Maybe about 30% - From several countries - the majority being China, the Philippines, Vietnam, etc. Go read this - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_San_Francisco. and also from all the Spanish speaking countries to the south.

A great place to visit but economically difficult to live there now.

#10

Yes, That’s why it’s interesting, the fact that it’s an such high density area is hard for me to imagine, especially on such a big geographical area. As a comparison, where I live, I can walk through my town in 15min, and I think I have everything I need in it. Though I used to live in a “big city” by Finnish standards, but probably a village in some other countries.
Helsinki has high rents, but I think San Fran is higher prized.

Sad to hear that it’s so expensive, I remember the series Charmed that showed off the city, and it looked like a beautiful place. :slight_smile:

#11

It is NOTHING compared to Seoul, Tokyo or cities in China! The Bay Area is RURAL compared to those cities.

Seoul

Tokyo

Shanghai

And small potatoes, in comparison.

San Francisco

San Francisco Bay Area

#12

Actually I looked up Seoul already, the city area is like ~4/5 of my hometown, but the population is almost 2x the entire country’s population. I plan to one day visit Seoul, but I try to imagine how it is to walk around there, when do the city end, can you walk from place to place, how crowded are the streets etc. Watching kdrama doesn’t make it look so crowded or big imo. Though when I read about it, it is so massive, beyond imagination.

Btw, I don’t live in a rural area by Finnish standards, but I feel like a peasant when reading about this stuff

#13

There are plenty of Subways, buses and cars to get around with but cars are probably stuck in traffic too much.

The cities are IMMENSE! and Seoul is steep and hilly just like San Francisco so your calves will get a workout. :grin:

#14

To be perfectly honest, I think this is part of why I like kdrama so much and why I keep sticking with it. It’s just so different, and via kdrama you get to see (though sanitized) how things look and sound. So if I ever visit Seoul, I might get turned off from kdrama, when I see no forest in sight xD

#15

Respondo en español, disculpen si a alguien le incomoda. yo comencé a ver k-dramas como una terapia auto recetada para la depresión. Quería ver series románticas y descubrí acá un gran repertorio, después de ver muchos dramas románticos, melodramas y comedias románticas comencé a sonreír más, me sentí de mejor humos y hasta comencé a hacer más ejercicio por estar de buen humor. Espero que ayude a muchas otras personas de la misma forma que a mi. hace poco ví un drama que tenía errores ortográficos en los subtítulos y otro donde las palabras estaban desordenadas en las oraciones, por eso decidí comenzar a ayudar y me uní a esta hermosa comunidad. Un abrazo a todos

#16

Un abrazo. I am so glad that K-dramas helped you with your depression and that you are feeling better now.

#17

thank you :grin::blush:

#18

I think after experiencing Mumbai, I can take crowds of pretty much any size :joy: Whether you’ll enjoy it depends on whether you like noise and near-zero personal space

I googled it and there ARE a few in Seoul!! Mostly National Parks…

#19

¡Hola! Es bueno que los kdramas ayuden a curar su depresión. Gracias por ayudar con los subtítulos en español. No hablo español con fluidez, por lo que mi gramática es terrible, pero hablo California street Spanish, no español “correcto”. es bueno que la gente ayude donde pueda. He estado aprendiendo coreano y estoy aprendiendo a segmentar.

#20

My first Kdrama was what’s wrong with secretary Kim?
I really love it, it was very different from the series from my country so I feel very good, it was very different from my imagination. XD
I get to know about this drama from a Friend, she told me that she was watching it and I need to watch, I was like: I don’t want but I will try and Then… Here I am XD now I am 17 and I have a big Crush in Kdramas XD

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