Believe me when I say I wasn’t a big fan of Korean Dramas (Kdramas).
Really, I wasn’t.
Sure, I’ve watched and swooned over the legendary picks, such as Full House, My Girl, and Sassy Girl Chun Hyang, but I was never really invested. My relationship with them was simple: they come and go and I forget – unless I wanted to kill time and feel kilig all over again.
The recent trend of loving Kdramas, however, combined with personal matters, convinced me to jump aboard the Nilamon ng Kdrama trend.
And boy, nilamon isn’t even enough.
Recently, I finished Goblin and Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo and I am still over the moon. I recalled the past dramas I watched since the craze began and realized: “Gosh, I learned a lot from them.”
Apart from the life lessons, here are the other things I got:
Oppa is LIFE
Here’s a simple kdrama equation: Oppa + YOU = ETERNAL HAPPINESS
Oppa means a girl’s older brother in Korean, but when you’re watching kdramas, it refers to that handsome guy who swept the heroine (and you) off your feet.
There’s no question that it’s all about the oppa. Sure, the heroine matters, but once you see that tall guy with beautiful eyes and a colorful hairstyle, you instantly forget. You can’t help but feel jealous when the lead female has not just one, but SEVEN oppas in her pocket.
The stars of kdramas are so attractive, you can’t help but wish the same applies in real life. #AnnyeongOppa #MarryMeOppa
Squeaky clean romances are real
GIF from Descendants of the Sun via Giphy
Contrary to American television, Korean dramas portray love in the most G-rated way possible. There’s less of the cheating and more of the sweet unrequited love concept. While there are a few slips here and there, the worst you can get is a supposed steamy shower scene – with their backs just showing.
Gossip Girl’s romance plot is far different from Descendants of the Sun. While Serena and Blair prance from one boy to another, Song Hye Kyo’s character remains ever so loyal to Song Joong Ki’s soldier and barely kisses him. With kdramas, love scenes rarely progress from the kissing part. Should theirs be a French kiss, it might become the talk of the town.
Bromances are WAY better
We get it – the show is about the love story between the hero and the heroine. But in kdramas, sometimes, the bromance wins over.
I can’t really point out why excited female viewers (such as myself) prefer the bromance. Is it because two (or more) hot guys share close proximities? Or because they’re too cute that I want we wish we could be in the middle of an oppa sandwhich?
Girls will play boys
GIF from Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo via Hipwee Community
Kdramas seem to enjoy the girls playing boys trope. From To the Beautiful You to You’re Beautiful, the lead female ends up disguising as handsome guy to get what they want. It ends up with the heroine trying to avoid suspicion through a series of comedic antics.
Recently, there hasn’t been much of girls disguising themselves, but there are plenty of dramas involving a girl surpassing the strength of a man (hello their Bok Joo). It’s weird, but when I think about it, it’s actually beautiful and empowering.
As I venture deeper down the kdrama rabbit hole, I can’t wait to see what else I’ll find out. But for now, I’ll enjoy drowning myself in the gaze of an oppa (hopefully with some bangs and a steaming bowl of jjolmyeon).
How about you? What’s your kdrama story?
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