Today, we’re joined by our friend Malcolm for a special episode introducing the world of K Dramas to beginners. Whether you’re a longtime fan or have never watched a Korean drama before, this episode is designed to help you understand what makes K Dramas so compelling, why they’ve become a global phenomenon, and where to begin your own K Drama journey. We discuss:
What defines a K Drama, how Korean television has evolved since the Korean War, and how the Korean Wave (Hallyu) transformed these shows into worldwide hits.
Where to watch K Dramas today, including Netflix, Disney+/Hulu, Amazon Prime, Viki, and Kocowa, plus why Viki remains a favorite for translations.
How Joanna, Sung Hee, and Malcolm each discovered K Dramas and the shows that turned them into lifelong fans.
Why K Dramas stand apart through heartfelt storytelling, unforgettable characters, gorgeous cinematography, and beautiful original soundtracks.
Our recommendations for the best K Dramas for beginners, with picks ranging from Crash Landing on You, Hotel Del Luna, Mr. Queen, Queen of Tears, Kingdom, Hospital Playlist, Business Proposal, 25 21, My Name, and more.
The importance of understanding Korean culture, including Confucian values, filial piety, personal morality, social harmony, and how these shape the stories and characters we love.
The influence of Korea’s chaebol system, Korean history, and the country’s hierarchical society on modern and historical K Dramas.
Why Korean language, honorifics, and forms of address matter, and why subtitles often cannot perfectly capture the original dialogue.
Some of our favorite K Drama elements, including the White Truck of Death, piggyback rides, product placement, holding hands, quirky best friends, the trip-and-catch, and so many more recurring moments.
Why food and alcohol play such an important role in K Dramas, from ramyeon and Korean fried chicken to Korean barbecue, banchan, and the famous "come up for ramyeon" invitation.
How and why OSTs are so important to K Dramas, and we mention some of our favorite songs, including Love Maybe, Day and Night, The Way Home, and memorable soundtracks from Hotel Del Luna, Crash Landing on You, Business Proposal, Hospital Playlist, Lovely Runner, Queen of Tears, Start-Up, and many more.
The many genres within K Dramas—including romance, fantasy, historical dramas, slice of life, thrillers, action, zombie stories, and makjang revenge dramas—and our personal favorites.
Why we strongly recommend watching with subtitles instead of dubbed audio to fully appreciate the actors’ original performances.
Malcolm’s advice for introducing friends and family to K Dramas by choosing shows that match their interests rather than assuming everyone wants to watch a romance.
Our encouragement to new viewers: give a K Drama four episodes before deciding whether it’s for you—you just might discover your next favorite television obsession.
K Drama Chat is a weekly podcast where we take one Korean (K) Drama each season and and recap and analyze each episode. K Drama Chat is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pandora.
Wonderful episode, guys! I was visiting with a few friends and former coworkers last night, and the subject of "tv shows" and "what are you watching?" came up. When I mentioned k-dramas, they looked at me like a grew a second head -- it's true many Americans equate "k-drama" solely with rom-coms, so it was as if I announced I love watching Hallmark channel movies in a foreign language. Knowing my odd sense of humor and eclectic taste, they were certain I was making a joke!
ReplyDeleteAs I attempted to convince them otherwise, it became clear the major barrier as they saw it was SUBTITLES. I think many of us are addicted to our phones, at least to a certain extent, and mindless scrolling has become a regular part of the tv-watching experience.
"It's true," I explained to my (younger) friends, "you do have to put your phone down to watch."
You guys covered a lot of ground regarding meeting potential new viewers where they are, and I'll add one more -- maybe don't pick a show (even a FANTASTIC one) with TOO MANY episodes. Wait for the k-drama hook to get into 'em first!
While I still have a bit of romance left in this heart, I've just never been a huge "rom-com" fan. In that way, I'm glad C.L.O.Y. was not my introduction -- it wouldn't have worked for me. What brought me in were shows such as "Gyeongseong Creature," "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," "Strong Girl Nam-soon" and my first favorite "Castaway Diva."
As a new, American viewer, my biggest SURPRISE was that you ASSUME these shows follow a simple premise ("aspiring young k-pop singer is stranded on a desert island, and once she returns to civilization, seeks out her favorite pop star idol") but after a few episodes you find yourself surprised again and again, as the show takes on deeper, different issues (VERY different from a Hallmark movie, for example, where what you see is what you get!).
Jeff, I appreciate your comments very much. I especially like your comment that K Dramas most certainly do not follow a simple formula. The storytelling is just superb and these shows twist and turn and keep you guessing. So glad you are on this journey with us! I hope this episode convinces a few of your friends to give K Dramas a try!
DeleteJeff, you are right about CLOY. It was my 3rd Kdrama (after EAW and Do You Like Brahms) and when my brother asked for a recommendation, I was sure that CLOY was the one. I saw it as a perfect mix of action, comedy, romance, drama and cultural history. Something for everyone. He didn't like it at all! Stopped after 2 episodes.
ReplyDeleteInteresting about the subtitles. We've had a popular public foreign language broadcast channel for decades in my country that runs subtitled international TV shows, movies and news, so its not that weird here.
Was mostly streaming from that before Netflix. Come to think of it Kim's Convenience (without subtitles) was a bit of a Kdrama gateway drug!
PS I know a show is for me if I'm not tempted to reach for my phone. :)
DeleteI wonder if reading subtitles counts as 'mindfulness'. ?
Doremi and Jeff, you are right that subtitles seem to be the dealkiller. But can you imagine Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway or George Clooney being dubbed in another language? Their voices are so distinctive! But then again, if a person new to K Dramas can fall in love with K Dramas that are dubbed, then I say go for it! Maybe later, they'll try a show with subtitles! To each their own!
DeleteI loved this episode, so helpful. I think Joanna, Sung hee and Malcolm have done us all a favor by giving us a promotional tool to help get friends and family onboard.
ReplyDeleteHere’s my theory about subtitles. When you can’t “listen” while you’re scrolling on your phone, you are absorbed, more pleased when it’s good and more critical when it is bad. Therefore you enjoy the good stuff more than you would in your native language, because of the extra focus.
I have never liked dubbing since I watched a dubbed Italian movie as a child. The voice stopped but the woman’s mouth was still moving! So gross. So I always used subtitles before Kdramas. My intro was My Mister, sort of the deep end of the
drama pool, but the writing was so good that I was hooked for good after that.
I wish they were all that good, but many are great, and you can’t produce a winner each time. I thought I was done with the chaebol/Cinderella genre, but then Dynamite Kiss came along and I loved it. I have high hopes for several upcoming shows this fall.
Ellen, you are so right! When I'm listening to an audiobook or watching an English show, I sometime multitask. It's common for me to be in the kitchen, cooking away while listening to a show or audiobook. But with subtitles, you need to pay attention and keep your eyes on the screen AND stay focused. Maybe that's why I have fallen in love with them. They have demanded my attention and my focus. As a result, I have gone deeper and appreciated them more.
DeleteWhat a delightful episode! We share the same favourite songs ' Day and Night' and ' Same Sky, Different World'.
ReplyDeleteMy first drama was Cloy and it's still my best- loved show. My watching it had nothing to do with covid but all to do with articles published in the Swiss media.There was apparently a small village near Brienz (Iseltwald) where tourist from all over the world were flocking to because of a Korean Netflix series.And this caused by a very short scene shot on a pier. It created a lot of problems, because there was not enough space for this kind of crowd..My curiosity was awoken because I could not understand why people would travel so far only to visit a ( in my opinion) quite ordinary pier..To make a long story short, since then I visited the pier myself and all the other filming locations in Switzerland too.
I'm a big Kdrama and OST fan now.
This was a great episode as usual. I just found myself laughing out loud when you were talking about the K drama elements. They are so much fun except for the crying of course. No one near me understands why I like K dramas except my daughter. She’s the one that got me started with alchemy of souls. It’s amazing that I got addicted after that because when I was watching alchemy of souls as a beginner, it was very complicated and confusing, but I stuck it out because my daughter loved it so much. CLOY was my second K drama and then I just went crazy forward and watched everything I could lay my eyes on. I do have one friend who decided to try one for my sake and I think I made a mistake by telling her to watch. We are All Trying Here. . So I gave her your advice and said try to get through at least four episodes and then if you don’t like it, try CLOY. I love subtitles because I am hearing impaired. However, that cuts down the effect of the OST’s for me. I try to listen to the soundtrack on Spotify when I’m driving sometimes so that I can appreciate the beauty of them. Literally the writers blow my mind almost every K drama. I watch, and I feel that they are by far superior to American show writers in so many ways. I like the one comment about Hallmark movies. Before K dramas, I always looked forward to Christmas and the Hallmark movies. The one thing that they share in common with K dramas is that they are chaste. But the plot line is so frustrating because it basically seems like it’s the same thing over and over with no depth whatsoever. So when I found K dramas, I was in love and will remain so. Thank you for all of your podcasts. I dream of being able to meet up with you someday!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this episode so much, Joanna, Sunghee and Malcolm. It’s great that the three of you like different genre. CLOY, for me, is the best gateway drama. I couldn’t imagine how it would be if I didn’t start with it. That series just pulled me right in. I agree that Dynamite Kiss, Business Proposal and Kingdom would be a great beginners list. After finishing Perfect Crown, I would add that, too.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the kdrama 101 so much I listened to it again! Thank you for this delightful episode !
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the kdrama 101so much I listened to it again ! Thank you for this delightful episode !
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