Down the rabbit hole ……….

<why I love Kdrama>

One day my friend Sheila mentioned watching movies in bed on her iPad.  My ears perked up.  

That sounds like a great idea . I think I’ll try that.  I suddenly remembered that you could find movies for free on YouTube.  

Being the hopeless romantic that I am I’ve always reveled in a good love story.  That night I found an old Harlequin movie called a Leopard in the Snow.  It’s a simple story . Girl meets boy , they fall in love. There just happens to be an exotic Leopard in the story.  

I found other movies like A Secret Affaire starring Janine Turner and Paudge  Behan. Now that’s a love story for you.   

I found many others but one day a movie just popped up out of the blue called Seducing Mr Perfect . It was written in English as well as Korean.  It was about a Korean American  CEO that had offices in New York as well as Korea. He spoke Perfect English and Korean .   Having a son Inlaw that is Korean American the story line caught my attention .  I thought “ I’m going to watch this. Maybe it will give me something to talk about with Richard.   I love my son inlaw and thought this will be fun…. Good fodder for conversation.  Little did I know what I was getting myself  into.  

So I watched Seducing Mr Perfect.  It was a cute, fun Romcom.  It actually starred a well know America actor Daniel Henney . It was different than anything I had ever seen.  The story was fun, clean and a little quirky .  The next thing I knew another show popped up called My Little Bride.  Watching My Little Bride is when I fell down the rabbit hole to never return. 

Again it was clean and pure and full of poignant love between 2 lovers and their families. 

My Little Bride as most Kdramas is full of love, romance , comedy, spitefulness, vicious characters and a little slap stick thrown in.  It’s a 2 hour movie that you don’t want to end.  Full of sweetness and love that you rarely see in American movies.

Korean dramas are eye candy, filled with emotions that the viewer can relate to.  It’s called the Hallyu wave.  The Hallyu Wave refers to the Global phenomenon of South Korean entertainment culture.  It’s recognized as a form of  Soft Power. It’s an important economic asset for South Korea. Generating exports and tourism . Started in 1999 a Chinese Journalist coined the phrase Hallyu Wave.  It began slowly sweeping the country.

There is so much to say about it I don’t even know where to begin. 

The romcoms are my favorite.  The love stories are sweet . They hardly kiss.  Their hands may slightly brush each other.  The funny thing if they’re in bed 9 times out of 10 they are fully dressed in street clothing.  Ha That sort of drives me nuts . Sometimes I’m saying out loud. “ take your coat off for heaven sakes” or “put your handbag down, or hug her …..for crying out loud.” They leave the viewer longing for more.  And that’s one of the secrets to their writing. It’s done on purpose , they leave you longing for more and more. 

The OST is so much a part of the drama. The music can be both devastating and uplifting.  The well of emotions that the songs open up in the hearts of the viewers allows them to understand on a deeper level how the characters are feeling. The music for me reaches deep into my soul and again leaves you longing for more. 

The clothes , the makeup, the flawless skin. The gorgeous actors.  Some are naturally gorgeous , others have had their faces tweaked. And no wonder South Korea is the Plastic surgery capital of the world.  They are also famous for their beauty products . 

If you love high fashion clothes like I do, you will fall in love with Kdrama . It’s a fantasy for me. These actors are wearing on a daily basis wardrobes that I could never afford much less have any where to wear if I did have the money .  I lust over the long coats on the male leads. They are wearing coats that are $3000 and up.  And the female leads, if they are not portraying someone very poor they are dressed in the most gorgeous outfits.  One drama comes to mind called Playful Kiss.  There is a housewife in the show that is home all the time cooking and cleaning , her clothes are absolutely stunning .  She is wearing couture!  Who dresses  like that just hanging around the house doing dishes?  

There is a lot of product placement in the shows. 

They are selling expensive cars and instant coffee, jewelry from Tiffanys, and If I see another sandwich from Subway or they are always having lunch at a Subway ( Subway must be all over SK) I may throwup.  Subway must give them a whole lot of money but that’s ok I love the shows. They can advertise all they want I will not eat at one. 

One thing that stands out in Kdramas or movies is food.  In American shows do you see them talking about food.  No.  Korean shows are most importantly about food.  There is always cooking and eating.  Food is very important in Asian culture.  Instead of How are you ? It is very common for them to say have you eaten?  You learn so much about the culture watching the dramas.  Families eat together. After work it is very common for workers and their bosses to eat and drink together.   You learn that they do have a drinking problem in South Korea.  In Seoul for instance you can call a driver and someone will show up to drive you home in your car and hand you the keys back when you arrive. 

So many of the Kdramas are in my opinion Master pieces. Fantasy abound in many of them, others are very real and touch on everyday emotions that all people have.   As I said before the wardrobes , the colors the beautiful actors, the make up even on the guys are meant to enhance what you are seeing on the screen. In between each episode is beautiful art work and sometimes quotes which you do not see in American television or films.  For an example there is a drama on Netflix called Romance is a bonus book.   It’s a story for the love of books and what goes on in a Publishing House.  In between episodes you see pages turning and quotes moving across the screen such as:

“We are trees that branch out in solitude and bear fruits. We are beautiful trees with growth rings of our lives.    Pride in creating, trust, and happiness those are what it means to make a book . Only after finishing the book, I can see what I missed and life goes the same. “Everyone has their on Tunnel to Pass. “

“A Hand from others helps us forget out fear. “

“A book that inspires others may not always

 inspire you, so find a book that does”

‘When we exchange lines from our heart we cry, smile, and learn to love others.”

“IN life we face many hurdles . We use each other’s love to jump over them “

‘Loving someone is strange and amazing at the same time “

“. Your hand is always warm” “Because I want you to be warm “ 

“The Moon is Beautiful” Is a phrase that the famous Japanese novelist Natsum Soueki produced to express the Japanese equivalent of “I love you”

So instead of saying I love you. You say “The Moon is beautiful”

The cinematography is phenomenal.  The Kdrama Encounter was so stunning it made me want to travel to Cuba and the Story the Legend of the blue Lagoon is absolutely gorgeous. 

The writing is unique and extraordinary . All in all the shows are designed to pull you in.

I could go on and on about why I love Kdrama but you have to see for your self.  But be careful the rabbit hole is deep.