I've learned quite a bite of Korean, where sometimes even without subtitles I'm starting to get the general idea :), which is kind of awesome!

I also learned quite a bit of HAIRSTYLES. haha YES i'm talking about those side pony tails, buns, braids... love them!

It wasn't exactly something that I changed persay, but after I started watching Kdramas, my dad started watching them too.

I was home from college winter break of my sophmore year, and out of nowhere my dad tells me "we're getting you texting on your cell phone". I was confused and asked why, and my dad's explanation was that "when I watch kdramas, i noticed that texting is a very important part of young people's lives. you should have texting".

haha so kdrama improved my phone plan!

Since watching dramas, I've come to eat my ramen noodles with chopsticks, pick up Korean and use it, eat kimchi, and mix my foods together like the dish where the actors mix rice and vegetables together. haha, I they've had such a crazy impact on me. Now I want to learn Korean and even travel there xD.

I'm a U.S. citizen by the way.

i guess the normal "koreaboo" stuff, haha. :P first off i'll waste away hours of my time watching kdramas, and then after i finish them, looking up mvs of them on youtube and downloading their osts. i started actively/obsessively listening to kpop and following the various bands and whatnot. there is a nice little korean restaurant right off of campus that i go to with delicious food that i've only tried after being introduced to kdramas. i've bought a necklace from 49 days. i go to super h-mart, a korean supermarket with little stores inside of it. also, i want to go to all of the korean restaurants and bakeries and the porridge place around it! i started up a private little facebook club for my friend and i to talk about korean stuff, since my friends don't like us doing that around them. xD i want to go to korea, and i'm... sort of kind of not really learning korean from kdramas and kpop and whatnot. yep. i say "shiro" a lot. why korea why.

Resident lurker reporting for duty! Yep, if this were a drama, I'd be the weird girl stalking your website.

Dramas give me the worst food envy possible. Ramen is now one of my favorite foods, and my rice and noodle intake has shot through the roof since I started watching KDramas. That's about as far as I go with the food, though, because I'm pretty sure my family would freak out if I started eating kimchi and kimbap.

Congratulations for making it to your 5-year anniversary! Maybe after five more years I'll have broken out of the lurker club and started commenting more regularly. Happy birthday, Dramabeans!

I started addicted to K-dramas since 2006 thanks to my sis. The first CDs she bought was Delightful Girl Choon Hyang (or named Odyssey Girl for distribution in my country) and I loved it to the max! Thus, my first email account was made by that name and still using it until today. My sis and I always watch the K-drama CDs together (at that time Internet Connection was so slow in our home so anything such as Dramafever and Crunchyroll wouldn't work for us). We always argued and commented almost about everything regarding any dramas. The only time we agreed on anything was when someone in the drama eating ramyun. We'd look at each other and say 'wanna eat Maggi?' (famous brand of instant noodles in our place). Then, we paused the drama and cooked some noodles and ate it right inside the pot just like the actors/actresses always do while resuming the drama. Ramyun in K-dramas always alluring and looked so delicious! Drooling. Few years back my sis went to Korea and brought some Korean kimchi but it went bad due to our country's humidity. I was so sad not being able to taste it. Then my sis suggested to make our own kimchi. It was so easy to make. The best way to eat it, is of course when added to instant noodles. Anyone who watch K-drama won't escape the urge to say few korean words. My favs are babo, aishh as bad words are always easy to be remembered for me ;) . I also nickname my sis, ahjumma even at first she refused to answer me back but now she just like yea whatever. Glad my sis brought me into this addiction coz I can never imagine living without all the excitement (sometime disappointing) from K-dramas.
I truly hope I'll win this giveaway, so that I can share the happiness with my sis. Sis, Saranghaeyo!

BTW, I'm not US/Canada residents.

Err, K-dramas had me do all of the above haha. I eat kimchi, read Korean, cook Korean food, and even studied abroad to Seoul. I once forced my parents to watch a drama with me (Coffee Prince), and now they watch them together every night haha.

But K-dramas indirectly put me on my career path :P I chose to study abroad in Seoul because I wanted to visit the sets of my favorite dramas, eat the food, etc. While I was there, a friend took me to see the halmoni who were forced to become sex slaves to the Japanese during WWII (comfort women, but I hate that euphemism). Now I'm in law school, hoping to litigate that issue one day >.<

I start to actually want to be a Korean, as weird as that sounds. Majority of my songs in my iPod are k-pop. I start saying things in Korean randomly. I became interested in Korean food especially ddeukbokki, in which I cook all the time. I start to want to have a love story like all those in the dramas!

How have k dramas affected my everyday life?! I will be single until I stop watching them! I'm still hopelessly waiting for my tall handsome Korean jaebul who is essentially a complete jerk only to be transformed by his love for me.

Sigh...

Korean dramas have made me obsessed with the South Korean culture. I am learning the language, with the help of Rosetta Stone & picking up stuff from the show.. and in 2 years after I finish getting my degree, I will be traveling over there to teach.

The food I think is huge! They are always eating so many yummy looking things, and where I'm from, South Texas... we don't have it. Luckily I found this one store that actually sells Kimchi and Kimbap.. all of that. I eat there at least once a week now. XD

Like some of the other people have said.. Korean Dramas have actually changed my way of speaking. When I get frustrated I yell, Aigoo! Aish! or OMO!

The only thing negative about KDrama influence on my life, is that nobody I know IRL watches them.. so it's hard to have a buddy to gossip with them about. :(

PS: Congrats winners!

Korean food! I've tried eating out and making them at home, though it's not as good. :D

And I remember the phase where I said "AIIIIIIIIIISHHHHHHH" a lot. Looking back, it's really annoying.

Being a Korean, I've gotten a full share of korean-ness from my parents - who always talk to me in korean, my grandmother - who had always shared her korean ways (good and bad) and introduced me to DRAMAS. Kdramas have definitely become part of my lifestyle - to the point where SAT II Korean was a breeze. Born in America, Pro at Korean.

1 ) Drive out of my way to a korean grocery store to stock up on soju, shin ramen, dduk, hot pepper flakes and paste, soybean paste, makgeolli, etc...
2) Learned how to cook korean food... main dishes and street snacks they show on TV.
3) Started listening to k-pop and following the careers of Korean actors and actresses.
4) I've started using korean interjections in my everyday language. OMO seems to be my favorite. People thing I'm crazy or they misinterpret and think I said Oh no.
5) I barely watch normal TV shows and pretty much watch K-dramas on my computer... all the time.

"Oooopppppppppa" I shouted across the skii resort even though my Korean friend is younger than me!
"Basita" whenever I eat something yummy!
"Ah-Ra-Chi" to my kids and they make a face and replied "Ah-Ra-Sooooo"
Insisted that we spend a night at "Jjimjilbang" even though I've booked The Hyatt
Went to Jeju twice and saw the windmill
Ate dinner by going through the supermarket samples in Tesco
Got pissed drunk on soju playing Korean drinking game
Drank Kop-pi instead of starbuck latte
Love BBQ kimchi

*I’m not a resident of US/Canada.

Now that I think about it, a lot has definitely changed in my daily life since K-dramas...

1) I stopped watching TV. Almost everything I watch these days is done on my laptop :P And I get really easily annoyed at ads now.

2) I stalk Dramabeans religiously.

3) Taught myself to read Korean and listen to conversations on the street just to see if I understand them heh.

3) I now make my own kimchi and started experimenting with Korean cuisine.

4) Spend lots and lots of time watching dramas (and trying to lure family and friends into drama watching).

And just in general learned so much more about the Korean language, culture, society and country as a whole. Already planning my graduation trip to Korea - so excited!

He he! K-drama has made me pull a few all nighters. Quite an achievement when you are still a student of high school. And I even managed to NOT nod off during class. Honestly, though, I have not managed to find the guts to sample some kimchi. The only pickled thing I dare to eat is pickled cucumber. Yunno, the one that they put in double cheeseburger. >.<

* I am not a resident of US or Canada.

My e-mail address is minisquid121197@yahoo.com.my

XOXO, Squid.

Our internet connections just got back and the first thing I've done is open your site and here's what I've found, "an anniversary treat!" happy-much!

Because of my K-drama addiction I've been wondering if I'm still in my right state of mind (laughs) but reading the posts above, thanks God I'm not alone even if I'll be gaga wondering in the k-drama world (laughs).

Joining here brings back memories of GOOD...BAD and WEIRD Experiences watching K-dramas and movies...

THE BAD (the past) ...
1). As a Catholic it was a habit of my grandma and I to pray the rosary at 6:00PM (Manila time). I'm so diligent then and consistent in praying until our TV Networks start to buy rights and introduce k-drama in the Philippines. Unfortunately, the airing of those dramas were during afternoon that will coincide with our time of praying. What did I've done to feed my addiction? ( Make a sign of a cross) I'VE ADJUSTED THE WALL CLOCK, so that when my grandma ask if it's already 6:00, I'd say "not yet!" (laughs)

2). I'm a consistent honor student but because of Lovers in Paris, My Girl and Memories of Bali my rank fall two spots during my third year in High School (laughs)

3). During my review for the CPA Licensure Examination I've watched Boys Before Flowers in a 2-day marathon, I ended up being sick and not been able to review for a week (laughs)

THE GOOD (the present)...

1) Though I've adjusted our clock, God had been so understanding and good cause He always answer my prayers. Why? I've prayed that despite watching City Hunter 3x in eng.sub it will be aired in our language, and OMO! God say; "Why Not?" It'll start 01-23-2012 (haha) and aside from that TODAY, k-dramas are aired at NIGHT...after angelus, after rosary and after work...(laughs)

2). Because of my fall in the class ranking and the fear that my parents will rehab me bcoz of my k-drama addiction, I've studied hard and ended up in top 2 again in 4th year..(laughs)

3). It's all right if I got sick cause just one look at Lee Min Ho-oppa become my medicine (laughs). Aside from that because of my k-drama addiction I've been dreaming to travel to Korea and go to Jeju. So I have to pass the exam and get a good job badly (laughs). Luckily I've passed and right now I've been self-studying Korean language and saving for my vacation in Korea...

Moreover, I started using some common Korean words during conversation with co-k-drama addicts.

My phone is filled with K-pop songs and surprisingly I can sing and enjoy them though I can't understand the lyrics.

My computer screen savers are k-drama and k-movie screenshots.

I'm starting to eat raw foods

THE WEIRD (the future)...
I've been dreaming that my life itself is a k-drama! but no leading man yet...I hope I can meet him when I go to Korea...(laughs)

***I'm not from US/Canada***

How have Kdramas not influenced my life? I'm learning Korean (and kind of failing), learning so much about Korean culture, and majorly bonding with friends over our love of kdramas and kpop. Changed my life. And I'm not just saying that to be dramatic. It really has.

What new thing have you done in the name of K-drama? Has becoming a K-drama watcher made you start eating kimchi, travel to Korea, or switch to soju as your drink of choice? Tell us about some way in which watching dramas has changed your everyday life. (*Don’t forget to use a valid email address, and this time please indicate at the bottom of your comment if you are NOT a resident of US/Canada.)

Since my Kdrama addiction I've began eating kimchi soup, watching Kimchi Chronicles, sneaking snippets of Korean language in conversation, pinching my dogs cheeks and spouting aegyo, calling all hot guys oppa and my sisters unni. Every time I go on youtube I look for new kpop videos and squeal like a tween. Whenever an opportunity presents itself I spread knowledge of Korean culture and food. My family is over it, lol.

Live in US.

I've learned how to cook kimchi bokkeumbap, learned how to read & write hangeul, began learning how to speak the language, ate dolsot bibimbap & mandu. Dreampt I was in Joseon-era Korea (I was watching a sageuk at the time?). Read kblogs daily & started my own recap blog. Plan to go there this year!

I've definitely started eating a lot of Korean food. Most notably Korean ramen - Sutah, at the moment. I also frequent the Korean market in my area, and I've been learning how to cook Korean food. Learned how to cook Duk Bok Gi..keep bean paste in my fridge along with kochujang and after watching Fantasy Couple i learned a vegetarian recipe for Jjajangmyun!

Next time I go shopping going to pick up some radish kimchi (it looked so good in Smile!).

Still not keen on soju, but that doesn't keep me from still trying!

Kdrama is such a big part of my life and I'm not even Korean. I call my mom omma, my older male friends oppa, and my close older female friends unni. :) I started pouring drinks and telling my friends that it's good table manners to pour drinks for others and you can't pour your own. I have yet to try soju, but I really want to. The most obvious thing about my love for Kdrama is that I expect my love life to be just like it. :) I don't even want to go there, because seriously there's just no such thing as a good looking guy who will wholeheartedly love you forever and sincere. If there is, it's very very rare!!!

started learning korean.
made kimchi at home for the first time.
joined the pals program at school and got myself a cute korean pal:).
flunked my first class in college due to kdrama madness!
*resident of US

eversince i started korean dramas...
-i started using korean utensils in some of my mealtimes
-i preferred eating korean noodles such as ottogi jin ramen and korean popsicles and ice cream(all bought in korean groceries scattered around metro manila philippines)
-i can understand now korean.. and i even bought a dictionary to learn more korean words..
-i started calling my dad appa..hehehe...
-i listen to every korean songs that catches my attention and store it in my phone to listen to it whenever i go
-i like drinking soju at best when drinking...
- i now used korean-made cosmetics Etude house and face shop w/c some popular celebrities endorse..
-i stay a long nighter just to finish watching my korean drama...

I'm not a US resident and my email is: perez_kd@yahoo.com

bought a black mini convertible and had rims PAINTED black (something i NEVER would've dreamed of doing in the past) after watching playful kiss 'cause i loved the car baek seung jo's mom was driving.

I am an Ajuhmma who loves Korean drama. Started when my daughter was in high school and introduced me to Goong. Now, she's in college and I still watch Kdrama everyday. Can't go to sleep without watching or reading your blog. Watched Coffee Prince 3x and City Hunter 2x.
Now, I call my husband, oppa or yaebo. My daughter calls me kdrama addict. They said I should do rehab or some intervention.
2. I say Aja at work esp during a code blue which my fellow workers gives me this " who is this crazy person look." Yeba to everyone.
3. H-Mart now is my favorite grocery.
4. I can watch raw feed even if I only understand 10-20% and I start crying when someone starts crying.
5. Know most websites devoted to Kdrama. I start with Dramabeans (everyday) to check the latest news and to know the good dramas. Checked dramacracy, dramafever and mysoju to check for recent uploads.
6. Lastly, went to Korea August, 2011 with my family and ate kimchi and galbi (my fav) Took a lot of pictures at the airport and waited for Lee Min Ho ( just in case..) Oh, one more thing, you better check my ipod and iphone.:)
Kamsahamnida. Texan fan

Ha ha ha this brings back memories, when I first started I got obsessed with soju, when my friends and I went on our annual holiday, hah! sounds grand but all we got to do was hole up in a condotel, some of us were on duty the following day and could not really get away. Anyway I spied a bar on the ground floor and lo and behold they have soju so I had 5 bottles sent up together with cute little shot glasses. Channeling the spirit of all K-drama heroine I downed shot after shot, sadly there was no hero in sight instead I have my so called friends. Before the night was through I was dancing, singing and trash talking my immediate supervisors and all of these unseemly behaviour was caught on video. My friends had a blast and they used that video to blackmail me whenever I try to weasel out of our plans. So to all K-drama lovers out there do not try this unless your with really really good friends.

Watching K-Dramas led me to:
- Buy Kimchi and Learn how to make Kimchi!! My homemade kimchi is actually good!!
- Want to go visit Jeju! Look at all the movies/dramas shot there makes me jealous!!
- Calling my parents omma and appa
- Speaking to random Koreans with my limited Korean
- Fall in love with Kpop
- Dream more than usual, especially involving OTPs
- Become foreveralone...

I'm another lurker as well. I have to say that I appreciate the recaps you guys post! It certainly helps even with subs to understand everything!

While I eat korean food now and have a love for ramyun and kimchi and can speak korean.

I have to say that those are mostly from my korean friends training me.

The one thing I have developed on my own is teaching my dog korean. She now knows all of her commands in korean and english. I realized one day after yelling "Yah!" at her that she responds to korean! I think she has become addicted after hearing it so much!
*shifty eyes* I didn't think I watched that many dramas!

ahhh the countless ways this drama addiction has made changed me. i think first and foremost it has to do with foods. ive never liked veggies so much before now ive grown in love of things spicy.. kimchi, banchan and name it. those smells dwenjangs and what not are my now favorite staple. samgyupsal is something i look forward to than steak sometimes. i saw ramyun more than ramen all the time. lol. and 1n2d has made crave all those foods they eat strange or not. ive now become a makgeolli fan, soju fan and the raspeberry wine thing (although that is more guys) ive tried my hardest to learn how to cook korean, scouring naver for recipes and reading what not cookbooks. ive gotten an inkling for most korean brands i see that sponsor dramas and artists. heck i think i know what is showing in korea more than the here. most of all i think its the money and time spent on this addiction that has changed the most especially sleep. heheh

*not a resident of usa/canada

wahhh!! Probably having the expectation everyday that I'll eventually marry a chaebol. HAHAHA :) :) :) Of course, daily life has changed in that I need to get my kdrama fix somehow someway everyday -- I've had multiple kdrama marathon binges even though I'm a kdrama newbie (since Feb!!), I've had to practice the biggest self control I've ever had to my whole life. LOVE <3

Watching kdramas has spurred me on to learning the language. I've bought several dictionaries, tried websites to learn Hangul, and kept a notebook of words that I could figure out when they matched the subtitles (many times, incorrect, though, when I've checked with native Korean speakers).

Most recently (last 3 years), I got full on into K-Pop at the insistence of my students, and even did an airport stalk (with Youtube video of the band arriving at the airport--it's gotten 24,000+ hits!).

We use Korean utensils (love the big spoon), shop regularly at the Korean supermarket, have a cutesy apron with adorable appliques on them, and have a shelf of Lee Byung Hun mugs, pictures, stationery, calendars, etc.

I started picking up Korean and was casually learning it... Went to Uni and took Korean classes... Ending up minoring in it and going to Korea twice to study abroad. Now I'm planning on doing my Masters in Korean Studies. ^^

KBS World is now the default TV channel in my distinctively non-Korean (and non-US/Canadian) home. Not a day goes by without watching a K-drama episode, programme or song. My mum and I are always referencing some character, scene or K-drama related news in our conversations. The insidious, addictive hold of Kdrama in our lives is staggering considering how non-existent it was a couple of years ago. Omona sesangeh...

I started being interested in kpop and started reading blogs about kdramas. XD

I started making friends or having light interactions with Koreans who are living here in the Philippines. I actually tutored English to a couple of Koreans not just to earn sweet moolah :) but to learn more about Korean culture. I started to get hook on spicy Korean dishes even if it wasn't my thing before. I think it's also because my students used to serve me kimchi with rice during our lessons. I am currently saving for a short trip to Korea because KDrama scenes are usually shot in scenic locations and I'd like to personally see it (and maybe act out some scenes while i'm there.haha)

I am from the Philippines

Well watching kdramas is pretty much what I can accredit most of my proficiency in Korean to.....ha it gets so tiring when you're dependent on subs! So watching kdramas inspired me to learn a whole nother language! :)
Also, it's helped me to become WAY interested in Korea and it's culture. I know all there is about Korean food, manners, etc (it helps to understand the characters better xD). I also did a lot of reading and studying on the history of Korea so i could understand the traditional dramas better! Now I consider myself as well informed on korea's history as a Korean student!
In short.....kdramas changed my life. It's so tiresome to be stuck in the body of a white girl when I'm clearly Korean at heart!! XD
드라마빈즈 많이 많이 수고 하셨습니다! 감사합니다! :)

I started drinking soju and have cravings for Ddukbokki and kimchi fried rice in the middle of the night...and i started call my crushes oppa

due to lack of worthwhile jdrama, i've switched to kdrama last year and, boy, what a rollercoaster ride my life has become...i'm a doctor but still i make the extra time to watch the latest kdrama (per DRAMABEANS recommendations, i must say. honestly. no crossed-fingers there). I only miss watching kdrama when I am 24-hour duty in the hospital. But i catch up real good the following day, even with lack of sleep.There is Dramabeans to help me with the chore...despite being a "newbie", my fellow residents call me an "addict"... i have become a kdrama guru to them. i recommend dramas based on my critique as well as Dramabeans'. my parents are aghast on my new-found love. They can't understand how i laugh, cry, curse, cheer while watching K drama... Try watching it yourself then....Kdrama has made me love korea... I began to teach myself Korean by downloading "talk to me in Korean" podcasts from iTunes. I am also learning how to write Hangul. TTMIK has a video on how to write the "letters". Kdrama has also made me love KPOP because the OSTs are just awesome. Even if I don't really understand what the song is about but the music and "feel" is simply just right for the selected scene... (sigh!) It made me love korean groups like Super Junior, Big Bang, 2ne1 to name a few. I must admit that I can sing to a number of their songs --- and then some...I have to download the lyrics in romanized hangul for me to read it and sing it. It made me dine in a Korean Restaurant for the first time which has been in our city for at least 5 years. It made me start to eat "ramyun" (even if it is in a packet). It has made me want to wear a hanbok. The best thing is, I have filled up my 1T hard drive (which I bought early last year) with kdrama (downloaded althrougout 2011) -- and more so that I have kdrama in my laptop (~300G). my ipod Touch (64G) is now filled with at least 30G of kdrama (without subtites though) and kpop. my playlists include K OST, KPOP, SUPER JUNIOR. In my Top 25 Most Played Songs, you can find Jejoong's "I'll Protect You", JYJ's "Found You", Park Sang Woo's "Saranghango, Saranghamnida", Sung Si Kyung's "You are My Spring", Jo Hyun Jae's "If I live for one more day", Heo Gak's "Don't forget me", Hyun Bin's "that man"...These are my lullabies at night...(sigh) so much has happend because of Kdrama but I have no regrets. It is my oasis, my refuge, my R&R after long hours of work in the hospital. The funny thing is, I have yet to watch medical dramas. I prefer to watch non-medical kdramas to keep my mind off anything work-related to keep my sanity rooted, while my imagination runs away with the likes of Cha Seung Won, Hyun Bin, Jo Hyun Jae, etc, etc, etc...(blush! blush! --- at my age, I'm actually blushing like a teenager again) (nyahahahaha!). Lastly, my love for kdrama led me to DRAMABEANS, which is, by far, my official "guidebook" (or "guideblog") for anything related to korean entertainment. Everyday, next to facebook, I would open Dramabeans page in my second tab and read the latest entries. I love read the witty prattle, the honest-to-goodness critique, the informative banter in the recaps, the tactful and, yes, even tactless verdicts of most (if not all) kdrama's on-air at the moment. (seriously!~) all in all, there is no room for regrets for this "addiction". this Kdrama fever. I would, could and must wallow in this for years and years to come. I LOVE KDRAMA!

After years of dreaming of going to Korea I finally bought the plane ticket and went back home (which delayed my graduation) =___= It was my first time going back in years and my relatives were afraid that we (siblings and I) would be unable to speak Korean so they would make sure that the English speaking member of the household was home at all times when we decided to visit them...also for some reason they thought we didn't like Korean food so they kept buying us bread and pizza and fried chicken 0_0 yeah~ as if we don't have enough of that here