This one question that is extremely difficult to answer!

Ooooh, this is a good one. Ultimately, I enjoy both, but as someone who has loved fantasy since I was a child, dramas helped me appreciate realism and slice-of-life stories in a way that I previously hadn't!

Aw man, this is good but hard! Can realism be a kind of escape? 😜

Anyway, I expect to be blown away by posts on this theme. I enjoyed everything written about music and dramas last month. It was real high quality writing, and very thought-provoking. (I also loved the youtube links that sent me down an OST memory lane). 😊

Oooh, this is a good one and definitely one for me!
Maybe I'll submit something if I get time.

Yay a new theme of the month, as usual an interesting one , I know we'll have good reviews to read this month :) ! I enjoy both , just to name of a few : Misaeng, My wife's having an affair this week, Signal, Nine: Nine times time travel, Circle, Mirror of the witch, Arang and the magistrate.......and had to mention Cheese in the trap (argh what could have been -_-)

For me it's a combination of both. I love Korean dramas' idealism. That's what makes them unique.

Oh this is a tough one!
Watching dramas in itself is a form of escapism for me, and I will definitely prefer to escape to a world far away from the one I live in rather than one that reminds me of how horrible reality can be. However, I also live for those relatable characters who I can connect with and that pull on my heartstrings.
In the end, I do think I prefer kdramas that portray a world that is just slightly more magical and positive than the sometimes grey and depressing real world we live in. If only because if there are people than can create these worlds and people that enjoy watching it, perhaps that gives me just a little more hope that the real world we live in isnt as horrible as it sometimes seems to be, especially after a rough day.

As it goes for any kind of storytelling: as long as it's good and engaging. I love that K-dramas ventures into both.

ooohhh, i'm so excited about the theme this month. I wanna write but will see if I can get my lazy ass to start something. T_T

Ooooo this is gonna be difficult to answer because it's definitely BOTH... I think all dramas have some degree of unrealism in them, which is what makes it fun to escape into dramaland and just bask in the plot... but at the same time, plots that are too unrealistic are just not-so-fun either. What a conundrum!

There can never be perfect realism for dramas, and very often we watch dramas because of how they diverge from reality. But ironically, I personally feel that the best dramas (I mean the objectively good ones) are the ones which are the most realistic and those that touch on subject matters which are above and beyond romance. If you think about it, a lot of times when we bring up reasons why a drama is bad we give justification like how it doesn't make sense in the real world. There are of course dramas you enjoy even though they are silly and all, but I can't say that they are "good". Ask people which they feel is the better drama between DotS and the Reply series and I think the majority will choose the latter.

This is a pretty interesting topic which should make for thought-provoking discussions.

It depends... I prefer j-dramas for both and k-dramas for realism these days.

This time... I promise, this time, i will definitively write something on time... Also, because I go for scapisms most of the time...

👍

I’m a psychiatric nurse who works in a prison. I ONLY watch escapist fantasy. This year ‘Goblin’ and ‘Live Up to Your Name’ have been my favorites!

escapism. definitely escapism for me.
I would like to send an entry but do they consider those who have already been featured once before (you know, in order to give others a chance)...? Or if my article is good enough they'll publish it anyway ?? I'm a bit confused.

Escapism with bits of realism ❤ And realism with bits of escapism ❤ Each to their own. 😊