It is true that Kdramas have tropes but American shows have their own set of tropes which are designed to manipulate the viewers’ emotions because they are incapable of stirring them earnestly like kdramas do. My humble opinion. No offence to anyone.
I have watched and appreciated a lot of KDramas lately that were GREAT and they had none: no Jerk Male, no Stalker 2nd Lead, no Fish Kiss and no (incomprehensibly violent) Wrist Grab.
The Destined Connection and Disapproving Parents on the other hand… lol… that 2nd one is hard to come by because it’s soooo real and pervasive in many many many cultures (aside from Korean). I am a prone example of “When your parents don’t like the one you love” and how it messes up things (ex-bf). It’s an unfortunate but welcome trope. i mean, otherwise, where’s the drama?
1) Jerk Male lead: Hmm well if he is just prickly but not disrespectful (Nam Se Hee in BTLIOF ❣️) or if he admits he was a jerk, asks for forgiveness and shows true change of heart (every Mr Darcy ever, Seo Yul in Chief Kim) I see no reason to banish such characters. I kinda love them. The problem is that often kdramas show that love is the only reason he changes into a better or more sociable person.
2) Disapproving parents who disapprove with a valid reason are totally ok. Even if they overreact, but that’s life. For example, Soo Bin’s mom A Moment At Eighteen Sadly dramas tend to show parents who disapprove over money or class, or stupid mistakes they themselves made in the past. Again, it’s how you write the trope.
3) Destined connection revealed at the beginning of the drama, like in sageuks, works much better for me than when thrown in randomly in ep. 14. See for instance Seven Day Queen versus Her Private Life.
4) Fish Kiss. No comments. The Fish Cult might have something to say in its defence. 😂
5) Stalker 2nd Lead. I’ve seen fewer and fewer of these lately, actually. Or I’ve been lucky in picking dramas.
6) The wrist-grab. Ahaha it’s just funny when I see it (which is also less than before) and I tend to cheer when the girl does the wrist-grabbing so I can’t unfairly condemn the guys for it. I did like how Yang Se Jong held onto the girl’s sleeve rather than her wrist in Thirty But Seventeen. Shows respect for personal boundaries.
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ElKwesi
September 9, 2019 at 12:24 PM
https://www.soompi.com/article/1351126wpp/6-k-drama-tropes-were-so-done-with-already
In the comments ppl are saying that if they remove the tropes, then K-dramas would just be like western shows (pt1
ElKwesi
September 9, 2019 at 12:25 PM
And I personally don’t agree at all. I’ve watched shows without alot of these and they still have the same themes and formats of K-dramas.
Midnight
September 9, 2019 at 12:38 PM
It is true that Kdramas have tropes but American shows have their own set of tropes which are designed to manipulate the viewers’ emotions because they are incapable of stirring them earnestly like kdramas do. My humble opinion. No offence to anyone.
KSKalways
September 9, 2019 at 12:35 PM
I have watched and appreciated a lot of KDramas lately that were GREAT and they had none: no Jerk Male, no Stalker 2nd Lead, no Fish Kiss and no (incomprehensibly violent) Wrist Grab.
The Destined Connection and Disapproving Parents on the other hand… lol… that 2nd one is hard to come by because it’s soooo real and pervasive in many many many cultures (aside from Korean). I am a prone example of “When your parents don’t like the one you love” and how it messes up things (ex-bf). It’s an unfortunate but welcome trope. i mean, otherwise, where’s the drama?
WishfulToki
September 9, 2019 at 7:41 PM
I’m a sucker for tropes when done well.
1) Jerk Male lead: Hmm well if he is just prickly but not disrespectful (Nam Se Hee in BTLIOF ❣️) or if he admits he was a jerk, asks for forgiveness and shows true change of heart (every Mr Darcy ever, Seo Yul in Chief Kim) I see no reason to banish such characters. I kinda love them. The problem is that often kdramas show that love is the only reason he changes into a better or more sociable person.
2) Disapproving parents who disapprove with a valid reason are totally ok. Even if they overreact, but that’s life. For example, Soo Bin’s mom A Moment At Eighteen Sadly dramas tend to show parents who disapprove over money or class, or stupid mistakes they themselves made in the past. Again, it’s how you write the trope.
3) Destined connection revealed at the beginning of the drama, like in sageuks, works much better for me than when thrown in randomly in ep. 14. See for instance Seven Day Queen versus Her Private Life.
4) Fish Kiss. No comments. The Fish Cult might have something to say in its defence. 😂
5) Stalker 2nd Lead. I’ve seen fewer and fewer of these lately, actually. Or I’ve been lucky in picking dramas.
6) The wrist-grab. Ahaha it’s just funny when I see it (which is also less than before) and I tend to cheer when the girl does the wrist-grabbing so I can’t unfairly condemn the guys for it. I did like how Yang Se Jong held onto the girl’s sleeve rather than her wrist in Thirty But Seventeen. Shows respect for personal boundaries.