I have found my people.

I suppose I can stop feeling bad for having absolutely no interest in some dramas despite them being popular, well-received, and successful. Dramas that come highly recommended but for which I just cannot seem to make it past the first episode. Dramas like War of Money, Jumong, Lobbyist…

Mixed-up Investigative Agency, for example, is underperforming in the ratings, being caught smack in the middle of two well-performing sageuk dramas — SBS’s King and I and MBC’s Yi San (which is produced by the PD who made Dae Jang Geum into a monster hit). However, its “quiet popularity” has amassed the drama enough of a devoted fan base to earn itself “mania drama” status, or what is in the Western world probably better described as a cult hit. As I pride myself on being more of a cult-hit fan than a mainstream one in general (come on, that’s where all the truly cool kids hang out), I’m not too disappointed. (Low ratings + no fans = sad. Low ratings + devoted fan base = I don’t care that nobody is watching, it’s cool anyway.) Let us Mixed-up fans console ourselves with an annoying air of superiority for finding something cool despite being unrecognized by the masses, shall we?

Star News reports on the topic:

“What are ratings anyway?” grumble fans of “mania dramas”

“Why do all the dramas I like always have low ratings?” office employee Mr. Lee complains. It’s because the dramas he enjoys watching tend to flop in ratings. He’d watched KBS2’s eight-episode fusion sageuk Conspiracy in the Court [Hansungbyulgok], MBC’s Merry vs. Daegu Battle, and others with bated breath, but they haven’t been able to break the 10% ratings threshold. …

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Julia Hart – “JH Loves You” [ zShare download ]

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If you’ve wondered what happened to the SBS drama Lobbyist, aka The Most Ridiculously Expensive Kdrama Ever:

“Lobbyist” Postponement Actually Because of Subject of Arms Dealing

SBS judges topic inappropriate during South-North Korean summit talks

In a special news flash, SBS’s drama Lobbyist, scheduled to premiere on October 3, was suddenly postponed to the 10th because of the South-North Korea summit talks. However, the bigger reason is that the content of the first two episodes of the drama runs counter to the intent of the summit talks.

The first two episodes of Lobbyist dramatize the Gangneung incident* of 1996. In the story, Harry (Song Il Guk’s character) loses his father during an effort on the East Sea to stamp out weapons trade from the North. As a result of losing both parents at a young age, the orphaned Harry and his younger sister leave for America with their aunt. …

* The Gangneung incident of September 1996 was an infiltration of North Korean spies that resulted in the deaths of at least seven (South Korean) military and four civilians.

As a result, the drama will air on the 10th and 11th (Wednesday and Thursday), but with two episodes each night, to catch up to the original schedule.

Source: Yonhap News

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Dynamic Duo – “파도 (I know)” [ zShare download ]

 
RELATED POST:

• You mean they don’t do it just to confuse us?

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“The Surprising Reason Behind Drama Title Changes”

The upcoming, vastly expensive SBS Wednesday-Thursday drama Lobbyist, starring Song Il Kook [Jumong] and Jang Jin Young, has confused many viewers — because until recently, it was widely referred to as Angel.

After deliberating over the two titles, deciding between the potentially overly feminine “Angel” and the overly masculine “Lobbyist,” the production company eventually chose to go with “Lobbyist.” However, not knowing this, many viewers came to use both titles.

Thus working titles are employed before dramas are introduced to the viewing public. Although many times the working titles do become the broadcast titles, there are also many instances when that is not the case. Some strange circumstances may intervene to require a first title to be discarded.

 
(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Humming Urban Stereo – “샐러드 기념일” (Salad days/memories) [ zShare download ]

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