Introducing Dramafever
by javabeans
There’s a new kid on the kdrama-streaming block, and its name is Dramafever.com. It’s free, it’s high-quality, and it’s just about to launch to the public.
I’m posting about them because I think this is something fans would love and find tremendous use in, and because the site, which is in beta, has offered to open up invitations to Dramabeans.com readers. Woo! (I’m sorry to say that this is only available to U.S.-based users, which I’ll explain below.)
The Short Explanation
Dramafever.com is a streaming site for Korean dramas. It’s free, subtitled in English, has high-quality video, and a sleek and easy-to-use interface. Best of all, IT’S COMPLETELY LEGAL.
The Longer Explanation
Yes, we have youtube and mysoju and crunchyroll, and they all have their upsides. However, they also have plenty of downsides, which you have probably experienced for yourselves at some point:
- Episodes tend to be broken up in multiple clips, upwards of 7 parts per episodes, and sometimes it’s difficult finding a link that’s not broken,
- Subtitles are hit or miss,
- and when the subtitles ARE available, often they’re stolen from fansubbing groups and stripped of credit, and
- the biggest detractor of all, the illegality of streaming licensed content. Reported links are constantly being taken down by Youtube and user accounts deleted. Threatening letters have been sent to uploaders and fansubbers for spreading content that is legally the property of broadcasting companies like MBC, KBS, and SBS.
LEGAL LICENSING
Dramafever.com, however, is completely legal. The founders of the site have done what no other streaming site has — which is to license the dramas directly from the Korean broadcasting companies.
That means there’s no risk of Korean broadcast stations threatening legal action and forcing sites to pull down episodes, because the licensing has been acquired.
SUBTITLES
Also, dramas are all subtitled in English. The subtitles for many series have been provided by the companies themselves, but there’s a chance Dramafever will collaborate with With S2 fansubbers to provide subtitles to other dramas in the future.
HIGH QUALITY VIDEO
The videos are unbroken into multiple parts (meaning one episode can be viewed in one single clip, rather than six or seven), and high-quality. The Dramafever team has spent a lot of time doing their own encoding to assure high quality picture with a larger viewing screen than Youtube, for example.
AVAILABLE DRAMAS
Currenty, Dramafever has licensed some of the most popular recent kdramas from MBC, including Coffee Prince, White Tower, My Name Is Kim Samsoon, New Heart, Goong, Jumong, Thank You, La Dolce Vita. Coming soon are titles like Que Sera Sera, H.I.T., Yi San, Really Really Like You.
They are in talks with KBS and SBS as well, so hopefully a slew of those dramas will be available soon.
They also are looking to acquire sitcoms and variety shows, as well as clips of behind-the-scenes action and actor interviews.
ONE KEY CAVEAT
For now, Dramafever is available only to users in the U.S. I know that’s really unfortunate for viewers outside of the States, but this because all the content has been legally licensed from companies like MBC, and the license restricts use to the U.S. If the site ever gets to a point where it can stream internationally, they hope to do so; for now, they are launching within the States.
DRAMABEANS INVITES
Dramafever.com is currently in beta, and plans to open up invitations for users in the coming weeks. Dramabeans readers will get first priority when that happens. All you do is register (free) at Dramafever.com and use the invite code coolbeans.
I recently had the chance to meet up with the guys behind this venture, and let me say that I think it’s a really exciting way to open up the world of Korean dramas to an eager audience. I hope you will give Dramafever your support, because I think it’s a fantastic idea, and I can’t wait to see it succeed.
SUGGESTIONS FOR MORE DRAMAS?
Leave a comment below! I know these guys really take user input seriously, so if there’s something you’re dying to watch, speak up!
Thanks for reading this super-long post. Now go register!
Required fields are marked *
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
101 skynnilyps
December 25, 2008 at 11:32 PM
just like everyone i'm excited and can't wait; thanks you so much
Required fields are marked *
102 sable starr
December 26, 2008 at 12:01 AM
C'mon we Canadians are your neighbours! We may be a little scared of the dark but hey, who isn't?! And if you bump into us, we would be the one to apologize and then offer you a maple doughnut from Timmy's. And then we could all drink beer and sing along to one of Robin Sparkles famous songs.
Required fields are marked *
103 kangjihwan2008
December 26, 2008 at 12:28 AM
this is an awesome news dramabeans.
Required fields are marked *
104 Kat
December 26, 2008 at 1:22 AM
Fantastic! I just registered and am waiting for the next step. :D
I'd love to see titles like What Happened in Bali, Spring Waltz, Lovers in Paris (which my mom loves) and Autumn Tale in their website. :D
This is so cool! Thanks for the heads up!
Required fields are marked *
105 Jnie
December 26, 2008 at 2:10 AM
thats great news! too bad it restricted to only u.s residents at the moment.
Required fields are marked *
106 thedarkknight
December 26, 2008 at 3:01 AM
This is great! Thank you so much for sharing this!! =) I definitely can't wait!!!!
Required fields are marked *
107 Bell
December 26, 2008 at 3:15 AM
I feel angry bcoz its not available here. But its okay
Required fields are marked *
108 Jill4675
December 26, 2008 at 4:07 AM
This is really fantastic and may open up Kdramas to a wider audience ~ wonderful!! :)
Required fields are marked *
109 momoisluv
December 26, 2008 at 4:42 AM
oh man. what a bummer. i was getting giddy all over then I read the US only thingy. dang. i wish it'd go international... :'[
Required fields are marked *
110 bleuzelle
December 26, 2008 at 5:12 AM
I'm with you momoisluv, i was like YIPEEEEE!!!!! then my bubble burst when i read the 'US-based' part....pls pls go international soon!
Required fields are marked *
111 ellie
December 26, 2008 at 5:32 AM
Hi!
Hope we get first hand news from you javabeans as soon its international!.. I'm so tired of watching new dramas that has been broken into bits.
Required fields are marked *
112 ginko
December 26, 2008 at 6:16 AM
It's totally awesome.
Only that I live in Europe. Hopefully it's going to be international streaming soon.
Thanks Javabeans and Dramafever
Required fields are marked *
113 xiahkixiri
December 26, 2008 at 6:18 AM
Also want to moan about the limitation to the US, add my wishes for the success of a legal, HQ streaming site with good subs, and for this to be opened up to other countries soon; after all, illegal subbing/viewing is by no means an exclusively American phenomenon. To make me happy when it's eventually opened up, I'd like to add that adding Taiwanese and Japanese dramas is as important as Korean - there are just as many fans of those dramas (a lot of Asian drama fans watch only Japanese dramas, finding kdramas too melodramatic and twdramas too frivolous).
Here's to not getting sued!
Required fields are marked *
114 lovin it
December 26, 2008 at 6:31 AM
Wow! thats awesome!
i hope variety shows such as 1 Night 2 Days and We got married are there too..
and dramas such as Hello Franceska and General Hospital 2 :)
thanks for the xmas present :D
Required fields are marked *
115 Grace
December 26, 2008 at 6:32 AM
Thank you for the heads up...registered now patiently waiting for the beta code.
Required fields are marked *
116 koalabear
December 26, 2008 at 6:34 AM
this is so cool! I've registered already but yeah I forgot that I live outside the US..but hopefully it will be open to us too soon...
Required fields are marked *
117 twreckx
December 26, 2008 at 7:14 AM
Sounds like a fantastic idea, and I am glad they have found a legal way to do it, hopefully it will be great exposure for k-dramas in general. Since i'm currently repping from the West Coast of Africa, it's a no-can-do.
Wishing the guys behind it good luck to what i'm sure will be a very successful venture.
Required fields are marked *
118 ivanovie
December 26, 2008 at 7:50 AM
hiks..why is it only for US? i hope they'd open it internationally...*pray*
Required fields are marked *
119 infatuated22
December 26, 2008 at 8:20 AM
im very ecstatic about this new site that i started looking up dramas i want to see with subtitle. Here's a top two that i have a hard time looking for subs thats complete with no break!
- I am Happy--- http://wiki.d-addicts.com/I_Am_Happy
-Thirty thousand miles in search of a son -- http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Thirty_Thousand_Miles_in_Search_of_My_Son
I just have some questions.. do they also upload upcoming dramas or variety show?
im excited to see boys over flower and check out the hype about it because i've seen all version of it taiwanese and japanese.
As for variety show, i want to see We Got Married.
Thank you again for this awesome information... im just waiting for the response from the site. I'm so excited
Required fields are marked *
120 Thao
December 26, 2008 at 8:42 AM
I would LOVE for Soulmate to be on there and Flowers for My Life.
Required fields are marked *
121 soyboy
December 26, 2008 at 9:13 AM
Thanks for the news.
I wish this venture much success. I'm glad that they understand the Hallyu Wave rides the internet and its free accessibility further expands S. Korea's soft power abroad. I hope that Korean broadcast companies come to understand this and help to create a site that can promote Korea's pop culture.
Required fields are marked *
122 Secret Sunshine
December 26, 2008 at 9:16 AM
javabeans, tell dramafever to take all the above user unput seriously !
Required fields are marked *
123 Katie
December 26, 2008 at 9:18 AM
Best Christmas news ever! Thank you!
Required fields are marked *
124 sweetanna
December 26, 2008 at 9:44 AM
awww man!
ex-pats can't catch a break!
but still, I hope that this venture is a success and will eventually take over the world :)
Required fields are marked *
125 nurse.v
December 26, 2008 at 10:09 AM
aaaaaaaaawesome!!! except i'll be moving out of the country in a month for grad school. hmmmm... i suppose i can wait till i return to the US. god, that's a couple years! eek.... i don't know if i can wait that long!!
Required fields are marked *
126 robbo4
December 26, 2008 at 10:45 AM
It just keeps getting better!!! Thanks dramabeans, and a well-deserved round of kudos for being recognized as a power player by the corporate suits.
Required fields are marked *
127 Sun Ye
December 26, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Would you please upload MBC East of Eden? Thanks for making a reliable site for us in the U.S.A.
Required fields are marked *
128 meenuby
December 26, 2008 at 12:05 PM
Forgot to mention, I have no k-drama recs, but when Dramafever (hopefully) gets around to include j-doramas and all, I hope they can include japanese variety shows, particularily the ones that include Arashi.
Good luck Dramafever and thank you so much for all the effort you're putting into making this possible.
Required fields are marked *
129 Ayame
December 26, 2008 at 1:08 PM
I knew there was a reason I was still living in the U.S
Sorry to all those who are not here, but I know it'll open up to you all soon, its too good not too.
Required fields are marked *
130 Watergirl2442
December 26, 2008 at 1:46 PM
Thank goodness there will be a more quality website that can provide better quality viewing and less audio, video, and subbing problems.
Many times, the subbing leaves a lot to be desired, but as there a very few websites where I can watch as many dramas or episodes to my hearts content, mysoju has served its purpose.
But, can't wait for dramafever.com.
Required fields are marked *
131 Amber
December 26, 2008 at 1:49 PM
OMG I am SO EXCITED!!! thanks so much for letting us all know!! This is perfect, too - I've been wishing for a while that they'd start really tapping into the American audience since(in spite of everything) I believe that Americans are really romantics at heart and I'm super excited for the drama fever to be spread! I know so few people here in the U.S. who watch dramas, but those to whom I've introduced them have gotten completely hooked. I was also getting really tired of the poor quality/split-up sections of dramas. The only drawback to this site that I can see is that it's all Korean dramas :(. I know the stereotype is that they're the most popular and most watched, but honestly I've only seen a couple because I realized early on that I like Taiwanese better. I would hope that they'd expand the country of origin as this site grows.
Required fields are marked *
132 summerxsummer00
December 26, 2008 at 1:50 PM
Wow! this sounds so cool!
Boy am i glad i live in the US! I just registered, but i wonder how long it will take before i can watch videos.
The site looks like it will be a hit! Its great that its actually legal.
Cant wait to watch!
As for what shows to add, i guess "Full House" and "My Girl" are good favs,
And very popular.
Thanks!!!
Required fields are marked *
133 Miki
December 26, 2008 at 2:11 PM
Sounds fantastic!
Will definitely be checking it out. Nice time to check out old faves in HQ subs and video anyway. The idea of them working with WithS2 is just awesome though! Dream come true: fansubbers+company working hand-in-hand, legally. Win-win.
Though I wonder how the company is benefitting from this? I just hope it won't peter out like so many projects out there, you know?
The show I'd love to see is My Girl. I do hope they get to expand with their shows. I'd love to see Jdramas go up, too (they're often shorter, too, so -maybe- that'll work out for their benefit). Their audience, too, of course! For once, I'm glad I live in America.
Required fields are marked *
134 bethany
December 26, 2008 at 3:04 PM
seriously awesome. thank you for collaborating & publicizing it!
Required fields are marked *
135 mari
December 26, 2008 at 4:00 PM
thats pretty hxc.
Required fields are marked *
136 valmy
December 26, 2008 at 4:23 PM
thanks for the great news!!! I registered and if i am doing correctly, they will contact us for the next step right?
indeed this is awesome xmas present to us in the US...as its getting tougher to watch our favorite soon to be air kdramas/movies.
i hope all goes well and am looking forward to it.
how about airing new dramas/ movies as well as the all time favorites? would there be live streaming in sub available? i know that is being greedy but could u pass along the burning questions!!
thans and merry belated christma.
Required fields are marked *
137 Auntiemame
December 26, 2008 at 4:31 PM
This is just fantastic news! What a wonderful announcement in this season of giving and sharing.
I'd really like to see more OCN programs. Last year, I managed to find and watch "Someday".
It was an excellent drama. Perhaps, it didn't have the melodramas, tragedies, hype or the super-stars. But, the storyline was very good and, especially, interesting. The acting was also very good. And, the artistic touches were totally beautiful.
I can hardly wait for "dramafever" to start.
Required fields are marked *
138 Jo
December 26, 2008 at 6:01 PM
Itd be awesome if they put "I night 2 days" and "we got married"
I love those two shows....as for drams---all the upcoming ones
wow Im excited!!
Required fields are marked *
139 ic3cream
December 26, 2008 at 6:27 PM
that is amzaing how were they able to get the license o.0
Required fields are marked *
140 gladi
December 26, 2008 at 9:24 PM
"When It’s At Night" pls!!!! i'm from nz but hoping to register
Required fields are marked *
141 oatmeal
December 26, 2008 at 9:58 PM
I guess they're only accepting so many people because I tried registering just now and it says when they have room for additional members, they'll notify me. BOO!! I really want to watch Goong! I'll be waiting for the e-mail confirmation when they're ready for more members.
But it's awesome that they've negotiated with the actual tv stations. That's really a first. I give them major props for all their hard work!
Required fields are marked *
142 sunox18
December 26, 2008 at 11:04 PM
thanks....great to hear that we kdrama addicts have a place for reliable subs...lookin forward to great shows...hope all the kdramas, jdramas, cdramas will get on this site...very entertaining and simple fun...love ya!!!! How about the original 1996 First Love with BYJ....Chunja's Happy Events... I hope that the dramas include the long epics, long shows....they may be long but they are still quite entertaining....boy AM I LUCKY TO LIVE IN THE GREAT U S OF A!!!!!!
Required fields are marked *
143 rockpinkslip
December 26, 2008 at 11:35 PM
Wow this really made my day when I read this post! I really hate watching on mysoju, cuz it's not hq and sometimes I don't want to dl it. I'm grateful that it's available to US users, but it kinda sux to be non U.S. ppl, hopefully when it's out of beta, everyone will enjoy it. I signed up earlier in the day, just waiting for their response hehe. :)
As for dramas...I wanted to recommend My Sister in Law is 19 or whatever the many names. I just finished watching it and I really enjoyed it, except I wish it was HQ. :)
Required fields are marked *
144 whOOsh
December 27, 2008 at 2:42 AM
wah! that's awesome. THANKS FOR THE INFO!!! heehee ^^
Required fields are marked *
145 jessie
December 27, 2008 at 9:14 AM
>.< i live far away from US
Required fields are marked *
146 kate
December 27, 2008 at 9:39 AM
awesome...thanks
Required fields are marked *
147 Song
December 27, 2008 at 4:11 PM
AWW!
Thank you so much!
Required fields are marked *
148
December 27, 2008 at 4:20 PM
i hope you can ask dramafever to post an oldie that i haven't been able to find elsewhere: choi jin sil's jealousy.
thanks
Required fields are marked *
149 E
December 27, 2008 at 4:59 PM
I leave the states for KOREA and this is what happens?!?
Required fields are marked *
150 Heavenly
December 27, 2008 at 9:06 PM
WOW THANKS DRAMABEANS.
This is so cool. I went and register, but it tells me I will have to wait until more people register before I can participate?
Do you know the exact date when they will be up and running?
I can't wait. This seems really cool and I hope they have great success and leads to better things in the future.
I am bookmarking that site.
Thanks again Dramabeans :D
Required fields are marked *