well, I started growing my hair to make a traditional braid everyday. and even if it is freezing cold outside, I TRY to maintain an everyday-braid diet. And now, I make up stories in my mind about queens and etc living in Joseon to go to sleep. I even started writing some stuff about a noblewoman turned gisaeng, or becoming a spy for the king or having the queen dowager as a best friend. my dad is korean, so I started talking to him about history and everything , and he was quite suprised.oh! and now, I speak in a more ancient-way whenever I speak in Korean.

I live in China, and I really just want the 3rd prize, not interested in others.thanks!
noemie.park@gmail.com

Merry Merry and happy aniversary!

I've done the general. Listened to some Kpop and Krock. Started using some beauty products. Tried soju, kimchi, gochujang, kimbap, soju, bibimbap, various soups, and side dishes. I will say as full disclosure this was pretty easy as I roomed with a friend of mine whose Korean for a year. She'd cook delicious Korean dishes and I showed her how to cook some American dishes inexchange haha. I also found myself eating an absurd amount of rice as she had a rice cooker. Lunch, brunch, dinner, a snack. It's on my list to own one now. However, all of this can be considered small fish compared to what I've been planning to do.

See, I've had a pretty extreme case of wanderlust since I was young and thanks to education I bounced around the US for awhile. When I wasn't sure if I was going to get into Grad school I needed a fall back plan. I was pretty baffled on where I would be willing to live. I knew I'd become a teacher, but it was a giant question mark for where. I considered living international, but wasn't sure if it was feasible. Then I discovered I could teach over in S. Korea. Now, if it weren't for Korean dramas I wouldn't have given it thought. I would've said, "Oh that's cool" and not given it a second thought. But I do. So, I could not get google open fast enough. Now, life isn't like the dramas as we know, but they gave me the window I needed. That window was able to let me know I can survive the eventual culture shock and not wind up fleeing the country in less than a year. It's much like how Chinese/Taiwanese and Japanese dramas showed me I wouldn't be able to live in those countries. It's also funny because while my family isn't Asian I could sympathize on various subjects as I lived with them too: respect and obey your elders, marriage before baby, grandma hoping I'll marry a doctor, relatives starting to wonder why I haven't found some "nice, good looking man" as I approach my mid-20's, mom disliking my latest facebook photo because it made my face look big, humor in bathroom misadventures, living with the parents while in said 20's to save money, and quite a few other things. It didn't seem impossible. After I started looking for more information on the Internet it led me to becoming a regular reader of several blogs and I started watching Eat Your Kimchi when it was just beginning. I investigated more into the food. I lurked on Dave's ESL cafe and later an international school forum. I was able to start planning beyond "It might be nice to live here for x years, but not forever" for the first time in my life.

So this is more than likely crazy, but Korean dramas caused me find somewhere that makes me want to actually, happily, settle down instead of being forced to stop just plain ol'anywhere and question my choice. I could still wind up changing my mind when I get there (just one more year left!), but for now I'm going to remain excited and continue making plans for heading over while still watching an absurd amount of Korean dramas like I always will.

Dear Deity this was long, so thanks if you made it all the way through!

To the other question: Yes, I'm from the USA.

happy new year! congratulations on turning 5 and many more years to celebrate!

hmm, where do i begin? my love of K-dramas (which is going on its 4th year next month) have allowed me to:
1. reconnect with my Korean friends from elementary school
2. learn how to cook Korean food (soondubu jjigae, gamjatang, sweet/crispy chicken wings, all sorts of banchan)
3. learn Korean from my friends
4. rent out 2 rooms in my home for Korean students, studying English
5. start a blog solely for the purpose of talking about K-dramas, but for my personal use only because i want to remember how i felt about each dramas i've watched
6. send in my application to study my Master's at The Catholic Uni

I'm a non-Korean, but K-dramas made me start learning Korean on my own, and gave me a ton of swoon-worthy leading men to rave about with my friends who also watch them. And of course, I pulled my first all-nighter (the first of more than I'd like to admit) marathoning K-dramas. Where did my self-discipline go? Can't deny it's entertaining, though :)

well for starters...american tv...what's that? my main forms of entertainment are k-dramas and k-variety shows now! number two, watching all the dramas have led me to listen to korean music!!! *gasp* i used to hate all things "FOB" and k-pop! and finally, i actually want to visit korea...never wanted to go before but now am thinking it might be nice to visit the motherland at least once in my life...to stalk k-celebrities of course! :)

Oh my god where do I start.
1. I say random Korean words
2. I started calling my siblings oppa, unni
3. I crave ramen and kimchi
4. I go to Ann arbor Michigan just so that I can meet a Korean ( lol the restaurant owner now knows me by my first name)
5. I scream like a ajumma!!!

And I only listen to Korean music!

After I watched my first Korean drama, I had dreams in "Korean" for two nights straight. I also developed this unbelievable appetite for meat or noodles (because my first drama was Coffee Prince, and Eun-Chan was always eating meat).

Learn Korean alphabet and bought books for korean phrases. If there is any place where I can learn the language, I might be taking the class too.

Because of K-dramas, I tried out some Korean food (It looks so delicious on the screen) and I picked up some Korean words that I can't stop saying like aish or omo.

I yell YA all the time now, I can understand korean when spoken, and it opened my palate to all those delicious korean foods!

I don't drink beer but drink soju, I cook more korean food than Indonesian (I'm Indonesian, in case that was not clear), I can miss a few episodes of so you think you can dance but would never miss 1N2D.. There...

Ohh, and I am guilty as charged. I am one of your worst lurker. I almost never fails to read DB on my ipod before going to bed, I am a loyal but silent fan :)

Like many, I feel that watching k-dramas has made me develop a keenness to anything Korean. I now notice the Koreans I see around me and subconsciously observe them to see if they follow any of the stereotypes or norms I see in Korean dramas. When I hear someone around me speak Korean, my ears perk up as I recognize the language and try to pick up any phrases or the gist of what they're saying (although I generally shouldn't be eavesdropping...) I find myself understanding more and more of unsubbed shows or k-pop. I look down on those who have only watched 'Boys Over Flowers' because they're *scoff*not 'true' k-drama fans.

Although I started listening to k-pop before watching k-dramas, I believe both, but more so k-dramas, have made me feel interested in commonly seen Korean foods like japchae or kimbap or bibimbap. Only a couple months after getting into k-dramas, I found myself learning hangul, and now, I find myself picking up new words and phrases here and there from Korean dramas like '확마' and such. Historical dramas have made me more interested in the history of Korea, hanboks, and different styles or uniforms of different times.

I now run a personal blog about Korean lifestyle/entertainment. In general, just everything about typical Korean lifestyle has become interesting to me. Everything about Korea - the Korean conflict at the 38th parallel, Korean subways, Korean markets, Korean homes, Korean relationships - is fascinating. I can't wait to make my first trip to Korea in the summer.

Oh and dramabeans, thank you for always supplying a ceaseless amount of news on Korean entertainment/drama. Dramabeans is THE center of all k-drama discussion and news.

-from a dramabeans lurker

I find myself mixing in words from k-drama when I'm talking to my english speaking friend and they give me a wtf expression, lol. They keep telling me to stop saying oteke, omo, hwaiting to name a few.

Makgeolli!!!

...and I stopped drinking for years, but the taste is just so addictive.

I also find myself saying "chongmal",""ottoke", "wegure" . It's only been 2 years that I've started watching k-dramas, but I've picked up a lot. One of these days, I'd like to really learn it since I really don't like it when I can't understand what Jung Ilwoo* is saying on an interview.

...in two years time, I've had my binges of Jang Keun Suk, Kim Hyun Joong, No Min Woo, Jo Insung, Kim Soo Hyun. Yoo Ah In, and Joo Jihun.

But now, I'm so obsessed with Jung Ilwoo that I think I will make the effort to actually learn Korean formally.

I tried ddukbokki!!! And I LOVE it!!! I tried soju, too, but I hated it.

I wish I could enjoy soju like they do in the dramas, lol.

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.)

I'm not sure of daily life-(I dated a Korean guy that inspired me to try Korean food haha,) but one drama I've watched, Mawang, inspired me to write a male character based on Joo Ji Hoon's. I think they helped me writing wise. I think they also inspired me to write Korean male/white female type stories, or at least give me confidence in pursuing that project. In a strange way too, they help me out emotionally as well. Whenever I watch them I feel more balanced. Also while watching K-dramas or movies, I picked up bits and pieces of the language and even taught myself to read Korean by practicing to read the credits on the movie haha. (Still need practice though.)

i'm currently taking korean minor at my school..
well, that's surely thanks to all those Korean dramas I've been watching ever since Hotelier..

Haha yay for delurking! Do you guys have a counter for how many ppl come to dramabeans? I bet the numbers are huge.

Bc of our budding kdrama love, a friend and I have vowed that if we get accepted to our respective graduate programs, we're going to Korea this summer! Already looked up hostels, flight tickets, and hit up that dramabeans thread... All that's left is for schools to say yes!!! Also learning Korean from Rosetta Stone. :)

Created an independent course revolving around Korean dramas and its views on society for my last year of college, so that I can watching 100+hours of dramas and get 4 credits for it.

I stayed up until ridiculous hours of the night watching a drama I didn't want stop, ( I'm not going to say how late, lest a family member comes on and sees what I have done. ;) started using random Korean words regularly and then decided to learn Korean, my sister who also watches dramas learned how to make kimchi and now my entire family, save my mom (14 of us including my parents) eat kimchi whenever we have it. It runs out quickly. I could go on, but I'll stop. :) And thanks so much to both Javabeans and Girlfriday, you have given me many a good laugh since I found your site. Congrats on 5 years. Keep it up!

Email - Thomsonemerald@gmail.com

I eventually started learning korean. Then I got into Korean policy, did a research paper on "Comfort Women," and eventually ended up studying abroad at Ewha University. How far do things go? I've also had my radio show on East Asia at the college station for the past 1.5 years. Even though things had started with K-Pop rather than dramas, I must say that I'm a fan of the latter now.

P.S. Good job Dramabeans for letting so many people know about Korea :)

Because of watching so much korean dramas, i feel like im turning into being so koreanized. I started learning the korean language just so it's easier for me to understand the dramas, and im taking it at school too <3 And then i started making kimbap for my friends even though I'm filipino living in the US and they started liking it too hehe. I now have more kpop music in my ipod than the mainstreams in here xD And then I also kinda follow korean fashion since it's sooo cute (: and i learned how to do aegyo and i taught my two year old brother to do the "buing buing" from high kick 3 xD After watching kdramas, me & my friends go to korean bbq places and karaoke now xD Yeah, ive been watching kdramas for two years now and ive watched alot; like the old classic ones to the present dramas today and it kinda changed me. (:

I become addicted to Korean drama when I watched Fullhouse, I started to know more about Korean culture and tradition because of that drama..I tried hard to learn the korean language and watch korean channels only even the other show dont have a subtitle I watched it so that I can know my improvement in understanding korean language, Because of Korean drama I travelled to Korea and see the beautiful sceneries and places that i've seen in the dramas and after visiting I knew that Korea is really a beautiful place and they have delicious foods .. Makgulli and soju is the best.. I love ddukbokki and bibimbap.. I love winter season and hoping I can go back to Korea again and explore the other places that I've never been too :D

I will definitely visit Korea again maybe 2013 :D expect me to be there in winter time :D

**I'm not a resident of US/Canada

I started to learn cooking a korean foods. They look so delicious on the dramas I watched. Also, I tried soju, not my favorite but I was interesting to taste ^^ oh, and I annoy my sisters by constantly screaming at screen when watching my dramas :D

Well before watching Korean dramas I had never even dreamed of learning the language. I became obsessed with learning about and trying things related to the culture. I started taking classes to learn Korean, and I now eat Kimchi and Korean BBQ on a regular basis (I never thought I'd love Kimchi as much as I do lol). I hang out at my local H-mart probably like twice a month lol. My music taste has changed so much from all English songs to mostly k-pop, I've dragged my best friend to see 2pm when they visited my city.

But what takes the cake is that in high school for my Junior Theme research paper, I wrote about Globalization and how it affects the world. It was really an excuse for me to write a paper about k-dramas, kimchi, and k-pop. So whenever I had to do research it gave me an excuse to watch my favorite dramas and listen to Epik High for "home work."

Congrats to the winners!

In the name of kdramas, I became...interested in Korea, actually. See, I'm Korean but I didn't grow up that way, so all things Korean were foreign and disinteresting to me.

Thanks to Kdramas, I became fascinated with my culture. I began learning to speak, write, and read. I learned history to follow saeguks, I researched modern culture to follow trendies. Then that obsession led me to kpop, a time-eating, life-consuming hobby, almost more so than dramas.

So all in the name of dramas, I became Korean-American, rather than just American. It's a change that suits me well.^^

Thanks to kdramas I've begun
(1) Using Korean expressions like aish and yah.
(2) Started learning Korean.
(3) Looked for English teaching jobs in Korea. XD

Haha, whenever I stub my toe or bang my funny bone against something now, I exclaim, "Aigoo!!" My friends look at me like I'm nuts.

Well, for at least, a lot of my time in the internet is being used for browsing Korean dramas. Watching it on youtube then buying DVDs, though they are actually pirated copies.

Then, I self studied on reading Korean letters. I bought a Korean-English Dictionary. My phone is almost filled with Korean Drama OSTs and some KPOP songs.

It really makes me want to go to South Korea. I, then, bought Korean drama goods like necklaces, photobooks and other souvenirs. I also get the chance to eat Korean foods and enjoy korean drama related events.

I also get more inspiration on watching those Korean dramas for writing my novels.

*Not an American/Canadian Citizen

Because of Korean Dramas, I had forsaken my college applications as well as my one chance for a full-ride into college.

I got too into watching Korean Dramas at a critical point in my life. At this point in time, I still cannot believe that I gave up the most important week of my life in order to watch Ja Myung Go play out even though I knew, without a doubt, that it had a tragic ending.

When I was supposed to be doing college supplements dutifully, I would pull up a browser and open up a separate tab from my college one in order to sneak a peak. (Luckily, I rationalized last minute and I completed it in time!)

Now, a few weeks later, even though I am supposed to have learned my lesson, I am doing the same thing for The Princess' Man. I'm supposed to be starting my GMS scholarship.... but I keep getting distracted. The scholarship is due in three days. (This time, I sincerely hope I'll be able to make it! Wish me luck!)

But, man do I have to sort out my priorities. :P

I started eating a LOT more cabbage! Hahaha. I already loved it, but jeez they freaking eat it in every show all the time, so it just makes me crave it constantly! I would like to learn Korean but I don't have the strength to learn it on my own haha, I need classes. I also buy a lot of korean clothes, they're so cute!

Congrats, winners!

I actually did start eating kimchi! My sister's roommate is also a kdrama-watcher, and she's really good at making food, so she made me some. :) Other than that, I learned how to read the Korean alphabet, which was surprisingly easy, even though I'm still slow at it. People who know always ask if I can read things they find written in Korean. It's sad when they ask me for something in Chinese or Japanese, though.

Choice Korean phrases became a regular addition to my vocabulary. I learned how to pronounce Sungha Jung's name. I get a kick out of correcting people on that. I also made sure to learn more about Korean culture and music. It's all so interesting, and I can't wait to go there someday. I have an ever-growing list of places I have to visit. Also, it made me able to differentiate between spoken Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. I grew up in a tiny town, and it was only when I got older that I actually got to know people who spoke languages other than English and French. I still don't know anyone personally who speaks Korean fluently, although I would love to, and my sister's roommate is close enough. Ooh, and I'm guilty of writing cheesy kdrama-like stories. Not fanfiction, because I'm not really a big fanfiction person, just stories that would be like a lot of kdramas, using their familiar elements and styles.

I hadn't really thought about this before. Discovering kdramas gave me a bunch little quirks that I'm so glad to now have. :)

Well, for at least, a lot of my time in the internet is being used for browsing Korean dramas. Watching it on youtube then buying DVDs, though they are actually pirated copies.

Then, I self studied on reading Korean letters. I bought a Korean-English Dictionary. My phone is almost filled with Korean Drama OSTs and some KPOP songs. I also used Korean Language as my third language with saying some of their popular expressions and words. I have also gone to a Korean hairstylist for my hair.

It really makes me want to go to South Korea. I, then, bought Korean drama goods like necklaces, photobooks and other souvenirs. I also get the chance to eat Korean foods and enjoy korean drama related events.

I also get more inspiration on watching those Korean dramas for writing my novels.

*Not an American/Canadian Citizen

Well....... I started saying "aigoo", "oppa!", and "mmmmm bashta!" around my house, started going to Korea Town, a lot!, and now, FINALLY, I will be taking Korean :) it has been fun :)

I place a good deal of blame/credit on K-dramas for my current level of Korean understanding. My friends blame me for getting them hooked on K-dramas in the first place. Whee!

*I am not a US/Canada resident.

well, since I started watching Korean Dramas and movies way back 2001 and counting...Wanted to be a Korean for one, had a lot of or rather almost all DL korean songs in my Ipod, my txt and ringtones are korean songs, had a korean hair style, learned a lot of korean dishes, dressed like one, danced like one, ate like one, drank soju and makkoli, love making kimchi, kimchi fried rice and kimbap is to die for! I have korean apps in my Iphone, love playing stop go, love KPOP, every week we eat at Mr. Lee's Korean BBQ, bought 2 Pig Rabbit, I tie my hair korean style, and in my to do list: I want to visit Korea one day. And lastly, now my 8 year old daughter is addicted too! She loves singing and dancing korean F(x) is one of her faves.

That is it for now. Thank you again for making our lives more colorful!

I am a US resident.

After starting watching kdramas I have started cooking Korean food and started being a regular at our local Korean market. You have no idea how funny i get looked at buying stuff like ginseng root and fernbrake, it doesnt help that i am also this 5'10" very pale caucasian looking girl (im actually mixed). So far I have made japchae, samgyetang, bulgogi, soondubu jjigae, kimchi chigae, ddukbokki, and a couple other dishes. My favorite has to be soondubu jjigae. The Korean doctor (he teaches at Seoul University but was working with us for a year and a half) i was working with was amazed that I knew all about the local dramas and knew how to cook samgyetang. My next attempt will be at making Gyungdan, I already have all of the ingredients.

I also bought a Korean language kit because I wanted to become much less dependent on subtitles. Sadly there isn't two of me so learning is going very very slowly.

Congrats to the winners! :)

Too many things I've done because of Kdramas!

-Stay up all day/night to finish a drama
-Started saying certain phrases that Koreans use (it's almost become a habit to say "aish" every time something goes wrong or "Fighting!" whenever I need to encourage myself)
-Started keeping a journal to rant only about dramas because I love to talk about them and love to talk about them and love to talk about them and did I mention that I LOVE TO TALK ABOUT THEM?!
-Named my dog after a character in Goong/Princess Hours
-Plan to learn Korean & to take a trip to Korea
-Procrastination concerning school has become worse than ever for me since I'm addicted to dramas (...must... watch...)
-I've dreamed that I was in the drama Goong once... and everyone was speaking to me in what I assume should have been Korean, but I don't know Korean, so they were probably speaking rubbish to me. Oh, and there were subtitles below their heads every time they spoke, heh
-While/after watching Coffee Prince, I had my hair cut short like Go Eun Chan's
-I buy all of my favorite dramas off of YesAsia
-I don't watch American TV shows at all anymore (except the news...)
-Every time someone takes a picture of me, I do a peace sign (it's become a habit)
-I listen to Korean music now
-I watch Kdrama MV's on youtube like crazy
-Etc...

I could go on for hours, as I'm sure everyone else here could... ;P

I started collecting DVDs and stuffed dolls, like pigs or rabbit with pig nose... of korean dramas.

However, the most expensive hobby is that everyday minimum 90 minutes are spent on watching dramas!!!

email: acygy2001@yahoo.com

It motivated me to finally try Korean BBQ! My favorite is Bulgogi. I also really love Ddeok-ko-chi.

Oh Kimchi-Gods, what you have made me done in the name of dramas ... (nothing that I regret<3)
Well. Twas May and prom was right around the corner. So was You're Beautiful. Our school had messed with the schedule and after AP exams the night of prom was the only night any of my friends would be allowed to be together for the summer.
Luckily, my friends and our dates were all so awesome (and into dramas) that we had our very own prom which featured A.N.JELL and a session of analyzing Shin's clothes from Goong.
I went to New York with my sister (also a rabid k-drama fan) and we promptly found Koreatown in Manhattan to eat all of the food which we hadn't found before. Sightseeing? Psh, no. We found LMH posters instead.
Also, arrogant, rich guys? WAY more attractive. Sigh.