Im perfectly fine with them going away and taking their degenerate content with them.

That will never happen of course, but one can dream...

Dump 'em.

I don't mind multiple seasons as long as it makes sense. Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist didn't need a second season. Taxi Driver, on the other hand, can benefit from a 2nd season because there's logically more stories to tell in that world. It would've been fine as a standalone season and it was argubly fine with a continuation of the story.

Thanks for this, there’s a lot to think about here 🤔

Of course the background for this is the writer's strike in the U.S.

I figured, given their international popularity, that kdramas would be the go-to for U.S. based streaming services being hurt by the strike. While, on the one hand, it is great that talent development is part of the package, still it is hard not to recognize as @welh640 points out that trainees will be cheaper and easier to manipulate.

I personally am not so concerned about multiple seasons, although that will change the viewing experience, for sure. But since multiple seasons is the traditional U.S. model, there is an argument to be made that there is an element of security and stability for the writers, directors, and even stars of the shows--while not requiring risky concept development, of course.

I am worried about the long term impact on content. Netflix has in the past really been scattershot in its choosing of kdramas to adopt, picking up a whole range of things to see what makes it. That's why there have been some great shows on there as well as some weak ones. As they attempt to standardize and regularize their income, the potential exists for remake after remake of shows popular in the U.S. and Europe, and then U.S. and Europe will remake shows popular from Korea, so there will be a general homogenization of content across the globe. I also think that means a lot more cheap reality shows like "Physical: 100" or "Singles Inferno." Definitely not my favorite!

However, over the years I've been impressed by how "creators" (as they are called now by companies in order to pay them less) have overcome the capitalist constraints of pop culture to produce some original and very enjoyable art, so I'll be interested to see what happens!

One area I would like to see Netflix invest more or better is in subtitling. Netflix has the wherewithal to set the standard but I don’t think their subtitles match the quality provided by the unpaid volunteers at Viki.
Note to Netflix subtitlers: when a character says ‘hyung’ he is not saying that person’s actual name. That drives me up a wall. End of rant.

I saw a fan wall post where beanies of faith formed a prayer circle to support each other which I thought was lovely. I also know that beanies checked in on each other and if someone was awol would flag it. One poor soul has been missing in action since those days so no one knows what happened to them as no one had a way to contact them off the site and as they were in the at risk category people fear the worst.
I wasn't around then but looking at old posts found things out and asked questions.

I’ve been here since 2016 and saw the transition from being run by @javabeans to the new site and all the through the pandemic as well. Yes, many people left during that time. But Some have come trickling back. Others have not. A couple that were very active have not been seen since, so I do fear they won’t ever be back. Amazingly, Kdramas never stopped being produced, and they took great pains to keep everyone healthy. Masking, testing daily, and quarantining when sick. They still mask in script readings. It’s strange that their shows have not even shown a mask or anything (except for 25-21) that I can remember.

DB is not that different from before, but the names are different and some that used to post diligently, rarely do now. I’m included. Pandemic took a lot out of me. I still watch, but don’t post as much about what I’m watching or participating as much on threads. There’s too much in real life to do since. I’m currently on a 2 week trip through the Mediterranean. My first international trip since the pandemic and traveling is a luxury and not taken for granted anymore!

It’s great that new voices have joined, but I miss what we had as well.

I wasn’t very active during Covid. I came to DB only when a drama really hooked me and I wanted to read the recaps.

There was a period of uncertainty about DB and some of us worried it would disappear.
Some of us beanies had moved outside DB to chat. And that became my solace during the Covid years. Those beanies made those years so bearable and even fun.

Now I have returned to DB and spend more time here. This way I am not online all the time.
It’s nice to see the community thrive again and a lot of new members who are super active.

Nuclear energy costly - and literally affects nearby - bigger one is nuclear active materiel that can't be used more - dangerous n remains active for 1000 of years - this is one of the reason i was n still am with merkel -
plastic - no one cares - everyone wants easy things at cheap - then act like they r good -
Water - this is where entertainment is. every1 still acting cute while being highest level cruel exploiter - give n take is what world is - no one should cry when time is 2 pay d price -
to make it far more fair n just - free the rivers - from exploiters - dams r 1 of d biggest environment damaging n they r 4 d vanities of lousy creatures - no dam in d world is good for every1 in animal kingdom - not needed such loose tool with very few benefits - against d dams - this is y chaos is good - at least few good things come out of it.

I think you knew and forgot because it’s been official since 2017! They met while filming Reply 1988 in 2015.

Yeah!!! I'm amazed how beanies can still remember entire scenes! I can't even remember which dramas have piggybacking scenes.

What I find interesting is Lee Dong-hwi, who played the comic-relief friend Dong-ryong in 'Reply 1988' is dating Jung Hoyeon, the actress who played the North Korean defector in 'Squid Game'.

When couples date for a long period of time, sometimes I forget they're together. Like Woo Bin and Min Ah, Soo Young and Jung Kyung Ho, or Hye Ri and RJY.

And sameeeeee. I can't get one treasure hunt right. My memory is major trash. 😆

How are you Blue? I've been missing you and so sorry but happy very belated birthday! Have you been watching Hidden Love? Looks right up your alley, also mine hehe.

Good question. It looks like CJ E&M decided to use the sister channel TVN instead. Voice 4 or The Uncanny Counters 2 ended on TVN.

I have the same question, I used to love OCN.

Maybe that's what makes them like it? The similarities?
I noticed that last year people that wanted a good romcom would go to j-dramas or c-dramas since j-dramas started to have all those murder plots in their romance.

But there's also a little differences.
I'm a fan of romcoms but I couldn't enjoy their dramas. They're not my style.

Hmmmm. Interesting qn. I do watch a lot of cdramas (mostly modern dramas) but I think they are different. I feel cdramas feel ‘lighter’ (modern ones) and their tropes aren’t as heavy as kdramas. Also, there are no class differences depicted. Due to censorship you won’t see bullying, physical abuse at work, loud screaming villains or rich chaebols.
Also their dramas are shorter at 45 min and their release schedule is usually 4-5 days in a week. And they end quickly. You don’t wait months for a drama to end.
For those who love historicals cdramas probably churn out a lot more than kdramas. And their fantasy/Xianxia genre has its own fan following.
I am sure people here have better perspective of this, but I can’t seem to explain this properly.

J dramas have shorter run time 8-10 episodes often and very little padding e.g. forced separations etc so they feel more realistic. The production quality sucks as often they have a random cut and move into the next scene with very little pomp and ceremony.

Chinese rom coms feel like 1950’s films to me, they stay in genre and are glossy. They release several episodes a week but they are ridiculously long series like 24 episodes is standard so they do pack a lot of trouble deciding to date or couple against the world tropes to stretch it out. There can be some similar tropes like an annoying manager/fellow worker who work as a pack to manipulate the situation to undermine the leads. They often have the jealous second female lead and often the male second lead is the same type of character rather than the ‘sweet much better option than the male lead’ trope. They often use the ‘rude mother/in law who is against the relationship’ especially in a Noona romance. There won’t be any random genres in the mix EVER so you can relax knowing the couple will get together in the end and the adversity will be real life issues or fantasy mixes like body swaps but never a stalker.

For one I think cdramas and especially jdramas have always been in the mix for most people who watch kdramas. In fact, some came from jdramas to here, cdramas are comparatively new in popularity to international audiences. They only gained more popularity internationally in the last 7 to 8 years. But all three are pretty different.

Jdramas are very realistic imo. They tackle the smallest of things and amplify them making each moment in life count. Plus they are shorter usually 9 to 11 episodes but watching them live is a hassle because subs are usually not immediately available. I turn to jdramas when I want a dose of grounded realism. I think they are the best in the slice of life genre but that's my pov from not seeing enough japanese romcoms.

Cdramas are similar to kdramas but they've done one thing right, they adopt the tropes that work and remove those thay don't. Which is why chinese romcoms are more light hearted and breezy than korean romcoms per say. I'm sure this doesn't go for every show but I've noticed this pattern where they are basically building up on the existing formula but add their own touch. Which is why in terms of escapism, i feel cdramas are the most escapist, then k and then j. Again provided I didn't watch many crime or family chinese dramas which can be pretty real too. I personally enjoy chinese modern shows usually romcoms and slice of life and fantasy xianxia genre. For me, it's pretty simple, I feel they are squee worthy, light, funny and overall enjoyable. I also appreciate good angst, if there's an unnecessary one, I may drop the show.

So yeah I guess people go to j and c dramas for very different reasons. Kdramas have been lackluster for me this year, especially with the lack of good romcoms so I get my dose from cdramas instead. I have been jdramas this year after 2019, because again kdramas weren't clicking for me in the slice of life genre.

For my part, I like funny absurd chinese romcom. I find these more formulating, and there are scene that crack me up.
They are lighter, so easier to follow and good for relaxing.

I would be interested to hear the explanation. I have seen it in Japanese dramas and assumed it was rubbish editing as it happened in several shows. I don’t think I have noticed it on a K drama before but I have not seen either of these shows so can’t comment.

That’s odd. Those cuts don’t appear when I see those shows on Disney. I would think it’s those same versions Hulu streams.