I can’t be bothered watching western series anymore since I discovered good KDramas. I can’t understand my emotional and intellectual response as fierce and passionate as it has been. Will this fade?
I hear you. I see the faults for sure but it is my initial heightened emotional response which has confused me. I have been a cinephile for a very long time but this, is sublimely strange.
Isn’t it? I wonder why. I’m hooked on the yearning, I have to confess. But it’s also the cinematography, the OSTs, the mixed genres, the surprising directions, and the meaningful touchstones threaded throughout.
One of my number reason is the story starts at episode 1 and ends at episode 16 or 20.
I dropped so many US shows because they didn’t know if their show will be canceled or not, so the end was ambiguous. Or they have no idea after 2 seasons how to develop their characters…
I often was disapointed by the end in Kdramas, but at least it was over.
I really like that Kdramas film outdoor and not like US show in big studios but it looks really fake… The Kdramas always chose the most beautiful places to film.
Got into Kdramas in 2015, switched almost entirely to them in 2016, and I didn’t watch an Occidental show for like… several years after that.
Even now, I rarely watch a tv show in English. Maybe 1 or 2 a year, often a rewatch, than anything new; most of them don’t interest me at all, for the same reasons and more that I quit them in 2016.
But then on the other end, I’ve got much more critical of Kdramas over that period as well.
Thank you. I appreciate hearing your view. I critique them as I watch them too, and sometimes brutally in my head but I feel like I have been pleasantly possessed? Is science going to discover a gene for being predisposed to liking KDrama which can be turned on suddenly?😂😭
A gene 😂😂😂 They really hook you in, don’t they. I’m sure there are multiple theories and essays worth of content for why kdramas are so addictive… (alas low on my essay writing priorities list 😉 )
Wait till you discover Cdramas… they’re a whole other level of crack lmao.
This is very similar to me. I am much more prone to dropping/merrily fast forwarding stuff I’m not in the mood for than I was but I barely watch anything new in English. My western pop culture knowledge is so out of date lol.
My western pop knowledge was pretty terrible to begin with, let alone now! I didn’t grow up with TV and only really started watching it period, and more regularly, for myself in about 2013/2014, when I could watch online 😂😂
I also did not grow up with tv – I started watching more when I got to uni but back then there was no streaming, so it was easier just turn it off and not watch more 😅 my tv watching really took off when I was pregnant and too sick to do anything else….dramas were good because my husband didn’t want to watch them with me 😂😂
The emotional response is strong! I actually started watching K dramas before any Western series (if Disney doesn’t count lol) so they have always been a filler for me if I really want to watch one because I’m hardly ever that invested in them. Other than kdramas, I think C dramas and T dramas basically, shows that follow the same storytelling arc, elicit the same response. I haven’t been able to get over that for 10 years but sometimes I wish I could because they take too much of my head space and time which should be used on other productive things.
The only Western series I have followed since I devoted my time to Kdramas 8 years ago were Game of Thrones, Big Bang Theory and Downton Abbey. I have started watching again since the lockdown last year but Kdramas are still top of my list.
I arrived in kdramaland in 2016 with HEALER but prior probably late in 2015 I entered asian dramas via TVB Hong Kong cop shows with LIVES OF OMISSION (2011) my first. Both were on Hulu US at the time. In April 2016 iirc Hulu dropped the Korean drama I was watching so I dropped them and subscribed to Viki and I don’t believe I have watched a western series since.
If I could give one piece of advice. I started with a self imposed rule: “Start a drama, finish a drama.” Don’t give yourself that burden. I can’t tell you what freedom I felt when I dropped my first drama (CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD (2018). The subs on an ‘alternate’ site were indecipherable.)
Thank you Bong-soo, you fellow Healer lover! What a disappointment Ji Changwook’s career has been since then? Poor thing. Must be weeping on his pile of millions!
I really appreciate your response and advice. I am brutal with dropping what I don’t like. Life is truly too short for being indecisive.
Re JCW. I have high hopes for his upcoming projects particularly TELL ME YOUR WISH.
Re ‘dropping’. I have probably dropped more dramas this year than ever. You are right. Life is too short. On the other hand after probably 3-4 years since my last cdrama I have finished 5 cdramas this year all in the crime/mystery genre.
I feel you on this. I think I can count on one hand the number of western shows I’ve watched recently. I used to watch a lot more before, but I can’t be bothered with it nowadays. It’s not that I dislike them or think that kdramas are inherently superior or anything. I’m just not as invested and there’s only so much time a person has. The only western show I’m watching now is HBO’s Succession.
Felt the same way for the first 2 years, as I explored several genres. I did not drop any thus I learned what hate-watching is. But now I mix with western, chinese, japanese shows already. I also dont hate watch anymore, I just drop them.
For me, I doubt there is any going back. Just not interested. Every now and then, I think I’ve bottomed out, but no… Occasionally I need a C-drama fix, but I’m fussy. I need there to be a historical context. I intersperse my kdrama with kfilm. I’m absorbed by khistory and politics, especially contemporary. I don’t get why it’s all so addictive. My deepest fear: I’m afraid it’s a character failing on my part. It’s my guiltiest pleasure.
I started watching East Asian shows about a decade ago, and while I’ll still watch Western shows occasionally, I keep going back to the Asian ones. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that most of the Asian shows I watch are written by women, and this gives them a different slant from Western shows which are still largely written by men. There is more emphasis on character development, character relationships of all types and emotional engagement. I also like the single season format more than the multiple season format popular in the US – it allows for better story structure with clear beginnings, middles and ends. You’ll still get an occasional random cliffhanger, but it’s less common.
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DancingEmma
November 30, 2021 at 12:39 PM
I can’t be bothered watching western series anymore since I discovered good KDramas. I can’t understand my emotional and intellectual response as fierce and passionate as it has been. Will this fade?
Eazal
November 30, 2021 at 1:01 PM
eventually, I guess… but don’t ask me… more than 5 years not watching western dramas 😂😂😂😂😂
DancingEmma
November 30, 2021 at 1:07 PM
So maybe one day?😂😂😭😭😳😳
Kurama
November 30, 2021 at 1:10 PM
Hum… I think there will be up and down, sometimes you will see all their defaults and sometimes you will just love everything.
Personally, I still watch western series.
DancingEmma
November 30, 2021 at 1:16 PM
I hear you. I see the faults for sure but it is my initial heightened emotional response which has confused me. I have been a cinephile for a very long time but this, is sublimely strange.
dramalover4ever
December 1, 2021 at 1:11 AM
Isn’t it? I wonder why. I’m hooked on the yearning, I have to confess. But it’s also the cinematography, the OSTs, the mixed genres, the surprising directions, and the meaningful touchstones threaded throughout.
DancingEmma
December 1, 2021 at 1:19 AM
Are you my long lost twin? Like you can read my mind!😂
Kurama
December 1, 2021 at 1:27 AM
One of my number reason is the story starts at episode 1 and ends at episode 16 or 20.
I dropped so many US shows because they didn’t know if their show will be canceled or not, so the end was ambiguous. Or they have no idea after 2 seasons how to develop their characters…
I often was disapointed by the end in Kdramas, but at least it was over.
I really like that Kdramas film outdoor and not like US show in big studios but it looks really fake… The Kdramas always chose the most beautiful places to film.
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
November 30, 2021 at 1:23 PM
Got into Kdramas in 2015, switched almost entirely to them in 2016, and I didn’t watch an Occidental show for like… several years after that.
Even now, I rarely watch a tv show in English. Maybe 1 or 2 a year, often a rewatch, than anything new; most of them don’t interest me at all, for the same reasons and more that I quit them in 2016.
But then on the other end, I’ve got much more critical of Kdramas over that period as well.
DancingEmma
November 30, 2021 at 1:27 PM
Thank you. I appreciate hearing your view. I critique them as I watch them too, and sometimes brutally in my head but I feel like I have been pleasantly possessed? Is science going to discover a gene for being predisposed to liking KDrama which can be turned on suddenly?😂😭
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
November 30, 2021 at 1:43 PM
A gene 😂😂😂 They really hook you in, don’t they. I’m sure there are multiple theories and essays worth of content for why kdramas are so addictive… (alas low on my essay writing priorities list 😉 )
Wait till you discover Cdramas… they’re a whole other level of crack lmao.
beffels
November 30, 2021 at 8:56 PM
This is very similar to me. I am much more prone to dropping/merrily fast forwarding stuff I’m not in the mood for than I was but I barely watch anything new in English. My western pop culture knowledge is so out of date lol.
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
November 30, 2021 at 10:39 PM
My western pop knowledge was pretty terrible to begin with, let alone now! I didn’t grow up with TV and only really started watching it period, and more regularly, for myself in about 2013/2014, when I could watch online 😂😂
beffels
November 30, 2021 at 11:34 PM
I also did not grow up with tv – I started watching more when I got to uni but back then there was no streaming, so it was easier just turn it off and not watch more 😅 my tv watching really took off when I was pregnant and too sick to do anything else….dramas were good because my husband didn’t want to watch them with me 😂😂
wapz
November 30, 2021 at 1:47 PM
The emotional response is strong! I actually started watching K dramas before any Western series (if Disney doesn’t count lol) so they have always been a filler for me if I really want to watch one because I’m hardly ever that invested in them. Other than kdramas, I think C dramas and T dramas basically, shows that follow the same storytelling arc, elicit the same response. I haven’t been able to get over that for 10 years but sometimes I wish I could because they take too much of my head space and time which should be used on other productive things.
Zora
November 30, 2021 at 2:01 PM
The only Western series I have followed since I devoted my time to Kdramas 8 years ago were Game of Thrones, Big Bang Theory and Downton Abbey. I have started watching again since the lockdown last year but Kdramas are still top of my list.
mindy
November 30, 2021 at 7:10 PM
Watch Ted Lasso!!!!!!
Zora
November 30, 2021 at 8:19 PM
I did! 😊 Can’t wait for season 3.
bong-soo
November 30, 2021 at 2:17 PM
I arrived in kdramaland in 2016 with HEALER but prior probably late in 2015 I entered asian dramas via TVB Hong Kong cop shows with LIVES OF OMISSION (2011) my first. Both were on Hulu US at the time. In April 2016 iirc Hulu dropped the Korean drama I was watching so I dropped them and subscribed to Viki and I don’t believe I have watched a western series since.
If I could give one piece of advice. I started with a self imposed rule: “Start a drama, finish a drama.” Don’t give yourself that burden. I can’t tell you what freedom I felt when I dropped my first drama (CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD (2018). The subs on an ‘alternate’ site were indecipherable.)
DancingEmma
November 30, 2021 at 2:21 PM
Thank you Bong-soo, you fellow Healer lover! What a disappointment Ji Changwook’s career has been since then? Poor thing. Must be weeping on his pile of millions!
I really appreciate your response and advice. I am brutal with dropping what I don’t like. Life is truly too short for being indecisive.
bong-soo
November 30, 2021 at 2:32 PM
Re JCW. I have high hopes for his upcoming projects particularly TELL ME YOUR WISH.
Re ‘dropping’. I have probably dropped more dramas this year than ever. You are right. Life is too short. On the other hand after probably 3-4 years since my last cdrama I have finished 5 cdramas this year all in the crime/mystery genre.
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
November 30, 2021 at 7:09 PM
I second the advice— it took me a long time to get to that point, but but yeah don’t be afraid to drop.
ladynightshade wants to be gazed at by namgoong min
November 30, 2021 at 2:44 PM
I feel you on this. I think I can count on one hand the number of western shows I’ve watched recently. I used to watch a lot more before, but I can’t be bothered with it nowadays. It’s not that I dislike them or think that kdramas are inherently superior or anything. I’m just not as invested and there’s only so much time a person has. The only western show I’m watching now is HBO’s Succession.
miss h
November 30, 2021 at 3:37 PM
I love Succession. Such awful people but such great dialogue.
ladynightshade wants to be gazed at by namgoong min
November 30, 2021 at 4:33 PM
Awful people, but so, so entertaining. It’s like watching a train-wreck in slow motion. The writing is A+.
dramalover4ever
December 1, 2021 at 1:04 AM
I can’t watch it. They are so vile.
mindy
November 30, 2021 at 7:09 PM
Watch Ted Lasso!!!
DancingEmma
November 30, 2021 at 7:23 PM
I loved the first season but my KDrama obsession has prevented me from watching the second season!
mindy
November 30, 2021 at 7:09 PM
*whisper* Watch Ted Lasso.
DancingEmma
November 30, 2021 at 8:47 PM
You made me laugh! Thanks!😂😂😂
Jingbee
November 30, 2021 at 10:20 PM
Felt the same way for the first 2 years, as I explored several genres. I did not drop any thus I learned what hate-watching is. But now I mix with western, chinese, japanese shows already. I also dont hate watch anymore, I just drop them.
dramalover4ever
November 30, 2021 at 11:12 PM
For me, I doubt there is any going back. Just not interested. Every now and then, I think I’ve bottomed out, but no… Occasionally I need a C-drama fix, but I’m fussy. I need there to be a historical context. I intersperse my kdrama with kfilm. I’m absorbed by khistory and politics, especially contemporary. I don’t get why it’s all so addictive. My deepest fear: I’m afraid it’s a character failing on my part. It’s my guiltiest pleasure.
DancingEmma
November 30, 2021 at 11:28 PM
I love your take!
wonhwa
December 6, 2021 at 6:12 PM
I started watching East Asian shows about a decade ago, and while I’ll still watch Western shows occasionally, I keep going back to the Asian ones. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that most of the Asian shows I watch are written by women, and this gives them a different slant from Western shows which are still largely written by men. There is more emphasis on character development, character relationships of all types and emotional engagement. I also like the single season format more than the multiple season format popular in the US – it allows for better story structure with clear beginnings, middles and ends. You’ll still get an occasional random cliffhanger, but it’s less common.