How to supply crack to K-drama addicts
Jan. 24th, 2009 01:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fiercebunnyI've been looking through Netflix trying to find Korea dramas for my mom (who holds me responsible for feeding her hobby) and have noticed that there are particular keywords that you can count on to find an appropriate selection.
Take Garden of Heaven, for example. I will highlight what is relevant to our interests.
"Melancholy Choi Oh-sung (Mu-song Jeon) is beset by emotional problems stemming from tragically losing his parents as a child. That's why he's surprised when he meets fellow orphan Kim Young-ju (Eun-ju Lee) and finds himself opening his heart (that had been locked away for years) to her. But as Choi begins falling in love, he discovers he could lose Kim as abruptly as he lost his parents … you see, she's dying from an incurable disease.
That is a clear winner. A good Korean drama will almost always feature orphans. Like, a good 9 out of 10. Any characters who weren't orphaned at an early age will have to have at least one Evil Step Parent because Evil Step Parent is necessary in order for them to become the Evil In-Law.
As for the incurable disease, that's a score right there. Even better if it's from something completely improbable. In one KDrama, a character got cancer after getting hit by a car. I don't even know how that works.
Here's another one called Christmas in August:
"A dying man chooses to live his remaining days on his own terms in this bittersweet, award-winning film. Photo shop owner Jung-won (Han Suk-kyu) has told only his father and sister of his terminal illness preferring to spend his last days running his store as if everything were normal. When lovely customer Da-rim (Shim Eun-ha) shows interest in Jung-won, he takes comfort in her company but never tells her of his illness -- or that he loves her. "
*adds to Netflix queue* Yup, that about sums it up for Kdrama in general. "Bittersweet, terminal illness, he loves her." Hey, I think I made a haiku!
Now the other genre of Korean entertainment that's spreading in popularity abroad is the horror film. You can usually tell the difference from the cheesy horror flick dvd cover, but occasionally, you have to be careful that you don't hand your mom something that involves excessive eye gouging. If the summary mentions "mysterious deaths", then that's right out. It's either death by incurable disease and/or car accident, or no death at all.
For example, Happy End
"One of the most controversial Korean films ever made, Happy End is a story about an ordinary man who was dealt a hard blow with the loss of his job. As a result, his career-woman wife finds happiness instead in the man who used to be her first love. The love triangle soon brews murderous intentions, leading to an unexpected, shocking ending."
Skip it. You only need to read as far as the fifth word. A good Kdrama is controversy free. The most controversial thing I've seen in any of them so far is why the female lead could pick the other guy over Daniel Henney. Which I've seen happen twice so far and really, that's just straight up stupid.
And those are my thoughts on Korean dramas :D Now I'm off to do something useful.
Take Garden of Heaven, for example. I will highlight what is relevant to our interests.
"Melancholy Choi Oh-sung (Mu-song Jeon) is beset by emotional problems stemming from tragically losing his parents as a child. That's why he's surprised when he meets fellow orphan Kim Young-ju (Eun-ju Lee) and finds himself opening his heart (that had been locked away for years) to her. But as Choi begins falling in love, he discovers he could lose Kim as abruptly as he lost his parents … you see, she's dying from an incurable disease.
That is a clear winner. A good Korean drama will almost always feature orphans. Like, a good 9 out of 10. Any characters who weren't orphaned at an early age will have to have at least one Evil Step Parent because Evil Step Parent is necessary in order for them to become the Evil In-Law.
As for the incurable disease, that's a score right there. Even better if it's from something completely improbable. In one KDrama, a character got cancer after getting hit by a car. I don't even know how that works.
Here's another one called Christmas in August:
"A dying man chooses to live his remaining days on his own terms in this bittersweet, award-winning film. Photo shop owner Jung-won (Han Suk-kyu) has told only his father and sister of his terminal illness preferring to spend his last days running his store as if everything were normal. When lovely customer Da-rim (Shim Eun-ha) shows interest in Jung-won, he takes comfort in her company but never tells her of his illness -- or that he loves her. "
*adds to Netflix queue* Yup, that about sums it up for Kdrama in general. "Bittersweet, terminal illness, he loves her." Hey, I think I made a haiku!
Now the other genre of Korean entertainment that's spreading in popularity abroad is the horror film. You can usually tell the difference from the cheesy horror flick dvd cover, but occasionally, you have to be careful that you don't hand your mom something that involves excessive eye gouging. If the summary mentions "mysterious deaths", then that's right out. It's either death by incurable disease and/or car accident, or no death at all.
For example, Happy End
"One of the most controversial Korean films ever made, Happy End is a story about an ordinary man who was dealt a hard blow with the loss of his job. As a result, his career-woman wife finds happiness instead in the man who used to be her first love. The love triangle soon brews murderous intentions, leading to an unexpected, shocking ending."
Skip it. You only need to read as far as the fifth word. A good Kdrama is controversy free. The most controversial thing I've seen in any of them so far is why the female lead could pick the other guy over Daniel Henney. Which I've seen happen twice so far and really, that's just straight up stupid.
And those are my thoughts on Korean dramas :D Now I'm off to do something useful.
