What's so great about Korean Drama?
June 22, 2012 at 7:47 AM
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Johnnie Ruffin
Since I decided to start a blog about Korean Drama, I’ve been asking myself: what's so great about Korean Drama?
My first Korean Drama was Secret Garden. It’s one of the more popular kdrama romantic comedies out there. It’s about a rich man, the CEO of a business, and a poor woman, a stunt-woman, that switch bodies.
When I think of foreign television shows, the quality isn’t always the best. I was immediately enthralled by the cinematography. As I watched, I was continually surprised by the character development that led up to the actual plot line of the film. You get to know the characters in a comical and dramatic fashion. I found that the personality of a character was so well defined that I could easily understand why they did what they did.
A Korean drama normally runs for a set number of episodes. There isn’t any season two. There is just a story from beginning to end. I think I liked that most about Secret Garden. I should point out, I had just been disappointed by the cancellation of Journeyman while my scar from Firefly had just healed. Secret Garden ended after about 20 episodes.
I followed this up with Pure 19. It was the drama of a poor young woman who comes to Korea to marry a man that dies just before their wedding. An uncertain future ahead of her, she decides to stay in Korea to make a living. There were a few story lines from a few different perspectives that eventually came together in the end. This drama gave me an insight into how people in Korea interact and some of their customs and traditions. This was a big one at about 150 episodes. I found myself a little sad when it ended, but satisfied. I’d almost become used to seeing the same characters whenever I had a free moment. It was almost as if I was a part of their family.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve started some bad ones and been really disappointed. Hopefully, I can weed through them all in this blog and point you in the right direction.
So, what’s so great about Korean Drama? When done right, the story-lines compliment the characters and the actors well. There is always a beginning and an end. I’ve become disappointed with becoming involved with a series that just ends without any conclusion. Books, I think, have the same promise. You will have an ending, even if you don’t like it. There is also something about looking into a world that seems so foreign and finding something familiar that can touch you and excite you all at once.