"When Netflix launched in South Korea in 2016, workers and labor activists hoped that the global streamer, accustomed to stricter labor standards negotiated by Hollywood’s unions, would be an uplifting force in an industry notorious for abysmal working conditions...But the excitement of those early days has faded as the realities of the company’s business model have set in."
I'm pretty happy that my brain has decided to cool off with the #geopolitics obsession and veer towards #CDramas & #Kdramas instead. Yipee! Much healthier and way more fun.
As per my usual modus operandi when I get obsessive, I've created a #Kdrama & #Cdrama blog, Youtube channel & podcast. To be fair, I've blogged about shows off and on, but thought it was best to consolidate it to one space to not confuse people who visit my personal site.
Blog: https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/
So a Discord group I am part of asked - what 12 dramas will I recommend people?
So this is a list of my favourite #CDramas and #KDramas. Have you seen any of them?
For those of you not aware, there is a whole genre of Korean historical fiction about the invention of Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, because the real-life story behind the invention of Hangeul is “an incredibly sophisticated and super-secret linguistics project carried out centuries before the field of linguistics was actually invented.”
It was also revolutionary in that it made literacy accessible to commoners who didn’t have the resources to learn Chinese.
You can now follow my #Cdrama & #Kdrama blog, DramaTea from the #Fediverse. Just click on this link 👉 @dramatea88.wordpress.com@dramatea88.wordpress.com
And "follow".
I'll still be using the appropriate hashtags, and boosting the posts, but I'll be sharing my blog posts purely through that account from now on, so do follow it :)
Short and sweet, but packs a whole lot of punch, this Korean drama is about a mystical bar where people can find help to solve their "grudges" and the mysterious people who run it.
Destined With You is that K drama that just too good for only 16 episodes. There's the right amount of sweet, sarcasm, pettiness, and mystery to keep people tuned in. But honestly all the characters are fun and even the slow parts didn't feel like a chore.
Just finished Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938, and it was a delight for Rang to finally get that happy ending he deserved. The first Nine Tailed was bittersweet and I felt shattered for his sake, even if it was a fitting ending for him. This drama was the perfect love letter for his character.
And dangit, Lee Dong Wook needs to do more dramas with long, flowing hair. He rocks that look.
The #Korean language has ranked as the second-most-popular #Asian language that Americans want to learn, with the popularity of Korean #culture, including #Kdramas and #Kpop, likely contributing to the significant interest, according to a recent study.
I realised something recently - why I avoid shows such The Glory and palace harem dramas.
Bullying. There's so much bullying in them.
And because I suffered from a lot of bullying in different periods of my life, I do not like being reminded of it nor do I enjoy watching people suffer from it. It's stressful!
Revenge dramas however, are a favourite. I wonder why. Bwhaha.
A hilariously accurate representation of my taste. Mostly 😆 However, this graph is not 100% accurate as I went on a documenting spree in May last year when I joined Mydramalist and had been watching #KDramas for some time. In 2023, I watched mostly #CDramas and they were definitely not romance dramas.
I prefer #KDrama romances over #CDrama ones, so I tend to skew there. Also while I tend to pick a show for its fantasy angle rather the romance, but these shows are often are romance focused too.
This tweet got me LOL because it's so true. If you say out loud that these traffic/idol actors are less than perfect, it's like drawing a bullseye on your tweet for the superfans to come out of the weeds and eat you alive.
Predictably this poster got lots of hatred as a result, but she's amused about it.
This is one thing I cant stand about fandom. I often have to censor myself as I do not have the mood to deal with these parasocial superfans.
I have been re-watching JOSEON ATTORNEY and one of the themes it explores is something that I always find fascinating when it comes up in a sageuk: that the nature of monarchy is fundamentally corrosive to one’s humanity (or prosocial instincts if you want to get academic about it).
I’m not talking about the common people who live in a monarchy. I’m talking about the monarch and the people in the royal family.
I love #KDrama#CDrama folks in the Fediverse.
In other fan places people insist you must not "spread negativity" by saying negative things about a show or actor. I have even been warned not to post "things like this" or "you get what you deserve".
If I don't like a show I will very well say it. And if I think an actor's performance needs work, I will state it without prejudice.
I rarely do this, but I find fandom gatekeeping annoying & am so glad it doesn't happen here. #KDramas#Cdramas
Of the lot, I love Flower of Evil and Happiness the most! Flower of Evil may have over-the-top melodramatic moments, but I was so invested in the characters' insane journeys and the ending was so satisfying. Happiness - if there's a genre that needs to be invented, it is "slice of life zombie drama". I want them to make more of these LOL.