Happily Ever After

My first foray into the world of Korean Dramas turned out to have a happy ending.  I was very lucky indeed.  Though I have a feeling from the words of netizens that a great many people’s first K-Drama is Boys Over Flowers.  Regardless, I feel pretty lucky that my first drama had a happy ending (for the most part).  Throughout the entire twenty-five episodes I was uncertain if there would be a happy ending, Jun Pyo and Jan Di kept encountering such immense obstacles that the ending was never definite.  However, the last episode wrapped it up in a sweet bow and I melted away from happiness. 

I am such a sucker for a happy ending.  Always have been.  This love of the feel good closure to a show/movie/book/graphic novel/etc has carried over to dramas.  I’ve experienced enough hardship and tragedy in the real world, I don’t like to end a drama on a note which rips my heart out.  Now, that isn’t to say that I don’t appreciate the twists and turns, ups and downs, and climactic moments within the drama itself which keep you guessing.  Those I absolutely love.  The moments where I am bawling my eyes out and unsure of the fate of the characters are some of my most favorite.  Yet at the end of that emotional rollercoaster I want to be left with a warm glow, a happy ending is a must.

Once I finished Boys Over Flowers I needed more, it was evident even then that I was obsessed and addicted.  Admittedly I chose my next drama because it had Lee Min Ho in it.  After watching him for twenty-five plus hours as Jun Pyo I really wanted to see more of him.  So I immediately started City Hunter, which was a completed different vibe from Boys Over Flowers.  It wasn’t until about halfway through City Hunter that I started to worry that the ending would tear my heart out and stomp on it.  It wasn’t enough to make me stop watching, but I found that as I closed in on the ending of the show I was terribly anxious.  I needed him to succeed and desperately wanted Yoon Sung and Na Na to be together with a happily ever after ending.  By the last episode I was so high strung with insecurity that it was a traumatic experience to finish the show.  It ended and I got my wish.  But boy was I exhausted after that ride.

That terrifying ride didn’t stop me from diving right into another drama.  This time I followed Kim Hyun Joong (Ji Ho from Boys Over Flowers).  I needed something light and fluffy and silly after City Hunter and Playful Kiss seemed exactly perfect.  Now, to say that I dove right in and started the show is a lie.  I took some time to research.  I read review about the show, well to be more exact I literally typed into Google ‘does Playful Kiss have a happy ending’.  Yup, I wasn’t going to commit to a show unless I knew that no matter how insane or crazy the plots twists and obstacles were that I’d get the warm-fuzzies when the show was done.  There were plenty of snippets out there and it was easy to ascertain that Playful Kiss would have a satisfying ending, so at that point I did dive right in… once I was sure I’d survive the ride.

Now before I commit to any drama I spend a few minutes searching the internet for a clue as to what I’m getting myself into.  Some people might say this is cheating or that I’m ruining the ending for myself.  I can’t deny that, I am ruining the ending because I go into the story knowing how it’s going to end up.  For me though I can’t handle the anxiety and chance that I’ll be left with this hollow pain because the characters I’ve fallen in love with end up dead or unhappy.  I watch dramas to escape reality and I want my fantasy to have happiness and rainbows at the conclusion of every tale.