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.     

A Spiraling Obession

I wish that I could pin-point the exact moment that I entered the world of Korean Dramas.  That moment in which I became so obsessed that I stopped watching anything but dramas that were subtitled.  The instance that I fell over the precipice.  I know what show it was which stole my heart and captured my undying attention, but the details of how I discovered the show are a bit fuzzy.  However, despite my inability to recall the exacts of my entrance to this world I am going to try and recount my spiral into obsession.

In the grand scheme of obsessed K-Drama addicts my time here has been relatively short, it has been exactly half a year since I discovered Boys Over Flowers.  I was blissfully watching a TV show on Hulu.com, right now I have no idea what show that was.  However, when it concluded Hulu graciously suggested other shows that were similar to the one I had finished and given four or five stars to.  There were about ten suggested options, all but one were British or American shows.  Then, at the end of the line, there was Boys Over Flowers.  I remember finding the title humorous, the image of the four men intriguing considering the posh and somewhat effeminate clothing they were wearing, and being intrigued because I had no idea what it was.

Now, as I am a firm lover of all things of the Korean Drama world, I wish I could say that I dove head first into Boys Over Flowers with excitement and an open mind.  In truth, I clicked on it to see just how ridiculous the show turned out to be.  I watched the first episode and chuckled at the concept, told myself it was all very silly, and went on with watching some other show which had been in the suggested list.  However, I couldn't get that first episode out of my head.  I kept thinking about how strong Geum Jan Di was, how her exuberance made me wish other female leads had that attitude.  Of course I was drawn to the absolutely gorgeous faces of the F4 group as well.  It wasn't more than three to five days later and I was back on Hulu and watching Boys Over Flowers again.

The moment that I gave in and went back to watch the second episode I was hooked.  I fell in love with the acting, the filming style, the story concepts, the character archetypes... all of it.  I watched seven hours of Boys Over Flowers that day and spent every hour of my work week trying to determine when I could fit in time to watch the rest of the episodes.  Once I completed all twenty-five shows I wanted more... no that isn't actually true I needed more.  I was three-hundred percent addicted and there was no going back.  Truthfully I didn't want to go back, I was in love.

Since then I have spent every free moment I can watching dramas from Korea and Taiwan.  I have found blogs about others who share my love of these dramas, I have subscribed to Dramafever.com so I can watch my dramas without the interruption of commercials... I think about the drama I am currently watching all the time and debate which drama will fill my need next.  Obsessed... absolutely obsessed and loving every moment of it.