“Like an echo in the forest
The day will come back around
As if nothing happened
Yeah life goes on”
Just as K Pop sensation BTS releases their new album ‘BE’ and ‘Life Goes On’ hits 20 million views on YouTube within hours, I know I have to write this post now more than ever. The world as we knew it changed in the last 12 months. The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than a million lives so far and this count increases every day. But in the wake of this pandemic, it is leaving behind a generation of broken hearts and crippled minds which will need super human efforts to mend. This pandemic has taken away the most important essence of being human – the ability to hope. The reassurance that as the sun goes down today, there will be a brighter and better tomorrow waiting for us.
People said in the beginning that the lockdown is going to be hard on the extroverts, the social butterflies so to speak. That this was the time for the introverts to rule the world. I felt at ease. I could work from home all the time. No more office parties with people I was not comfortable with. I was winning this; at least I did for the first couple of months.
And then something started changing. The world around me started turning into a huge void. My mind kept slipping into a numbing melancholy. Then there were days when I would just get up and cry. Then there would be some when I just could not get up at all.
The lockdown after all did affect the social recluses too, equally if not harder. The only human touch that came from seeing the world go by had gone. It was as if a black hole was swallowing my entire existence. Then I was rescued by the most unusual savior. This post is my tribute to my knight in shining armor – the world of Korean dramas or K-Dramas as they are popularly known which saved me from my world of dread and gloom.
What is this K-Drama all about?
Like many others, I was introduced to the world of K Dramas through Crash Landing on You (CLOY) which is the third highest rated South Korean drama in cable television history. Despite a predictable storyline, CLOY was, surprisingly, as fresh as the smell of the first rain. 16 hours of Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin’s magnetic onscreen chemistry, melodious Yoon Mi Rae background scores, incredible cinematography and attention to detail from director Lee Jyun-Hyo, filled me with that warm and fuzzy feeling I needed the most at the time. With it started my journey into an entirely unknown world of beautifully crafted stories, warm emotions, heart melting music, incredible direction, great performances and above all, stories of hope. Hope that not all is lost; that everything will turn out just fine; that humanity will get through this and more and still survive.
As it stands, K-Dramas are sweeping the world now, at least much of the eastern world. The Chinese have already coined a term for this- Hallyu, literally translating to the Korean Wave. And indeed what a wave it is. It has swept me off my feet, taken away my despair, and brought me joy with its every ebb and flood. So I rode the tide and this is what I learnt on why the K Dramas are the perfect antidote to these virulent times, well literally.
What is so good about K-Dramas?
I have now watched dozens of K Dramas and Korean movies, mostly thanks to the ingenuity of Netflix who have amply cashed in on this phenomena. As of Nov’2020, Netflix airs 88 K-Dramas with almost 30% of these being Netflix originals. New seasons and new dramas are added to this list every month.
So what is with these K-Dramas that has captured my heart and the hearts of so many around the world. Here I list the ones that stand out to me.
Cinematography and Direction
I don’t know much about the art and science of film direction, but as a viewer I can differentiate between a scene that just passes by versus a scene that extraordinarily sticks to my consciousness and ever so lightly melts into sub consciousness, leaving behind a calming effect. The close ups, the camera angles and above all the pristine locations used in these series, are a visual treat. To top it all, it’s the attention to detail in every shot that blew my mind away. One of my favorite K Dramas is Something in The Rain (which probably is also due to the fact that I have fallen head over for Son Ye Jin’s smile) and I cannot explain how taken aback I have been with the little details. You could hear the seat belt warning beeping in the car, nudging Son Ye Jin’s character to put on the seat belt. She carries the same handbag to work every day which is exactly what I would do too because changing bags every day is no fun. I could just go on, but then there are other things to discuss as well.
Music
This is almost a no brainer at a time when K-Pop is ruling the charts. There is seldom a K-Drama which doesn’t have a captivating background score. Something that you will keep humming to yourself days after having finished watching, or which is on repeat on your Spotify or Amazon Music player. K-Dramas OST is an actual playlist on Spotify and that already tells you the immense popularity it has been seeing lately. I will let you listen to a few and judge for yourself.
Storyline
Every story has a story to tell. Sounds incredulous, right? Sadly, more often than not, we find ourselves reading and watching stories, which do not have a plot or a story to narrate. Not when it comes to the K-Dramas though. Each of these have a story to tell, some really simple, some with a message and all with a captivating plot. Something in the Rain had the simplest of stories, of a woman falling in love with her younger brother’s friend. Then there was One Spring Night where a single father falls in love with a woman his age. Both these stories are about as simple as they can get, and that is where the beauty lies – that these are every day stories which we see around us. Then there are the more serious plots on mental health (Its Ok to not be Okay), on Autism (Good Doctor and in case you were wondering, the Korean edition is the original with the ABC buying the rights to it), on breast cancer in men (Don’t Dare to Dream). These and more served with side plots of racism, of sexual harassment at work, of glass ceilings and of everything in between.
Tone and Character
No matter how dark the storyline, the rendering is always positive. Good triumphs evil. Not because good has to triumph overall evil. But because good tries until it triumphs over evil. There is a Confucianism at the core of character and tone. Humans are basically all good. There are situations that make us do bad things. Given a chance there is a good deed waiting in all of us. In a simple way, it just reiterates that not everything is wrong with the world and that in the end everything will be all right, if we all just try enough. In these bleak times, this is the only message that I want to read, over and over again.
Romance, Pace and Everything else
Lastly, these K-Dramas are more than just great stories, amazing directions, beautiful casts and heart melting music. There is a certain feeling of belongingness watching these stories unfold; stories providing glimpses into a society and tradition that at first sight seemed so different but is much closer home. Reverence for the elders, strong familial ties, notorious class differences and even the simple act of leaving your shoes at the door, make these stories more relatable to me (I am an Indian) than the regular Hollywood productions that I have been Netflix-ing on for years.
For me, the K-Dramas are like a magic potion with the right amount of everything. It is a precise dosage of romance (where an emotional kiss is more exhilarating than sex), a judicious mix of comedy, combined with apt plot twists, rendered at a constant fast pace (every episode moves the story forward) with a finite end (most K-Dramas are of 16 episodes and have only one Season) that make these so addictive. But in these desperate times, when the choice is between keeping my sanity and remaining addicted to positive storytelling, I will keep choosing the latter.
These K-Dramas have been my starlight, guiding me through my darkest nights and like me if you are ready to risk a little addiction, here are my recommendations that will see you through this pandemic and beyond.
| Titles | Sub-Genre | Seasons | Episodes | Network |
| Crash Landing on You | Romance | 1 | 16 | Netflix |
| Something in the Rain | Romance | 1 | 16 | Netflix |
| It’s Okay That’s Love | Romance | 1 | 16 | Netflix |
| One Spring Night | Romance | 1 | 16 | Netflix |
| Don’t Dare to Dream | Romance | 1 | 24 | Netflix |
| Dr. Romantic | Medical | 2 | 36 | Netflix |
| Good Doctor | Medical | 1 | 20 | Netflix |
| It’s Okay to not be Okay | Romance | 1 | 16 | Netflix |
| Reply 1988 | Romance | 1 | 21 | Netflix |
| Secret Love Affair | Romance | 1 | 16 | Rakuten Viki |
| Encounter | Romance | 1 | 16 | Rakuten Viki |
| While You were Sleeping | Romance | 1 | 16 | Rakuten Viki |
| Romance is a Bonus Book | Romance | 1 | 16 | Netflix |
| Itaewon Class | Romance | 1 | 16 | Netflix |
| Hospital Playlist | Medical | 1 | 16 | Netflix |
| Doctor John | Medical | 1 | 16 | Netflix |
| Record of Youth | Youth, Romance | 1 | 16 | Netflix |
| Descendants of the Sun | Romance | 1 | 16 | Netflix |
| Memories of Alhambra | Sci-fi, Thriller | 1 | 16 | Netflix |
| Tune in for Love | Romance | Movie | Rakuten Viki | |
| The Negotiation | Thriller | Movie | Netflix | |
| Goblin | Romance | 1 | 16 | Rakuten Viki |
| A Piece of your Mind | Sci-fi, Romance | 1 | 16 | Rakuten Viki |
| Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol | Romance | 1 | 16 | Netflix |
