K-Pop or K-Drama? Which would you choose?

    K-Pop or K-Dramas? 27

    1. K-Pop (19) 70%
    2. K-Dramas (8) 30%

    If you were forced to sacrifice one for the other, which would you keep? K-Pop or K-Dramas?


    Doing a different kind of data collection today :pepe-notes:


    I love both, so this would be extremely hard for me

    Quote from Eldeweiss

    I barely watch K-drama so the choice is easy.

    Oh you sweet winter child, how I envy you. To have so many amazing dramas available for you to experience for the first time

    Quote from Taemin-Identity

    I choose both or neither ;judgingpepe:


    I can survive without both of them, but I can’t survive without one of them. It is a very strong symbiosis

    :meme-what:  :meme-confused:



    Quote from StelloMomoDay

    As a K-pop fan since 2016 and an AKP member since 2018, I've never watched a K-Drama. If I watch any I will start with two that star members of my all-time ult group, Girl's Day. Mina in Beautiful Gong Shim, and Hyeri in My Roommate Is a Gumiho. If those are good I will seek out more.

    Add Shooting Stars to the list. Sojin has a very prominent supporting role in that drama

  • AllKill VIP

    Finally, something different from Yama-boy! You must be a clone or something. :meme-hide-the-pain:


    Anyway, I'd choose, Kdrama. Why? Because it's less toxic, and if I watch Kdramas, I can still listen to the OSTs, so it means I can listen to Kpop as well. :meme-conspiracy:


    To be fair, the Kpop and Kdrama world are similar quality wise, especially if you only care about the mainstream stuff, and I can live without those. There's enough trash in Hollywood anyway. 🤣


    If someone want to watch more mature and well-written Kdramas, send me a DM or something!

    Pretty good list, except Queen of Tears and especially Lovely Runner. One of the worst written Kdrama I've ever seen, probably. 🤣 QoT was just too over the top and the 2nd half was a lot of mess.


    The Glory, Atypical Family, Love Scout, Judge from Hell, The Revenant is great and well-written more mature shows.


    My faves are these, btw:


    The Glory

    Atypical Family

    The Revenant

    Castaway Diva

    Doona!

    Extraordinary Attorney Woo - Best Kdrama of 2022!

    Flower of Evil

    Mr. Plankton - (Best Kdrama of 2024 by a mile)

    My Mister

    Today's Webtoon - (very underrated Kdrama)

    Twenty-Five Twenty-One

    Twinkling Watermelon - (What Lovely Runner tried to be😅)

    Age of Youth

    Business Proposal - Typical romcom, overall good, but the finale was a bit letdown.

    Crash Landing on You

    Daily Dose of Sunshine - Best Kdrama of 2023!

    Good Doctor 2013

    Hotel del Luna

    Move to Heaven

    Song of the Bandits - Another underrated, more mature drama

    Welcome to Samdal-ri

    While You Were Sleeping

    Anna - (I recommend the director cut version)

    Arthdal Chronicles - One of the best fantasy show I've seen!

    It's Okay to Not Be Okay


    plus Love Scout if they don't mess up the ending.


    Two of my All-Time favorite Sageuk:


    Hur Jun, the Original Story 2013

    Queen Seon Deok 2009

    Nah, I'm not going to stand for Lovely Runner slander. That drama deserved all the praise and accolades it received.


    It had great acting, two leads with sizzling chemistry, an incredible soundtrack and an engaging story that subverted some expectations of the typical K-Drama tropes.


    In the era where Netflix has become a somewhat oppressive force in the industry, it has a very nostalgic charm to it that reminded me of the old school dramas from a decade ago, before Netflix took over (not that I don't like Netflix dramas).

    Since Senior Singer will be into acting this year, not threatening Kpop, to the joy of WhyKnock

    I guess I will have to pick K-drama.


    Aside from Gangnam Style, I got into K-pop via K-drama. And "stories" have more cultural resonance than "music". Great music is available more easily everywhere than well depicted stories.

    So I would still pick K-drama.

    Quote from Yama-Chan

    Nah, I'm not going to stand for Lovely Runner slander. That drama deserved all the praise and accolades it received.


    It had great acting, two leads with sizzling chemistry, an incredible soundtrack and an engaging story that subverted some expectations of the typical K-Drama tropes.

    Great acting? Sure. Great chemistry, sure. The soundtrack was good too, but that's all.


    I don't think it subverted any Kdrama tropes. If anything, they used all those tropes in the worst possible way.


    You know what, I'm gonna copy and paste my whole review in the spoiler section! It's easier. 😂


    Quote

    In the era where Netflix has become a somewhat oppressive force in the industry, it has a very nostalgic charm to it that reminded me of the old school dramas from a decade ago, before Netflix took over (not that I don't like Netflix dramas).

    I don't think that's true. I keep seeing people say this, and blaming Netflix for the lack of quality Kdrama. They only give the money, the shows are still written by Koreans.


    You can find a lot of cringe or crap Kdrama 10 or 20 years ago as well, just like great ones. I don't think anything changed, except one thing. Now, Kdramas are more popular and can have bigger budget. But not gonna lie, I still prefer the old ones. But not because those are better, it's more about nostalgia.

    I'm not in the business of debating completely subjective topics like how much a person enjoyed a specific drama. I'm just voicing my full support of Lovely Runner, and I think it easily ranks as a top 3 drama of 2024. The story isn't original, but it's well written and has a lot of heart. The script is tight and the narrative is about as cohesive as one can hope for given the plot device that fuels the story is one that can quickly descend into a chaotic mess when written poorly.


    As for the Netflix piece, that wasn't an opinion; it is a fact: one that actors/actresses complained about last year. Netflix K-Dramas are a behemoth now, and the K-Drama industry itself complained about it


    See:


    "Actors can't find work," Netflix's dominance over the Korean entertainment market sparks an industry crisis
    "In the past, I received so many project offers that I would say, ‘Please, let me take a break,’ or ‘I just want to rest.&rsqu…
    www.allkpop.com


    I'm neither arguing for or against their claims, but it's undeniable how much of an impact Netflix has had on Korean dramas and even Chinese dramas.


    I also never equated nostalgia with quality nor implied there weren't plenty of subpar dramas ten years ago. All I said was that Lovely Runner has a nostalgic charm that is hard to find in dramas nowadays. Love Scout is an example of another drama that gives me that same nostalgic, warm and cozy vibe.


    What have I told you about fighting strawmen, David?

    Quote from Yama-Chan

    I'm not in the business of debating completely subjective topics like how much a person enjoyed a specific drama. I'm just voicing my full support of Lovely Runner, and I think it easily ranks as a top 3 drama of 2024. The story isn't original, but it's well written and has a lot of heart. The script is tight and the narrative is about as cohesive as one can hope for given the plot device that fuels the story is one that can quickly descend into a chaotic mess when written poorly.

    And it is one of the K-dramas I gave up after few episodes. Yes it is subjective taste. Time Travel+High School Romance+Music = "Twinkling Watermelon" was fantastic in keeping me engaged.


    But as you say, statistically Koreans have deemed LR a hit, that is all there is to it.

    Quote from Yama-Chan

    As for the Netflix piece,

    Netflix is indeed problematic, like any capitalistic consolidative enterprise - it has great benefits, yet will be hard on the outliers. Those kind of challenges are solved only by competition, either built locally Kakao or getting other big players - Disney, IQiyi, Reliance etc.,


    Viewers, actors, producers all will have more options when there is competition.

    Did you read my review about Lovely Runner? If you do, you can see, it's not entirely subjective, especially when we're talking about the plot. I don't hate the show at all, and yes it has its charms, BUT the writing was poor and inconsistent. The writer couldn't even follow her own rules. IF you want to see a well-written time traveling drama, watch "Twinkling Watermelon" or even "2521" even tho the last one is not really a time-traveling plot.


    As for Netflix, this is what Kim Haneul said:


    "In the past, I received so many project offers that I would say, ‘Please, let me take a break,’ or ‘I just want to rest.’ But now, the number of opportunities has drastically decreased. I’ve come to realize just how precious it is to be offered a script,"


    This is 100% pure bullshit! Why? Because in 2024 alone, she had 2 projects! One of those was produced by Disney!😂

    And she hardly worked on any Kdrama even tho, she's not a rookie, she's in this industry since 1998! Never made a movie since 2017!


    Go Hyun Jung who is one of my favorite actress btw said this: "I’m not getting any offers for roles. I don’t need to be the lead, and I’m even willing to lower my appearance fee."


    Yet, she worked with Netflix in 2023 on "Mask Girl" as a LEAD ACTRESS! And probably most people know that she was married to Korea's richest guy, the son of the owner of Samsung! They messed up her entire career, not Netflix!


    Also, in 2003 she divorced from her husband, and regained her top star status in Korea, becoming the highest-paid actress on TV after the success of her series "Queen Seondeok" and "Daemul".


    And so on. I won't quote the whole article.


    I work in this industry, I've read 100s of articles about how streaming platforms ruining Hollywood etc. The fact is, less people go to the cinemas, because it's easier and cheaper to watch movies online! Yet, somehow, hundreds of movies and TV shows are released every year.


    All these actors and producers are only whining because they don't get anything from the cake!


    Also, a stat for you all: AT LEAST 90% of Korean movies and shows are still produced by KOREAN companies! Netflix, Amazon, Disney, VIKI etc are still in the minority! How can anyone say they're taking over the industry?


    People blaming Netflix, because it's the biggest streaming platform, BUT the fact is, VIKI has 10 times more Kdrama on their platform! And not just Korean!😂


    I'm not defending anyone, btw, I hate every company, but let's not act as if Korean companies and even some actors say these things, because they only care about the art. Their main focus is the money! Also, don't forget, a LOT of mainstream Korean actors earn more money for 1 tiny role than an ENTIRE crew, including other actors!

    Edited once, last by David33 ().

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