K-Dramas — Where Reality and Imagination Meet
Hello writers and readers, today, let me share my Korean drama experience, the current series that has captured my attention!
When I was in my college days, I watched my first Korean Drama, “Boys Over Flowers,” which is literally a super hit and one of the most famous K-dramas. If you ask any K-drama fans, they will undoubtedly mention that they began their K-drama journey with “Boys Over Flowers.” The impact and the casual narration of the drama have attracted a tremendous number of viewers, especially girls!
I have watched the series in my mother tongue, “Tamil.” It was telecasted on a TV channel, and after it ended, the next series, “Coffee Prince,” was telecasted. That was the first time I saw my favorite actor, “Gong Yoo.” Literally, I’m totally addicted to his charisma and the aura of his presence. So that’s how I got into this K-drama Universe.
Why do Girls love K-drama more?
Let me share the psychological aspect of this. Think in the mindset of teenage girls; most of them will be in college, either in their first or third year of studies. Amid the hectic study courses and schedules, those short 45 to 50-minute episodes per day become their only respite, allowing them to indulge in some “me-time” by watching these dramas.
When K-dramas are broadcast on traditional TV platforms, their viewership gradually rises to new heights, all thanks to K-dramas. Now, let’s get to the point: why do they attract more girls? The answer is simple. The male characters portrayed in these dramas are, in most cases, imaginary and don’t represent the typical men of today.
For instance, if we rewind 15 years ago, men would likely buy sanitary pads if their wife, sisters, or girlfriends requested it. They often had little knowledge about women’s menstrual periods. However, in K-dramas, the male lead buys sanitary pads for his girl. Moreover, he pampers her like a baby, feeding her and tucking her into bed. This might seem imaginary, but it’s a reality in South Korea.
Furthermore, there is no gender-based division of tasks. Take, for example, the Korean drama “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo,” released around 2015, I guess. The protagonist is a female weightlifter who works with heavy weights, traditionally considered a man’s domain. I believe these are the primary reasons why K-dramas attract and captivate more girls.
The latest K-drama which gets My Attraction
I have watched nearly 100+ K-dramas for the past 10+ years. Still, I remember I have maintained a schedule for each drama, when it will get telecasted and when the episodes get uploaded. Those were the times I was in the hype of my teenage and K-drama.
Years have passed on, and the lifestyle has changed, family time, working time, and so on. Nowadays, weekends are my only “me-time” I have, that’s just 2 or 3 hours for 2 days. I’m using those hours completely for myself; simply, I will do just three things:
- Sleep.
- Google research.
- Watching drama/film.
As a work-from-home person, I’m supposed to work for a complete 8 hours, sometimes, it will get extended to 9 to 10 hours, too, so my sleep cycle is completely messed up. Maintaining the sleep cycle is a big task!
Coming back to the theme of the blog, recently, when I was Google searching, I found a meme that I was curious to check out. Here is the meme:
Then, only I found the drama “Twinkling Watermelon.” This name exactly grabbed my attention. How the title is related to the drama and how it turns out!
The Twinkling Watermelon
“Twinkling Watermelon” is a drama about this dude named Eun-gyeol who loves music, but his dad can’t hear it. He gets mad at his dad and sells his guitar, and then he goes back in time to 1995. He meets his dad as a teen and joins his band, Watermelon Sugar. He also meets a girl named Se-Kyung, who is his mom in the future, and another girl named Eun-yoo, who looks like her and also comes from the future. Eun-gyeol tries to hook up his dad with his mom while also having a crush on Eun-yoo. He also learns more about his parents’ history and why they time-traveled.
The drama shows Eun-gyeol’s crazy adventures in 1995 as he deals with things like a music contest, a bad guy, Eun-yoo’s depression, and the concert where Eun-gyeol’s father is going to perform. That’s a short summary of the drama up to Episode 10!
Especially exciting is the tension between Eun-gyeol and Se-kyung. On the other side, Cheong-ah proposes her love to Yi-chan via her drawings. The episode ends with a kiss! No more spoilers; watch the drama and find out who has the personal moment.
On the whole, “Twinkling Watermelon” has unexpected twists and turns with funny, entertaining portions and sentiments that make the drama even more watchable.
So that’s a wrap! If you’re like me and love to watch K-drama, just drop the first Korean drama you have watched and get excited with!