I dont get it. Some dramas looks nice and interesting but noone sub this. But k-dramas subbing and not every drama has great story or just actors but without intersting plot but c-dramas a  slowing and just some dramas which have great cast have subs. When i find really nice what i like than no subs or just a few eps sub but with long pause so you waiteing for that some start to continue for sub but you waiting monts.

I started more watching cdramas this year and thats why i am sad

I think it has to with demand and income. A lot of viewers have a negative perception of Chinese dramas (such as awful CG, dubbing, idol-like bright washing production, etc.) and due to this the demand is low. Korean dramas tend to have more "attractive" actors/actresses, shorter in length, and know what works to attract the audience. Oh and the fascination with Korean culture is a huge contribution too (Hallyu Wave). In recent years, Chinese dramas have been gaining a lot more exposure (from licensing sites like Viki and DramaFever) and are gaining a steady fanbase; however, the demand for them is still extremely low compared to Korean dramas. The demand for Korean dramas is so high and the income is there. Sadly, most people are just more interested in watching a Korean drama than a Chinese one. 


i think probably it has to do with finding people willing to sub it.

I agree with you, guys. Being a Chinese drama fan, there's a small amount of dramas from China, Taiwan & Hong Kong that has English subtitles, compared to those from Korea & Japan. To anyone out there who are fluent in Mandarin, & a Chinese drama fan at the same time, why not do English subbing as a hobby? :) Your fellow fans are awaiting & we are here to support.

Definitely agree that there is higher demand in the international market for the korean dramas.

I think there is another reaso, i mean i could be totally wrong about it but i think korean entertainment has more licensing agreement with the likes of viki/DF (thus more and faster subbed)  because K-ent promotes more their products for international market. They are actively seeking partners for selling their products due to the additional revenue that it brings since their local revenue has not been good. While chinese dramas has a big revenue pool in the mainland, so they dont have as much incentive to promote their products internationally. They focus on their mainland audience which give big big rewards, financially. 

Though another posibility is the strickter laws regarding video subbing of chinese dramas they do have those law of having all their dramas viewed and approved in their entirety first before broadcast...? 

Hahaha i dont know, grasping straw to understand the dame issue. I just hope this changes soon. Because after getting hooked on cdrama last year with Nirvana in fire, the disguiser and the likes. I need more of cdramas. And definitely totally desperate to find the full subbed version of 'All quiet in peking'

 Czakhareina:
And definitely totllt desperate to find the full subbed version of 'All quiet in peking'

If you have Netflix, you can find "All Quiet in Peking" fully subbed...

Yes, it does feel that kdrama production companies are more actively seeking licensing of their dramas for subbing, because they need more people to watch them since their market is smaller. But China has so many people and the market is so huge that they "technically" don't really need to make money overseas as much. For example, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms received 40 billion online views from Chinese streaming platforms. Noble Aspirations, Princess Weiyoung, Ode to Joy, Ode to Joy 2, Love O2O, Nirvana in Fire, etc all surpased 10 billion views as well. So I think it may have to do with the size of the markets too. 

But definitely the fact that more people watch kdramas so cdrama subs are less in demand and international fans don't seem to like cdramas as much as kdramas. And sometimes I've noticed that dramas that were very popular/well-liked/critically accalimed in China are not as well received overseas, so it also just has to do with taste in drama-style as well. Because sometimes dramas that are more popular internationally don't do as well in China. 

 stylishgirl:

I agree with you, guys. Being a Chinese drama fan, there's a small amount of dramas from China, Taiwan & Hong Kong that has English subtitles, compared to those from Korea & Japan. To anyone out there who are fluent in Mandarin, & a Chinese drama fan at the same time, why not do English subbing as a hobby? :) Your fellow fans are awaiting & we are here to support.

Have you done subbing before? 

I've done subbing before. I subbed a lot of Journey of Flower (and other dramas) and it wasn't a fun experience. Many hours of work goes into subbing a single 45min episode, I sometimes hated the translated names/places guide we had to use, and sometimes all the thanks you get is rude fans asking for the next episode. 

At the end of the day, if you want Chinese dramas subbed on the level Japanese/Korean dramas are being subbed, then companies will need to pay translators. There is too much work for fansubbers to do it as a hobby when you have 10 episodes releasing a week. 

 darcy:

Have you done subbing before? 

I've done subbing before. I subbed a lot of Journey of Flower (and other dramas) and it wasn't a fun experience. Many hours of work goes into subbing a single 45min episode, I sometimes hated the translated names/places guide we had to use, and sometimes all the thanks you get is rude fans asking for the next episode. 

At the end of the day, if you want Chinese dramas subbed on the level Japanese/Korean dramas are being subbed, then companies will need to pay translators. There is too much work for fansubbers to do it as a hobby when you have 10 episodes releasing a week. 

Not yet. Unfortunately, I'm not fluent in Mandarin...I understand how tiring the job of a subber would be, added by the harsh comments, like about the acting, cast, etc.. it's upsetting, too, as a Chinese drama fan. We are entitled to our own different opinions. I appreciate all the effort & hard work that was done by those who were subbing dramas. Hopefully in the future, I can be able to learn how to communicate in Mandarin so that it won't be hard for me to understand. Meanwhile I'll stick to watching raw episodes/non subbed ones, but even if I'm not able to understand any word they're saying, it's funny that I can still enjoy watching some, thru the help of reading the sypnosis & reviews online, too. As what they say, actions speak louder than words. I also wanted to buy DVDs from YesAsia, because there's some with English subtitles, but as of now, I can't afford buying them, so I'll wait until I have enough money to buy one....

supply and demand. 10 years ago. jdrama was the thing. subs came out in 24hrs. slowly it has shifted to kdrama and thus the subs for kdrama are quickest now. 

cdrama does not have a high demand ESPECIALLY because it is a language that at least 1/3 of the world speaks. 

lots of kdrama and jdrama market is guess where ASIA. but not alot of people outside of their respective counties can speak korean or japanese.

similarly. cdrama market is also ASIA. but how many millions of chinese are outside of china? they dont need eng subs. in fact, just like anime they rather not have subs or dubs. 

I think the reason is simply that there are too many Cdramas, I read somewhere before that China is the biggest producer of dramas worldwide and produces over 400 dramas every year. Korean dramas certainly are only very little compared to Cdramas so it's easier to sub them all.

Like many others pointed out, Korean dramas tend to be more popular, also shorter so it's fast to translate. Also, like someone pointed out: translating is not an easy job. 

I was a translator once, not for dramas but for japanese mangas, and let me say it's a repetitive and sometimes underrated job. Keep in mind that fansubs translate everything for free, and if translating something written is already hard, imagine how harder it's to watch and rewatch one scene only to translate it into something foreigns would understand?

That's why the demand is important: if people watch and ask for more, then it's obvious that the translators will do it. Chinese dramas are unfortunate because they have a number of episodes far superior (most of times) and, it's only expeculation, some watchers simply don't want to watch 30 episodes or more (if you compare to kdramas or jdramas, that's a lot of stuff, mainly for the ones used to shorter dramas)

But I understand the struggle. I'm a fan of chinese dramas, and there are plenty I really wanted to watch but can't because there's no sub. 

I'm more than willing to sub, but I don't know how to.

probably because there is a much higher amount of people who understands chinese as compared to korean

Okay, this is annoying. Korean Dramas get subtitled within 8 hrs of television broadcast. Chinese Dramas don't get subtitled even after months of release. Also, Chinese Drama Industry is kinda chaotic. They drop drama all of sudden without proper promotion. Some dramas get released after months of completion. I mean it's a total chaos and mismanagement. Many good Dramas are Web Dramas in China. Only a percent or two of C Dramas are available on Kissasian, NewAsiantv etc but every K Drama is available on these Sites. There are so many mandarin speakers out they, why the hell no onr translates C Dramas?