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Japanese dramas vs Korean dramas

HaraKara
Hi everyone, I started watching anime like 6-7 years ago and slowly moved to japanese live action movies and dramas. Everything was fine and awesome. After that I discovered korean dramas and somehow sticked to them. Several years passed watching only korean shows and now when I try to watch japanese ones all I do is just faceplam. For example new show "Saikou no Rikon". Everyone says this show is good but I couldn't force myself to watch second episode. It's just me or japanese acting is weird, actors not attractive and stories are lame. Somehow to me korean dramas look much much better. What do you think? PS sorry for my bad english PPS I'm a guy and not gay...weird isn't it? :D
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Sygwen
I can say that KDrama are more pretty boys and Fairy tale type of story.. While JDrama have more realistic approach... Both are good but it depends in your taste in drama
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toooldtoofst
You definitely haven't seen the right japanese drama's then. Watch Tiger & Dragon or Kisazaru Cat's Eyes or Ikebukuro West Gate Park (I could go on forever).) Japanese dramas are very unique and have much more variety than korean dramas right now.
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shadowdancer
I agree with neomanxl. J-dramas are always unique, but you have to pick the right ones for your taste. But strangely I also agree with DzyxAsZ about the acting in j-dramas. (with all respect to the very well known, experienced J-actors) So here is my conclusion; I always choose like this: if I want a good story where people are not always perfect than it is a J-drama, if I want to wander in fairy tales where everyone looks and seems to be impossibly perfect than it is a K-drama.
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Krisssu
I actually hated Japanese dramas at first, I mean, they were... weird, the acting was weird and bad, but I think I haven't seen enoguh Japanese dramas to say that, I'm sure that there is a lot of good Japanese dramas, you just need to find them :) But now, after watching LAst Cinderella and 35 sai no Koukousei, I mean, they're nothing like Hana yori dango or Itazura na kiss is... I think there are dramas what are meant for teens (With awkward kissing scenes, bad acting, pretty japanese boys) and dramas, what are meant for olders, with deeper stories :) Its same with korean dramas :) it's only my opinion
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shadowdancer
Krisssu wrote: I actually hated Japanese dramas at first, I mean, they were... weird, the acting was weird and bad, but I think I haven't seen enoguh Japanese dramas to say that, I'm sure that there is a lot of good Japanese dramas, you just need to find them :)
But now, after watching LAst Cinderella and 35 sai no Koukousei, I mean, they're nothing like Hana yori dango or Itazura na kiss is...
I think there are dramas what are meant for teens (With awkward kissing scenes, bad acting, pretty japanese boys) and dramas, what are meant for olders, with deeper stories :) Its same with korean dramas :)
it's only my opinion


I agree with you, especially in japanese dramas the borders between the genres (for youngs, for kids, for women, for men etc etc.) very clear.
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tvxqjung
Same thing happened to me. I actually didn't like Japanese dramas at first. Maybe because I was accustomed to hearing their language in anime characters, not Japanese themselves. So I only watched Korean dramas then. That feeling of not liking Jdramas remained until I watched Maou. Since then, I liked watching Jdramas.
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yoondahyeon VIP
I think japanese dramas come up with new and unique concepts (Love shuffle, quiz show, liar game etc) but right when I am into the drama it ends because it has just 10 or 11 episodes. Which is why I prefer Kdramas. 16-20episodes is the perfect duration for me.
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TheHugMonster
Lately I've grown to appreciate a good J-drama more and more. What I love about Japanese dramas is that they get to the point faster than k-dramas. There aren't too many twists and turns so they're able to wrap up the story after 11 episodes. Also, like previously stated, J-dramas are pretty unique compared to K-dramas. J-dramas are also really great at getting you to emote. I've seen loads of k-dramas that had scenes that were meant to make the viewer devastatingly sad.While those scenes did make me sympathize with the character, they never brought out any empathy in me. On the other hand, I've seen Japanese dramas that have made me push the pause button because I was crying so much that I couldn't see through my tears.

This isn't to say that I don't love Korean dramas. I'm a huge fan of K-dramas and have seen dozens of them. I love the glitz and glamour of the k-drama world. Even when the characters are dirt poor they still manage to look more put together than the average person on the street (there are exceptions to this generality. Choi Kang Hee from 7th Grade Civil Servant is an example. WTF was up with that haircut?). K-dramas are also great at developing characters and their relationships. You don't just watch the drama for its epic love story, but also because the friendship between the characters is so beautiful that you can't help but want to see more. Lastly, you have to give props to all the k-drama writers out there; there are so many dramas out there with eerily similar basises (ex. spoiled rich kid falls in love with poor girl or lovers with an age gap) and yet each drama approaches the scenario in a unique way that keeps the viewer interested. That takes serious skill.
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realdeal
3 types of films in japan 1. Manga-ish 2. Serious type 3. Gory type Manga-ish type is unique in japan, but they are better when it comes to serious type and gory type. ex. of serious type ( departures, nobody knows THOSE FILM FEST MOVIES) ex. of gory type takeshi miike, sion sono, takeshi kitano movies ex. of mangaish type SIMPLE.....If there is no IDOL in the cast its not a manga-ish type of drama
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prettytin
i agree that kdrama stars are more goodlooking. but i don't agree that jdramas are not good. what i like about them is they're short, real and usually not the common stories. maybe the jdramas you've watched are not the good ones.
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Marse
I actually love J-dramas more than K-dramas. It is for the reason that I find J-dramas, like what others have said, unique. They are also short and straight to the point. (Problem is, there's the tendency that we'll feel that it's rushed.) I also like that the friendship of the main characters with the supporting ones are usually shown. In my opinion, J-dramas touches more real life situations. And there's a huge variety to choose from. I agree that you must have picked the not-so-good J-dramas. Now, there's no denying I love K-dramas, too! With all the gorgeous actors and actresses, sophisticated gadgets, interesting stories, well... one could hardly deny he didn't get attracted to those. But I feel like there's something missing in K-dramas. Or at least, in a few of them. I say that maybe it's all in our personal preference with regards to stories. :)
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bannie
jdorama > kdrama
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Mssankacoffee
Out of frustration from not being able to find enough good 'feel good' or romance genre Japanese drama/movies, I searched for others who may not like Japanese films and came across this thread which is very interesting reading the comparisons. I love K Dramas because they have the right blend of escapism/reality in the dramas and movies themselves as well as in the genres. I found the occasional Japanese movies I've watched unique, and interesting: Rurouni Kenshin, Azumi, Battle Royale. I recently finished watching Taiyou no Kisetsu, which I really liked and I'm now watching Orthros no Inu which I'm enjoying, however as usual I find what is missing for me is the 'happy' 'feel good' factor. In my limited experience of Japanese film they are also gritty, and more realistic in their treatment of issues and stories. I am one of those people who watch films for 'escapism', so I don't want to see too much 'reality' hence I like the eye candy or good looking stars and the happy endings and the glamourous sophistication of Korean Dramas. I'm in agreement with previous comments about Japanese dramas/movies being 'weird', serious and even gory to come extent; many of the ones listed are crime, thrillers, mystery and detective films usually involving one or couple of murders. I think Korean Dramas have a broader mix of genres of films. I would like to see more truly romance type of Japanese films, with happy endings, any suggestions?
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Lily_B
Mssankacoffee wrote:
would like to see more truly romance type of Japanese films, with happy endings, any suggestions?

Romance that I enjoyed: Last Cinderella, Rich Man, Poor Woman. (In my opinion, Last Cinderella had a very good blend of escapism/reality.)

This is a very interesting thread for me to read, because I have not watched any Korean drama/movie yet. So, I can't have any opinion on which is "better", I only know that I do like Japanese dramas (I haven't watched very many yet, but different genres, such as feel good romance, feel good without romance [I like that], romance without "reality", suspense, detective, serious...), and from being on MDL, I have learned that there are differences between Japanese and Korean drama.

Many people (not only in this thread) have said that Japanese drama tend to be more "realistic", and that Korean drama tend to be more like "fairy tales", with more "glamour" and "impossibly perfect" characters. Comments like this have made me think that perhaps Korean drama is not my thing. However, I am curious and would like to be able to make up my own mind and have an opinion. So, any suggestions for a first k-drama?
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