The soap operas just put a song or breif sexual encounter to have the leads magically 'fall in love'. In the past, I used to watch some Indian episodes in the background to see how ridiculous it is and suspense, intrigue did not hook me into watching it. The plots are being recycled over and over.
The reason i like cdramas are the plots are different and originality in historical, wuxia, xinxia genres and the amazing CGI backgrounds and effects. They are more actor in cdrama compared to American show. The political and family fights in historical shows are mind blowing and the character development is also far more intricate and compelling. In historical cdramas, the characters grow up together, often having to make tough choices for each other or their people (army, household) which adds a layer of emotional depth. For example, in historical drama the emperor have lot of concubines, consorts, each with her own schemes and fractions featuring powerful connection and yet the emperor remains oblivious to their intelligence, ultimately getting tricked by them.