🤣🤣🤣 you are hilarious Mridu! I've been contemplating some of these tropes for myself recently too, and it holds up much the same way as you've described! My best friend from high school is gay. My 'first love', I dumped for very good reasons. I definitely don't seem to have supernatural links (although the black cat now residing in my house, after randomly turning up on Fri 13th may foreshadow otherwise 🤔). My particular work doesn't really facilitate romance, secret or otherwise. I don't have a time machine. Love triangle sounds entirely too tiring to juggle. And fortuntely I don't seem to harbour any nemeses! I think I'll continue to live vicariously through dramas 😆
Another fantastic article Shiro. I have high hopes of progress in K-Drama with "You Raise Me Up". Amongst other things, Jennifer is a natural member of the story, rather than a punchline/lesson/brag. The one flaw in it, is that sex doesn't happen unless there's an erection, so forget female pleasure just yet...
Why shouldn't we defend him? Because some unknown A claims something in public? Anyone can claim anything in public…
An apology is definitely not an admission of guilt. It's just a social expectation. And considering idols in SK routinely have to make public apologies to fans etc. for dating, getting married, getting sick...I no longer consider a public apology from an SK celebrity to have any particular meaning. It's risky to make a judgement based on anonymous words posted on social media, and the very curated words of a public apology.
Loved this! And the ratings prove that there is an audience for non-toxic, no stupid misunderstandings, high EQ, relationship dramas. Pity the typical name change;"You Are My City and Fortress", is so much more compelling.
So much gratitude and applause for your article.! What you have addressed, needs to be pointed out again and again. Non-consensual and toxic relationships, be it romantic or otherwise, are absolutely the fodder for drama scripts. If only more writers /directors, were willing to directly address it within the story.
What we see all the time is what becomes normalised. Modelling of behaviour is everything - i.e. it doesn't matter what someone tells you, it's what you see them do that counts.
The power dramas have to initiate cultural change, is enormous, if only more writers /directors/production companies would embrace this! They should read your article!
I have a request for another article in your series. Can you address casual violence in dramas as well? I don't watch as many C-dramas and this may be more particular to K-dramas, but I find the endless casual violence (foreahead flicks, back slaps, arm wrenches, head slaps) so disturbing.
Ki Eun Yoo (I-Jun), holy sheet! And Go Do Yeon (Bo-Ra)! What incredible talents. Guess I'll be watching Kdrama for another 15 years or so to see what they're capable of 🤷♀️
Awesome article. So good, you've definitely convinced me, unfortunately, I should avoid watching Secrets In The Lattice. I absolutely loathe the Twilight series (and the even worse Fifty Shades series it spawned). Obviously I am very well aware I am in the very tiny minority here, but again, great article and thanks for the heads up! 😁
This might be a bit impolitic to say, but one of the great things about turn of the century dramas (that's right this was early 2000's!) is that you get to see leads without circle lenses and porcelain dental facings. The pressure to have a perfect appearance now, must be enormous and exhausting.
Yes to no.2. As to no.1 Not that I can see. I have no idea why it's tagged 'step-parent', unless they're alluding to the potential for the divorcees to remarry 🤷♀️
Enjoy the watching - it's a lot of episodes for a k-drama so be prepared for plots to unroll slowly...
Not sure it's quite like this 🤔 but I'm rewatching "Once Again" whilst we wait for episodes. ...Lee Sang Yi in a support role, somewhat stealing the show at times. With romance, and a stellar cast.
The chemistry in this is so 🍾 I love how Young-ho flirts with Joo Eun from their first conversation... "I've never torn someone's clothes off so soon upon meeting..." Hmmmmm cheeky
Sorry for very delayed response, but I'm back her after my annul rewatch... I had a completely different viewing experience - I found the show was criticsl of the culture for judging people based on their weight or appearance. And for Kang Joo Eun the focus was on her health not on her weight. She is asked repeatedly by Young-ho "Why do you want to lose weight?" - when she should've been concerned for her health. It's a drama about who you are on the inside, not whst you look like on the outside.
Very late response but anyway...Actually BMI has proved to be, not that great "science". But the conerns re: belly fat and hypothyroidism are definitely "science"
1 
I've been contemplating some of these tropes for myself recently too, and it holds up much the same way as you've described! My best friend from high school is gay. My 'first love', I dumped for very good reasons. I definitely don't seem to have supernatural links (although the black cat now residing in my house, after randomly turning up on Fri 13th may foreshadow otherwise 🤔). My particular work doesn't really facilitate romance, secret or otherwise. I don't have a time machine. Love triangle sounds entirely too tiring to juggle. And fortuntely I don't seem to harbour any nemeses!
I think I'll continue to live vicariously through dramas 😆
What we see all the time is what becomes normalised. Modelling of behaviour is everything - i.e. it doesn't matter what someone tells you, it's what you see them do that counts.
The power dramas have to initiate cultural change, is enormous, if only more writers /directors/production companies would embrace this! They should read your article!
I have a request for another article in your series. Can you address casual violence in dramas as well? I don't watch as many C-dramas and this may be more particular to K-dramas, but I find the endless casual violence (foreahead flicks, back slaps, arm wrenches, head slaps) so disturbing.
The pressure to have a perfect appearance now, must be enormous and exhausting.
As to no.1 Not that I can see. I have no idea why it's tagged 'step-parent', unless they're alluding to the potential for the divorcees to remarry 🤷♀️
Enjoy the watching - it's a lot of episodes for a k-drama so be prepared for plots to unroll slowly...
...Lee Sang Yi in a support role, somewhat stealing the show at times. With romance, and a stellar cast.
I love how Young-ho flirts with Joo Eun from their first conversation... "I've never torn someone's clothes off so soon upon meeting..." Hmmmmm cheeky
I had a completely different viewing experience - I found the show was criticsl of the culture for judging people based on their weight or appearance. And for Kang Joo Eun the focus was on her health not on her weight. She is asked repeatedly by Young-ho "Why do you want to lose weight?" - when she should've been concerned for her health. It's a drama about who you are on the inside, not whst you look like on the outside.
But the conerns re: belly fat and hypothyroidism are definitely "science"