I often ask myself how I got to this point. How did I become so into Asian dramas? For ages I always thought they looked awful (in comparison to the Western shows I was so used to), despite being told otherwise by my friend who was obsessed with Korean dramas. Despite what I thought about Asian TV I have always had a huge interest in Asian film, in my opinion Asians were churning out far superior films to the any other country. Oldboy, The Host, I Saw the Devil and A Tale of Two Sisters are a few examples of excellent new decade South Korean films. The Seven Samurai and Rashomon are two favourites from mine from Akira Kurosawa, one of the world's greatest film directors.

Back on to the topic of dramas. My friend would not let me go, I had to watch these dramas for her so we made a deal, she would show me 2 episodes of her 3 favourite dramas at the time and I would show her 3 of my favourite Korean movies.

Well, I was shown Flower Boy Ramen Shop, You're Beautiful and Heartstrings. She was shown Oldboy, I Saw the Devil and A Bittersweet Life. I was slightly amused by the dramas, even finding Park Shin Hye really adorable but thought I'd never watch the rest....but then I realised I couldn't stop thinking of the cliffhangers...what would happen next?? I really needed to know for some reason I couldn't put my finger on. And that my fellow drama friends is how it began.

I don't know how to explain it, why do I like them? I mean to be perfectly honest quite a lot of them are predictable and very formulaic. I actually find Japanese dramas tend to be of a higher quality than Korean dramas despite the fact I tend to watch more Korean dramas.

However there is something wholly innocent in these dramas, even the more serious and dark ones. I feel that for even the cliched dramas it is the journey to the end that is fun, maybe there is something more innocent about these dramas that makes them a lighter, easier watch. 

I feel when it comes down to it: watching my favourite actors, listening to the greats soundtracks, anticipating the next episode and admiring Asian culture are the reasons I keep coming back.