Move over Korean Drama! Japanese Dramas, Here We Come!

During the past year my interest in Korean Dramas has waned. At the same time my interest in Japanese Dramas has waxed significantly.

Is it because more and more KDramas are appearing on Netflix, I wonder? Back in the days of DramaFever and Viki—before Netflix began airing KDramas—only a few KDramas were duds. Now it seems that they are nothing but tropes—one after another. They struggle to stretch out to a full 16 episodes. Netflix subtitles are definitely substandard ... and they flash by way too fast. (They "disappear" sooner than necessary, requiring that I pause and replay to read them.)

Japanese Dramas, on the other hand, have improved dramatically during the past couple of years. They are much more original, and rarely have annoying tropes. (Yes, I still have to screen them carefully to avoid R-rated-ness ... but once they pass that filter, I tend to enjoy them much more than KDramas.) I am glad that Viki is offering so many new Japanese Dramas.

Let's see where Asian Dramas go in the coming months/years. In general, they are still orders of magnitude better than American television.

Bollywood, Here We Come!

Yesterday evening and tonight I watched my first Bollywood flick. During the past 8 years I've watched l an episode of a Korean, Japanese, or Chinese drama or a motion picture close to every evening.

Occasionally, during a dry spell of interesting dramas, I'll watch some Star Trek episodes or movies, or Mandalorian—either those or a favorite motion picture like "While You Were Sleeping," "Groundhog Day," the Jason Bourne movies, "What's up, Doc," or a few others.

This weekend, while awaiting episode 1 of a new Korean Drama "Navillera," we decided to try an Indian Bollywood Drama. It was quite "different" from what I've encountered before. Maybe we'll watch more?

When I asked Alexa where Bollywood is located, she said it is a portmanteau (like "smog" being a blend of "smoke" and "fog"; "motel" being a blending of "motor" and "hotel"; and "brunch" being a blend of "breakfast" and "lunch"). Originally known as Bombay cinema, "Bollywood" is a blending of "Bombay" [today's Mumbai] and "Hollywood." The present-day Bollywood refers to the Indian movie industry throughout India.

The language of Bollywood films is generally "vernacular Hindustani," a blending of Hindi, Urdu, and English—Hinglish?

Waning Interest

This past year I've noticed that I sleep—or at least doze—through more dramas than I have in the past. Are the writers running out of ideas? Is Netflix forcing American subjects and issues on the Koreans?

Amazon Prime Videos

Last Saturday evening we attended a KDrama party nearby. After eating some snacks, we watched "Miss Granny" on Amazon Prime Videos. As an Amazon Prime member who has watched a few videos (but all of them before I started watching KDramas), I realized that I ought to try Amazon Prime Videos again.

Things to Remember When Watching Spring Turns to Spring

The title of this KDrama is a pun based on the Korean word "Bom" (봄), which means "spring" (the season that starts with the vernal equinox) in English. 

If you decide to watch "Spring turns to Spring" just remember the following:

1. Bom "ee" is the news anchor
2. "Ee" Bom is the actor.

Bom "ee" (the news anchor)

Six Years of Korean Dramas!

It was six years ago today—March 15, 2013, on the Ides of March—that we watched our first Korean Drama, "Secret Garden." I have no regrets! During that time I have continued avoiding virtually all "linear" American television (which I consider a complete waste of time).

Blog Renamed

This week I changed the name of this blog from kdrama-fever to cjkdramas. Why, you might ask?

1. The original name was a play on DramaFever, at one time my favorite KDrama streaming service. (DramaFever suffered an ignominious death this past year.)
2. My interest in Asian dramas has expanded to include Japanese and Chinese dramas. Hence the letters CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean).

R.I.P., DramaFever

Today I learned that DramaFever's streaming service is shutting down. It has probably been my most-used source of KDramas for most of the 5 1/2 years I've been watching Korean Dramas.

We'll miss you. We're glad Viki is still around and hope they will take up the slack.

Suddenly: JDramas Worth Watching!!

I started watching Korean Dramas 4 years and 10 days ago, on March 15 (the Ides of March), 2013. Since that time I've watched a few Japanese Dramas, and a couple of Chinese Dramas.

"Andoloid" and "Future Diaries" might have been the first JDramas I watched. They were really "different"--there was no way that they measured up to KDramas. (Yet I watched all the episodes.) After that was "Minami-kun no Koibito" and a number of others. I really liked "Minami-kun"

Four Years

It's been just over four years since I watched my first episode of my first Korean Drama. That was on March 15 (the Ides of March) in 2013.

Maybe I should post about what I'm watching?

100 Korean Dramas, Start to Finish

Yesterday evening we finished watching "Lets Fight Ghost"—our 100th Korean Drama to watch in its entirety (generally 16 episodes or more).

Since watching our first episode of our first KDrama, "Secret Garden," on March 15, 2013, we've avoided many KDramas that didn't sound interesting. We've abandoned some 41 after just a few episodes. In general, however, these are <em>so much better</em> than American television (which we abandoned over 10 years ago).

Three Years of Korean Dramas

I watched my first episode of my first Korean Drama--"Secret Garden"--exactly three years ago, on the Ides of March 2013. I've now watched 87 complete KDramas ... and abandoned 35, totaling 122 KDramas. Additionally I've completed two Japanese Dramas (and abandoned 1, if I remember correctly.

I have no plans to quit in the foreseeable future.

Korean Drama Update

Next month marks 2 1/2 years since I watched the first episode of a Korean Drama with my wife. Amazingly, we still like (some of) them. You can see our favorites near the top of my Korean Drama page.

When we started, we watched every episode of each KDrama we started. During the past year we've watched only a few episodes of an increasing number of dramas. (For a list of those series, scroll to the bottom of the KDrama page mentioned above.) Is it because we're raising our personal standards? ... or is it because the KDramas aren't as good as they used to be? ... Maybe a little of both. (Who knows?)

KDrama Marathon

I've been able to control my enjoyment of Korean Dramas for over 1 1/2 years, averaging one episode per day, except for an occasional two episodes (and a rare three episodes) on weekends.

Well, that changed over this year's Christmas/New Year's holiday. During the past three days I've watched the first 16 episodes of Iris (아이리스): 5 episodes on Saturday, 4 on Sunday, then 7 yesterday (Monday).

Learning Korean: My Experiences So Far

It's been over a year since I started watching Korean dramas. Early in my KDrama adventure I decided it might be fun to actually learn a few words or sentences I was hearing.

Here are the steps I've taken so far:

1. Purchase the Pimsleur Korean Language CDs.

50 Korean Dramas

This week I reached a new milestone when I finished watching "Pasta"--my 50th complete Korean Drama in just over 18 months. Some have been better than average; others have been worse. One thing is certain: They are orders of magnitude better than American television.

I look forward to the next 50 KDramas!

Where to Watch Korean Dramas

Friends frequently ask me where to watch Korean Dramas. Before I mention places I've watched them, you'll probably guess that they are shown in Korean--without subtitles (of course).

Korean Drama

American television used to be interesting. In the past 10-20 years, however, it had become just plain boring. Last year I discovered the South Korean television. Now TV is interesting again. Thank you to my friends for introducing me!

Welcome to my world of KDrama!

Korean Drama and the Ides of March

It was exactly one year ago today--March 15, 2013--that we watched episode 1 our first Korean Drama, "Secret Garden."

During the past year we have rarely (if ever) missed a day when we didn't watch at least one episode of some KDrama. We have watched 38 from start to finish, and are currently over half-way finished with our 39th. (Click this blog's Korean Drama tab to see what we've watched-ranked from most to least favorite.)

DramaFever

Several weeks ago, while out of town at a conference, I decided to keep up with my wife (at home) in watching the Korean drama "Faith." At the time, I thought my only viewing option was Hulu Plus--which I had grown to dislike because of their extremely annoying commercials.

The Super 8 Motel (where I was staying) filtered out the commercials. As a result, there were 30-60 seconds of silence whenever a Hulu commercial interrupted "Faith."

Rooftop Prince: Best Korean Drama. Ever.

We finished the last two (of twenty) episodes of "Rooftop Prince" last night on HuluPlus. (Yeah, I know everyone hates HuluPlus--so do I--but "Rooftop Prince" was highly recommended.) I wasn't disappointed.

My Princess = 마이 프린세스 : Four Stars (or 3?)

We just finished watching My Princess--our third Korean Drama TV series.

I enjoyed the

• acting (and actors)
• interactions among characters
• allusions to Korean history
• the modern setting
• the generally wholesome story line found in many Korean TV dramas

Secret Garden = 시크릿가든 (秘密花園) : Five Stars

We just finished watching the last three episodes of the Korean drama "Secret Garden" on NetFlix. I heartily recommend it! An incredible love story, it is completely wholesome. ... And what a plot!

You'd better be a fast reader, because the English subtitles go by fast!