Korean Dramas
When I was younger, I was extreme in my likes and dislikes. For example, I absolutely eschewed korean dramas and I thought followers of such dramas downright pathetic. Not that I had the moral high ground to feel this way because I used to and still watch the occasional hong kong serials.
Some months back, I chanced upon KBS World on cable channel 173. It was 11 plus at night and I had trouble sleeping, so I was channel surfing. A pretty korean lady caught my attention and I continued watching the show as the plot unfolded. It turned out to be a romantic comedy called 'The Little Bride". It has an interesting premise - the grand patriarchs of 2 traditional families arranged a marriage between their grandson and granddaughter. The grandson was a good 10 years older, but the 2 families soon lost touch because the girl's father had to flee his debtors. Anyway, almost 2 decades later, the boy is a grown man of 28 years and he is now a public prosecutor. And the girl is a pre-u student waiting to sit for her uni exams. They finally met and what followed was a series of hilarious and heartwarming events that continued to entice me back to the same time slot each night. In fact, I got so hooked that I asked my colleagues if they had bought the vcd/dvd of the drama. As it turned out, Vanessa, one of my friends in the office, had it. And so it was that the weekend that followed, I hardly left the house. The rest as they call it was history.
While I wouldn't call myself a korean drama fan, I've gone out and bought a few serials to watch at home. My mom also didn't used to like korean shows, but she's been following each of the serials I've brought home. So the point of this blog entry is that its never good to be dogmatic about most things (although morality is one of the exceptions) since there're good and bad sides to them. Nothing is ultimately so bad that its worthless. The fact that a particular thing appeals to people (and I mean things that can be talked about and showed in public) says something about its utility. And korean dramas, which by the way are way better than local and even some hong kong serials, have a way of temporarily easing the pain and drudgery of everyday life. In a way, its not unlike hollywood but on a modest scale. Good-looking actors working with even better plots make for a good recipe for a thoroughly enjoyable time. Of course, we should avoid watching a serial at one go as it means burning the weekend. I'm sure there're more important things to do and more interesting people to meet. But then again, there might not be.
Some months back, I chanced upon KBS World on cable channel 173. It was 11 plus at night and I had trouble sleeping, so I was channel surfing. A pretty korean lady caught my attention and I continued watching the show as the plot unfolded. It turned out to be a romantic comedy called 'The Little Bride". It has an interesting premise - the grand patriarchs of 2 traditional families arranged a marriage between their grandson and granddaughter. The grandson was a good 10 years older, but the 2 families soon lost touch because the girl's father had to flee his debtors. Anyway, almost 2 decades later, the boy is a grown man of 28 years and he is now a public prosecutor. And the girl is a pre-u student waiting to sit for her uni exams. They finally met and what followed was a series of hilarious and heartwarming events that continued to entice me back to the same time slot each night. In fact, I got so hooked that I asked my colleagues if they had bought the vcd/dvd of the drama. As it turned out, Vanessa, one of my friends in the office, had it. And so it was that the weekend that followed, I hardly left the house. The rest as they call it was history.
While I wouldn't call myself a korean drama fan, I've gone out and bought a few serials to watch at home. My mom also didn't used to like korean shows, but she's been following each of the serials I've brought home. So the point of this blog entry is that its never good to be dogmatic about most things (although morality is one of the exceptions) since there're good and bad sides to them. Nothing is ultimately so bad that its worthless. The fact that a particular thing appeals to people (and I mean things that can be talked about and showed in public) says something about its utility. And korean dramas, which by the way are way better than local and even some hong kong serials, have a way of temporarily easing the pain and drudgery of everyday life. In a way, its not unlike hollywood but on a modest scale. Good-looking actors working with even better plots make for a good recipe for a thoroughly enjoyable time. Of course, we should avoid watching a serial at one go as it means burning the weekend. I'm sure there're more important things to do and more interesting people to meet. But then again, there might not be.
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