Beyond Far, Far Away

The fairy world of K-dramas

I used to love watching Korean dramas. At first they were unique, interesting and more pure than the American ones. I enjoyed the plot with many twists, the loveable characters and I became fond of the world that these dramas show us. But after a couple of dramas I am no longer a big fan, and I feel somehow disappointed and bored. What is the reason? I was thinking about it long time and really hardly, because I felt I was the wrong one, and I wanted to love the K-dramas, I really wanted to enjoy them as before. But I couldn’t. Something went wrong, and I didn’t know what that could be. Maybe I changed too much?

The answer is yes and no at the same time. Yes, because I changed – I can no longer watch a drama without noticing that points that irritate me a lot. And no, because I am still looking for the same qualities in a drama. I would like to tell you my biggest problems with K-dramas, but first, I have to make it clear, that I know: most of the K-drama fans love the dramas just because the following points – those ones I found problematic.

1. Pity and compassion

All dramas take the advantage of the viewers’ sympathy when the main characters are orphans and have a really-really-really tragic moment in their past life. Oh, why not, everybody will love the selfish, impolite and egoistic millionare guy if we find out that he lost his mother! What pain he had to endure… NO. If you love a character, you should love him/her because of the personality – because s/he is polite, has manners, selfless and cares for the others –, not because has a tragic past and you pity him/her. Just because s/he is an orphan that does not mean s/he is a good person too, and being an orphan does not give the right to be a bastard.

2. Fairy(?) tale society

Based on the dramas, half of the Korean society is as poor as a church mouse, while the other half has so much money that they could buy the whole world and all of them are members of chaebol families. Transition or average people? There isn’t any, maybe one or two minor character. Seems legit, right?

And apart from this, at least 75% of the Korean society has no parents or only one parent.

3. 사랑은 뭐다? 뭐다! …이것도 사랑은 아닐까? …

This quote is from DBSK’s Mirotic, and means ’What is love? What! … This is not love, is it?’ And my answer: no, that is definitely not love. The feeling shown in K-dramas is not love. Just because you and someone else have some common experiences and you spend some time together, you won’t fall in love. Why? Let’s say I am a woman and I have met a handsome guy. Do I know what he thinks about the rights of the minorities, about the recently watched drama episode, his hobbies and opinion on parenting, what kind of books he likes, how he budgets his money, what is his religion and political views? No. Have I ever had a deep, not superficial conversation with him about the topics I am interested in and he is interested in? No. But I like his appearance, I pity him because of the loss of his mother and the hardships he has to endure as the heir of a chaebol group. Is this love?

NO. It can be love, yes, in the future, after we spend some more time together and after we know each other better. But in the present it’s nothing but like I feel, not love.

4. The second man and the choice

Let’s continue my fictional love story, and say that there’s another man who likes me and who is kind, handsome, helpful, polite and maybe rich too. It is not that I don’t like him as a friend, because we have a good relationship, and accidentally we do have deep conversations. And then he says he loves me and ask me to be with him.

Then the story diverges into two ways. The K-drama way is that I choose no to be with him and thus hurt him.

The real life way is that I say yes to him. Because he was the one who always helped me, who understood me, who took care of me, whom I know better and who knows me better. Some of you maybe wonder why, when I don’t love him. But it’s not that I don’t love him (every K-dramas have scenes when the girl and the second-guy protagonist almost get off with each other), it’s just the main hero is more exciting. Seriously that’s the reason I hurt my real friend, cause him pain while he did almost everything not to hurt me? Just because the other guy is more exciting?

5. Other little moments…

… I won’t detail because these are only nuances make me upset and uncomfortable while watching a drama.

And lastly, why I said everything? I admit that without these points a drama would be very boring. Who would be interested in a drama where everybody has normal family, normal love life, normal everything? The problem is when the girls like me are watching these dramas and seriously believe that the feeling portrayed in the drama is real love and they should live a similar life to the protagonists. No. These are only fairy tales, the same as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Princess Szélike, the only difference is the age they set in.

by Alla