Open Thread #765

To be fair, I also think that the tastes of most long-time international fans can differ wildly from domestic tastes. But of course, domestic tastes vary wildly as well, especially between age groups.

Many, many international fans scorn makjangs and melodramas and never touch family weekenders and dailies, but those are a large part of the Korean drama watcher diet, especially for older women. International k-drama fans have always looked more towards rom-coms, even ones that didn’t make a particularly big splash in Korea. I think it’s a bit silly to lump your stereotypical longtime international fan together with a stereotypical Korean viewer (whatever that is).

Why are people acting like your “classic K-drama” is dying, when… what even IS a classic K-drama? Trends have varied ever since K-dramas began being made. Is a classic K-drama something like Winter Sonata? Or is it Boys Over Flowers? Is it My Name is Kim Sam-soon? Is it King of Baking Kim Tak-gu? Is it 80s classic Country Diaries? Can anyone tell me what a classic K-drama REALLY is?

Here’s my opinion: The K-drama landscape is diversifying, and that’s a good thing. Your makjangs, weekenders, melos, and rom-coms are all still being made, and I don’t see any of that stopping any time soon. For every K-drama that Netflix produces that people claim are “un-Korean” (despite being made by Koreans), there are a dozen more “classic” shows being made as well. And no, I don’t think every production is having an international audience in mind, especially considering the fact that there are a lot of dramas these days that don’t even become available on international streaming platforms. Koreans aren’t losing their K-dramas.

Not every k-drama is made for everyone. There are different target audiences for each and every show, whether it be international or domestic. And I don’t see anything wrong with that. To international fans, I say: There are more shows being made now than ever before, so just pick what you like to watch. I’m sure you can find something to enjoy.

Open Thread #765
Source: Buzz Pinay Daily