[GUEST BLOGGER WEEK] K-Dramas: Y U NO Make Sense?

Day 4 of Guest Blogger Week is here, what what!  Are you ready for today's post?  This one is somewhat of a rant about K-Dramas utilizing the ever so fun "Y U NO" meme.  You'll totally relate to this one if you've ever watched a few dramas and wondered why they do the things they do in every single one.  When you're done reading, be sure to let us know about any K-Drama tropes that really bother you in the comments below!

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K-Dramas: Y U NO Make Sense?

K-dramas. We love to love them, love to hate them and hate to love them, all within one episode. But I can't quit them. Can you?

There are many things that happen in K-dramas that have me cringing, and below I've written about just a few. Let me preface this by saying I love dramas. I take the good with the bad, and there is so much more good to be had than not. Sometimes you just have to wade though the muck to get to the garden, right? That being said, with the help of "Y U NO Guy", I'll tell you my personal drama pet peeves.

They say don't sweat the small stuff, right? Well I do, and I know many of you feel the same. So without further delay...

PSSSST. K-drama guy. It's. Right. There. What, you ask? Her hand, you dumbass. Ohhhh, you didn't know? Well, I got you. It's about two inches below where you're grabbing her. There you go! Wait, no...you're still holding her against her will. *sigh* YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!

When I first started watching dramas this didn't bother me very much, but now it bugs the CRAP out of me. Ok I get it, you need her to stop walking away. You could run and jump in front of her, or maybe, oh I don't know... call out to her and ask her to stay, but NICELY? And if you must, absolutely must, grab her arm, once she's stopped walking and you have her attention: let go. Let go and talk to her normally (or act like an asshole) but just let go.

The one and only wrist grab I could get down with in recent years was when Yoon Sang-hyun grabbed Lee Jong-suk in Secret Garden. I was all OHHHHHHHHH! But that led to nowhere fast.

Secret Garden image via kdramawristgrabs.tumblr.com (yes, it exists)

Ahhh Jeju, your drugs must be the best...I'm kidding! Everyone of all ages always wants to go to Jeju. The prince had his birthday shindig there in Goong (aka Princess Hours). Jin-heon, aka Sam-shik, and his family opened their newest hotel there, and you guessed it, threw a party in My Lovely Sam-soon. Jun-pyo and Jae-kyung’s wedding takes place there in Boys Before Flowers (though we know that went to hell in a handbasket) And let's not forget how Baek Seung-jo and Oh Ha-ni honeymooned there in Mischievous Kiss (and finally got it on after being married for how many days?).

Jeju must be the shit. I mean, I get that it's gorgeous and it's super close, but I can't help but snicker when we get the obligatory Jeju scenes in a drama with any sort of budgetary wad to blow.

Mischievious Kiss image via Dramabeans.com

Product placement: It plagues almost all TV shows in some shape or form, but I find Korea's a bit confusing. On one hand we have placement like in My Girlfriend is a Gumiho. They show the same brand of vegetable juice in all episodes, and I do mean every single one. It's like playing 'Where's Waldo' but with a bottle of juice. One time they even went as far as making Mi-ho ask Park Dong-joo to drink it. HA!

What's confusing for me, though, is when everyone in the drama has the same phone. From the poor girl having repo problems (how did she afford that phone?) to the chaebol heir driving a luxury car: same damned phone. And a lot of times they put tape over the brand name but end up showing the phone style and manufacturer in the credits! Why? How does that make any sense? 

Speaking of phones, why does everyone pull their battery when they get pissed? I'm guessing it's just not dramatic enough to turn the phone off. *shaking my head*

Rooftop Prince image via adramaholicsconfessional.blogspot.com

So in every drama it's inevitable that 'The Talk' needs to happen. Someone needs to have a serious talk (which is the polite way of fighting) with someone else, so one party goes up to the other and says, "We need to talk.". The other party agrees and they go to a cafe or somewhere else. An Ajumma tent/food cart, bar, restaurant, pick your poison. And they talk, y'all, they talk for five minutes. FIVE MINUTES!

Why, oh god, why did you go all the way to that cafe, restaurant or whatever, only to talk for five minutes? What the Hades did you say in the car on the way there? Did you go separately? Or sit in awkward silence? Couldn't you have just talked where you were originally? Or maybe sat in the car if you wanted privacy? And then, ooohhh mmmmyyyy god, then you fight over who gets to pay the check. *massive eye-roll* If that was me I'd be like, "Bitch, fine... pay my bill". MUWAHAHAHAHA!

The same thing goes down if they call by phone. Why drive all the way to a location and stay for five minutes? JUST TALK ON THE PHONE!

No but seriously, is this because of some sort of deal for certain locations to show up in the drama? I'm guessing so, because it's so dumb that I can't imagine there being another reason. 

Don't tell me it's a territory battle. Only Sam-shik and Sam-soon's moms got away with that in My Lovely Sam-soon, which was hilariously done. Remember in episode 13 when one mom refused to go inside the house and the other refused to get in the car, so they had it out in the street? Ha! That's how it's done, dramas!

My Lovely Sam-soon image via Hallyusmash.com

So now on to some of the more serious grievances I find in dramas, the first being Fat-Shaming. This is disgusting, and also quite shocking most the time because I'm always like, how is she fat? At all? My Lovely Sam-soon is the best example I can come up with of a drama centered around this issue, and she's not even that overweight!

Of course we see this in other dramas where women are called chubby, told their thighs are too big, or their face too puffy. This usually comes from an older man or woman who would tip the scale on the "wrong" side. Or it comes from the freaking hero of the romance. The HERO! I mean come on! (Or when a heroine is not pretty, aka hasn't had her "transformation" yet, they say she's ugly like 47,364,736,384 times. Or when she's poor, they say she's poor 47,364,736,384 times. Ok we get it. No need to beat the horse, it's dead already. Sheeesh!)

My Lovely Sam-soon image via crunchyroll.com

Next up we have the women in dramas. More often than not I find the example of women role models to be seriously lacking. The heroine is great, she's plucky and strong and has a good heart, but all the other women suck!

Let's use You're the Best Lee Soon-shin for an example. Grandma is a total asshole, mom wavers from awesome loving mom to psycho GTFO mom. Middle sister is a jealous, blaming, shrew of a person half the time (but underneath cares, I'll give her that). Only the oldest sister was bearable in that particular drama. Then we have the 'birth mom". She's a total HAG, an absolute horror of a woman.

In short, the whole thing is a hot mess. Couple this with every other ajumma beating people over the head with everything from shoes to brooms and your left thinking WTF! Yes it can be funny, but let's 'Simma down nah!'.

I admit, You're the Best Lee Soon-shin is an extreme example, seeing as it was a horrible show. I watched all 50 episodes (I still don't know how that happened), but you get my drift.

You're the Best, Lee Soon-shin via Dramabeans.com

Kissing, ahh we had to talk about kissing right? Every drama fan knows it: K-drama kisses can be wack. The hero surprises the heroine and she's SHOCKED. We get it, it's awkward for a moment, but then she "relaxes" and I'm left wondering, "Why is she still sitting there like a dead fish?" Ew. She closes her eyes, but they just sit there! A kiss, especially the first kiss, is a really important scene in a show and, while some do it well (Queen In-hyun's Man and Soulmates), most seem to have that awkward dead fish kiss at least once.

I remember watching Nu'est's 'Hello' MV, and when the actress kisses JR I was like WHAAAAAAAT?! Look at them go! That kiss is hotter than most adult drama kisses put together, and they're just babies!

You're Beautiful image via blog.viki.com (I know it's not a kiss per se, but I couldn't resist this shot!)

Finally I'll talk about Chaebol Heirs and Cinderellas because let's face it, most dramas revolve around this trope. It seems rich boys just don't like girls of their own class, much to their mama's chagrin. We see this over and over in dramas like Boys Before Flowers, You're the Best Lee Soon-shin, My Lovely Sam-soon and even the currently showing Heirs (The Inheritors).

It's been done over and over, but it's not going anywhere...ever. K-drama really nails it sometimes (Coffee Prince), but in others, well we end up with an asshole who doesn't deserve his woman. I just don't understand. I don't think I'd be offended if two rich people were actually happily in love. I mean, it happens. Right? RIGHT? 

I guess that's not as interesting as everyone with money always wanting what they can't have (the girl), but ultimately getting it anyway (the girl).

Boys Before Flowers image via Dramabeans.com

Now I could go on, because there are many, many more. Like the magical aspect of Korean backs and how people either want to hug it or ride it. Or how the word Oppa means three different things (I'm so dazed and confused). Or how women throw honest to god pouting fits in public that rival a two year old's. And let's not forget the horrible English actors or the "Engrish" itself. *shudder*

But I have to say, I wouldn't give it up without a fight (a big one, maybe a fit thrown in public after several bottles of soju). I'll always have a K-drama on my wait list and a pillow in my face, grinning like a maniac while I squee behind it at those awkward kisses... because at the end of the day I love it, and you do too. Admit it!

I want to thank Erika of Oddness/Weirdness for having me over to dish (or bitch, really) about dramas. It was hella fun and I hope to do it again sometime!

And with that, I'll leave you with this, because it's awesome...

~ LoriLou

P.S. If you would like to see my K-drama ratings about the shows I have watched to, you know, confirm my drama creds, you can go here. :)

About the author:

LoriLou is a self confessed Kpop & K-drama addict who writes when she's not staring at TaeMAN (not to be confused with Taemin, who is totally different). She's a Web Designer by day and a Smartass Wife, Super Tired Mom and FanWOMAN by night.


Stay tuned for more of Guest Blogger Week! You can read all posts from the 1st Guest Blogger Week by clicking here and also please let us know what you think below.

Source: Lori of Hallyusmash. Take out with full credit. Images credited as tagged and where due.

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