It so happens that 8 years ago, on 12.12.12, I decided it would be a fun idea to start a blog. Fast forward 8 years, and here we are, and what a journey it has been! 🤩
Thanks to everyone who expressed your lovely warm wishes on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I feel the lurve! 🥰🥰
So, why am I writing this post? Well, Sharra suggested to me on Patreon, that it might be a fun idea to ask you guys to share how you came across the blog, and to maybe tell us a little about yourself, like which country you’re from, and anything else you’d like to tell us.
I thought it was a really fun idea, and so here we are! I’ll go first! 😉
1. How did you come across the blog?
Tee hee. Well, I started it, that’s how. 😆
If you haven’t come across the blog’s origin story yet, the summary is, I’d gotten to really enjoy reading other blogs, once I got into watching dramas seriously. I thought Javabeans and Girlfriday of Dramabeans were superstars, the way they were able to talk about dramas so articulately, yet make it sound like so much fun. It never occurred to me, though, to actually start a blog of my own.
One day, I came out of lurking on Stephanie’s blog Crazy For Kdrama (now reborn as Kchat Jjigae), to suggest Queen In-hyun’s Man to her as a worthy watch, which then emboldened me to delurk more, and comment on her posts more (yes, I was a total lurker before that!). One thing led to another, and before I knew it, Stephanie had invited me to do a guest post for her year-end-review series. I was thrilled and accepted immediately. Wow. It was a dream come true, to be asked to write about dramas!
In the process of working out that guest post, Steph asked if I had a blog, coz if I did, she’d introduce it in my guest post, she said, and I thought, “Well.. maybe I’ll make one? Just to see?”
And so I did. And here we are. Kinda crazy, now that I think about it. I basically started this blog on a whim, you guys, and now, I’ve been at it for 8 whole years. This has been one heckuva whim! 🤯😂
For my previous telling of the blog’s origin story, you can go here.
2. Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.
(1) You guys might already know this, but I’m from Singapore, a tiny island city state that is so near the equator that it’s literally summer here, all year round. The humidity is really high, but I tell myself that it’s good for my skin. 😅
(2) I’m ethnically Chinese, and studied Chinese in school, so I do know the language. I just need to reclaim it a bit, coz I sucked really bad at Chinese in school, and hated the regimented way Chinese was taught, and it was hard coz no one spoke Chinese as a matter of habit, in my home. English is my first language (as it is in all schools in Singapore), and now I watch Chinese dramas as a way to hone my mother tongue. It really does help! I’ve been told that I’ve become more fluent, and I’ve also become better at reading Chinese. Huzzah! 🥳
(3) I’ve never taken a Korean class, and for some reason, the idea of picking up Korean casually, by watching dramas, gives me more of thrill than the thought of actually taking classes. Knowing Chinese totally helps in picking up Korean. Having taken Japanese lessons for a while in school, also helps. I’m not fluent in Korean (yet?) but I can understand a lot more now than when I first started watching kdramas in 2007!
(4) I’m not the sporty type, at all. I have come to really enjoy doing weight training and Pilates in recent years, though. But, I’ve been lazy because of COVID, and haven’t worked out in literal months. Eep.
(5) I have two younger sisters, whom you see me mention from time to time on the blog. I’ve watched dramas with my youngest sister, who was the one who first brought home Goong in a box set, and started me on my very first kdrama. Ironically, though, she doesn’t watch dramas now despite being my initial enabler, and it’s my other sister, who now lives in Australia, who actually follows the blog and watches dramas, and has drama conversations with me. And now, several of this sister’s friends follow the blog too, woot! Funny how things turn out sometimes, eh?
Ok, now enough about me – tell us about yourself in the comments, using these two questions? 😃
I’m all ears! 🤗
My heartiest congratulations to you, dear KFG! Apologies for such a late reply. I’m taking a break from Kdrama right now (my last watch was My Mister, and it was fulfilling in a way that’s most probably not going to be repeated, or so I tell myself), so I consciously refrain from opening the blog notifications, lest I get swayed (I’m as focused as a five-year old). The scandal regarding Ji Soo took me by surprise, so there I was again, scrolling through your recent posts as soon as I was done with that particular piece (do you even realize how addictive this place is?), until I came upon this wonderful anniversary story. Congratulations, once again! I can’t believe you have been mixing dedication with passion for eight long years. May this journey of yours continue unabated for the long, long time!
My Kdrama spell began in 2019 with Cinderella and Four Knights, courtesy of its being recommended in a romcom list (since all the other shows named in the list were English, I like to think it was a fateful encounter!). It was followed by ‘canonical” kdramas like Boys Over Flowers, Secret Garden, My Girlfriend Is A Gumiho, etc. Basically, I exhausted the kdrama-for-beginners lists before adopting a more selective approach. MDL was my go-to place for reviews, and it took a while for me to find reviewers with sensibilities similar to mine. To fast forward a little bit, I binge-watched Reply 1988 in three days, after reading some excellent reviews, and got my shipper’s heart broken, the overall heartwarming, nostalgic feel notwithstanding (as well as PBG’s trillion won smile^^). As I was rummaging the web for articulations of the same, needing some kind of catharsis, I discovered this amazingly detailed and eloquent review. It didn’t just convince me that the end-pair was the more sensible of the two, but greatly impressed me as well for the precision and grace with which it had encapsulated what made the show so endearing. It was a no-brainer thathenceforth, I could trust that writer’s judgement. And even though I have disagreed with her appraisal sometimes, I have always been assured of a balanced, insightful critique. So here I am, wishing her years of unstinting kdrama luv and solidarity^_^
Random facts about yours truly:
I am from India. My native tongue isn’t English, but I am relatively more comfortable in it (I’m an English major).
I became really besotted for a while with kimchi. Since there’s no Korean restaurant nearby, I had to content myself with kimchi ramyun. It was delicious!
I used to be obsessed with anime, prior to my days of kdrama fangirling. I firmly believed that anime characters couldn’t be equalled, let alone surpassed, by real people in terms of beauty. Kdrama taught me I was colossally mistaken. And, boy, what a delectable correction it has proved to be!
On the eventful date of 12.12.12, I didn’t go to school since I wanted to spend my last day as an earthling with my parents. Needless to say, I was the butt of apocalypse-jokes the day after!
Welcome “back”, Lali. And mad respect for anyone with the stamina to watch “Reply 1988” in three days straight!
Sorry about commenting so late on this Fangurl. Lots of things going on and I am behind.
Belated congratulations Fangurl on 8 years! It has taken so many hours of work to build this wonderful site that it must feel like your precious child. You have done a wonderful job all these years. From sharing your ‘airplane movie watches’ to taking us with you on your trip to the Gong Yoo fan meeting to all of your wonderfully detailed reviews – it has been a real pleasure to visit with you here.
How I found this site:
I did a lot of research on drama review sites and I found you when looking for a review of Padam Padam. I was blown away by how clear, concise and professional the review was and I was an instant fan. I then proceeded to watch every A (and a lot of the Bs too) rated drama in the Full List of Shows. I finally got the courage to leave a Padam Padam comment and your response was so kind and gracious.
Randomness:
I can drive just about any truck on the highway (even an 18 wheeler although I let my CDL lapse). I excel at map reading – back in the day there was no GPS.
I do free lance photography, graphic design and web maintenance. I used to love painting murals. I love and respect the power of fonts. I am a big-time font nerd. I love to photograph sports, especially football, but I can no longer get up and down the sidelines like I used to.
I love to dance. In my younger days I used to dance Salsa and Mambo a few nights a week (lots of NY club visits) with a group of friends. I actually danced with Cuban Pete (yes Pedro Aquilar that had the song named after him) at a Mambo symposium.
I love Ha Hyun Woo but I enjoy all different kinds of music. I get as much enjoyment out of listening to Snow Flower’s beautiful music 💖 as I do to listening to Swedish House Mafia or Dimash or Frankie Ruiz. I love to learn about new things, cricket being the latest.
I am addicted to the Sunday NYT Crossword Puzzle and have been doing it (re: attempting) for over 30 years.
I am so grateful to have met so many marvelous people from all over the world through the comments. Great site – great commenters – great vibes! The site is growing and that is a good thing. The addition of the Chuno group watch (thank you dear Beez and KFG) is turning out to be very, very enjoyable.
phl1rxd, good to know that there’s another NYT puzzle fan here! I have Will Shortz’s autograph around here somewhere….;-)
LOL j3ffc! I cannot believe you have his autograph. That is awesome. Doing the NYT Crossword Puzzle is exercise for your brain cells.
Wait, just the SUNDAY New York Times puzzle? You have more self-control than I. I am addicted to every NYT crossword puzzle of the week and spend way too much time on them, especially the Friday and Saturday ones. I don’t know why completing a crossword puzzle gives one such a sense of satisfaction. I’m always happy to hear that there are other crossword puzzle addicts out there!
Ah well, there are no salseros like Senegalese Salseros: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7bQ33PQNU0
That was a treat to listen to BE. Thanks! I am partial to anything by Frankie Ruiz myself but I have a special place in my heart for Solo Un Carino by Grupo Niche. My dancing years were very special to me and I remember them with great fondness. The most fun I ever had and the only time in my life I tolerated wearing heels. 😆
My first introduction to KDrama was Lovers in Paris, way way back. But I never really picked up the habit though, until I left my corporate job in 2017 and suddenly had all this time on my hands. It was Goblin that really sucked me in, and I stumbled across your site because I was looking for more quality dramas to watch. I didn’t really want to waste my time on hit or misses and I found that your reviews were spot on, very insightful and so well written. So your blog sort of became my bible and guide on everything Kdrama and now CDrama. I will forever be thankful to you for introducing me to Nirvana in Fire (both seasons) which have become all time favorites. Chuno, In Time With You (Taiwan), and Hot Stove League among countless others – all of which I wouldn’t have known if not for your blog.
Happy anniversary KFG! More power to you!
Random fact about me:
This is my first time commenting. I just wanted to say thank you and congratulations. 🙂
Great to read all these comments! Finally I have some free time, so I wanted to add my two cents here, too.
During our first lockdown in spring I discovered k-dramas. My first experience was CLOY and the rest just followed naturally. My tv-accompanying knitting has suffered greatly because I have to pay attention to the subtitles and can’t watch my needles at the same time. I found The Fangirl Verdict while looking for kdrama reviews and it has pretty much remained my only site of reference. The quality is just so high, the opinions are so carefully formed and the writing is so enjoyable. The commenting crowd is so thoughtful, too. So, “Happy 8th!” and thank you, kfangurl, also from me.
More or less fun facts: I’m German, living in Germany and none of my friends or colleagues have ever watched k-drama. They think it’s a passing fad. Ha!
I’ve started to learn Korean just for the heck of it.
I don’t have any favourite male K-actors because I almost always like the male lead I’m watching right now best. Maybe that indicates I’m lacking character, but it feels good 😉
I enjoy singing and rainy weather. I studied literature and Shakespeare was my first literary love.
So, please rock on. I’ll go and catch up on my Chuno viewing now …
I laughed and nodded my head around the male lead comment re the one you are watching is your favourite I honestly find myself doing the same. I have never thought of myself as fickle..😂…
Happy 8th anniversary, KFG, and looking forward to many more.
As to your questions: I discovered Kdramas in April this year or so at the recommendation of a friend who watches Kdramas with his wife and who knows I’m a history buff so suggested Mr Sunshine as an introduction. I really liked it as well as his subsequent recommendation of CLOY. Following Son Ye-jin, I ended up with SITR and was very disappointed in the last third or so which actually soured the whole show for me. Wondering if other viewers felt the same, I surfed the internet and found overall good reviews but then I stumbled on your blog and your review of SITR was not only detailed and insightful but expressed better than I ever could exactly how I felt. I’ve now watched over 40 shows (I keep a spreadsheet) and your blog and ratings have been a great help in sifting through the endless choices. While I may not agree 100% (maybe up to 90%) with your views, I respect your opinions since you articulate your views extremely well and provide detailed substantiation for your perspective.
Some facts about myself:
I’m ethnic Chinese but English is my first (and only) language, I understand a smattering of Cantonese from my parents but I was born in the West Indies and now live in Canada where there is a vibrant Asian community. In a way, I think I have both western and eastern sensibilities.
My wife loves Korean cuisine even more than me ( I don’t like kimchi at all!) and she has a very good Korean friend but I watch Kdramas by myself, funny how that is.
I’ve never been to Korea or any part of Asia though I travelled extensively for a corporate job, mainly western Europe, the USA and the West Indies. I came very close to visiting Korea for business reasons when I was working on a potential relationship with a Korean company, we had what I called an 8 o’clock relationship since we would conference call around 8 am or 8 pm, eastern time.
I follow most sports and I’m a big basketball fan though both playing or attending games are out of the question for me in the foreseeable future.
I also love bridge which again is out of the question for now, playing online just doesn’t have the same appeal to me. Kdramas have been a wonderful way to fill the many gaps caused by this pandemic but I’m now a big fan and will continue even after things return to normal, when and if it ever does.
I appreciate the work you put into this blog and marvel at the amount of shows you can watch on an on-going basis. Your love for what you do shines through in your work, including your Jang Hyuk fangirling, lol, but I can see what the fuss is about.
Happy Anniversary and Congratulations on 8 years of blogging! I always enjoy reading your posts and analysis, and your in-depth reviews are amazing. Agree or disagree, I am always interested in your take on a drama, and I’ve checked out many dramas after reading your reviews. I wish you all the best and many more years of great blogging!
I found your blog in 2014 when I first started watching Korean dramas. I was looking for drama review sites and did an internet search which yielded some hits. One of the hits was Outside Seoul, which included a Links List of other review sites. The Fangirl Verdict was on that list and the rest is history, as they say. (Sadly, Outside Seoul is no more, but lucky for me Fangirl Verdict lives on!)
Some facts about myself:
I became interested in K Dramas after reading an article about them in Entertainment Weekly magazine in 2014. My first K Drama: Vampire Prosecutor
You can read a shorter version of the article online: https://ew.com/article/2014/04/08/korean-dramas-beginners-guide-2/
I live in the USA. I like Korean dramas, but I do not speak Korean. (Actually, I’m not Asian, so that goes for all the Asian languages) Thank goodness for subtitles!
My other passion is mystery dramas from around the world. Inspector Montalbano, anyone? Inspector Morse? My favorites are anything Agatha Christie. I’ve seen Christie adaptations from Britain, France, and Japan. Russia has some really good ones, but alas, no English subs available.
Congrats again on 8 years of blogging!
I usually do not like participating in these kind of posts, but I must say, thanks, Sharra, thanks K. Magical! Happy 8th!
Aw thank you! I have really enjoyed learning about this diverse and fantastic community as well.
WOW
Congrats on the 8th anniversary.
I can’t remember how i stumbled across your blog but must be during 2019.
Some facts about me:
I’m from Uganda (East Africa), born in the 90’s. An introvert, first born of 6, loves kdramas and OSTs very much but KPOP not so much.
My first real kdramas that i watched were airing on a local TV station (ITV TZ) Jumong, Kingdom of the wind, Slave chasers, Sungkyunkwan scandal and Queen Seondeok. I was really impressed with the actors, actresses, costumes, set designs and the stories they depicted.
The weird thing is i never knew that there were good kdramas apart from the historical ones based on korean history. After i got fed up with hollywood shows i started to look for good historical dramas that i could watch and that is how i landed on your blog.
From the Full list of shows i was able to pick out slave chasers (WHICH I HAD WATCHED), read your review and it was spot on according to how i also felt about it.
I watched Scarlet Heart Ryeo but didn’t like it very much because no character was memorable like how Bidam in Queen seondeok or Lee Dae-gil in slave chasers were to me, read your review and agreed 100%. Since then thefangirlverdict has been like a map for me and i have never been disappointed at all, from Misaeng, Reply 1988, Secret Love Affair, My Mister, Romance is a bonus book e.t.c.
I never knew that you are from Singapore kfangurl. I actually thought that you were from Korea or U.S.A and that most of the people here were also from there as well, so thank you to the person who came up with the idea of this post.
Lastly thank you kfangurl for the blog, its really a nice environment for kdrama lovers like myself and the comments are ever great from all the others who also love kdramas.
Just waving hello to a fellow fan of Bidam and Daegil!
Haha
High five to you fellow fan of those 2 legends
Oh I totally missed this – real life – but CONGRATS on 8 years! That’s a huge milestone!! So glad to have found you and that you’ve kept this place going – it’s a lifeline for folks like me who can’t really discuss kdramas with real-life friends as most of them aren’t into kdramas :/
How did I come across this site? I was watching various dramas and love reading reviews when I’m done. I kept finding this girl who writes reviews and really liked her writing style and agreed with her perspectives on shows but I didn’t bookmark the page so I kept forgetting what the link was. Something to do with being a fan girl so I kept trying different versions of the web address to no avail. One day I came across the site again and told myself “bookmark it! it’s thefangirlverdict!” so I did and here I am!!
5 facts about me:
1. I’m from Singapore and a Chinese Singaporean.
2. I started watching dramas with my mother in law actually. I got married and moved in with them before our house was ready and she was watching dramas (on chinese channels, dubbed in mandarin) so I would join her as a bonding thing. Slowly I started getting hooked too and would call her when the episode was starting and we would discuss the plot/ characters. It was one of those 100-episode family dramas (I wish I knew the name, sadly I don’t) that I now recognise as being full of tropes (truck of doom, amnesia, birth secrets, poor girl rich guy, unhappy mother in law…) but I slurped it all up. I went to look for the final few episodes on my own (missed it on tv) and to my surprise they were speaking in Korean! Cos all along I had been listening to the dubbed version. Then I realised I was watching one of those famous k-dramas. After I moved out I stopped watching dramas… but got hooked again maybe in 2015/16 or so when I stumbled onto Love 020 and totally loved all the wrist grabs, love confessions etc. Then I tried out Descendants of the Sun and Strong Woman Do Bong Soon and never left the k-drama world. Haha. I now recognise these aren’t fantastic dramas but they brought me here so no regrets!
3. I’ve a twin sister and an older sister so I guess I’m the middle child?? But sadly none of them are into kdramas, not for the lack of trying. The elder sis likes K-variety shows like 2 Days 1 Night and Running Man though so maybe there’s hope!
4. Though I typically speak English and my Chinese is not good (at all), I think I’ve a secret cheena side to myself – my entertainment of choice are from the Asian side of the world. I love Mandopop, Kpop, I watch K and C and Tawainese and the rare J dramas, and rarely watch American tv shows anymore (except Brooklyn 99 and some random netflix documentaries)
5. Kpop wise, I am a secret ARMY but I do also like IU, Monsta X, EXO, Lee Hi, Eric Nam etc.
That’s it! That was really long so good job if you made it all the way through!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Lovely idea, this post.
Five random things about myself:
I was born in the late 70s in the Mongolian SSR. I haven’t been there since 1984. We had this project to visit last summer, we had everything ready, including plane tickets since last December. Guess how that went!
Other than Mongolia (that i hardly remember), I have never been to Korea or any other Asian Country, with the notable exception of Japan, due to the man of my life. Actually, this is our favoure past time during the lockdown: we plan where in Asia to go after the pandemic is over. We are really meticulous, like we check train schedules and museums’ working hours and hotel amenities!
I started watching Kdramas with my daughter, in the car, while waiting for her sister to finish her music class. That was in the autumn of 2019, and we watched Rookie Historian Gu Hay Ryung. My daughter loved the lead and had, I think, a pre-adolescent crash on the Prince (who’s name I cannot recall, he’s an idol and very pretty). Then we were in lockdown and after watching all crime shows on Netfix my husband suggested we watch “this show about North Korea, it seems fun”.
I was almost kidnapped at age 15, I managed to escape by throwing myself out of the car. The kidnappers were my sort-of boyfriend and his brothers. This was their idea of romantic elopment! I am pretty ok with it now, but I have to admit even wrist grabbing in Kdramas can sometimes really get to me.
If you have watched Descendants of the Sun (I still haven’t…), you probably saw, in several scenes, my brother-in-law’s family house in the village. I can recall him saying “they are filming some Chinese film in my village”. Back then, we completely dismissed that; had it been now, I thing my sister and I would happily move into his house for the duration of the filming…
And: what led me to this blog was something as shallow as my admiration of Park Seo Joon and my love for “Fight my way”. I think this was your first review that I have read, and ever since we have been using your list of reviews of shows as a guide to choose what to watch next!
Hello KFG! I only stumbled across your blog a few months ago and had been an occasional visitor. I subscribed immediately after I read your review of Do You Like Brahms and agreed with everything you wrote ha! In fact, I pretty much agree with most of what you write. Your reviews are amazing and have introduced so many titles to watch, and I look forward to them like presents waiting to be unwrapped.
5 random facts:
1. I’m from Singapore too.
2. I was first introduced to Kdrama in 2019 via Sky Castle. This show resonated because thanks to our education system, it just felt so familiar. After that I lapsed until we all got stuck at home in March thanks to covid19 and since then I have totally fallen down into the rabbit hole of kdramaland. My next show was The Eternal Monarch which reeled me in with its doppelgänger and parallel dimension story. And then Goblin, because I was checking out Kim Go Eun’s bio. Which led me to Gong Yoo and Coffee Prince, and I have just kept going!
3. I started listening to kdrama OSTs and that led me to Kpop. I’m an ajumma who likes Kpop! I’m so hip I even watched Blackpink’s documentary!
4. I have a similar history as you in terms of languages learnt… I understand Japanese, Chinese and a smattering of Teochew, Hokkien and Cantonese and to my absolute delight, I can pick out and understand quite a number of Korean words. I haven’t tried studying the Korean alphabet yet, maybe someday!
5. I have recently learnt to sew and find I like making things. I used to write freelance as well in an earlier life and I have grand plans to keep a journal but have started and stopped too many times. Which totally makes your 8 year old blog a truly awesome feat!
Hi,
Congrats eight years, wow that’s truly amazing KFG.
I have been a lurker for about 2 years now🙂, this is my first time commenting.
My foray into k-drama: so back in early 2019 when I was so done with American Tv and movies ( I had had enough of the explicit and un-relatable storylines) also Pakistani drama ( which I consumed a lot) was getting too monotonous with its scheming family politics storylines that Marriage Contract popped up on my Netflix recommendations, I clicked it thinking it was a movie like Crazy Rich Asians (which I had quite enjoyed just recently) only to discover a new language that was beautiful and easy on the ears and actors who were even easier on the eyes😉. I didn’t regret that click and the rest as they say is history.
How I found this blog: as I was navigating the world of kdrama I found myself in uncharted waters and felt the need for some reviews and recommendations that is when my google search yielded this blog. I loved your detailed reviews, and the grading system, which was a great help in drama selection though I am guilty of watching a few D graded shows and always end up regretting my decision🙂. The best piece of advice that I’ve taken from your reviews is the ‘lens adjustment’ you talk about so often. It has helped me enjoy the shows so much more… so thank you so much KFG.
Reading most of the comments/ bios here, I’m impressed we have such an amazing and talented bunch of people here, to be honest I feel kinda inadequate 🙂, but some random facts about me are:
1. I’m Pakistani Irish residing in the UAE. Have 2 teenagers, and am a full time mom, who doesn’t like to cook.
I love learning about new cultures, and traditions.
I claim to be a rom-com fan but Misaeng and My Mister are my all time favourites 🤷🏻♀️can someone plz explain this to me🙂. I like dramas that are realistic fantasy is that even a thing though🤔, I enjoy shows that are real yet have an element of escapism, as life is real enough…Serial killer storylines and horror is a genre I can never delve into, my middle aged heart doesn’t have the strength to bear them🙂
Never new 2nd lead syndrome was a serious affliction till I watched Heirs… 😄
Finally thank you KFG for your fantastic reviews and congratulations on completing eight years, May you keep going for many many more.
Happy blogging 💕
Haha! I’m totally with you on the “rom com fan but my favourite shows are Misaeng and My Mister”. I love both shows so so much. They’re realistic and so emotionally heart tugging but so so good. High five!
I came across your blog because I was searching for drama reviews that approached dramas with a more discerning and detailled eye than the reviews I had been reading. I had grown increasingly frustrated with other sites’ reviews because they were so overwhelmingly positive despite obvious drama flaws that I couldn’t trust the reviews to guide my viewing choices; they weren’t reviews so much as gushing puff pieces. I like the fact that you acknowledge logic fails and plot holes and don’t mistake pretty faces with good acting. I also like the fact that your enjoyment of a drama doesn’t blind you to problems it may have.
I’ll (not randomly) follow your format for five facts about me.
(1) I grew up in Seattle but moved to Alaska after law school and have lived here most of my life. I divide my time between Alaska and Hawaii for reasons too complicated to explain but I consider myself an Alaskan first and foremost, although I don’t claim a Permanent Fund Dividend because I travel too much. (Alaskans will understand what that means.)
(2) My ethnicity is third-generation Japanese American but my Japanese is pretty terrible.
(3) My French is better than my Japanese but I would not describe myself as proficient in either language. I’ve learned some Hawaiian but it’s even worse than my other two languages. I guess you can say that I’m a failure in three foreign languages. And sometimes when I re-read my comments after posting them and find them replete with spelling and grammatical errors, I seriously wonder about my proficiency in my so-called first language. But thanks to watching Korean dramas, I now know all the different ways of saying, “I’m sorry,” in Korean. (They seem to apologize a lot in dramas.)
(4) I’m not the sporty type but I do love hiking and I used to run. I take private Pilates lessons twice a week. I also see a personal trainer who tortures me with strength/weight training 2x/week because I guess I’m a masochist at heart. My goal is to do one unassisted pull up with my legs in front. I don’t think that I will achieve that in this lifetime.
(5) I have two sisters, one older and one younger. I’ve always thought that being the middle of three girls is the most difficult position to be in but I suspect that kfangurl would disagree.
My wife is from Korea, so I would see some shows over her shoulder from when we met in the late 90’s. We still have a DVD version of “My Lovely Sam Soon” with the worst subtitles ever – like a drunk computer went Korean–>Chinese–>English. With inexplicable word changes. “I’ll hit that bastard” = “I’ll bit that bustard”. I’ve seen a version with normal subtitles and it’s not the same. Best part is Daniel Henney speaking English with different English subtitles saying something completely different.
Didn’t watch much for years, then covid. Then looked for reviews and found your blog. It’s fantastic how much you pour into these reviews.
5 facts
1. Due to my work, the way amnesia and brain injury is handled in dramas usually drives me nuts. Also the sooner they forget about the idea of face blindness the happier I will be. And I really don’t want to hear about someone getting better from brain death.
2. Seeing older dramas where the amusement park scene is shot at Lotte World in Seoul makes me giggle – I know where that is!
3. Worst part of Covid is no summer trip to Korea. 🙁
4. Living in the USA, where everything is well run and our leadership is fantastic.
5. Agree with KFG 90% of the time. Some shows where at first I thought you overrated them (Witches Romance) as more time goes by … yeah you were right.
I don’t remember how I came across your blog but I think we are closing in on our second anniversary. The reason I keep coming back, is because I really enjoy your reviews.
My ethnic make-up is half-Japanese and half-Caucasian. I was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California. I am a husband of over 45 years, a father of two and a grandfather of three.
I am a life-long movie fan but my preference is for foreign films. For one thing, I think only the best foreign films make it to America, and those stories are not directed towards teenagers. Stories aside, they allow a person of modest means like me, to travel all over the world and to experience different cultures.
Having grown up with T.V., I have had my share of programs that I enjoyed but I never considered myself to be a television junkie.
As far as foreign television goes; I started with Taiwanese dramas and then moved almost exclusively to K-dramas. Having finished off over 150 of them, I like all the different genres. There’s no doubt, they are formulaic like the majority of movies you see at the theater or series you see on T.V. but as long as they do a good job, it makes no difference to me and for the most part, Koreans do an excellent job of retelling the same stories
I love their format. Unlike movies, K-dramas can take their time to develop their characters and they are in no rush to advance the storyline. Furthermore, it seems like sixteen hours is just about the right length of time, in order to do it.
Another thing I like about K-dramas, is that they have a well-defined story arc and unlike American series television; you are guaranteed to see the production from start to finish.
Compared to what is produced in America, K-dramas are surprisingly cheap and yet I find their OSTs, cinematography and direction to be far superior to ours.
I am not a prude but I much prefer the way Koreans handle romance. For example, there wasn’t a single kissing scene in Mr. Sunshine’s 24 episodes and yet it was one of the most romantic stories, I have ever seen.
The American audience in general, seems to prefer their characters, jumping into bed in the opening scene. I really enjoy the much more conservative approach that is utilized in K-dramas; the inadvertent touch, back-hug, piggy-back ride or the longing glance. We may not even hear our OTP saying… sa-lang-hae or jo-ha-e until the final act act and I really enjoy the anticipation of waiting for that moment.
On the negative side, I don’t like the fact that I have to read subtitles, because it diverts my attention away from the acting. However, on the bright side and as a senior citizen, I consider reading and learning a foreign language as being good exercise for my brain.
Last but not least; I have become a total fanboy, when it comes to Korean actresses.
So from this fanboy to you, “the Fangurl,” I say, fighting and gamsahabnida
“There’s no such thing as too much kdrama”
hello kfangurl, first of all i read all the comments before writing my response to how i got to know your thefangirlverdict.
com. and realized i’d known you since your lurking days.
i’m a kdrama addict since 2009, read your post on crazyforkdramas since its a year end review 2012 and amanda of outside seoul website added your blogsite on her kdrama linkapoloza .. i read mostly your kdrama reviews – missed your pure pretty, and our love for Jang Hyuk. Congratulations!!! 8 yrs
and counting fighting!
i’m still a lurker of KFC. i seldom post but read your kdrama reviews fully. (but sometimes feel down when you dropped a kdrama or you review only cdramas for a time. im also wishful thinking that you would review a thriller, suspense horror kdrama but understand those are not your genre.
i collect korean dvds, but thanks to netflix ph. i can watch them in an hour after it has been broadcast in SK and with correct subtitles..
remember the time we follow live recapping sites (eg candence) ..we have to wait, the least next day for the subs.. (eg. Tiveee.com on FB.
Remembered i posted a comment on your Money Flower Review.. about Jang Hyuk doing the Tango..and you replied if he would be good in dancing. here’s a YT https://youtu.be/ErYdga0ubWQ.
im still an adjumma who calls my faves kdrama actors eg. Jang Hyuk, Kim So Hyun, Yeo Jin Goo, oppaya.. hehehe.
2020 is a global pandemic year for all but a good year for kdramas and KPOP ,now most of my friends even my male friends love and watched kdramas – because of CLOY and IONTBO.
Really appreciate the link to Jang Hyuk dancing!
Happy Anniversary!! 😀 🎉🥂 Your blog is awesome. I found it while watching a drama I can’t remember, I wanted to find places and people to discuss the drama, haha!!…and have been checking since them.
I’m from Spain and found about kdramas and anime thanks to Asian exchange students that came to my uni and used to hang out with us. Later I kept being a fan but it is difficult to find kdrama watchers in my country. 🙂
@kfangurl – 8 YEARS?!!!! I’m late because of real life … but that’s AWESOME! CONGRATULATIONS! 🎉 So happy you “stumbled” into creating this blog.
I’ll be back to read everybody’s bios but right now, I’ve finally got my son to do some odd jobs for me so I have to get back to make sure everything gets put where I want it.
Everyone is holding their breath beez. WHAT are that woman’s 5 fun facts?
Wow! Has it really been 8 years already? I guess that makes it 10 or more for me, not that my blog has probably ever been as popular as yours, lol. A very happy blogaversary to you and a wish for many more to come. It’s been a wonderful 8 years!
I think I may have first discovered your blog when you visited my site…or did we discover each other on social media first? I have no one in real life to watch dramas with, so I always appreciated fans of Asian dramas on social media and I really loved watching certain dramas and having discussions with Be and Nelly on them live on Twitter back in the day.
5 Facts About Myself…I am a boring person, lol. Enough said there.
I live in Michigan in the US, but was born on an air force base out in California. I come from essentially a German farming family and only recently discovered this past year that I am actually 2% Japanese. I have less than a year between me and my older sister, but a huge age gap with my younger siblings who are half Filipino and my step sister who is a full Filipino.
I started my blog not because of a fun reason like you. I had to learn WordPress for work and I decided if I had to learn about this platform, I should learn it by talking about a subject I actually liked and it was at that time I was in the infancy of my Asian drama obsession…mainly Japanese dramas. I miss my first jdrama blogging buddies!
I am the managing editor of a literary website so the majority of my life is spent on a computer! Thanks to this job I have learned about CSS, PHP, HTML, WordPress, Joomla, and am constantly learning new things every day. It can be intimidating, but I am weird and actually find it interesting and fun, especially with CSS and relationships and how you can really target items for design changes without implementing the uses of classes all of the time.
I grew up writing, mostly poetry, and during my freshman year of college I actually wrote and finished an entire book of historical fantasy fiction which will never, ever see the light of day, lol. But I am happy that I actually managed to finish the first draft. I have spent the next 16 years revising it off and on.
I have only a handful of hobbies: watching Asian dramas, crocheting, listening to music, reading, cooking, writing, and photography. I am good at none of them.
I’m happy to learn that you are from Singapore. My close friend who introduced me to Kdramas lives there. I came across this blog after watching Something in the Rain and feeling much anguished about how the story started so well but gave much grief as it unfolded. I was delighted though to read your views that addressed almost everything that troubled me. Since then, love to look up your posts whenever I want to know about a drama beforehand.
Facts about me.
1. I’m an Indian and come from one of its states, Maharashtra. My first language is Marathi (We have 22 national languages in India).
2. I’m a freelance writer and write in English as it was the prime language in my school. I blog as well and it is a mix of everything, politics, social issues, Indian movies, kdramas etc. I’m forever in awe of those using their word power well.
3. I too love picking up korean words from dramas and learning the language instead of going for a full language course.
4. Love getting to know a new culture and shows, series, movies for me is the second best way to learn about the world after traveling.
5. I’m a foodie and believe in eat and let eat philosophy. This cult is sure to bring world peace ;).
Congratulations!
2020 gave me plenty of time to watch Kdrama and I was stucked for a while after i watch Reply1988. I’ve stumble upon your blog while googling reviews about the show, and followed you since then. I love your extensive reviews and I always watch the show you recommend and wait for the review post. ☺
You have such a way with words, you have a gift.
Carry on.
Congratulations again!
Congratulations!!! It’s amazing that you’ve been consistent in building your blog. I’ve come to rely on it for reviews and suggestions.
I’m from Pakistan and my first language is Urdu. Learnt English in school, a bit of Arabic in University and Chinese because I wanted to expand my horizons. Still not great at it.
While Pakistani dramas in Urdu have been really good with an emphasis on adaptation from literature and as a means of social commentary, the last 6-8 years haven’t been so good. There have been very few standouts and I’ve almost abandoned them.
I’ve also always had an interest in other languages and have watched English movies regularly. I started exploring French cinema and other language that kept creeping up in my Google and IMDB searches was Korean. So, I initially started watching Korean movies. My Sassy Girl was the 1st one and I loved it. But I didn’t really delve into kdrama till about 2017 because my job was crazy and wouldn’t allow me the time to go for a whole series. I also wasn’t sure about what to watch till a New York Times article on The Descendants of the Sun.
After I watched that, I started googling for kdrama reviews and your website came up top. I liked (and still do) how you expressed details about kdramas and your grading system. While I don’t agree with all of your grades, I really appreciate all of your effort!
So here are some random facts:
I’ve travelled twice to Singapore. Would love to visit again InshAllah 😊
Love eating and making desserts. This pandemic gave me the motivation to learn how to make icecream at home and just recently I’ve been making giant chocolate chips cookies.
I hate exercise too even though I’ve been trying to convince myself that it’s good for my body. I’d rather spending the time physically exerting myself by doing some work 😑
I started blogging about 2 years ago (non kdrama related) and found it so taxing that I haven’t written beyond a single post 🙈
Love listening to Pakistani music and have developed a taste for kdrama ost. Pakistani Coke Studio is a must if you’re looking for a starting point.
Congratulations again and good luck! Also, happy coincidence, it’s my Mom’s birthday on 12.12 😄
yesss!!!…. Pakistani Coke Studio is <3 We should just cancel our version here, across the border! 😀
@carpcontrol. If you haven’t already give Velo Sound Station a try on You Tube. There are some great songs on there and I think there are new episodes every Friday. Songs have a bit of an 80s feel but I really enjoyed them
Haha no comment 😉 😀
Love Coke Studio!
@kghirl and @shara I have them on my alogorhythm now. Hey super thanks.
Same!!! Listening since the 1st season <3
@kghirl: I do not know how he is received in Pakistan, albeit I understand his father is rather famous there as a singer, and I have no idea what you think of him. but after checking him out on Coke Studio–thank you, thank you, I really must say, I dig Ali Pervez Mehdi. And find it amazing that he has an Austin, TX band as well, since that is about an hour from where I live.
I haven’t heard him sing before so can’t say I know him well. So glad you liked Coke Studio. Check out the older seasons. I’m sure you’ll find more hidden gems <3
Congratulations on your 8th anniversary! Here’s to many more years to come!
I like reading blogs about subjects/topics that I am interested in and I also like visiting/reading about drama reviews. I chance upon yours randomly when I was watching The Story of Ming-Lan and was looking for more information about the show. I love how thorough your review was written. And you’re the reason I watch Find Yourself. =) I am happy to know that you also love Nirvana in Fire! So I guess, the rest as they say is history.
As you have probably surmised, I’m initially not really into Kdramas, I mean I do have some ideas and maybe take a peek at them sporadically but I’m not that knowledgeable nor have I watched a lot of them. But when this pandemic happened and we were all force to stay in lock down/quarantine, I needed something to take my mind off all the uncertainties and anxiety brought about by what’s happening around the world. And Kdramas are really everywhere and there are a lot of them. I would always look at your blog for any reviews before diving in. We may not always have the same points of view about certain dramas but it’s always enjoyable to read about your thoughts and insights.
I am from the Philippines by the way and also of Chinese ethnicity. Side note: I’ve been to Singapore a few times. =) I’ve also studied the Chinese language for years in school, not really required but I would say more like expected for us with Chinese ethnicity, but I still suck at it blame it on my not taking it too seriously when I was still studying it and also because English is more predominantly used here. The same reason why I am drawn to Cdramas, to familiarize myself again with the language. I don’t have any fancy job title since I’ve decided years ago to give up my career and stay home to take care of my kids. =)
Congratulations on 8 years. To sustain something with this depth for that length of time is a real accomplishment!
Let’s see. I’m on the West Coast of the U.S. My main contact with Asian culture (before Kdramas, that is) is via China: I lived in Taiwan for a couple years in my early 20s, majored in Chinese language and literature in college, and now work with a client base that is almost all from Mainland China or at least Chinese speaking. Strangely enough, I never had much interest in C-dramas. I much enjoyed Hong Kong cinema of the John Woo vintage, and the flowering of Chinese film that came with Zhang Yimou, but what little I caught of C-dramas always seemed (from a distance) kind of cliched and woodenly acted (apologies if I’m not doing them justice).
I’m a relative newbie to Kdrama-land, as it was just March of this year that I fortuitously stumbled into The King: Eternal Monarch because Netflix’s home screen kept throwing it up in front of me and I finally got curious enough to try it. Since then, I have gotten on the roller-coaster and haven’t gotten off yet–I’ll probably finish my 25th drama sometime next week (Love in the Moonlight).
I stumbled across your great resource of a blog, believe it or not, because the Google news algorithm on my mobile knows I’ve been following Kdrama in recent months, and has been serving me up a bunch of articles–mostly from places like soompi.com–but one day it threw out a link to your review of The King: Eternal Monarch, which of course I couldn’t resist, and here we are.
5 (semi-)random facts:
–The only time I’ve ever been to Korea was a several-hour layover in Seoul’s international airport;
–mad respect for those of you who have managed to pick up a fair amount of Korean from Kdramas; I learned hangul, and amuse myself by looking up words and phrases on google translate that I hear while watching, but I am still at the level of just recognizing forms of address (noona! oppa! eonni!), which I find fascinating;
— I grew up in Colorado, and my immediate family (parents and siblings) still live there;
— Korean food I’ve tried I’ve mostly enjoyed, sometimes a lot, but I am definitely limited because I have real difficulty with very spicy/hot food. I would like to enjoy it, but my stomach just won’t cooperate;
— I don’t generally care for sageuk as a form, but relying on careful curation (i.e. recommendations from places like this blog), I am slowly dipping my toes into the ones that are considered better or higher quality.
I watched my first kdrama (Something in the Rain) in 2018. I thought, “What a sweet niche genre.” I added a few more shows in 2019, and began to get a clue that Korean drama was a – ahem – bigger deal than I had imagined. Enter 2020 and the pandemic lock-down, when I dove deep into kdrama viewing. I searched for a guide into this new world, reading blogs and articles and Wiki, and found The Fangirl Verdict. Mind blown. I came for the insights and stayed for your great writing, the bottomless resources, the k-gorgeous, and the friendly, thoughtful, global community. I would describe the whole Fangirl Verdict experience as generous. Many thanks, kfangurl, and congratulations on 8 years!
Travel and exploring are about my favorite things. In fact, spending so much time in Korea this year has helped fill the no-travel hole created by stay-at-home. A bucket list item is to visit all 7 continents, which I have a good shot at… if I can find a $$ reasonable way to get to Antarctica.
Shortly after college I lived in Taiwan for a year+. I taught ESL, but was mostly just there for the experience. I traveled quite a bit, including a memorable train trip from Bangkok to Singapore. The 2-day ride through Thailand and Malaysia surrounded by families traveling over Songkran was one of the most romantic experiences of my life.
Closer to home (Chicago), I’ve visited all 50 states.
At the beginning of this year I was a good-enough cook. After 40 weeks (and counting) of necessity-planned menus and the goal of making one new recipe every week, I’ve graduated to pretty darn good. Nothing too fancy and I’m still a recipe follower (not an intuitive cook). But, I’m building skills. Around week 25 I made braised kimchi and served it with soju. Let’s just say the meal will benefit from more practice in the future.
I’ve ventured into Korean films starring actors I’ve liked in dramas (The King, Go-Go 70s, Be With You, Burning…) A different cinematic experience, it often pierces the beautiful illusions that kdrama gifts us with. I’ll continue to explore kfilm (I appreciate the complementariness ), but judiciously in order to preserve as much as I can of the pretty and connected Korean experience that satisfies me so well in kdrama.
Congrats on 8 years! Well first I can’t believe 2012 was eight years ago, but that you’ve been writing the blog for this long, you writing is as beautiful as ever.
I found your blog around three years ago when I was first getting introduced to the kdrama world. I had just recently dropped Scarlet Heart and I was looking for a place where others shared similar feelings toward the drama. However, I didn’t become a regular reader of you blog until I think I watched Reply 1988. The drama left such a void in my heart, which was when I revisited your blog. Your review of the drama was amazing and so beautifully written, it provided me with the perfect closure and ever since then I’ve become a frequent reader of the blog. Especially after My Mister made me an emotional wreck, your words perfectly described my feelings throughout the show.
I’m a high school senior in the U.S., but my ethnicity as Thai-Burmese. I lived for a couple years in Thailand when I was younger, where I first became immersed in dramas. Before the DVR recorder, my family would record episodes on a camcorder if we were out of the house that evening. As I grew older, I found that Thai dramas became severely lacking for me, something about the cinematography and repetitive plots became boring to me. I wasn’t a huge fan of kpop so I was always hesitant to start kdramas (although looking back I have no idea why I thought kpop and kdramas would have any correlation with each other), but after friend talked constantly about how amazing Weightlifting Fairy was, I decided to check it out. I was immediately hooked, I mean shirtless Nam Joo Hyuk…”swoon.”
Hello kfangurl,
A truly hearty congratulations on reaching such an awe-inspiring milestone. Without doubt, you are the best. Who else can bring such breadth, clarity and insight regarding not just dramas, but many others? Even when you drill down into the tiniest of details, it’s a delightful and fascinating read. Then there is your appreciation of the OST to round out your reviewing experience. Finally, there are your kindly responses to my many comments, patient to the extreme on occasions. Where else can we also find fans and friends, the appreciators of your posts who are a delight to read, enjoy and interact with?
So, I am Australian, a Western Australian (WA) to be precise, and for those who don’t know, we do look at ourselves differently to those on the eastern seaboard (plus they like to remind us about that on a regular basis). I live in the second largest “state” on the planet and spend much of my time traversing it (The United Kingdom, land mass wise can fit into WA at least ten times). At about 2.4m km2 there is literally one person and one kangaroo per square kilometre.
I started my Kdrama journey in 2016 when I was fill-in in as a CEO for a local government literally in the middle of nowhere, but such a lovely place. I am an extensive reader and play the guitar ’til the cows come home, but I needed a further distraction so that I wouldn’t end up working like I used to for many, many years – non-stop. So, in my trawling through Netflix, I stumbled across Beating Again (and unlike many out there, I think Netflix is doing a pretty good job on things). I enjoyed it so much I started to look for information on other good Kdramas. It took me a little while, but then I found The Fangirl Verdict, and the rest is history!
Although, I have mentioned many things on kfangurl’s blog over the years, the five things are:
In very broad terms, I studied as an archaeologist initially (so understanding cultures is a thing), went on to undertake a traineeship in industrial relations at a time when it was most turbulent in terms of IR reform in Australia, then went on to become a public servant, then a CEO in local government and now I am a consultant (living the dream 🤣). So, I am well known here for tackling adversity and unjust causes (hence I also find Kdramas fascinating because of this).
This year, I committed to watching far less dramas. So far, this is working out.
I have three children who are all taller than me (substantially so) .
My wife watches Kdramas sometimes too.
I have named a star (Serendipity) – a fun thing to do.
Life is a journey. A blog such as yours kfangurl, gives so much more meaning to that journey because it is not only a delightful stop, but a destination as well. May we all enjoy so many more dramas and posts to come. Salutations forever more 🥳🥳🥳
@ Sean I echo your sentiments about Netflix. I would never have been intrigued enough to watch a K Drama if it wasn’t for CLOY and Itaewon class trending in the U.K. So I am in fact eternally grateful to Netflix.
Happy 8th Fangurl!
Really glad I found this blog, you have helped me find so many shows I have ended up loving and the experience of reading your thoughts after finishing a show always helps me relive what I loved about the show because of how detailed and well put together it all is.
I am from Texas in the U.S. and my kdrama journey began around 5 years ago? Something like that anyway. I had always been a huge fan of TV as a medium because I tend to prefer the extended time with characters over the shorter time that film enables so until that point I had primarily been an avid watcher of US tv shows. At a certain point I began to feel kind of burned out on them though, I had my favorites that I loved to pieces but couldn’t find new shows that felt as engaging to me. I think it hit me while I was watching Breaking Bad, the why behind it all. Breaking Bad was a smart show and it had a compelling plot but I still felt very little drive to keep watching or much attachment to the show in general because I genuinely did not care about any of the characters. Guess it kind of hit me that by and large I couldn’t connect that well to newer shows for that reason, unlikeable characters even if interestingly written just didn’t do it for me. So I kind of just jumped into kdramas on a whim because I was looking for tv I could love again and I was used to dealing with foreign languages and subtitles because of anime. My first drama was Padam Padam and I absolutely loved it and been an avid watcher ever since. Dramas really brought back my love for the tv show medium so even though I don’t really have people irl to discuss them with, they have basically become my primary hobby.
Really appreciate everything about the blog and hope we both continue to love the dramaverse 🙂
Happy 8 Year Anniversary! Congratulations 🙂 That’s such a wonderful achievement.
I’m in the US and started watching dramas at the end of 2013. At the beginning of 2014, your blog was one of the first that I discovered. I was and still am truly impressed by your reviews. Your writing talent and ability to capture and convey the essence of a drama is remarkable. I was also a long time lurker before finally commenting and ultimately starting my own blog.
I got into dramas first and then a combination of OST’s and realizing about every other actor was also a singer led me to Kpop, lol. I’m thrilled to have discovered your blog as well as been able to connect with you over the years. I look forward to many more reviews from you and wish you many more successful blogging years! 🙂
Happy blogoversary, Kfangurl!
Here are my answers to your questions.
I started watching dramas in 2012, when a friend introduced me to the wonderful world of Kdramas. I was very impressed with Chuno, so I started looking for other fans of the drama, and that’s how I found The Fangirl Verdict. Your reviews are the most detailed and insightful, and a true joy to read. Because of your recommendations, I have watched and enjoyed dramas in different genres.
Random facts about myself:
I was born and raised in Bulgaria, but now live in the US. Before I started watching dramas, I had zero exposure to Asian history and culture.
I have been playing the piano since I was 6, and received training as a classical pianist.
In the past couple of months I have composed 12 piano pieces, all inspired by Korean dramas. Thank you, Kfangurl, for inviting me to do a guest post and allowing me to share my music with drama fans around the world.
Besides playing the piano, I enjoy reading historical fiction and nonfiction. I have read a couple of books on Korean history, and taught myself the Korean alphabet.
I also enjoy knitting and Pilates. Too bad I can’t do either while watching dramas!
Great nonfiction book about James Garfield the most humane American President ever, about whom simultaneously no one knows much, the tragedy of his assassination early on and the botched medical response to the gun shot wound eventually killing him with a side note to Alexander Graham Bell:
Destiny of the Republic by Candace Millard,
Hello KFG!…. Wow, 8 in the blogging world is a BIG number, and congratulations on reaching this wonderful milestone! 🙂
I stumbled upon your blog, from an academic research paper on ‘north-korean depiction in south Korean culture’ and a subsequent mention of you & your blog article on CLOY, which happens to be a record-setting write-up on the topic with a mind-blowing word count. My post-CLOY blues dragged me over to your blog, and I was blown with your impeccably precise dissection of a drama (& its feels) which were described beautifully. As someone, who often goes off on a chain of thoughts randomly, I was left a SERIOUS fan of your writing, and I visit regularly to check your opinion on dramas (which I KNOW would echo my thoughts, more often than not!)~~
Some [drama-related ]random facts about me:
–My entry into Asian-dramas was via manga & anime, which had me learning Japanese because I was too impatient to wait for scan-lations & fan-subs. Eventually, it became ‘un-fashionable’ to watch animated stuff, so we instead moved over to dramas. Much of my life has been me being a secret fan-girl, and most of my friends not knowing the existence of this ‘alter-ego’. Or the existence of a blog I co-write with a friend, which started as a WILD idea to troll & roast dramas/ anime while trying to convince her to give it a shot.
–My starter k-drama was Goong too, just like you! <3 I like to pretend to be a serious-drama watcher, but eventually melt into a puddle of goo, at a good cheesy romance.
–One of my weirdest guilty-pleasures is watching actors in interviews trashing their ‘green, newbie, & inexperienced’ acting jobs in dramas, that used to be childhood favourites of mine xD Being in a ‘creative’ field, it is a whole-*** MOOD, watching them be so candid!
–I am a certified angst-lover (the good kind, and I hate the unnecessary ones). Thus, I LOVE when dramas can make me effortlessly cry, and maybe even LOL without missing a beat.
–I study astrology as a hobby, paint whenever I don’t watch dramas and am an architect (by profession). Thus, I am pumped for Wookie’s new web-drama (city couple’s way of love) in which he plays one too, and I hope you give it a try! 😉
–Bonus point: Jumped onto this bandwagon pretty late. Discovered drama-beans AFTER (and via) your Blog. Crazy, right? 😀 Also, as I indulge in my sad packet of Maggi, I like to pretend sometimes I am slurping Shin Ramyun.
Cheers to you, your fan-girling, and many more awesome (and not so-awesome) drama-watching, and drama-discussions!! ^^
Oh wow, CarpControl! I think this might be the first time someone’s told me that they found my blog via an academic research paper! 🤯😆 That’s so surreal and so cool! Thanks so much for enjoying the blog, I’m so happy to know that you enjoy it, and that we share such similar feelings towards the dramas! ❤️
Omigosh, that’s so cool that Goong was your first kdrama too! Hi5! 😄😄 Ooh, my initial drama enabler sister is also an architect, so I’m extra impressed that you’re able to make time for dramas, while she’s abandoned me to my own drama journey! 😉 I am admittedly curious about City Couple’s Way Of Love, and really hope it’ll be good, especially since Wookie’s last 2 dramas were less than inspiring. 😅
Ahh! That’s such a cool random fact, that you found Dramabeans via this blog!! 😃 I feel like that’s an achievement unlocked, of some kind! 😆 I love it! Thanks for letting me know! 😘
Admittedly, one of my favourite things about your blog is how you manage to interact so well with your readers, and the community here is extra helpful finding not just great k-dramas but other cool stuff too, like music!! 🥰
Being an architect, I was away for about 9 years for studies and settling into the profession, so I am sure your sister eould eventually find her way back, once the craving to indulge gets too hard to ignore! ❤️
Congrats on 8 years! That’s real staying power on the internet! Plus, your audience just keeps growing. We love what you do here–giving us a safe place to hang and get our Kdrama fan thing on!
When my youngest daughter was 16 (spring of 2017–she’s now 20), she discovered K-pop and quickly became obsessed. It was all she played for a long time and all I heard about. So many groups with so many singers who mostly had two names–their real one and their stage name. My brain got a real workout. One of her favorite groups was Seventeen and learning all 13 members of that group was beyond me, but her ultimate bias and one of her bias wreckers were in BTS and 7 members was a whole lot more manageable to learn, so I focused on that one. I liked their music better anyway. (In the end, I discovered my own favorite group is EXO of those I know about anyway.) She introduced me to a lot. We’d always bonded over music, and this was no different. Our first k-pop concert was Kard in NYC in the fall of 2017. Anyhoo… This is not really supposed to be about my k-pop journey which has its own trajectory.
I’ve alway been into film especially International types.One of my favorite things in college was to go to the International Cinema. Being a photographer, I’m really into cinematography. When aforementioned daughter decided to watch a Korean drama and invited me to watch with, I was all for it. Let’s just say the rest is history. I was totally hooked, even though the first two weren’t by any means my favorite. Being in high school she didn’t have a lot of time for shows, so she stuck with the music mostly, but I went whole hog into K-drama. I love that they have an ending. I had gotten so sick of being left hanging when American shows that I loved got cancelled or any variety of never ending antics just to get viewership. I love the story arcs and the way shows watch like reading a novel. They are, in a way, novels come to life. Who wouldn’t love that? Plus, they are mostly pretty clean which is nice. I can totally watch with my family and not worry.
I found KFG way too far into my journey. I saw way more turkeys than I care to admit. It’s hard for me to drop a show because I’m one of those who has to know the ending. Since reading KFG’s reviews though I’ve gotten better at dropping shows if they really aren’t working for me. I searched for a review of whatever show it was and BAM! KFG and all her pretty pictures and her slick looking blog (how the heck do you do it? I’ve been trying forever to get my site up on WP and yikes!) her thorough reviews and the definitions of kdrama stuff that I didn’t get at the time and her Full List of Shows! What would I do without that? Now if something looks interesting, I will always check if KFG has seen it and what she thinks of it. We don’t always agree, but 9 times out of 10 we do, so if she loves it, there’s a good chance I will. And I will check the FLoS for A++ to B+ reviews and try something knowing that I can be pretty sure to love it. The only problem is when I can’t access it in the US. Oh, yeah. I’m from the US.
Wow! I’m running a little long. There are already at least 5 facts about me in all that, but here are the bullet pointed 5.
I feel like a jack of all trades and master of none even though I have a Masters degree in French. (I taught Latin and French when I worked in the real world.)
I’m musical. I sing and play the piano and trumpet. At one time, I thought seriously about being on the stage, but I didn’t want that for my family life and I got a later start at it anyway and talked myself out of it.
I have written a novel, but then again who hasn’t? It’s not ready for the world yet.
I’m a photographer of things and sometimes people (actually people more than I am comfortable with being an introvert, but when it’s for family, it’s hard to not do it.)
I paint. Usually with oils these days, sometimes with watercolor. If I ever get that website up, I’ll share them with you and the rest of the interwebs. This is the work I’m trying to do now. Maybe someday I’ll add to the coffers this way. So far, it’s costing more than I make. Maybe someday.
⭐️Gold star to anyone who made it all the way through!
That was a lot ^^
I love the bond between you and your daughter. (She and I share the love for kpop ^^)
KFG page is actually really helpful and saved me a lot of time ^^
So you are a very artsy and talented person. I am a little jealous ^^ But what you do sounds pretty cool.
We have lots in common, from jack of all trades, to photo and painting, though I am strictly an amateur.
Have you seen much Korean film?
And as an aside, I started watching IU and Kim Chang Wan after seeing them in dramas.
Here to collect the gold start 😉
Raises hand to “who hasn’t written a novel yet”….
Tee hee. I’m here to collect my gold star too!! 😄😉
That’s so fantastic, that you got into kpop through your daughter! You are one cool mom! 🤩 And how cute, that she got you into kdrama, and then it became your thing because she had no time for it! 😆 It kinda reminds me of how my sister got me into kdramas, and then now it’s my thing, because she has no time for it either! 😆
Aw, I’m happy to hear that you’ve found the blog so useful, lotusgirl!! That makes me feel useful and valued and happy. 🥰🥰 And YAY that you’ve learned to drop dramas, a least a little bit. I used to be a strict completist too, but it’s been liberating learning how to walk away from a drama that’s just not working for me. 🙂
Gosh, thanks for sharing so many cool facts about yourself! 🤩 You are one very talented lady! I am especially impressed that you’ve written a novel!! (I am definitely not one who has written a novel, so perhaps it’s not as common an achievement as you think?)
Hi kfg,
Congrats on the 8th anniversary. Long time lurker here, and the occasional commenter. I stumbled across your blog when I was doing a deep Google search (oogling) Jang Hyuk.
Some random things about me:
1. I’m from Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state in India
2. My drama watching journey started with J-dramas. I gave kdramas a try with the legend of the blue sea but dropped it and went back to my Jdrama world.
3. Not a popular drama, but the first kdrama I fell in love with was Devilish Joy. Developed a massive crush on Choi jin Hyuk.
4. Since then I’ve become biased to kdramas. Now on a steady kdrama diet.
5. Love your reviews. They are my nighttime reading.
Congrats again and keep k-girling!!!
Hi there Vaish, thanks for delurking in honor of the blogoversary! 😃 How cute, that it was our mutual appreciation for Jang Hyuk that brought you here! He really is very special. 🤩😍 Also, how fun, that you started with J-dramas and then found your way to kdramas! 😊
Aw, that warms my heart, to know that the reviews are your nighttime reading. Thanks for choosing to hang out here! ❤️
Hi my name is Birgit,
1) I’m from Hamburg, Germany. Right now it’s mostly grey outside here. But especially down at the river Elbe each season and weather has its own kind of beauty, which I like a lot. I go there for walks almost every day.
2) I’m a journalist and writer with strong focus on pop culture. Two year ago I started a blog about the music scene of my hometown Hamburg, but my big wish is to expand writing about the pop culture of other cities around the globe. Because there is so much to explore! And I am deeply convinced, that music – and drama series 😉 – can bring people together in the most positive way. If you like, check it out: http://www.biggypop.de/blog
3) I started watching kdrama just this year. And now I am addicted. 😉 It’s kind of my escape room in this strange Corona times. Pretty soon I came across your blog while searching for new material to watch. And I absolutely love the thoughtful advice and individual approach you deliver on these pages. Thank you so much for this!
4) I am a big fan of New York. I’ve been there several times, because I just love the diverse culture and the vibrant energy there. I have a feeling, that I might find a special energy in Seoul as well. That’s why I definitely wanna visit Korea when traveling is possible again.
5) During Corona-Lockdown I like to dance in my kitchen, because all my favorite clubs are closed. And, anyway, it’s fun! 🙂
Sending good vibes and wishes to this lovely community here!
Hi Birgit, it’s great to meet you! 😃 That’s so cool that you’re a writer and are so passionate about writing for the music scene! I so agree with you, that music and dramas are able to bring people together in powerful ways. ❤️
I haven’t been to NY, but have heard lots about the intensity of its vibrance and energy! I hope you’ll be able to visit Seoul one day soon, and that you’ll end up loving it as much as you love NY! 😃
Thanks so much for enjoying the blog, I’m really glad that you like it here! ❤️
Congratulations, kfangurl, on 8 years of sustained insight, excellence, and community. You’ve got a lot to be proud of and we, YOUR fans, have a lot to be grateful for.
I came across the blog when I first started watching K-dramas, about three years ago. Not knowing anyone else IRL who is a fan, I was researching what show to watch next and wanted an independent view from Dramabeans. But I REALLY became a fan when I finished “Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food” (my preferred title for that show) and needed serious drama therapy, which your review definitely provided. Been checking it out ever since.
R1. I am an academic biomedical scientist working in the US. Not quite retirement age, but getting there. I do have an awesome mane of white COVID hair these days.
R2. I have tried, with no success, to interest my wife in watching dramas with me. Accordingly, I watch them in the morning before she gets up, sometimes in bed before going to sleep, and I get to watch one or two on the weekends on an actual TV. I also watch them on a computer on a treadmill, but only shows that I’m not paying all that much attention to (or very occasional shows on the Site That Must Not Be Named as I am not worried about damaging the old computer I use for that). This means that I must often watch sections more than once if I am in the middle of falling asleep during a show. I typically watch 2 full shows at a time.
R3. I have many anal retentive rules about which shows to watch and in which order. It would be too boring and embarrassing to list them here, but the overall goal is to maximize variety and not get stuck in a rut.
R4. I love music and seriously considered a career as a musician but didn’t pursue it due to a singular and insurmountable barrier (no talent).
R5. My favorite shows tend to be the rom coms and I’m not that much of a mystery or action fan. That being said, I’ll watch nearly anything if it’s good.
All best wishes!
My final year teaching, when I no longer cared about my mostly Clark Kent disguise for years, I grew out my white hair and white beard. As I have grown plump, that is when the behind my back in whispers Santa Claus commentary began.
Love your resume. esp the academic biomed science part. When I was young and ran rivers, many of those with whom I ran them were biomed savants. The always knocked me out with their smarts.
Aw, that’s so cool, that it was Something in the Rain that brought you to the blog! 😃 I now feel like all the aggravation that I felt towards the show, and then subsequently poured into the review, was well worth it – coz it’s brought me to meet new friends here on the blog! 😉
I am very impressed by your job, not least because I’ve always felt challenged by sciencey things, and therefore chose to focus on the arts early on, in my school career. 😅 Also, I totally feel you, on drama geeky rules! 😃 I have my own drama rules too, one of which is that I generally don’t watch the same actor in 2 shows at the same time. I feel like it mostly takes away from my drama immersion, since I am reminded that this is an actor in character, and not a real person. 😅
Ooh, I do remember that you love music, but didn’t know that you’d considered a career in music! I feel like this would make shows like When The Devil Calls Your Name and Do You Like Brahms would be right up your alley, not just because they feature a lot of music, but also because they deal with the struggle of a musician to make it. I liked them both, so I hope you’ll consider putting them on your list! 😃
Thanks, kfangurll, so much for responding. And congrats again on the anniversary!
I don’t necessarily need more rules 😳 but I love yours and will add it to my list. For music shows, I am definitely looking forward to “Brahms”, not least because of my fandom of Park Eun-Bin…
Eight years, eh. My, how time flies. Congrats! And may there be many more dramafilled years to come.
If my memory serves me right, we first met @ LiveJournal, where I had a journal of sorts for a number of years, mostly blathering about kdramas at that point. Then I just followed you here once you got the blog up and running. 😀 Eventually I also decided to move drama musings to WB and “here” I’ve been ever since, though my posting has become very sporadic in recent years.
I’ve already mentioned elsewhere that I’m Finnish so I guess that goes. 🙂 Unlike kfangurl, I have taken Korean classes and done a whole lotta self studying too (though I haven’t had much time for that in the past couple of years). I’ve been watching kdramas for so long now that I can generally get by without subtitles, depending on the drama and it’s content. Dramas lead me to kpop and I do enjoy that part of the Korean experience as well.
I envy your language comprehension Timescout. What very little I have picked up gives me a very different understanding of these dramas than the subtitles often give off. And since song lyrics are somewhat small, and I am somewhat a lyricist myself, I really come to grips with how much short shrift song subs give the material. I cannot help but ask how the weather is in Finland now, and do you reliably get to see the northern lights. Oh yeah, a long time ago, I read in translation three novels by the Nobel Prize winner F. E. Sillanpaa–Meek Heritage, People of the Summer Night, which was my favorite, and The Maid Silja. I wonder if a film was ever made of Meek Heritage in Finland as it seems that it might be great for a cinematic treatment.
My Korean comprehension comes and goes. Sometimes I can understand about 70% other times 30%. It depends very much on the content and how specific the dialogue is. Having watched so many crime dramas, I’m now quite “in” with that vocab. 😀 Translating song lyrics is hard. I’ve done it a few times and finding the proper words to convey the Korean text takes forever. I was never quite satisfied with the end result.
I’m in the south, so it’s actually not very cold. The temp is around 0 C, which generally means rain rather than snow. Last year we didn’t get proper snowfall all winter, it was just a very long November that lasted till spring. Wet and miserable. It hardly ever gets cold enough here for northern lights, you have to go up to Lapland to see them, sadly.
Meek Heritage has not been filmed but both People of the Summer Night and The Maid Silja have been. In fact, People of the Summer Night is standard fare on TV during Mid Summer. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched it, ha.
People of the Summer Night, the novel, at least in translation, is quite lyrical. And I could see it being given the Masterpiece Theater treatment. I imagine it evokes quite a nostalgic feeling in Finland. But it gratifies me to know it has been made into film and loved by so many. I have forgotten what Maid Silja was about. Meek Heritage because it was about a time of such historical importance seems like it would have been a natural.
I wonder if the warming where you are living is about to become a trend, alas, near freezing, wet and endlessly grey, and I suppose where you live also in fairly flat land then, big sky; the stereotype in the US for all parts of Finland in the winter then being folks go to bars with heavy metal blasting and lots of alcohol to bear it. That along with your spectacularly successful school systems. I have lived in rainy places but the sky has not been so oppressive as broken up by small mountains and it being warm enough so that everything turned green.
Because I write and translate poetry, I think that the biggest problem I see with song is not so much the translation word by word, but the inability to convey essence, rhythm, poetry of the lyrics, and in a syntax that makes sense to an American English speaker. All the real lyric potency is diminished.
Yes, the climate has become warmer here. Winters are shorter and spring, summer and autumn longer. I’m old enough to remember when the thermic winter started in November and ended in March/April. We had lots of snow and it was frequently quite cold. There has been milder, wet periods before too but never quite like it’s now.
It’s not that flat where I am actually. We have plenty of hills, though they are not very high ones. And there’s loads of trees. 😀 We do have them forests still, albeit broken into smaller sections by habitation, roads and fields. Ha, I guess that streotype holds true in some areas.
Gosh, I honestly can’t remember how we met, Timescout! It’s been so long! I don’t remember being active on LiveJournal.. maybe I stumbled on your blog or vice versa, as we trotted around the many blogs that were active at the time.. 😅
I never knew that you took Korean classes, Timescout! I love that this post is allowing me to learn new things even about old friends! 😃 I do think you’re better able at getting by without subs than I am.. but I definitely concur, that the subject matter and what the characters are talking about, makes a big difference. I find that I do much better without subs with family dramas, than with something very specific like crime or medical dramas. 😅
Bravo most inestimable KFG
Lotta years put in.
5 Facts
1 American poet who has translated Rimbaud, Machado, Jimenez, Neruda, San Juan de la Cruz, and working from prose translations Tu Fu, claiming solidarity with late Russian poet Mandelstam who once wrote he had a “homesickness for world culture.”
2 Longtime fan, once upon a time critic, of 20th C Congolese dance music
3 Grandpa now but in my youth rafted rivers, 5 times Grand Canyon, living for years in mountains miles back dirt roads.
4 Though I live in central TX, my real stomping grounds have been the Pacific Coast of the US from Big Sur to the Canadian border, heavy emphasis on the Point Reyes Peninsula, Sonoma and Mendocino Coasts
5 Hooked into K Drama with Mr. Sunshine and Secret Love Affair, after which read KFG’s review of the latter and have been avid follower since, as with others here unanimously shouting out “Hurrah!” and shouting her name out where appropriate.
Yooo BE… the first fact sounds so cool that I almost can’t believe you translated all of that.
“Grandpa now” is for me the coolest thing I mentioned, but
Too Many Names, Pablo Neruda
Monday and Tuesday are all mixed up,
this week, the entire year:
time, thus, cannot be sliced
with such weary shears,
and all the names of every day
every night are washed away.
No one claims the name, Peter,
no one Rose, nor Maria,
all dust and sand in an arena.
All falling rain in falling rain,
They have spoken to me of Venezuelas,
of Paraguays and Chiles,
but I could never figure out what they were talking about;
I am intimate with the skin of this earth,
and I know it has no name.
When I lived among the roots,
they made me happier than flowers,
and when I spoke with stones
they sang out like church bell towers.
The spring is so long,
having carried on with winter,
and time has lost its shoes,
a year, four hundred winters.
When I go to sleep each night,
what can you call me by,
and when I awaken, who am I
if I was not I when sleeping?
This is to say no sooner
do we disembark in life,
having arrived so recently,
we should not fill up our mouths
with such shaky definitions,
such pitiful formalities,
such letters, bombastic traitors,
so much me and you,
such signed certitudes on paper.
I have a mind to confound it all,
bring it all together and give it life anew,
mix all things up and make them naked,
until the light of the world
is one vast, teeming ocean stew,
generous and integrated,
roaring, crisp, and fragrant.
That is a interesting poem. Not my style. I don’t even know wether he uses metaphors or is literal.
I like poems that are direct without metaphors but for some reason this one was quite refreshing.
Literal and metaphorical, metaphorical and literal, but pretty direct. Always refreshing, that Pablo Neruda.
Oh as you said being a grandpa must be pretty cool. I also had an amazing bond to both my grandpas.
Rimbaud? Now that’s a real life anti-hero!
Ma Boheme (My Bohemian Life) by Arthur Rimbaud
Hands in holey pockets, I took off.
Moth-blown overcoat, so cool, and falling apart,
I took off under heaven, Muse, kneeling before you,
and, oh-la-la! what love I’ve conjured.
My only pair of trousers ripped out at the knees,
I wandered, Tom Thumb, breaking rhyme by the waysides,
and caroused about The Great Bear’s Road House,
where stars you only see danced their beats for me.
Watching and listening to them cavort, I sat my ass down
at the grassy crossroads with the dew, those sweet September evenings,
splashing roses next to my chest–what an intoxicating alcohol!
Where, rhymer from some fantastic elf-land,
I tied, as if playing guitar strings, my frayed,
blessed shoestrings, one foot near to my heart.
Thank you, @BE! I have never read Rimbaud in English, only in Bulgarian. Don’t know French, unfortunately…It is amazing how he fits so much beautiful insanity into these perfectly constructed sonnets.
Congrats on grandparenthood! I too am seriously jealous of your language skills.
Gosh BE, your 5 facts are so eclectic and interesting!! You’ve sure had lots of interesting experiences, my friend! 😃 Amazing how you rafted rivers and lived in the mountains! As a strictly city gal (Singapore has no countryside 😅), I am duly impressed!
Also, I never knew that my review of Secret Love Affair was your introduction to the blog! 😃 Tee hee. I love the idea of you being my personal cheering squad and shouting out my name where appropriate! 😆 Thank you dear BE. That makes me feel like royalty! 😉❤️
I love how the word for how I feel is so well articulated in Spanish: igualmente!
And this stock sentence from so many workplace melos is also so fitting: “Thank you so much for your hard work.”
You are the Queen!
Bonus resume: Agricultural laborer and college English teacher; abstract expressionist watercolorist and conceptual artist–the former vocations, the latter avocations. Oh and I have also run a B&B and delivered pizza.
Hi Kfangurl and others!
Super delighted that my question was posted. I am so interested in knowing more about this lovely community.
So a few random facts about myself. I was born and brought up in England but my heritage is Pakistani. Pakistan also has a strong drama culture similar to Korea. I was struggling to find something to watch on Netflix in lockdown and tried to watch Crash Landing lasted 10 minutes then tried Secret Garden lasted 5 but then for some odd reason watched Marriage Contract liked what I saw paused it and looked for reviews (didn’t want to waste my time) and spotted yours. Immediately was drawn to the way you wrote and watched and loved the drama. I then revisited Secret Garden and CLOy and they became dramas that I absolutely adore.
I then secretly lurked for months picking up dramas such as My Mister,Itaewon class and then I felt compelled to comment when you recommended Fated to love you which I honestly would have given up in the first episode never to return had it not been for you review but so glad I made it through as that again became a firm favourite albeit the ending was dragged.
Hello, fellow Neighbour (from India!) 😀
Hi5 on Pakistani serials….honestly after watching Hum Tv shows, I am DONE with Indian soaps. Legit fan of Farhat Ishtiaq’s works, and Momina Duraid’s adaptations…. wish I knew how to read the script, missing out on some real gems as a result. Nonetheless, works in our local script have allowed me to appreciate poetry!
Also, a fan of CLOY (for obvious reasons) <3
@carpcontrol Hello! And I absolutely love Farhat Ishtiaq and Momina Duraid collaborations. My favourite drama to this day is Humsafar! Do you have a favourite? Although I have to admit my Kdrama obsession has stopped me watching Pak dramas of late and a there has been an unfortunate trend of portraying disempowered women. I believe that there are few great Pakistani dramas on Zee 5 which I need to give ago.
Ohmygod, those works are severely under-appreciated, and I wish they attracted more International audience!! Honestly, the reasons why I love k-dramas is because they embody similar ideals of an Asian society, and are equally wholesome just like Pakistani dramas. Yes, Humsafar was my first, and it eventually became a rabbit-hole for me, and has been knocked-off as a favourite in my heart, over the years….The top spot is a tie between Diyar-e-Dil & Bin Roye (the serial, not the movie). After watching the former, I thought I couldn’t handle any more tears, but I was wrong. Bin Roye made me unable to speak for 2 days straight, from all the crying (something so helpless & tragic about childhood unrequited love…)
I absolutely agree the recent serials haven’t been as good, but a rare gem every year is enough to satisfy my poor heart! ^^
@carpcontrol . I agree there are quite a lot of similarities in both cultures. Have to say I hadn’t watched any Pak dramas for years as I am from England but similar to you as soon as I saw Humsafar I was like you in that rabbit hole!
Hi Sharra,
Thanks for the awesome suggestion!! Without your suggestion, I wouldn’t have gotten to know so many cool facts about our little community! 😄
That’s so interesting, that you didn’t immediately take to crowd favorites like CLOY or Secret Garden.. I feel like those often tend to draw drama newbies. I guess you technically weren’t a drama newbie, since you were already familiar with dramas from Pakistan! 😉 That’s so great that the reviews helped you to find so many drama gems – including FTLY! 😄 So glad you decided to take a further step to delurk too! ❤️
Aah that is so interesting. You have got me thinking why they didn’t grab me in the first place. And the reason was that I found the main characters silly at the beginning. So I remember not liking Seri and thinking she was annoying but grew to love her as soon as she arrived in North Korea. And Secret Garden despite its issue and deep character flaws remains a huge favourite of mine.
I think what K dramas do really well is the character growth and redemption and you feel you are on the journey with the character.
I’m more of a drama fan myself too , I listen to kpop here and there and only really am a fan of Exo cause their members have some of my favourite drama OSTs and I decided to check them out!
I love all of your reviews cause they’re so detailed and your opinion always has a reason. Plus the dear kdramafangurl posts are a treat too!!
Oh yes, the power of drama OSTs!! I’ve heard of people getting into kpop via drama OSTs and kpop fans getting into dramas via OSTs, so it flows both ways! 😃
Aw, thank you for your kind words regarding the posts.. I will do my best to keep ’em coming! ❤️
Hello Kfangurl! I’ve been a lurker for awhile now. Just wanna say congrats for 8 years <3 I stumbled upon your blog during the CLOY craze. I absolutely love your writing and your analysis of drama characters and its plot! I only watch dramas based on your recommendations now 😛
ALSO, I never knew you were from Singapore – me too!!
Hi there, Monzyy95!! So nice to see another fellow Singaporean here! ❤️ I’m so glad you joined the CLOY craze, since that led you to the blog! 😃 Also, thank you for the honor of being your sole source of drama recommendations! With great power comes great responsibility! 😅😉
I started watching dramas in early 2017 but they were few and far between, I only really started in late 2018. It feels weird but I first came across your blog almost 2 years ago as a result of kpop lol. I had just discovered Exo and seen that they had a cheesy drama called Exo Next Door which I wanted to know about before I started it. Yours was the first result on Google and then I just fell in love with your writing!!! I read your reviews about the dramas I had seen and your thoughts aligned with mine a lot! Now I read almost all of your reviews, sometimes even those of shows I haven’t seen yet or maybe will never see lol but this is my happy place 🙂
I actually didn’t know anything about you except your very cute profile picture and immense love for Healer( I love it too!)…. it was nice getting to know you!
OMIGOSH, that’s so funny, that it was my review of Exo Next Door that led you to the blog, coz I very nearly didn’t check out that drama, because I am a total kpop noob and didn’t think I would be Show’s target audience, ha! 😆😆 That’s so great though, that you liked it here and decided to stay! 😃😃 Thank you for making this your happy place! ❤️
Congrats KFG 🙂 8 years wow… hard to believe. Time flies…
You had some interesting facts about yourself up there. Changed the picture of you in my head a lot ^^
Yes, time really flies!! I’m curious to know how the facts changed the picture of me you had in your head. Tell me more? 😃
Also, would you care to tell us a bit about yourself? Sharra thought it’d be a great idea to find out more about everyone here, so I’m curious to know 5 random facts about you! 😃 Also, how DID you find the blog, in the beginning?
So I thought from the beginning that you are versatile but now I think you are a lot more versatile than I assumed.
At first I thought you might be a little nerdy (that is nothing bad that is literally the nickname my mom gave me ^^) and that people can tell right away that you like kdramas 😀 but now I feel like you are some kind of beauty with kdramas as a secret… It’s hard to explain and probably doesn’t make sense… just my imagination running wild again 😀
I found your site by literally googling “drama name” (can’t remember which one it was) review. That’s it.
Hmm I don’t think I should share anything about myself. I mean everyone already knows I am german that should be enough.
I always feel like I will end up like Ceasar ^^
Versatile! 😃 I like the sound of that! It makes me feel like I’ve got a variety of superpowers or something! 🤗 I am absolutely a drama nerd, but I’m not nerdy in the more traditional areas of nerdy, like math or science. And your updated impression is more accurate, because I actually kept my blog a secret from real life friends for quite a while. So you’re right, people wouldn’t actually be able to tell right away that I like dramas. 😄 I like this idea of being a mysterious beauty with a drama secret – thank you, I will take that! 😎🥰
Aw, it’s ok, you don’t have to tell us stuff if you don’t feel like it. And thanks for reiterating that you’re from Germany, for those here who may not have met you yet! 😃
Ah thank god you like the updated description… for a second there I thought I messed up again …. 😀
Yeah sorry about that but I am looking forward to what people will revea about themselves ^^
That was actually a good idea from sharra ^^
Naw, you didn’t mess up at all! 😃 Yes, I thought that was a great idea from Sharra too, so I whipped up this post super quick, so that I could post it before the day is over, over here. 😅 (This of course wouldn’t have happened if I’d thought of the idea for the post myself, but.. I didn’t! 😜😆)
Oh yeah should be around midnight over there ^^
Well then it is good that sharra had the idea 🙂
Thank you! It is my first question.
Yep, it’s now past midnight! 😝 The downside of posting this later in the day, is that now I need to go to bed, so I will only be back to join the sharing party tomorrow. G’nite, Reaper and Sharra (and everyone else who might be reading this!) ❤️
Sweet K drama dreams!
Thank you! ..And now I’m REALLY going! ❤️😘
Good night KFG. See you tomorrow ^^
Good morning Moon!
Good night BE.
Surely not that ending!
Wait are you talking about ceasar? 😀
I know it is not going to end like that but still…
Yes. The Caesar thing. I thought it would show up right under it. Alas!
Na that never works ^^