Yin writes:
First of all, I am an avid fan of your blog and am so grateful for your detailed, thoughtful reviews of various Korean dramas. You probably don’t remember me, but I loved The Third Charm and posted once on your blog using the handle “erstwing” about how much your review of the show resonated with me.
I have a question about genre that I was wondering if you might address/discuss on your blog one day. What do you make of the label “slice-of-life?” What are some “slice-of-life” Korean dramas and what makes them so?
Based on the shows you have reviewed, I feel like you enjoyed this category of dramas, and thought you might have some wisdom to share. If you do enjoy “slice-of-life” dramas, what are some reasons?
The label is used a lot in Kdrama discourse, but unlike other more established genres like the melodrama and the rom com, “slice-of-life” seems to be much hazier as a concept.
I even did some research into American analogues and/or antecedents, but haven’t been able to find anything meaningful.
Full disclosure: I am a college professor and my current research project investigates the slice-of-life genre in Korean dramas. I’m teaching in the US but I am actually from Singapore, so your blog is literally close to home for me. 🙂
Thanks again for all your insights and for the time you’ve generously given to cultivating this Kdrama fan community. 🙂
Who’s with me in enjoying a bit of slice-of-life? 🙋🏻♀️
Dear Yin,
How fun, that my blog brings you a touch of home, while you are in the US! And how cool, that your research project is about the slice-of-life genre in Korean dramas! 😃
I definitely have a soft spot for slice-of-life dramas, even though, as you rightly point out, its definition does lean hazy. I’ll do what I can to share my thoughts on the genre, and I hope that any discussion that this post generates, will help as well!
Everyone, as usual, please feel free to share your thoughts, insights and personal experiences in the comments! It’s always so enriching, to have you guys pool your thoughts, and build insights upon insights!
This mutual enrichment is one of my favorite things, about running this blog. 🥰
WHAT DOES SLICE-OF-LIFE MEAN?
Do we.. know the answer to this? 😅
According to the Cambridge dictionary, a film, piece of literature, or a play might be described as a slice of life if it describes or shows the ordinary details of real life.
Of late, I find that many kdramas are high-concept sorts of things, with time travel and parallel universes being a recent trend.
Other trends that we’ve seen in Dramaland include multiple personalities, body swapping, second chance do-overs, infidelity, serial murders and more.
While there’s nothing wrong with the high-concept drama, I personally find after a while, I tend to tire of a drama trend. Like, how many dramas about parallel universes can you really enjoy, back to back, before you start to want something different, right?
The beauty of a slice-of-life drama, is that it doesn’t just showcase the ordinary details of real life; it brings out the drama inherent in the ordinary details of real life.
A good slice-of-life drama doesn’t need to manufacture angst for its characters by introducing something alien into their world; a good slice-of-life drama finds the angst, the resolution, the growth, and the power in all of that, within the ordinary moments of daily life.
And there is so much beauty in that.
I love that a good slice-of-life drama knows how to tease out characters’ personalities, motivations, thoughts and emotions, through the small, common moments of everyday life.
In high-concept stories, these smaller moments might get overshadowed, or go unnoticed altogether, but in a slice-of-life story, these smaller moments are the ones that get to shine. The smaller moments often add up to tell one larger story, about our characters, and I really like that.
Having said that, this doesn’t mean that slice-of-life stories are devoid of higher concepts. There are many dramas that take a higher concept – like a baseball player who gets convicted of assault and is sentenced to prison, for example – and give it a slice-of-life treatment.
To me, what’s important isn’t whether our stories have higher concepts; what’s important is how well-developed our characters’ emotional journeys are, and how well these are teased out, in the story worlds in which they exist.
WHY DO WE LIKE SLICE-OF-LIFE STORIES?
Hrm.. Let’s see.. 🧐
I feel like there are 3 main reasons we might gravitate towards slice-of-life stories.
1. They are easy to identify with, especially if you’ve had similar experiences.
With high concept dramas, it’s often difficult to identify with our characters, because we haven’t had similar experiences, such as encountering an alien as your next-door neighbor, or meeting a universe-hopping king, heh.
Not to say that those dramas don’t do a good job of teasing out the characters’ emotional journeys, just to be clear.
Any time a drama does a good job of teasing out its characters’ emotional journeys, it makes it easier for us to identify with the characters, even though we might not have had similar experiences.
That being said, slice-of-life dramas are just easier to identify with, simply on the basis that they deal with everyday, ordinary life. Because that’s the kind of thing we live ourselves, every day.
2. They give insight into why people behave the way they do.
One of my favorite things about the slice-of-life drama, is that it tends to explore why our characters behave the way they do, or feel the way they do, or make the decisions that they make.
I find this an excellent way of gaining insight into why we ourselves feel the way we do, as well as why the people around us behave the way they do. The transferability of the insights gained is high, and I find that really helpful.
3. They work as vicarious experiences.
Sometimes, we haven’t yet experienced what our characters are experiencing in the ordinary world on our screens, and yet, watching the show can feel like a very enriching experience.
I feel like often, these character stories work as vicarious experiences for us as an audience, and can therefore prepare us ahead of time, for when we might go through something similar ourselves, later in life.
On a slightly different but still related tangent, these vicarious experiences also mean that we get to see things from other people’s perspectives, which might change the way we see the world around us.
For example, if you aren’t a mother, but the story is from a mother’s point-of-view, that vicarious experience of putting yourself in a mother’s shoes, might actually help you empathize with the mothers around you – and maybe even revolutionize your relationship with your own mother.
That potentially transformative power is pretty amazing, I’d say.
WHAT ARE SOME SLICE-OF-LIFE DRAMAS?
This list isn’t exhaustive, certainly, because there are so many dramas out there that I haven’t watched.
But here are 15 dramas (16, if you count The Third Charm, which you’ve already mentioned) in alphabetical order – all Korean, since you’ve specified that that’s your focus – which I think fall into the slice-of-life category.
20th Century Boy and Girl
A breezy, cozy, angst-lite story that explores the friendships among 4 friends, with a charming friends-to-lovers OTP to sweeten the deal.
Sometimes Show stretches logic in telling its story, but remarkably, manages to retain its strong slice-of-life feel, in spite of it.
Flash Review is here.
A Jaunt [Drama Special]
A poignant, touching story of friendship, that also gives us glimpses into what it’s like to grow old and feel invisible to the world at large, including one’s family.
Flash Review is here.
At Eighteen
A coming-of-age story that feels low-key and restrained, but that is so good, at bringing out the angst and the euphoria of being a teenager.
Everything feels real, raw and organically grown, from characters to relationships, and it all comes together beautifully.
Review is here.
Add on: Do You Like Brahms?
I can’t believe I forgot to include Do You Like Brahms?. 😅
Understated and restrained, lots of folks didn’t take to this one because they found it slow and boring, but I loved it.
I think Show does a wonderful job teasing out the personalities and thought processes of our introverted leads, and exploring the intricacies of their burgeoning connection.
Quiet yet uplifting.
Review is here.
Father is Strange
Not all family dramas are slice-of-life, but when family dramas do slice-of-life, they do them really well.
There’s a lot of warm, hearty family warmth in this one, even as Show follows the joys, follies and foibles of each family member’s journey.
Flash Review is here.
Hospital Playlist
Such a well-balanced, relatable and very human story, where we get to feel like flies on the walls of these 5 wonderfully lovable characters, as they go through life together while saving lives on the job.
Review is here.
Life is Beautiful
Wonderfully harmonious and comforting, this is my favorite family drama of all time. The narrative beats feel quite small, but they never feel insignificant, which is exactly what great slice-of-life dramas do.
As a plus, it’s set on beautiful Jeju Island. Gorgeous.
Review is here.
Midnight Diner
A warm, small story world which revolves around a midnight diner where regulars gather, and where they heal by sharing their lives, and sharing the good food that Master, the owner of the diner, serves up.
Flash Review is here.
Misaeng
Understated and realistic, the experience of watching this show literally feels like we’re following our characters to work, every day; the epitome of a slice-of-life drama.
We get to not only follow our protagonist’s journey of self-discovery, but we also get to experience the daily struggles and joys of our other characters. Very well done.
Review is here.
My Mister
An absorbing watch that feels real, raw, and true in its exploration of our key characters’ journeys. Our protagonist Dong Hoon is one of my favorite drama characters, ever. He’s so human in his frailty and his pain, and yet still so compassionate and tenderhearted.
I love this drama for showing us that even an everyman can be a hero.
Review is here.
More Than Friends
Muted, understated and quite the slow burn, this show isn’t for everyone. I didn’t love this one as much as I wanted to, but am including this here because I do know of folks who love this.
To Show’s credit, it manages to do a good job of exploring people and relationships, and at its best, I found it to be thought-provoking and introspective.
Review is here.
Prison Playbook
Warm, hopeful and with a palpable sense of community, Show manages to keep a good handle on our primary characters’ journeys, while taking the time to shine the spotlight on secondary characters.
As a result, it feels like we get glimpses into everyone’s lives, and it’s poignant, homey and altogether wholesome.
Review is here.
Reply 1988
Earthy, winsome and so pure and wholesome, that I could not serve my heart up to Show fast enough.
Characters are lovingly drawn, while relationships are painstakingly teased out through the down-to-earth minutiae of everyday life in the 80’s, both in our younger and older generations of characters.
There’s such a wonderful sense of community in our drama world, that I felt it a privilege to be a fly on these characters’ walls.
Review is here.
Reply 1994
Rather meandering and indulgent in vibe, but Show nails the slice-of-life feel so well, that the meandering rhythm feels like a deliberate choice, rather than a misstep.
We get to watch our endearing characters experience the giddy, the mundane and the mortifying beats of life, and it’s all very charming, in spite of Show’s flaws.
Review is here.
Reply 1997
A little rough around the edges, but Show pulses with sincerity and heart, as it takes us on the various journeys of our cast of characters.
Friendship and family are two of Show’s big cornerstones, with romance taking a good amount of the spotlight, just for how much it affects our characters.
A lot of universal appeal in here, even if your growing up years aren’t mirrored in this drama world.
Review is here.
She Would Never Know
I feel like Show is often passed over because of how low-key and understated it is, but I love it.
Show is pretty exceptional at how it’s able to tease out our characters’ thoughts, feelings and motivations, and I love that I always feel like I can understand our characters and why they behave the way they do.
Sweet, thoughtful and feels so organic – plus Show is consistent too.
Review is here.
The Third Charm
Such a thoughtful and sensitive portrayal of personal journey. If you’ve ever loved and lost, and yet could still say that it was worth the cost, this drama would resonate with you.
(I know that’s a little spoilery, but believe me, knowing this going in, is better than trusting in Show’s teasers and trailers, which lean (falsely) rom-com. 😅)
Review is here.
IN CLOSING
I hope you find this post at least a little bit useful, and that it helps you with some ideas for your research project!
Like I mentioned earlier, everyone, please feel free to add your own thoughts, insights and stories in the comments below.
And, if you have some great slice-of-life dramas to recommend, please suggest them as well; we are all ears! As they say, sharing is caring. 🥰
Love! ❤️
~kfangurl
I hope that helps! ❤️
POST-SCRIPT:
1. If you feel that I missed anything, or if you have your own insights that you’d like to share with the rest of us, do tell us about it in the comments!
2. Do you have a question of your own? Drop me a comment here or on the Dear kfangurl page, or send me an email!
