If you didn’t already know, we’ve got a special series to kick off the new year! Guests posts, by patrons on Patreon, sharing their personal drama stories, mostly around the topic of “How did you get into dramas?” and “What does your first drama mean to you?” – with flexibility to go off on personal tangents, of course. 😁 Feel free to share your stories too, in the comments!

This guest series is MC‘s brainchild (thanks MC! ❤️). You can check out the earlier posts in this series as follows: MC, Sean, Shahz, JJ & Martina. After today’s post, there will be four more guest posts by mystery guest writers, whose identities will be revealed when their various posts go live. Woot! 🥳

If you’ve been keeping track, that’s right, I did already say “four more” the last time around, and that’s because we’ve had one more mystery guest writer step forward! YAY for more stories! 🤩

Today’s post is brought to you by Beth, whom we’re officially meeting for the first time (hellooo Beth! 🤩). Beth’s been quietly staying on the sidelines for some time now, but was inspired to finally introduce herself via this guest post, when she saw my announcement on Patreon, about MC’s idea. YAY! Thanks for taking this big step, Beth, we are SO THRILLED to meet you! Do continue to hang out and chat with us, pretty please? ❤️

I hope you guys enjoy!

~ KFG ❤️

Hi! Hailing from the midwestern United States. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be writing this post. My challenge is going to be getting what’s written in my head onto the blank page.

Here we go!

Blame for my K-drama addiction has morphed into heartfelt gratitude to my third-born daughter, Jo, who introduced foreign movies into our family’s life when she was 16 years old, a lifetime ago. For a season, the Hindi classic, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, starring Shah Rukh Khan, became a family favorite, attracting even the attention of her 11-year-old brother.

Fast forward a decade and Jo became enamored with the K-drama City Hunter and its leading man, Lee Min Ho. I was innocently pulled into the K-drama vortex when she hijacked the family TV night after night to watch the drama.

Next on our radar was Scent of a Woman which Jo watched twice, back to back. When I stumbled upon Boys Over Flowers, I was a goner. One year, another one of my daughters gifted me with a pink sweatshirt, whose design was a shout-out to that classic gateway drama.

It read:

“It’s a K-drama thing…you wouldn’t understand.”

How true! Makjang notwithstanding, for its nostalgic value alone, I’ve watched Boys Over Flowers at least seven times over the years. Surpassing my K-drama mentor, I long ago left my daughter in the dust when it comes to committed K-drama watching.

To her chagrin, she admits to being a K-drama backslider. She recently lamented to me, “I just didn’t know how to handle the emotional impact the dramas had on me. I had to step back.”

I can’t relate. To this day, well over a decade in, I do not regret a minute of the time I have invested in my drama viewing.

While occasionally our opinions diverge, most of the time, Jo and I are on the same page when it comes to dramas that have left a lasting impression on us for one reason or another.

We still laugh over the Coca Cola scene in Lie to Me and retain a special fondness for MSOAN (Marry Me, Mary.) I remain a devoted Jang Geun Suk fan. I’ve watched You’re Beautiful multiple times and love the OST. I was so disappointed when the drama he was scheduled to be in was dropped last year. Sigh.

On a brighter note, I am proud to admit that I have brought one of my four sisters, and my oldest grandson, into the K-drama fandom. Some of my most special drama watching moments have been with them.

When he was a young teenager, I returned to the Midwest to live with my daughter and four grandsons, the oldest of whom is Cameron.

He’d come into my room, ostensibly to sleep, and  we’d plug our headphones into my computer to watch Shopping King Louis. I even bought us matching stuffed dogs to represent the dogs in the drama, tying a ribbon collar around their necks on which I had written the names Bokshil and Goboshi, respectively.

When we’d hear my daughter coming down the stairs to check on him, we’d shove the computer under the covers and pretend we were asleep, trying to muffle our laughter. That usually worked unless we were watching Bridal Mask, during which we had a hard time dialing down our reactions.

We may or may not have elicited a few warnings bellowed from the floor above, to be quiet and go to sleep. We were unfazed. Thankfully neither one of us was disciplined for our unruly behavior.

In 2013, I retired from raising seven children and moved to wine country in Sonoma, CA.

Having nothing but time on my hands, I could watch k-dramas and drink wine to my heart’s content. Life doesn’t get too much better than that.

Becoming aware of another drama viewing option, it was here that I first tortured myself by dipping my toes into watching currently-airing dramas in addition to the completed ones I was used to.

The jury is still out on that preference divide. A couple of dramas stand out from that period in my life because I watched them cross-country with my sister who was living in the Midwest.

With both My Love Eun Dong and Kill Me, Heal Me, we’d awake in the wee hours of the morning to watch the airing of the newest episode. For all our excitement,  we even watched some of them unsubbed, following the live time recaps on Soompi. We had a blast!

While most of our family members roll their eyes at our K-drama love, they embrace our peculiarity with love, save for my ex-husband who sometimes chafed against my unwaning enthusiasm for all things K-drama.

True to dramaland, happy endings come in different forms. Having moved on, I’m smiling a lot more these days. I have a great cheering section and a loving fan club, and am living my best life – traveling, writing, and freely indulging my K-drama love.

My K-drama compatriot, Jo, lives in Uganda. Last year she came back to the States to deliver her second child – and to watch K-dramas with me! Her timing impeccable, we enjoyed the newly released Crash Landing on You in between toddler-tending and newborn feedings.

Now back in Uganda, she is slowly but surely, and very happily, getting back into the k-drama groove. The other day, she mentioned how she naturally inserts Korean words into her daily vocabulary like yelling “hajima” (don’t do that!) when her 8 month old is about to tumble backwards off the end of the bed.

A gifted storyteller,  I suggested she might want to write a guest post herself on the significant moments and influences k-dramas have had on her life. On that she can wax eloquent!

Which reminds me, years ago, I wrote a piece on why I love k-dramas, along with a list of the shows I have watched. I also started to journal life lessons and gems of wisdom I have gleaned from them, a practice I have continued. Fodder for a future posting theme? Maybe someday…

And that is a few snippets of my story.

I don’t always know why a particular drama embeds itself in my heart, so I’ll end by merely listing a few of the dramas that remain near and dear to my heart, just because.

Secret Love Affair is at the top of my multiple-watch list. So much love. My Ahjusshi caught me by surprise, resonating deeply and beautifully. Dear My Friends is heart-wrenching and heart-warming, both at the same time.

I recently watched Nirvana in Fire, having avoided it as “not my thing”  despite all the buzz around it when it aired.  Wow! Its acclaim is well deserved. I watched Someday or One Day after reading KFG’s review. I love time travel dramas and the excellence of this drama thrilled me to no end.

I have read such good stuff from so many of you on KFG’s site and on Patreon. You amaze me with your commentary and insights. I wish I could keep up with you! At the very least, I will continue to lurk and maybe pipe in occasionally as inclination and energy permit.

Wishing a stellar new year of K-drama watching for all.

~Beth