Dear kfangurl: What are some iconic kdramas over the years?

Today’s Dear kfangurl post is inspired by j3ffc‘s and Trent‘s comments on my recent VOGUE India collab post, where I talk about the male gaze vs. the female gaze in kdramas over the years.

In response, j3ffc basically wanted to know which classic dramas I think drama fans should check out (which would demonstrate the shift in gaze over the years), and Trent heartily seconded the idea and expanded on it:

“The question I’ve been thinking about is along the lines of how do you think kdramas have evolved over the last couple decades? Do you see discernible or important trends in that time?

(Broadly considered: thematically, in treatment of tropes, genre or sub-genre expansion (or contraction), production values, stylistic changes, acting and\or casting type trends: it’s all fair game).

You touched on a bit of this in this Vogue interview, but I’d be very interested in a broader look, and I just don’t have the range of experience to even attempt a synthesis. You do, though. 😁”

So today I thought I’d talk about kdramas which I would consider iconic, over the years, and how kdramas have been evolving, in broad strokes.

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Dear kfangurl: What are some of the best drama OSTs?

Shamster writes:

I’d love to hear your thoughts on dramas with the best OSTs! Just dramas worth watching because of how well the OST works- thinking Healer and One Spring Night and Suspicious Partner!

* Shout-out to MC, who’d also mentioned that she’d love me to write about drama OSTs!

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Pure Pretty: Choi Si Won

If you read my recent review of She Was Pretty, and particularly if you’ve known me for a while, you’d probably have guessed that this Pure Pretty spotlight on Si Won was soon in the coming.

I mean, not only did he deliver the role with an impressive amount of nuance that felt raw and heartfelt, he made it all look so effortless.

From the hammy & funny, to the glimpses of sorrow & poignance, he made it all feel natural, like it was a genuine extension of himself. He was the character, all the way through. And I was, quite literally, blown away.

On top of all of that acting awesome, he looked fantastic. Just, how could I not give him a piece of my heart? <3

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Newly Charmed By: Hong Jong Hyun

YOU GUYS.

You know how sometimes the most unexpected things happen? Like how you think, Y’know what, I just don’t get the appeal of this actor, and I probably am unlikely to ever get it? And then, one day, something happens when you least expect it, and then you go, “OHHH.”

Heh. The last time something like that happened to me, I found myself falling – so, so hard – for Woob (full story here).

Ok, before you get too excited, let me just say that Woob is still very much holding court in my fangirl heart, so no takeovers or upsets of any kind there.

But I hafta confess that I am so, SO blown away by just how much I’m suddenly charmed by Hong Jong Hyun. Seriously. He’s been giving me a serious case of the goofy grins over the last two days, and I just have to tell y’all all about it.

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Review: King of Dramas [The Lord of the Drama]

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A tongue-in-cheek, satirical unveiling of what really happens behind the scenes of our beloved kdramas.

Populated by a large ensemble cast of likable characters, King of Dramas paints a dramatic yet believable picture that is in line with all the BTS drama news that we get off the grapevine.

PPL wars? Check. Scripts delivered to the set in a piecemeal fashion? Check. Madly rushing the final tape to the editing room minutes before the episode is due to broadcast? Check. Such a fascinating peek into the world that doles out to us the dramas on which we subsist.

The show starts out meaty and strong, and even manages to be insanely hysterical at points, buoyed by strong performances and often-cheeky writing. A huge pity, that the ending was more whimper than bang.

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