Summer Scent

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

| kfangurl

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: Can you talk about the female gaze vs. the male gaze in dramas? [Interview with VOGUE India!]

| kfangurl
Screenshot of the VOGUE India article!

This is a slightly different Dear kfangurl post, you guys.

Technically, someone did ask the questions – what makes it different than usual, is that that someone was representing VOGUE India, and it was for a collab of sorts, where I answered a bunch of questions over email, for a VOGUE India article!

Hasina Khatib (@thejoblessjourno on Instagram), who writes for VOGUE India, reached out to me a couple of weeks ago, and asked if I’d be interested to participate in an article that she was writing for VOGUE India. I said yes, and you can check out the article, where she quotes me selectively, here!

At the same time, there was a lot that I said, that didn’t make it into the final article, so with Hasina’s permission, I’m sharing the actual interview questions and answers here with you guys – because my gut tells me that this is just the sort of topic that you guys would enjoy digging into.

The only difference is that I’ve added screenshots and linked my reviews where relevant, to make this more reader-friendly. I hope you all enjoy! ❤️

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Review: My Love Eun Dong

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

An updated, refreshed, and much more polished take on the classic Retro Hallyu favorite themes of Fate and First Love.

Show is filled to the brim with classic tropes, but manages to be engaging for the most part, thanks largely to solid performances by its cast, as well as careful touches by PD-nim’s clearly loving hand.

There are draggy, frustrating stretches, but if you love classic retro dramas, there’s a good chance you’ll like this too.

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Review: Falling For Innocence

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

While never terribly strong on the logic front, nor on managing its corporate machinations, Falling For Innocence manages to be a warm, engaging and uplifting watch.

Despite being quite fantastical in its premise as well as its execution, the narrative stays grounded via the emotional resonance and heft imparted by its committed cast.

Amid the many solid performances delivered by the cast, Jung Kyung Ho stands out as THE shining star of this drama world. His fabulous, faceted performance resonates with so much heart that it actually helps to overcome Show’s flawed logic. That’s skillz.

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Pure Pretty: Song Seung Hun

| kfangurl

While I started this blog mainly to write reviews, every so often, I get inspired to try something new. A fair amount of the time, it’s conversations on the blog itself that serve as the impetus. And that is totally the case today.

Not long ago, I posted my Master’s Sun review, and wrote this throwaway line about consuming the drama together with the fanfic:

“When the drama’s consumed together with the fanfic, though, they go together like strawberries and cream, or peanut butter and jelly, or Kim Woo Bin and Lee Jong Suk, or Song Seung Hun and abs, or.. (you get the idea).

You could have one without the other, but having them together just takes everything to a whole new level. Amiright?”

And then today, I woke up to this comment from blog regular Asotss:

“You are soooooooo right ! Ah Song Seung Hun… Too bad his talent doesn’t measure up [to] his bodyliciousness. Could we still hope for a KLove Confession post, just for the photoshoots that only you can dig up ?”

That’s when inspiration struck.

Besides Asotss, a couple of other readers and blogging friends have also commented appreciatively on my Googling skills. I guess Google and I get along particularly well; Google’s shown me more than a few particularly lovely photos of my k-loves, after all.

Still, because Song Seung Hun doesn’t quite fall into k-love territory for me, I’m creating a whole new series.

Introducing… Pure Pretty! Y’know. Where it’s all about The Pretty. 😉

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