Like I recently announced, we will continue with the group watches, but with some tweaks.
Basically, we will have only one group watch at a time, instead of two, and we will decide via discussion, with me making a final decision, rather than via a poll.
Here’s our brainstorming post, so that we can discuss what we should watch next, as a community.
As promised, here are some initial ideas, feel free to let me know what you think, in the comments!
When Show is at its best, it’s light, fun, slurpable and really quite cracktastic, in the best way.
The good news is, Show is at its best, for most of its run.
Both romantic pairings are cute, entertaining and swoony in their own ways, and the chemistry between both couples is excellent as well. On top of that, Show manages to feel fresh and fun, even as it serves up and plays with rom-com tropes.
The not-so-good news is, Show isn’t quite at its best, in its final stretch. Everything feels less cracky and absorbing, and coming off a cracktastic high, this can feel disappointing and underwhelming.
Show still works out to be fun and watchable on the whole, however, so I’d still recommend this one.
I hope you guys have been having fun with the group watches! I especially appreciate those of you who managed to join both group watches &/or have been active on the Open Threads. Sharing your reactions and your thoughts really makes the experience richer for everyone. Thank you for playing! ❤️
It’s time to brainstorm on what we should watch next, as a community. Here are some initial ideas, feel free to let me know what you think, in the comments! If you feel like we should all just take a break from these group watches, totally let me know in the comments too!
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? ❤️
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! 😘), and you can read more details, and check out her inaugural post here, and Sean‘s post here. After today’s post, there will be six more guest posts by mystery guest writers, whose identities will be revealed when their various posts go live. Woot! 🥳
Today’s post is brought to you by Shahz, whom, as you might remember, was the brains behind our year-end wrap-up party, with all the guest posts and the poll as well – thanks Shahz! ❤️
I’m extra touched that Shahz took the time to write today’s post, because she’s been feeling under the weather lately, after her booster shot, AND YET, she gave the time and energy, to share her story. Thank you for digging deep for this, for us, Shahz. LOVE YA. ❤️
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.
Hey KFG. Hope you are well. An idea for “ask KFG” post was one around what your guilty pleasures are? And opening that same question up to the KFG community. In particular those that you couldn’t explain to a non K drama lover.
So for me three immediately come to mind. The first being “Secret Garden”. Body shifting, toxic couple. Female lead sometimes one note, an annoying mother but even though I watched this ten years after it was shown I still fell for all the iconic lines.
The second ” “You are Beautiful”. Cross dressing nun joins a pop band pretending to be her male twin. The chemistry between the OTP never sizzles but it is oh so sweet and actually what develops is a nurturing relationship despite the communication problems. And Jang Keun-suk is so mesmerising beautiful that you can’t take your eyes off him.
The third is” Don’t dare to dream”. Questionable OTP and questionable decisions and at one point the female lead dates both the ML and the second lead at the same but the sparkling chemistry between the leads makes this a great binge watch.
And an honourable mention for Masters Sun. FL sees ghosts and ML acts as a barrier to those ghosts but uses this power to manipulate the FL into furthering his interests but again the sizzling chemistry between the leads makes the show so bingeable”
I hope you guys have been having fun with the group watches! I especially appreciate those of you who managed to join both group watches &/or have been active on the Open Threads. Sharing your reactions and your thoughts really makes the experience richer for everyone. Thank you for playing! ❤️
What I’d like to find out from you guys, via this post, is
(a) whether you guys are keen to keep going, with the group watch, and
(b) what you’d like to watch together, if you want to keep going?
I am now a kdrama fan for quite a few years with several dramas under my cap. Of late, I feel that I’ve grown too critical. The kdrama world is no longer my escapist fantasy and stress buster.
I keep nit picking. I feel disappointed (there’s that magic charm missing) by recent dramas (True Beauty, Lovestruck in the City just a few examples). I would have enjoyed these premises earlier.
Should I just keep watching old dramas? Can you help?
When I first watched Goblin four years ago, I loved it so much, and it was so mindboggling to me at the time.
I’m actually rewatching Goblin right now (first time since it came out), and I still enjoy it, it’s still one of my favorite dramas of all time, and the feels are still amazing (and the cinematography and aesthetic still stands out), but the second time felt slightly less spectacular than the first time I watched it.
It’s odd because this is one of the only TV shows that I can tell you the plot of, explain the character arcs, defend any criticisms (like the age chasm; I can write about that below for the sake of putting it out there), etc.
I remember it so well, and I remember it with such a specific lens, with such specific emotions and thoughts. It’s like a memory, a well-maintained one. As I’m rewatching it right now, there’s a slight foreign feel to the experience.
I know many people who often work on fanfictions that face this dilemma, as their minds wander and deviate from the original plot, whether it’s with character changes or alternate endings, etc., and then when they come back to the show, they’re often shocked, or even averted from it.
But the thing is, with Goblin, I never really explored further beyond the show, but I still feel this way.
In essence, I’m still enjoying the show after a long time, but it just isn’t the same, and many things could be to blame. I get that. I’m an adult now, I have more life experience, my worldview is different, my drama preferences have changed, etc.
But I would love to ask about your thoughts on this dilemma.
Have you rewatched any dramas, either ones that you stopped early or finished completely; ones you love or ones you can tolerate, etc.? Do you have a specific guide to rewatching anything? Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever fallen out of love with a drama after rewatching it?
I actually forgot to add a sentence about a “slice of life” lens that I needed to adapt for my Goblin rewatch, shifting from a previous lens of expecting plot-heavy drama; point being, have you ever needed to change your viewing lens/perspective during a rewatch, either for the fun or it or because that’s required for an optimal rewatch?
