An episode is one hour. Alicia has watched 20+25+16+17 hours of Korean drama (too much!).
FORMULA
meeting >> primary obstacles >> mutual profession >> secondary obstacles >> break-ups and make-ups >> voluntary time apart >> reunification
Meeting: The first episode of course introductory, but also features the meeting of Mr. A and Miss B. In 2/4 dramas, both Mr. A and Miss B have strong and stubborn personalities, making this meeting quite a clash.
Primary Obstacles: These obstacles prevent Mr. A and Miss B from saying or even realizing that they have fallen in love with the other. Sometimes these obstacles are pre-existing, like a relationship between Miss B and Mr. X or between Mr. A and Miss Y. Another obstacle could be the initial clash of personalities and/or difference in social status.
Mutual Profession: After Mr. A and Miss B overcome primary obstacles, they can and do admit their love for each other. What follows is a series of cutesy, drama-free scenes of them being happy together. Don’t worry, this doesn’t last for long…
Secondary Obstacles: These obstacles are external to Mr. A and Miss B; they are forces fighting to separate Mr. A and Miss B. In 4/4 dramas, family objections are an issue, usually due to social status. Other secondary obstacles include a persistent fight from Mr. X and/or Miss Y, an arranged marriage, memory loss (2/4), etc.
Break-ups and make-ups: The most dramatic episodes of a Korean drama is those featuring break-ups and make-ups. The initial break-ups occur before the mutual affirmation of love; these break-ups are rather fights and arguments between Mr. A and Miss B that result from the sexual tension between them. As the drama continues, the break-ups and consequent break-ups become more dramatic and emotional (see Beach dates). In WS and BBF, the break-ups and make-ups occurred so often that it became tiring for me the viewer.
Voluntary time apart: After the final make-up, when all conflicts have been resolved, when the viewer finally thinks that Mr. A and Miss B can be together, they decide to spend time apart. This usually was over a period of years (3/4 dramas, WS=3 years, BBF=4 years, CP=2 years). In 3/4 dramas, this time apart resolved a final obstacle.
Reunification: This is (finally!) the happy ending for Mr. A and Miss B. Both the voluntary time apart and reunification scenes occur in the final episode of the drama. For 2/4 dramas, a future marriage between Mr. A and Miss B was explicit.
COMMON ELEMENTS
love triangle(s) , first loves and soulmates, social status, astrological necklace, clothes color symbolism, race to Miss B, beach date breakups, drunk piggybacks, soundtrack, casting
Love Triangle(s): The love triangle is quintessential in a romance Korean drama. In all of the dramas, the central , primary love triangle is 2 men and a woman (Mr. A, Miss B, and Mr. X). From the beginning, it is explicitly clear who is Mr. A and who is Miss B; the drama stems from all the obstacles preventing this match. Although Miss Y is competing for Mr. A, her role is smaller and, in my opinion, is more an obstacle rather than a part of the love triangle. In 2/4 dramas, Mr. X and Miss Y become a couple, as part of the many love subplots. Mr. X and Miss Y aren’t necessarily evil; sometimes they’re pure-hearted people, making the drama more heartbreaking.
First Loves and Soulmates: Korean dramas put a large sentimental stress on first loves; no one ever forgets or sometimes doesn’t even fall out of love with their first love. On a similar note, soulmates exist. The characters endure so much emotional suffering because they are soulmates; they are meant to be together, they must be together. Interestingly, in BBF, Miss B acknowledges that Mr. X is her soulmate, but that she loves Mr. A. In 3/4 dramas, characters refer to their love of another character (outside the central couple) as habits; they have loved the other for so long or so stubbornly that it has become a habit rather than love. This love habit becomes an obstacle that must be broken for Mr. A and Miss B to be together.
Social Status: Koreans love a good Cinderella story. In 3/4 dramas, one of the leads is poor the other is disgustingly rich. The dramas create and treat the rich lead lover character as modern royalty; they are the heirs of large business conglomerates. As such, they begin the drama as lazy, uncaring, out-of-touch snobs. It is up to the poor lover, who has endured the hardships of semi-poverty (which is linked to their humanity), to change the personality of their rich lover. Naturally, the difference in social status becomes an obstacle opposing Mr. A and Miss B.
Astrological Necklace: In 3/4 dramas, there is an exchange of astrological jewelry (WS = Polaris necklace, BBF = star necklace with moon in middle, TCYL = Sagittarius necklace). All signify that the receiver belongs and/or cannot escape from their lover. The fourth drama did have a jewelry exchange, however, it was a simple earring. Considering the circumstances (Mr. A thinks Miss B is a boy), a necklace exchange could not have happened.
Clothes: Symbolism, using clothing and colors, is by no means subtle. In WS, Mr. A usually wears green, Miss B wears yellow, and Mr. X wears blue. For BBF, Mr. A wears black (indicating his initial hot-tempered snotty character) whereas Mr. X wears white (this Mr. X is the absolute Mr. Perfect ). One scene in TCYL features Miss B in a white dress and Mr. A in a black suit and sneakily poses them to imply bride and groom. Clothes are important in CP because Mr. A (as well as other characters) mistake Miss B for a boy because of the clothes she wears.
Race to Miss B: The competition between Mr. A and Mr. X manifests in a race between the two men. In both WS and BBF, Miss B runs off alone with both Mr. A and Mr. X looking for her. The man that finds her first earns a “winner” status. In BBF, Miss B is drowning, and before Mr. A can even move to rescue her, Mr. X rushes in to save her.
Beach date: Watch out for the beach! In all 4 dramas, a happy, blissful date on the beach was followed by either Mr. A or Miss B (the leaver) leaving (breaking-up with) the other. The leaver has already decided that they must leave the other, making the beach time together obviously bittersweet and painful for them. The leaver does not leave because they want to, but because obstacles dictate that the couple cannot be together; they believe that they are breaking-up for the other’s good, contributing to the drama. The party that is left usually does not know of the obstacle and therefore left feeling hurt and confused. So, if you ever find yourself in a Korean drama, be wary of going to the beach!
Drunk Piggybacks: In all dramas, either Mr. A or Miss B got so drunk that the other had to take care of them. In 2/4 dramas, the drunk character was piggybacked. In the other dramas, although the drinker did not receive a piggyback, their lover accommodated them for the night. The drinking also allows for a truthful exchange between Mr. A and Miss B.
Soundtrack: Every drama has a set of 3-4 songs that is played in EVERY episode. When the song plays, there is a series of several scenes without dialogue. While watching the dramas, I found these songs annoying. However, the songs are so strongly associated with the drama, they act as a mental trigger.
Casting: These dramas are all connected in someway by a casting overlap. The Miss B in TCYL and CP are the same actress. The grandmother of Mr. A in BBF and CP are the same actress. The boss of Miss B in WS and the head maid for Miss B in TCYL are the same actress. I’ve also seen the actors in these dramas in other dramas I’ve briefly watched with my family on TV. In my opinion, Hallyu (Korean Hollywood) is relatively small and closed off (language barriers), leading to this phenomenon of overlapping cast. Korean dramas have also started casting Korean pop stars to attract viewers; for example, the Mr. Y in BBF is the leader of the Kpop band SS501.
I tried to stick by my resolution of no more dramas, especially now that my favorite American TV shows (The Office, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother) have started their seasons. However, JongIn told me of another drama that had recently started. Unfortunately, I was hanging out in the living room area when it came on tv…So, I’ve started drama #5, IRIS. My only self-defense is that it’s a spy action drama (a refreshing change from the romance soapy dramas), and it has been given one of the biggest budgets for a drama. That’s two more hours of my life each week lost…
There are orange doesn't fall far from the tree. Since there are orange groves everywhere, there are oranges everywhere to eat. Time to time, my host family has a good stock, and I do more than my fair share to help consume them before they all rot. On good weeks, I can keep up an average of 10 or more a day. Last week, the TKD master had two crates full of oranges. In addition to every student eating at least 2 each, he sent Erin and I home with more than 30, which took my two days to consume. Many restaurants have crates of oranges near the door, up for grabs by the patrons. These oranges are small and east to give away--I've gotten many on random occasions.
