Hi, I am Lani and I am a K-drama addict. Come to think of it…I am addicted to anything that is made in korea and Japan…sometimes, I consider Taiwanese and Chinese dramas too. I’ve lost all interest in anything that speaks my native language as they try to settle issues on switched babies,missing jewel sisters, rock-gulping heroines, japanese action hero rip-offs and that woman and her talking dog.
I know this reeks of pure colonial mentality and I wouldn’t blame you or fans of the above-mentioned shows if they decided to stone me to my early grave. It is after all true. My devotion for shojo dramas, k-dramas and c-dramas has left me a complete stranger on local shows and the respective actors that play them. When people ask me of my nationality…I say I am half-korean and half-japanese…this in spite the fact that my full, round eyes say otherwise.
I am pathetic and I am addicted and its okay.
My weekends and free time now are devoted to two things: Hanazakarino Kimitachi E (hana kimi japan) and The Coffee Prince (korea)– more so on Hana Kimi which I vowed to buy the complete set on yes asia.com cos Ikuta Toma, that damn japanese actor who plays Nakatsu is tearing me to pieces with his talent (he looks good too).
my boyfriend has already released a waiver form and a corresponding babala that i shall NOT by any chance name my kids: Jay (Chou), Shuici, Shun, Shin, Jun, but i think Kenshin will still do fine.
Recently, I’ve come across a really funny article on Korean drama and the usual plot lines and it made me laugh so hard cos its just so true:
50 things you can learn from a Korean Drama
[from Kpop video]
1) Hot, rich, younger men love fat, older vulgar women.
2) If you have a best guy friend, he is in love with you.
And secretly you are too.
3) You and your boyfriend will always playfully chase each
other on an ice rink, at the beach, or in the leaves. And you’ll laugh for no
reason and your boyfriend will hit you “playfully” but the force of his push
will have you flying across the room. But it’s okay. Cuz you’re still laughing
like a crazy person.
4) Brothers/cousin/uncles-nephews will always love the same
girl.
5) You’re allowed to make u-turns wherever you want in Korea.
And there is never traffic on the side you want to u turn to.
6) There is a super quick payment device that allows you to
pay a bill quickly enough for a guy to run immediately out of a restaurant
after his angry girlfriend storms out.
7) Everyone has cancer.
If you’re sick, all you need is an IV to make you feel
lots better.
9) There is vomit and urine all over Seoul at nights.
10) Fighting at a pojangmacha with a random stranger is
merely part of a normal night’s event.
11) Soju must cost 10 cents. Everyone drinks it everyday all
the time, especially the poor people.
12) If you’re rich, you’re a jerk.
13) If you’re poor, you’re an angel.
14) Women sleep and wake up with a full set of makeup on.
15) You’re not studying hard enough unless you get a
nosebleed.
16) If you have a nosebleed, you most definately have
cancer. And you have no money to pay for the surgery that will save your life.
And your liver is missing. We’re not sure where it went, but it’s making your
cancer progress faster.
17) If you work in a sool jeep, you have massively curly
hair and wear flashy colors from the early 90’s.
18) You always order orange juice or coffee at a cafe. And
you never drink it. EVER.
19) You will always call your boyfriend by his job title. Or
simply sunbaenim. Never his name. Never. He doesn’t have one.
20) If you TRULY love each other, you must die together in
the end. Frozen outside instead of finding shelter like sane people. Just
frozen….
21) You go to America you come back miraculously successful.
You go to England you come back amazingly fashionable. You stay in Korea the
only thing that changes is your hairstyle.
22) And if you come back with no apparent reason then it’s
because you have cancer.
23) Everyone always goes to the same hospital no matter
where they are.
24) If you stand out in the rain for more than five minutes,
you’ll end up with a fever and vertigo and people will rush you to the hospital
to get some magic IV. And instead of taking an ambulance or driving they’ll
race you on their back.
25) Even if you’re poor and can’t eat, you never wear the
same clothes twice.
26) If you play a poor kid, you always have dirt on your
face and your hair is always messy.
27) If you’re saving someone from being hit from a car,
you’ll push them out of the way and wait for the car to hit you instead.
biggrin.gif couldnt be more true, their like a deer in headlights
28) Everyone has a long lost sister/brother/twin. Usually
one they didn’t know about.
29) If you don’t want to answer your phone, you can’t just
turn it off. The battery
needs to be taken out.
30) All korean men can drink hard, smoke long, sing well and
play piano. Usually all at the same time. And at the same restaurant that has a
piano that they let anyone use.
31) If you’re in a relationship, you must at one point leave
and have your lover tearfully come RIGHT before you board the plane (vice versa
applies as well. You can be the chaser). 60% of the time you see each other,
the other 40% you’re roaming around in circles and pass each other about six
times, but miraculously never see them.
32) If you’re getting off a plane, you’re ALWAYS wearing
sunglasses. ALWAYS.
33) All guys wear hideous tracksuits zipped up to their
neck. Even if all they’re doing is jumproping.
34) Girls will always storm off because they’re mad and the
guy will stoically grab them by the arm and swing them back- and by magic, not
dislocate their shoulders.
35) Guys always look like they’re 6 feet tall, even if
they’re only 5′10. Thank you camera angles.
36) Guys like to wear foundation, eyeliner and sometimes a
smudge of lipliner.
37) You always get stuck in an elevator with someone who
makes you feel uncomfortable. Even if there are six different elevators, you’ll
always be stuck in the same one with that bastard you hate (or just fought
with).
38) Unless you’re fabulously rich, your in-laws will always
hate you.
39) So will your sister-in-law.
40) Your brother-in-law might be pining away for you.
41) There are only 2 ways to kiss. You either press your
lips against theirs with your mouth completely shut, and just press away for a
very long and uncomfortable time. OR you devour the other person and suck out
their soul. In both instances, the world spins.
42) A guy will always get the right size ring, even if
you’re never held hands.
43) People stare off into space and ponder a lot. They’ll
just stop in the middle of the road and watch a leaf on a tree for a good three
minutes, and just ponder.
44) You’ll get pregnant the first time you have sex.
45) You’ll get pregnant if he kisses you on the forehead.
46) Hell- you’ll get pregnant if you hold hands.
47) If you overcome great obstacles to be together, one of
you must die. Probably due to cancer.
48) One korean man can kick the butts of 6 gangstas.
Especially when they all stand in a circle and attack the guy one by one. Then
when each of them get their butts OWNED, they wise up and attack the guy at the
same time. Then the guy will get pulverized and bleed out onto the dusty
concrete floor of the empty warehouse they’ve found to fight in. There will be
a fire in a trashcan somewhere. And the girl will have watched this the entire
time, screaming in horror. Instead of calling 119, she’ll just watch and cry.
But it’s okay. Cuz the next day the guy will be fine with a few random bandages
and a few face scars. But never a black eye.
49) It ain’t a real fight unless the gangstas fight dirty
with a stick or switchblade.
50) If you study in the states (perferably Harvard), you are
one of the top students and can speak perfect English (as assumed by the
reactions of those around you). Why the rest of the world OUTSIDE of the TV
can’t understand a single word uttered out of your melodramatic mouth is beyond
me.
and from the Lani and Thet’s Korean Obsession observation deck:
1. In dramas, people dont know how to look at their left or their right or at their back…especially if they are looking for their ka-labtim. wala silang peripheral vision! kaya lagi sila naiiwan or di sila nagkikita…
2. There must be a school for third party (either guys or girls) out there. Third party– the odd one out, the one who will always be pining but wont get the guy/girl (usually the girl)…as mentioned above, they are either the brother (or stepbrother), bestfriend, nephew, cousin, office mate of the hero or heroine.
Third parties…:
- has lousy sense of timing (they ALWAYS show-up when either when the hero and the heroine are about to kiss, kissing, holding hands, pa-tweetums or in a tight embrace)
- does not stay on the hear the rest of the story whenever they chance upon a conversation between the lead couple. they would always stage an infamous walk-out, coupled with a dazed look on their face.
- always initiate something really sweet only to get their heart trampled on by the lead actress (mga martir!)
- are oftentimes more adorable than the leading man (if they are a guy)
- are oftentimes an uber-bitch, successful model/athlete/designer/career woman and a humongous brat (if they are a woman)
