There are K-Drama fans across the globe who share the same passion. But on online platforms, it is hard to know about each other’ stories and tastes. When it is so interesting to know more about how others are living their drama passion. So, at Kpopmap, we started the Kpopmap Fan Interview Project to get to know more about K-Drama fans from different countries. Just like the Kpopmap Fan Interview for actors, the Kpopmap Fan Interview for K-Dramas aims to open the opportunity for fans to talk about K-Dramas, recommend their favorite shows, and share their insights and their love for K-Dramas with our readers. One such K-Drama fan answered our questions about their favorite K-Dramas and actors! Find out how and why they became a fan, the dramas they recommend, and more in our exclusive Kpopmap Fan Interview! Can you introduce yourself? Where are you from? Hello! My name is Ishani and I am from India! It is super exciting to participate in Kpopmap’s Fan Interview project and I cannot wait to gush over my K-Drama faves! What is the 1st K-Drama you’ve watched, and when? How did you happen to come across it? The first K-Drama I ever watched must have been in 2012 when I first discovered the K-Drama adaptation of “City Hunter”. I grew up watching anime and “City Hunter” was one of my absolute favourites. So, when I heard about the live action adaptation, I knew I had to watch it. 20 episodes and a rollercoaster ride of emotions later, I was a K-Drama stan through and through. Lee MinHo and Park MinYoung were living in my head rent-free and there was no looking back.
Are you mostly watching K-Dramas or not? If you are watching series from other countries, let us know. Surprisingly enough, my foray into the world of Asian dramas started with J-Dramas, after which I decided to see if Thai dramas had any kick. They did. Naturally, next came K-Dramas and something clicked inside me. It was everything I had been looking for and more! Currently, I’m also a fan of C-Dramas! After all, there can never be too much of a good thing when it comes to entertainment. If I had to recommend a couple of shows, I would highly suggest you watch “He’s Expecting” (J-Drama), “Girl From Nowhere” (Thai drama), and “Go Ahead” (C-Drama). What genre of K-Dramas are you mostly watching? I love all genres but I find myself gravitating to dreamy romances, gritty thrillers, slice-of-life comedies, and horror. I also have a soft spot for revenge dramas! When a show has a little bit of everything, it just hits different. Would you say you are a K-Drama addict? How many do you watch a week? Do you prefer ongoing dramas or binge-watching? I wouldn’t say I’m an addict but I definitely spend sleepless nights worrying about fictional characters. I prefer ongoing dramas for weekdays and binge-watching for the weekends. I try to watch at least 2 episodes of an ongoing drama after work and it is quite literally therapeutic. For Kpopmap readers who are not familiar with Korean dramas/movies yet, please tell us what makes Korean actors and Korean dramas/movies attractive to you. In my opinion, three factors that make K-Dramas so appealing are the extraordinary varieties, availability, and accesibility. Firstly, there’s no scope for saturation or stereotypes when it comes to K-Dramas. No two shows are ever alike. Secondly, there’s a new drama premiering almost every week, if not more frequently. You’ll never get bored! Thirdly, even the oldest of Korean shows have subtitles, making them accessible for viewers all over the world! In addition, K-Dramas have a penchant for capturing the human condition through myriad lenses, which is what makes a global audience resonate with them even if what they’re presenting is an inherently Korean narrative. At the end of the day, the way a K-Drama posits a universal experience, creating a space for me to relate to and identify with is what makes it so charming to me.
What makes you watch a drama? The cast, director, writer, summary, poster, etc. For me, the first thing I notice when a drama is announced is the casting. Sometimes, I’ll watch a drama for the leading actors and other times, for the supporting cast. Second lead couples are a weakness of mine, usually because their love stories are somewhat less complicated. So, if there’s a potential second lead couple, I’m in! The next thing I’m drawn to is the genre and then, the plot. However, I give almost all dramas a chance and I’ve often been pleasantly surprised. So, I try not to let my preferences cloud my judgement. Can you give us your top 3 K-Dramas and why you love them? It would be virtually impossible for me to name my top 3 if I have to take into consideration the entire last decade I’ve spent watching K-Dramas. So, I’ll give you my top 3 K-Dramas of 2022 so far: “The Sound Of Magic”, “Monstrous” and “Pachinko”. “The Sound Of Magic” (Ji ChangWook, Hwang InYoup, Choi SungEun) healed my inner child and facilitated a sort of catharsis that I didn’t even know I needed; “Monstrous” stars 3 of my favorite actors (Koo KyoHwan, Shin HyunBeen, Kwak DongYeon) and the plot is immensely gripping, complete with psychological horror and supernatural scares; “Pachinko” (Youn YuhJung, Lee MinHo, Kim MinHa) is a sheer masterpiece. With so many incredible K-Dramas ongoing at the moment, I’m sure I’ll end up with even more favourites by the end of the year. What do you think is the most underrated drama in history and why? I have a couple of picks for this one: “Hello Monster”, “When The Weather Is Fine”, “I Have Not Done My Best Yet” and “Lost”. I’m not sure whether these would count as underrated but I certainly wish they got more attention. “Hello Monster” is one of those dramas that I wish I could erase the memory of, just so that I can watch it again for the first time. “When The Weather Is Fine” is deeply poignant and poetic, which soothes my soul to the core.
“I Have Not Done My Best Yet” is truly a hidden gem that taught me some hard-hitting life lessons and I’ll hold them close to my heart forever. Finally, “Lost” is melancholia incarnate. It is complex, tender, philosophical genius at its finest and most importantly, is undeniably fit for the times. To anyone looking for underrated dramas that might have missed their radar, I highly recommend these 4. Do you have an all-time favorite scene? Can you describe it or share a video? I love this question because I could talk about it for days! My all-time favourite K-Drama scene is from “Goblin”. Gong Yoo looks at Kim GoEun with fondness as she waves to him from across the street. In the background, we hear him reading a poem about first love while he realizes for the first time that he is in love. In that very moment, the heartbreaking implication of his tragic fate dawns on him and he slowly loses his smile. Kim GoEun runs to him with joy, delighted at the red carpet he conjured up for her but all he can do is gaze and sigh. This scene has a special place in my heart and it continues to be as moving today as it was when I first saw it. Do you have predictions about the future of K-Dramas? Do you think K-Dramas can be mainstream all over the world? K-Content is the future of entertainment. When I first realized that K-Dramas had started to go mainstream, I had a bit of a gatekeeping moment where I wanted to hold them close to me like a hidden treasure. However, the happiness of sharing the enjoyment of K-Dramas with friends and family far surpassed my possessiveness. Today, I can’t stop myself from recommending K-Dramas to new people I meet and base the majority of my personality on my love for Hallyu. I’m sure there are millions of fans like me who have found unbelievable euphoria in K-Dramas who are also sharing this love. The world domination of K-Dramas is only getting started and it wouldn’t be surprising if we saw artists from all over the world, including Hollywood, Bollywood or otherwise, wanting to participating in this movement. With the Korean entertainment industry warming up to more and more international actors, the possibility isn’t too far from reality. Now whether that will be a welcome change for the audience, is a whole other debate altogether. Either way, I cannot wait to see what comes next. Thank you for answering our questions. Note: Kpopmap Fan Interview includes some of the interviewed fan’s favorite pictures and videos, and that includes old pictures. If you are interested in joining Kpopmap Fan Interview Project, please get in touch with us at [email protected] with the topic line “Kpopmap Fan Interview - Drama”. Everyone is welcome to participate.
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