Your addiction stories: Giveaway winner announced
by javabeans
Goong (Princess Hours) kick-started its share of obsessions
When we asked for your kdrama addiction stories, we were expecting some funny, outrageous tales of wonder and woe. But even so, we were amazed at the extreme lengths you’ve all gone through in the name of your passion.
We’re also tickled by the hilarious situations that this passion has put you in — whether that’s watching dramas without audio to keep from waking spouses (ai*, comment 230), literally making yourself sick because Coffee Prince made you determined to start drinking coffee (Angela, 172), quitting a second job to give yourself the time to watch dramas (luraaa, 25), or going to extremes to hide your addiction from parents, boyfriends, or disapproving friends (practically everyone).
Below are the highlights, the honorable mentions, and of course…the winner. It’s a compilation of the funniest and craziest things done in the name of kdramas, and we’re proud to give voice to the self-proclaimed, flag-waving addicts among us.
obsessed (378) gives us the eye-opening, official diagnostic criteria for substance dependence, as defined by the DSM-IV:
A maladaptive pattern of substance use, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by three (or more) of the following, occurring at any time in the same 12-month period:
- tolerance, as defined by either of the following:
– a need for markedly increased amounts of the substance to achieve intoxication or desired effect
– markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of substance- withdrawal, as manifested by either of the following:
– the characteristic withdrawal syndrome for the substance
– the same (or a closely related) substance is taken to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms- the substance is often taken in larger amounts or over a longer period than was intended
- there is a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control substance use
- a great deal of time is spent in activities to obtain the substance, use the substance, or recover from its effects
- important social, occupational or recreational activities are given up or reduced because of substance use
- the substance use is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical or psychological problem that is likely to have been caused or exacerbated by the substance (e.g., continued drinking despite recognition that an ulcer was made worse by alcohol consumption)
Who, us, addicted? No way! Not a chance. Hardly. Maybe just a little…
You’re Beautiful was a popular source of drama-induced madness
SACRIFICES
We’ve all made sacrifices, whether it’s sleep or study time or chances to socialize with friends. jt (113) had a somewhat bigger sacrifice to the drama gods:
it was october of 2008, it was my first and last year in med school (guys, don’t start to watch kdramas when you are in med school because you might fail!).
i usually went home for lunch after class and after reaching home at noon I turn on the tv and boom! a korean drama. since we don’t have cable that time and we’re using antenna I just let that single channel play while eating. you might call it destiny.
this single channel televised korean dramas once a day every noon. at that time I was able to catch Princess Lulu. I got curious on how it ends so after class I went home immediately to finish it. I even skipped free lunch and ice cream from my classmates. after princess lulu ended, they televised MY GIRL and I got hooked. man, it’s like a drug. I can’t wait for the ending so instead of studying, I checked it on youtube to mysoju and then it goes on and on.
although my grades were failing even at the start of the year, during the final week of class I was absent. since it was raining for a week also, I made an excuse that I had fever and cough.
after the school year, of course I failed, I watched different kdramas all summer long… and never stopped then.
GIVE ME ACCESS, OR ELSE!
These days access is as easy as a torrent, a viikii account, or some minimal downloading knowledge. It wasn’t always that way, as some of us know, having endured some very roundabout, inefficient, and inconvenient methods just to get our fix. Example: xiaoSxin (16) resorted to watching camcorder recordings of a TV screen, taken by an enabling helpful friend.
On the other hand, CG (55) had to contend with super-slow internet just when a You’re Beautiful addiction was peaking:
I decided to run to the library every day during Thanksgiving break to catch up with episodes. It was so cold and I don’t know how to ride a bike. The library is about 10 minutes away by car, and since I’m so athletically limited, it took me at least 30 minutes to get there. But my parents found out about my obsession and they banned me from the library and my computer. By the time I was off the hook, school had resumed again.
The public library’s right next to my school and I’d go there everyday during lunch to watch episodes. There was this one time when I was watching contently when the librarian loomed over me:
Librarian: Get off RIGHT NOW. Didn’t you read the sign? It’s reserved for the public ONLY today (and not students). [It’s the stare that gets me every time. And she was staring at me like her eyes would pop out]
I tried to walk dignified into the library the next day, but gave up because the librarian was there again. I went as far as to track her schedule down. Then I’d walk home really late and I’d lie to my parents about having projects. I guess they didn’t realize the pattern to the days I did the project.
chacha9891 (106) got hooked on Lovers in Paris on a vacation to the Philippines, but it wasn’t until after she left that her brother discovered a bootleg DVD stall (in the Philippines). One year later on another vacation, she raided the bootleg dvd shop and “probably bought around 40 dvd sets.” Then:
Then one day my dad hears a story from one his friends about some Filipino guy who got caught at JFK airport in New York for trying to smuggle in a bunch of bootleg dvds. Suddenly my dad was like “NO! WE’RE NOT GOING TO JAIL FOR YOUR STUPID DVDS!”….and I was like ” NOOOO!!! WE CAN”T LEAVE MY BABIES!” My brother and I immediately started brainstorming for loopholes. Then we came up with this genius solution (at least we thought it was) to burn the bootleg dvds on to blank dvds (you guys get that? basically double ultimate bootleg LOL), and then not label them. The normal bootleg dvds had pictures/titles on them, and could easily be traced as fakes. Our brilliant solution was to have them pass off as just normal blank disks. So we basically spent a whole week straight burning about 200 bootleg dvds. Made it through the Philippine airport customs without a problem. Then we get to San Francisco, and customs stops my dad at the luggage xray machine. The world stopped for a moment there, and I was like “CRAP! WE’RE GOING TO JAIL BECAUSE OF MY DVDS!”
….turns out they stopped us because of the pork sausages my dad was trying to get by them. LOL
My Name Is Kim Sam-soon
PRIORITIES
Sometimes our priorities may get just a leetle bit skewed. Imagine that you encounter an apartment fire and have seconds to grab your precious belongings, as CoconutJuice (207) had to do. (She grabbed her (1) money and (2) Full House DVD.)
On the other hand, beng (158) was working on a major Powerpoint presentation that delayed her Coffee Prince watching. On the eve of the big presentation:
I told to myself, i’ll watch 1 episode before I go home. Before I knew it, i’ve watched several episodes and the sun has risen. Oh no, so what did I ended up doing? I presented with the same clothes that i’m wearing the day before. Gosh, everytime I remember it, I just laugh at myself, coz everyone thought i’m quite dedicated to my work.
What happens when a secretary at the Prime Minister’s office really, really wants needs to spend the day watching kdramas? ladyteruki (112) says:
I went to work as usual. I got there as fast as I could, opened my boss’ time table and started to call as many people as possible to set up meetings. At first, I had a few victims in mind, because I knew my boss would see them regularly anyway, but when it appeared many of them weren’t available, I called people randomly and made up meetings.
I even gave him good reasons to go to the one that really made no sense because I was desperate for one hour and a half. Now my boss, I have to say, is adorable, and sadly for him, he trusts me. Well, never trust a girl who has a DVD full of dramas under her keyboard, my friend.
He went away, and it took me maybe 15 more minutes to book the rest of the afternoon. Sent him an email about the new meetings so that he wouldn’t have to come back to his office. I even told security at the entrance of the building so that they would stop him, in case he didn’t read it.
And then, of course, came drama time. Closed the door, turned off the light, and all day, watched the episodes I had brought. If that day, everything went wrong in the country because my boss spent the day in made up meetings, blame it on me.
I’ll be honest with you, this might happen again this summer.
What happens when a pregnancy coincides with a drama addiction? icechocolate (185) tells us:
I calculated that BL would end before my second’s due. So, I feel a little bit worry but also happy, when they announced to expand the series by 2 episodes. Nooo.. that’s my due! What to do? I wanted to see Hwan and Eun So happy at the time. I’m kind of person who flip the end of the book to know who end up with who, now you want me to delay for some days? Please, don’t! Just please..
Thank you, son, you were listening to me.
And then there’s labchick (203):
A couple years ago, I was with my sister during the last two weeks of her pregnancy. This one night, we came across MNKSS and it was love at first sight. We quickly got addicted. We watched 10 episodes the first night before going to sleep at 5 am.
When we woke up, we started where we left off… and my sister went into labor. We rushed to the hospital, carrying my laptop, forgetting to bring her night bag (which by the way took us 2 weeks to pack). I drove like crazy to the hospital through Boston traffic while she was either screaming in pain or at Jin Hun for being a douche. We finally get to the hospital… and when the nurses came to get my sister.. she starts shrieking… that we have to watch the show. So my sister, the laptop, and I are rushed into the delivery room. The doctor and the nurses thought we were nuts. but we kept watching.
After 6 hours of labor, 5 hours of shrieking, and 10 mins of awwing, we finally got to welcome my beautiful little niece to this world. Her middle name is SAMSOON!!! and we’re not even remotely korean!!!
Boys Before Flowers also accounted for its share of insanity
EXCUSES!
oh! tht! chick! (19) not only invented an excuse, she invented a person — a relative created solely to be killed off, allowing for her to take four days off work to “attend the funeral,” which in her case meant a Boys Before Flowers marathon.
leesja/J2 (240) decided to drive home during lunch every day for love of So Ji-sub and I’m Sorry I Love You (MISA):
There weren’t enough hours in the day to watch this. There I was a grown woman with a family, and a very demanding job, trying to sneak in every free moment to watch this.
So, in my lunch breaks I would drive home to watch 30 minutes. Just another minute, I would tell myself … And yes, the inevitable happened… One day I cut it sooooo short, that I had to sneak in to work via the back door. It was after one of the heart-wrenching episode. There I was, trying to sneak back into work without anyone noticing my lateness or even more importantly, my tear-stained face & very red, puffy eyes.
The boss took one look at my face and inquired if everything was OK at home? Did something happen to upset me? He told me to take the afternoon off – to go home and just let it all go, to come to terms with whatever has upset me soooo much.
For just a second, no a milli-second I hesitated. [But] The elation I felt as I drove home so out-weighed any guilt I was feeling.
Pink (339) had to contend with the Boys Before Flowers finale coinciding with a big friend-of-family event (a surprise party for friend’s parents’ anniversary). The night began after “a grueling 12 hour shift and long drive,” followed by a cupcake-frosting session, only to find that the laptop charger had been forgotten. The next day was the finale. So… make a three-hour drive back home, or go without the finale?
Drastic times call for drastic measures. I had to drive back home, get my charger, drive back before my friend found out.
My bff is not a drama watcher and has actively tried to end my addiction through countless interventions. I needed an alibi [so] I told my friend that I was headed to the store. I said I need tampons that he doesn’t have. Mention of the T word shut him up for good.
I got in my car, dirty uniform still on. I raced on the highway like a mad woman, reached my home in an hour, grabbed the charger, and was on my way back.
All of a sudden, there were sirens and a flashy car coming racing after me. I stopped in the middle of the highway. The sirens and flashes continued as a man approached my vehicle.
“Madam, do you know how fast you were going?”
“Oh hello Mr. osifer, I think I was going a bit fast.” That was an understatement considering I was driving 140km/h in an 80km/h zone. He looked at me and asked where I was headed.“To work. I am late for a shift.” I flashed him a smile as he looked at my scrubs.
“Well, we would all like to get there in one piece. Please slow down and next time, don’t stop in the middle of the highway. Pull over to the right side”.Phew! No ticket.
But hey, I watched BOF, series finale, LIVE!
Only to be thoroughly disappointed in a non-ending ending. I mean, what kinda stupid ending was that?
HIDING THE ADDICTION
Ri (4) got hooked on Success Story of a Bright Girl, only she wasn’t allowed to watch much TV. So how did she catch the last few episodes?
Sooo what I did was call up one of my good friends and ask her to watch it while telling me exactly what happens, all while I pretended to be asking her about school work. She was really sweet, she turned her TV up louder so I could listen (it was dubbed in Mandarin so I could understand) and then she would semi-explain facial expressions and what they were doing. Ever try to LISTEN to a kdrama? Yea, it’s not easy! Haha but in retrospect, it was kinda fun!
Flower Pot (43) sez:
My boyfriend and I just started living together when I discovered MY NAME IS KIM SAM SOON around 2005… since I tend to become pretty obsessive, I watched all 16 episodes in one sitting that I filed for sick leave the day after…
Now, my boyfriend was soooo angry that I was not sleeping at all watching the show that I had to pretend I was sleeping when he wakes up … I would turn the TV off in a panic when he alights from sleep and pretend that I am already in bed and then stealthily turn it on again and watch in silence while just reading the subtitles when he’s back to sleep…
after My Name is Kim Sam Soon our PC crashed and my boyfriend was aghast to find that there were more photos of Hyun Bin stored on it than that of us, family and friends… hahaha!
The lengths we’ll go to conceal our addictions! Monika (184) skipped classes to watch Cinderella’s Sister. But she had to conceal that from her sister, whom she had to then meet for dinner:
I had to run to the station, which is around 1 hour away from home, I had to take a train, then change to tube, but not just one line, two tube lines. So yes it takes me 45 minute to get to the station where I was supposed to meet her.
The one thing is that there are only 2 exits from the tube station, and they are connected. My sister used to wait at one of the 2 exits, and once I walk out of the tube station she’ll see me right away. That’s why I came up with a plan. 30 minutes before the time I was supposed to meet her, I went on the train. When I arrived, I called her and said my classes finished but my teacher wanted to see me, thus i’d have to stay late. So I told her to wait at the shop across the tube station, which she said she would.
But then I thought what if she forgot and waited for me at the station. So I had to take the long way, by bus. So on the bus, I was trying to be patient, but it was 5pm and the traffic was so heavy. In the end, I only took the bus to the next tube station, then I went to the underground instead. On the way I thought of how to tell her if I happened to see her right at the stations, then I thought I should say I was walking with a friend and forgot that she was waiting.
Luckily she waited for me in the shop, so well in the end, I used up all of my brain cells to think of excuses for my watching the drama and skip school :”>
lessaofpern (215) has made a few excuses in her day:
It got so bad that my husband had to disable our internet connection for several hours a day, so I would watch less. I had to promise to watch only 2 hours a day to get it turned back on. You know who had her fingers crossed behind her back when she agreed to that one. I’ve lied more times about watching K dramas then I have in my whole life put together (and I’m a Sunday school teacher to boot) SAD SAD SAD. My computer has been infected with every virus known to mankind, from watching them. I keep telling my husband that it’s the kids that have crashed our computer, when it is actually me. (BAD MOM).
MOTHERS!
Kdramas can lead to some role reversal when the bug gets to our parents, as Yuki (195) found out:
One day, I was watching the first episode of You’re Beautiful. (Note: My mother is an Chinese woman around the age of 60.)
Mom: Is it airing today?!??!
Me: Yes, but mom, I’m late for school…
Mom: I know, I know, I just wanted to make sure…Have a great day!Mom: IS IT OUT YET? IS IT OUT YET??
Me: It’s out but it’s not subbed.
Mom: What do you mean it’s NOT SUBBED?!?
Me: Mom, dramas in Korea don’t air with Chinese subs…
Mom: …right. Well remember to check every 5 minutes for it, okay?
Me: Mom, I have homework…
Mom: Well, I’m sure you can do your homework while you check, right?Me: Okay, I have the episode, we can watch it later.
Mom: LATER? Why later?
Me: ‘Cause…I still need to finish my homework
Mom: Then go do your homework. I need this NOW.
Me: …you’re not waiting for me…?
Mom: No.
FREGEEK‘s (167) mother could probably relate:
My mom watched a couple of episodes with me and she said that she liked Hwang Tae Kyung. I was mad at my mom for liking Tae Kyung because I’m the only one who can like him. Because of my rebelion, my mom was pissed and she refused to cook me dinner for almost a week, causing me to eat instant noodle for dinner for a week.
Another frequent offender: Coffee Prince
TRAVEL
Traveling was a frequent theme, as many of you just had to go directly to source, aka Korea. Some of you, like kitkat (108), have trips to Seoul planned. Others like diadda (146) have already been there, and related your stories of navigating neighborhoods with numerous wrong turns and minimal Korean language usage. rorikurama (34) describes the travails of taking not just a wrong turn but the wrong ferry in search of the Full House mansion.
purty.sunshine (166) has a story closer to home — she braved a six-hour drive and a severe snowstorm to see Se7en in Seattle.
And then there’s Chameleon88 (129):
HOW MY OBSESSION WITH K-DRAMAS TURNED ME INTO A SACRILEGIOUS STALKER AND ULTIMATELY LED TO AN UNSUCCESSFUL HIGH SPEED CHASE ON A SOCAL FREEWAY.
I had been watching this k-drama/reality show for a while and I was obsessed with this couple on the show. The female half of this couple is known for doing a lot of charity events and I happened to read her Soompi page which stated that her charity organization would be doing a benefit concert or charity presentation in LA. All I had to go on was an address. So, Naturally, I Google it. I set off to see if I could meet the actress/singer in person. I thought it was some kind of meeting hall or public arena. Imagine my surprise when I pull up and lo and behold, it’s a church.
I entered the church and sat down quietly trying to look like I belonged. (All the while praying that my own religion’s God would forgive my blasphemy and not to strike me down with lightning).
As I was waiting, I overheard some girls talking that indeed the actress was on premises… in the other building. And before I could even get up and leave, the preacher/priest began his sermon with a bellowing, “Resist evil and temptation, you lambs of God!” What followed was nothing short of an honest to goodness hellfire and brimstone sermon straight from the early 1700s. The whole time, I was thinking, “What have you gotten yourself into?!”
Utterly defeated, I sat in my car in the parking lot for a while contemplating the sadness of my life and the past few hours. Suddenly, I hear screaming and people shouting the actress/singer’s name. I watched the woman I had been so fervently stalking come out of the lecture building and climb onto the tour bus. The teenagers crowded the bus and started chanting her name. A few minutes after taking pictures with the crowd, she got back onto the bus.
Without thinking, my fingers went to start my car and before I realized it, I was peeling out of the church driveway and following the tour bus down the street and eventually onto the freeway. I was arguing with myself out loud about why I was doing this. So, I did the only thing I could do, continue to follow them but keeping a few cars behind so as not to give away that I was following them.
A few miles later, I had to give up because I could not see the bus anymore. Alas, I never got to meet her or even see her up close.
Honestly, at the beginning of this adventure, I never really had a plan. I only wanted to see her and possibly speak with her a bit. But not in my wildest imagination did I even think that I would have become a stalker, be able to sit through a service that was not my own religion and under no circumstances, be able to give chase to a tour bus on the streets of LA!
byul1232 (83) started out writing Shinhwa fanfic, which led to full-length online novels: “I somehow ended up getting a book publishing deal with some random company in Thailand. I still get royalties to this day.” Her friends thought she’d grow out of it, but instead she continued to work kdramas into as many school projects as she could. In her senior year of university:
I figured since I watch Korean dramas all the time, I might as well get some credits for it. My independent study course was called “Korean dramas, and their effect on Society.” I wrote a 10-page essay and a 60+ page novel, both typed in Korean, highlighting what I found out during my “research” process, aka watching 80+ hours of Korean dramas. I got an A in the course.
Now I am currently writing a new chapter of my life: moving to Korea and enrolling in a drama academy so I can once and for all, fulfill my childhood dream of becoming a Korean drama writer.
REAL-LIFE ROMANCE
We think cingdoc (17) officially has the most understanding husband:
Well, my favorite was (actually still is) Coffee Prince. I adore Choi Han Kyul/Go Eun Chan. My Hubs knows how much I especially LOVE Gong Yoo. So he asked me to go ’somewhere” with him…. the local Mini Cooper dealership. My adorable, sweet, but crazy, other half actually was going to buy me the EXACT Choi Han Kyul’s car…. Now, I might be a certifiable nutty Yoo gal, but I’m very practical. Besides working part time, the bulk of my time involves Mommy taxi-ing… the mini is NOT going to cut it. We only test drove the vehicle, and did NOT make the purchase. BUT for the rest of my life, I will always have fond memories of the brief moment of driving my Yoo’s car, from my favorite kdrama, from my loving REAL life husband….
pabo ceo reom (403) has a sadder story:
My ex-boyfriend took me on a vacation to Hawaii for 5 days. He’s an avid surfer so he had set up a date on the beach one day. I faked a stomach flu because I just couldn’t wait to finish two episodes of Coffee Prince in our hotel room. When he came back, he said I had puffy eyes (apparently I cried at some point in the drama). He thought I was upset about not being able to go to the beach and took me to a bar to lighten the mood. Basically I got piss drunked (bad bad bad idea..) and told him in my drunken stupor that I was crying because of some guy named Choi Han-kyul. My boyfriend (who’s Korean) started getting mad asking me who the hell is this Han-kyul guy and if I was cheating on him. I then apparently blacked out from the alcohol.
The next day I was lying in our hotel bed with the fattest hangover ever. When I fully woke up, I found out via a message at the receptionist desk that my boyfriend had flown back home and left me in Hawaii by myself. My first reaction was “that fcuking jerk!” because I couldn’t remember what had happened the night before.
Annnnnnnyhow, long story short, I flew back, made a huge scene, kicked him in the ass, FELT LIKE AN ASS MYSELF when I found out the entire story, and we were both speechless about how the hell this all went down. We eventually broke up because of a multitude of reasons, which I can assure you were much more significant and normal than the situation I talked about. However, to this day, my close girlfriends like to taunt that I singlehandedly destroyed my love life because of my addiction to kdrama.
They ask me all the time why aren’t there rehab centers for kdrama addicts? I just ask myself: where the hell are all the cute, rich, and loving male kdrama addicts out there? Holler!
But bleu‘s (115) is quite possibly the cutest one:
I once stayed up a whole week in my apartment watching MNIKSS, Spring days, and Stained Glass Window. For a week, the curtain of my apartment was drawn, newspapers left uncollected in front of my door, mails unopened. I survived the whole week only by eating ramen and kimchi, drinking gazillion cups of coffee. I turned myself into a cave woman.
A week later I went out to collect my mountain of newspapers, a really cute guy from next door apartment jumped to his feet when he saw me.
Cute neighbor: Jesus Christ, You are alive!!
Me: *smile sheepishly* “what do you mean? Of course I am alive!”
Cute neighbor: Well, I heard rumor the girl who lived in that apartment killed herself like a week ago over some Asian drama actor or something. You aren’t a ghost are you coz now, you kind of looked like one.
Me: *pout and slam the door*
(Now, not so cute) Neighbor: *laugh loudly* I was joking, I was joking. Come out for a moment I have something for you.
Me: Go away!A moment later he was speaking in front of my door: “I heard Korean drama blaring on your TV all day and night for a week and thought you may like this one.” (He slips a gift certificate from a local Asian Drama DVD store)
One “a suddenly really” cute guy and a gift certificate from my favorite store?..…. I kneeled and thanked God for my addiction…
Believe it or not, a year after we got married.
And last but not least, the winner…!
Success Story of a Bright Girl
Alert (30), We salute you for your perseverance:
It was 2003. I just got my first job, went to the office by public transports, and just moved in a halfly shrewded place that I rent just because it’s the cheapest one I found, with two people I hardly knew. I was desperate at that time, so that’s the only choice I had. The house was very gloomy, with half the lighting’s gone, and a kitchen that’s barely touchable. But it was half-furnished, with some furnitures, and a tv. And as for rats? They’re everywhere. they were hiding when I first moved in, but decided to show themselves right after (they so love the kitchen!). You have no idea how scary rats can be. I DESPISE RATS. I could cry for hours just seeing rats. I almost thought of going to therapist because of rats. I was traumatized by sights of rats to the extend that when I slept I had to stuff my ears with headphones and loud musics so I could never hear rats screeching their way outside. And I slept with a broom right on my side, just in case.
So why didn’t I move out? Well here’s the story.
A week after I moved in, Success Story of a Bright Girl was just showing on a local tv and I happened to watch the first episode, then the next, then without knowing, I was totally sucked into the drama (I hadn’t learned downloading or watching online yet). I had to come back from the office early on days Bright Girl were on, since I used public transport, and a delay would cost me another hour of waiting for the bus, and would make me miss my Jang Hyuk *cough* Bright Girl. I remembered giving excuses after excuses to my boss on why I need to go back early (the show was at late evening). Oh, I wasn’t feeling well. At first it was headaches. Then gastrics. Then food poisoning. And after I’ve used up all the not feeling well excuses, I simply had emergency family matters LOL (we all’ ve been there, don’t we?!).
The living room of where I’d watch the tv then was situated in between the kitchen and my bedroom. So it’s like a common thing to see a rat or two crossing in front of the tv. I couldn’t moved out yet, because even if I found a better place, the new rental, and the cost for living (transports, food etc) wouldn’t allow me to BUY A TV, for at least another few months. And that ratty place, regardless how bad it was, I can watch Jang Hyuk, and it all that matters that time. So preparing myself to watch Bright Girl every time it aired was like going into a battlefield. I equipped myself with a broom in hand and would drag the tallest chair I could find, and seated myself in front of the tv – with my two feet off the ground. The whole I hour would solely be dedicated to the show, but I would stomped the broom once in a while, to scare off the rats.
I moved out a week after Bright Girl ended. At least now I can say I’ve went to rat’s hole and back to watch Kdrama. That’s why Jang Hyuk hold a special place in my heart. I’ve suffered for him. I went to battle for him. I sacrificed my life for his drama. I’ve cried hours just so I could watch him. Even when he’s speaking in a dubbed Chinese, which I don’t even understand. Yep, am crazy, I know.
Only as crazy as the rest of us, but your story definitely takes the cake.
Congrats to Alert for the winning entry, and thanks to everyone for sharing your stories. It makes us feel a little bit like crack dealers, but they say the first step to recovery is acknowledging that you have a problem…
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101 Carinne
July 4, 2010 at 9:34 AM
Congrats to ALL OF US!
Now all those in the States get ready to enjoy those fireworks, while those out of States go out today and make fireworks from your passionate depths.
Hubba~hubba!
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102 makeupmag
July 4, 2010 at 10:42 AM
This was a truly inspired contest, JB and GF! I agree with the earlier posters who suggested you compile the responses into a book! :D
The double bootleg anecdote had me giggling like crazy and the PM office one made me gasp! Thanks for such a great post. :)
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103 diadda
July 4, 2010 at 10:59 AM
Thank You so much for doing this. These stories kept me laughing for days. I can identify with everyone here and feel like I have found a family of addicts to provide me support in my times of drama withdrawal.
My Brothers and Sisters!! ...I salute you!!!!
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104 Yuki
July 4, 2010 at 11:22 AM
Congrats to Alert! =D
(And everyone who had an addiction story to tell! We're all winners by my book ^_^)
This compilation post was so funny! I loved reading all the stories~ (I need to go back to that post and read more from the comments XD)
Oh, and thank you for the honourable mention! 8D
*proud* (Silly me~ hehe XD)
By the way, I was pretty shocked when I saw obsessed's story with the DSM-IV (I've had to study the manual when I did a course in Abnormal Psychology). I totally didn't think of my drama-wanting ways as an addiction! O___O
And there I was, going down the list, thinking: 1...check, 2...check, 3...check...4.............oh dear....DD8
I need rehab XD;;;
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105 saranga
July 4, 2010 at 12:58 PM
i loved the bit about mothers hahahaha. my mom, no matter how angry she might be with me, would actually ever refuse to feed me. in fact we've had fights after the first thing we fought about because she would try to get me to eat. but she'd still be mad at me. LOL as for the gift certificate guy...!!!!!! what a keeper haha
no but seriously, i realize that my "addiction" is absolutely nothing in comparison to all of these stories. i can officially say that i'm not really addicted.
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106 kaedejun
July 4, 2010 at 1:14 PM
this was a great compilation of the stories! i enjoyed each one of them and just realized how global this phenomenon is!!!
i too completely identified with the "mothers" section - because that's how my mom and i are like!!! while she still makes dinner, we'd be in such a huff with each other that we'd be angry for over a week with each other!!! the drama doesn't end until the series is done!!! :D
@ yuki - that conversation you had with your mother has happened to me too - with YAB too!!! and many others... :D
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107 diane
July 4, 2010 at 1:14 PM
These stories were so funny!
Hurrah, to all us K-addicts out there!
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108 Mel
July 4, 2010 at 1:55 PM
I so loved this post!!
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109 alert
July 4, 2010 at 2:18 PM
I totally agree with th suggestion of having all the stories compiled in a form of ebook! It's like our not-so-little Confession Book of Kdrama Addicts hehe.
I guess dramabeans has now become a daily therapy session for us addicts. And it felt good knowing you're not alone and have this amazing support group with you.
And thank you again for the wishes. I told my sisters/ friends about it , but simply told them I won the dvd by writing a story without telling them how or where (they`re non addicts and don`t read db).. they're totally curious about what I`ve wrote, and kept on asking me about it. LOL! There's no wayy i'm going to tell haha since it`s my little secret :P. They would freak out if they know the truth of why I insisted of staying at that place years back.
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110 ssen
July 4, 2010 at 3:23 PM
these little gems really make my day
lol at all the excuses that we do for our additions
thanks for the compilations
is a real pleasure reading all postings
keep them coming
:p
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111 bippa / poyi
July 4, 2010 at 4:33 PM
was reading them again and
just have to mention
bleu that is one of the craziest [awesome] "HOW WE MET..." stories of all time
i'm still trying to figure how kdramas might help me find a wife
hahahahaha seriously great ending to that one
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112 Mei
July 4, 2010 at 4:58 PM
Oh...My! You cracked me up this early morning JB & GF. Hahaha....
But, they're definitely true... Just like drug, they swept us through, and I never recover 'till now. I even went as to quit my full time job for them. Well, now, I'm a happily working at home woman. Tee-he...
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113 Faye
July 4, 2010 at 5:05 PM
Reading all these stories was like reading Chicken soup for the k-drama addict soul. They were hilarious, cute, and a lot were totally relatable!
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114 moochi2000
July 4, 2010 at 5:43 PM
@ faye
OMG chicken soup. so funny.
I really like bleu's story. Now I want to move out and live in an apartment alone and pray that a cute guy moves in beside me >.<
Thanks for all these stories!
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115 Dele
July 4, 2010 at 5:45 PM
bleu’s story was the cutest thing ever. What a sweet guy, so romanctic. Haha, you got your man because of you k-addiction. Love blooms in the oddest places. I loved your story.
The Hawaii one was really sad, I hear you about finding a k-drama addict guy. I have yet to meet women who feel the same way as me in my real life, and I'm not holding out on meeting a guy who feels the same way. I'd love to have someone to watch dramas with, and while I'm drooling over Lee Seung Gi or Lee Min Ho, he has the right to drool over whoever she is until that hour and 5 minutes are up. Where are the k-drama addicted men, or at least k-drama interested. Eve my Korean friends here are no into it the way I am, so sad they are missing out an a nice slice of heaven on earth.
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116 kitkat
July 4, 2010 at 6:04 PM
congrats, Alert! i'm sure you'll enjoy europe but you'll enjoy your YB dvd box set more. :)
this contest was really inspired and gave me hope... made me realize i'm "normal" after all. hehe.
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117 Kukilas
July 4, 2010 at 6:59 PM
Congratulations, Alert!
Having to deal with Rats just to watch your drama was impressive. You deserve the box set of YAB. :-)
Reading all the posts was a prize in itself. So many wonderful stories and so many ways to see that we are not alone in our obsessions. ^^
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118 narumi
July 4, 2010 at 7:10 PM
the Alert's story was the funniest one and deserved to win...!!
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119 Yuki
July 4, 2010 at 7:25 PM
@ lei: thanks! =D
@ kaedejun: haha! I'm not alone! Yeah! that conversation happens with every single korean drama we watch XD (and she's SO addicted to YAB it scares me~)
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120 kimchigeol
July 4, 2010 at 7:57 PM
OMG I loved all the featured entries, I couldn't resist sharing them to my sister (who's a non-Kdrama addict)~ and she couldn't stop laughing at them. Thank you for coming up with a contest like this, now I can say I'm pretty normal just like everyone else who's shared their stories. ^^ And congratulations to the winner! *Salute*
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121 cont'd
July 4, 2010 at 8:44 PM
the stories were pretty amazing lol can definitely relate to some
also, I remember following byul1232, if that was also the pen name she'd used, on soompi!!! good ol'days reading about shinhwa... they're probably the only boy band left who are still older than i am... LOL
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122 mymymai
July 4, 2010 at 9:15 PM
I literally laughed out loud at all of your stories. Thank you so much for sharing!! My very first drama that got me ADDICTED is Hana Yori Dango, which I stayed all night to watch. I'd tell myself to stop after this episode but I was afraid some natural disaster might prevent me from seeing it again, say...like a power outage or some such. LOL. It was on to My Girl, which fully secure my position as a fanatic in this Drama Fandom, whether it be Kdrama of Jdrama.
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123 amyrza
July 4, 2010 at 10:35 PM
you all really made me feel 'normal' ^_^ here I am, thinking I need to curb my addiction (wondering if there is a kdrama rehab out there?) and get a life but now who needs a cure when its not even a sickness right? Its more or less the same as a bookworm isn't it?
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124
July 4, 2010 at 11:18 PM
Congrats Alert and to all those who were cited! :)
I absolutely loved Bleu's story! It's like a kdrama come to life. I wish I could find someone like that.
It's great to know that I'm not the only one addicted and who have gone to the "extremes" just to satisfy our drama obsessions.
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125 Jen Neri
July 4, 2010 at 11:19 PM
Congrats Alert and to all those who were cited!
I absolutely loved Bleu’s story! It’s like a kdrama come to life. I wish I could find someone like that.
It’s great to know that I’m not the only one addicted and who have gone to the “extremes” just to satisfy our drama obsessions.
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126 threesloth
July 4, 2010 at 11:42 PM
congrats to all!! our stories were finally heard! *^^*
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127 srm
July 5, 2010 at 12:09 AM
i'm sssooooooo glad i'm not alone! ahahaha thank God!!! I'm a self confessed addict but really not recognizing it until my friends and everybody around me are telling me. Our computer is filled with Boys over flowers pictures (esp lee min ho oppa hehe ) and i got even addicted to KPOP! even if I really don't understand their song haha! and evrything about korean! now i'm learning korean language online. omg. I would stay up super late as in I would sleep at 6 am just because I'm watching online! and I would even stalk my fave k stars in the internet like what's up with them now or whatever. I even know lee min ho's blood type!!!!!!!!!!! hahahahhahahhaha omo. But there this one event in my life where i was so depressed and crying like the whole day! and then my husband came to me and comforted me and told me to watch my kdramas online so that I'll feel better... aaaawwwww. he's not even mad whenever he see's me drooling over lee min ho. c: I even can relate to the mommy giving birth because my due date was near then and the ending episodes of personal taste have not yet uploaded in viikkii! hahaha i keep on crossing my fingers to give birth when i see the ending episode. haha! hopefully we can visit korea in the future!
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128 imel
July 5, 2010 at 12:52 AM
wow..you guys are so amazing...
well...frankly speaking...I'm addicted...yes..I admit it..
but not up to the point...
Mostly, I only cut my sleeping time at night, and... honestly speaking...
I also cut my working time in the office.
And mostly too...I smile alone, if I remember several funny scenes from the series.
Hahaha.....
You guys makes me SUPER JEALOUS that you can go to that extend for KDrama addiction...
You are all my gurus and teachers...
Hahaha..
Long live KDrama!!!!!
Banzai!!!!
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129 goldlilys
July 5, 2010 at 12:54 AM
Haha, my story isn't that funny as the ones above, but it wouldn't make me any lesser of a drama addict. I have a ton of CDs, DVDs burned because I like to have a collection of my favorite dramas. Even when each Kdrama is like 16+ episodes long, which takes 1episode per CD, I don't care, I want to rewatch it again.
And yes, this addiction does twist up my priorities especially during school. Must have at least 1 episode of watching drama everyday even during finals week. Or if the episodes are getting really good, I stay up till 5am when class is 10am. I always see the morning sunshine greet me when I'm about to go to sleep. That's how obsessed I get. Thank God, it's not just me.
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130 imel
July 5, 2010 at 12:59 AM
Oh yeah..
Congratulations for Alert....
Gosh...!!
You are really a FIGHTER for KDrama....
Can't even imagine if I'm in your position...
I believe..you are not fighting with rats alone..but it must be with cockroaches..
And I swear to God...I SUPER-DUPER-HATE cockroaches....
But I'm sure, it all brings sweet memories now..to you..and later, you can tell your YB DVD Box Set history to your children, and your grandchildren and your grand-grandchildren.
Hahaha........
Congratulation too for all mommies, and ladies out there who have the "man-in-our-dreams"..who absolutely understands our needs to KDrama, and support our craziness.
Wish I can have one...in the future...:P
Hehehe....
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131 pohonphee
July 5, 2010 at 1:01 AM
Life would be so boring and dull if we can't do a little bit craziness like what we all have done for our Kdrama addiction, right?? ^___^
So see you all in Korea, hags, hags, hags....
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132 Net-chan
July 5, 2010 at 2:18 AM
Congratulatons to Alert ^^!
RATS T.T. How could one rent a place infested with rats??? It should be prohibited!!
Anyway, I salute your courage!
I like the definition of dependence (as I read it, I was ticking the things that described my addiction, and... I ended up ticking everything)!
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133 onyna
July 5, 2010 at 3:54 AM
omg i love all this stuff!!!! ahahah i shud have contributed as wel but its hilarious like reading some of these im reminded of me! like how i wud pretend to be sleeping an watch on subtitles so as not to get caught and also skip lessons and make fake appointments! muahahhaha i love kdrama watchers! worldwideeeee!!!!!!!! xxxxxxxxxxx
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134 angel
July 5, 2010 at 4:17 AM
congratulations....
loved reading every post here esp about the sweet neighbor guy.... lucky girl! and the mother/daughter conversation.... i can relate coz i'm a mother too....and in my case..... i rule! which means i get to watch what and when i want to watch!! lol... it's great being a full time mom....an upside of being one is having a lot of time on my hands...hehehe..
tnx guys...being here makes me feel a lot normal.....lol...
Fightjng!! =)
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135 Ena
July 5, 2010 at 6:16 AM
this is so so so funny, entertaining, cute and absolutely relatable!!!
I esp love the one about naming the niece samsoon!
I turn into a cave woman for kdramas too!
hahaha (:
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136 ar
July 5, 2010 at 9:34 AM
rereading all these stories for the second time! Awesome idea for the addiction stories giveaway and thank you everybody for sharing your addiction stories!
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137 Quinze
July 5, 2010 at 9:48 AM
When I read Alert's story I knew it would've been my pick for seriously the best addiction story. Had me laughing for such a long time :D
Congrats!!
Bleu, you are one lucky woman. Such an adorable story!
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138 onemorepls
July 5, 2010 at 9:49 AM
Congrats to Alert!!!
Loved everybody stories. If Alert ever decide to MINE Jang Hyuk, really no one can tops that. RATS! lol
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139 Ruby
July 5, 2010 at 10:28 AM
SO CUTE! love the stories, especially about bleu marrying her cute next door neighbour! what a way to meet your husband :)
haha my story involves begging my BF to go on a day trip to macau on our holiday to hong kong, why? three words: BOYS OVER FLOWERS.
(and also because new caledonia is too expensive ;))
sigh, the shenanigans that ensued; enduring the rain and getting lost and a whirlwind trip to the venetian and not even getting to sit in the gondola though we bought tix :(
but i got to sit on the same bench as Jandi/Jihoo! :D if that counts for anything.
(and yes, at the end of it all, my BF still wants to travel with me! yay!)
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140 Ruby
July 5, 2010 at 10:30 AM
AND can i also say WOW at the lady who works in the PM's office?!? amazing that your, ahem, boss hasn't found out ;) you're only helping the most powerful man in your country run, umm, the country!!
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141 yaqi
July 5, 2010 at 11:08 AM
this post is srsly amazing I was laughing at most of the stories while reading them lol. bleu's story is really cute!
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142 Gloria
July 5, 2010 at 6:17 PM
HAHAHAHHAHAHAA glad to know im not the only crazy one XDDDD
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143 miniejungle
July 5, 2010 at 6:54 PM
oh dear i don't know how i missed the first post and therefore didn't contribute my story :) but it's fun reading all the real-life accounts from us addicts! making me feel good, cos for once i'm not the only one out there who is so crazy over kdramas anymore! and i hope i could find such a lovely husband who understands this addiction cos it's not going anywhere anytime soon. :(
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144 Annie
July 5, 2010 at 7:34 PM
Haha! Thanks you guys SOOOO much. I especially LOVED the 2nd to last one. :) About bleu's. ^___^
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145 annieee
July 5, 2010 at 8:26 PM
omg, these stories are priceless! bleu's real-life romance story totally won my heart. it was simply too cute! i also want a future husband that gets my gift certificates so i can have my kdrama fix hehehe
i must say, us addicts go to extreme lengths! like jb said, at least we're not in denial! lol
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146 MsFantaghiro
July 5, 2010 at 10:53 PM
and I thought I was the only k-drama addict that would do almost anything for Jang Hyuk!! hehehee..
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147 kbok
July 6, 2010 at 12:49 AM
LOL!! these were hilarious!!! i was trying to refrain my laughter while at work. thanks everyone for sharing your stories! =) they really brightened my day and reaffirmed i'm not alone in my kdrama addiction .
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148 Marj
July 6, 2010 at 4:29 AM
Mannn, that last one was sure as hell crazy. I know Jang Hyuk's hot and all, but woahh, hats off to your dedication XD
I'm actually going to the Philippines for a holiday this summer and I had in mind to do exactly what chacha9891 did, no joke. I'd seriously planned it all out too, after finding out they had those over there on my last holiday. When I read her story, I couldn't stop laughing and imaging me in that situation in about a weeks time. I sure hope it works out for me as it did for her XD Haaa.
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149 gorgeousbabe
July 6, 2010 at 8:07 AM
i really enjoyed reading all these stories. it made me realize i am not alone in skipping work and calling in sick. it made me very normal haha
my addiction started after a break up and it got me through the whole thing. you don't know how i bawled my eyes out with each episode! what do you know, crying while watching the dramas was very therapeutic. i think i need therapy from therapy!
needless to say, my love affair with k-dramas has lasted longer than my relationships haha now, if only i can find somebody who will accept this "addiction" hehe
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150 Kieki55
July 6, 2010 at 10:52 AM
Thank you ......there's people out there like me; love the addictives out there.
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