Dramabeans 5-Year Anniversary Giveaway #1
by javabeans
javabeans: Happy New Year! Another year has zoomed by — time flies when you’re watching dramas, don’tcha know — and 2012 marks an extra-special moment for us at Dramabeans, because the site turns 5 this month.
girlfriday: Happy birthday Dramabeans! You’re finally old enough to go to kindergarten!
javabeans: Or advanced into middle age, if we’re talking cat years. And as we know, the internet = cats.
girlfriday: Well that explains where all the time from the fourth dimension went to, ‘cause I certainly don’t FEEL five.
javabeans: I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for half a decade. K-dramas have sucked away my youth! How is this site still going? To think, when I started in January 2007, my primary mode of thought was, “I wonder how many people would stumble onto this place randomly.” Because then that would be a measure of how many people were interested in dramas in the English-speaking world. As it turns out, a whole damn lot.
girlfriday: I find that most of life’s truths can be found in quotes from Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come.”
javabeans: Also “This is my corn. You people are guests in my corn.” And “I have just created something totally illogical.”
girlfriday: See? Maybe internet also = baseball.
javabeans: In any case, we decided The Big 5 called for some celebratin’, and how better to celebrate than to give tons of stuff away? It’s a month-long Anniversary Giveaway Extravaganza!
girlfriday: We’ll be raining down presents during the entire month of January, because if you’re part of the Dramabeans community, it’s your birthday too, and birthdays call for presents!
javabeans: You might want to mark Sundays on your calendar, because every Sunday (or Monday, if you’re ahead of us in the States) we’ll be giving away something super-duper-fantastico exciting. Wait, am I overselling this?
girlfriday: Only if you’re a grinch who hates presents. Every week we’ll be asking you a question, and all you have to do is leave a comment with your answer and email address, and you’ll be entered in that week’s drawing.
javabeans: We’ll select winners by random draw. Check back a week later, and see if you’ve won! If you haven’t, fear not, because we’ll be announcing the next round as well. More prizes!
girlfriday: And they get better each week!
Giveaway #1
Question: What was your Drama First Love? Tell us about the first drama you fell in love with, that brought you over to the dark side. Don’t forget to leave a valid email address so we can contact you if you win.
Prizes:
- You’re Beautiful Director’s Cut DVD set
- one $25 Gift Certificate to Yesasia.com
- one more $25 Gift Certificate to Yesasia.com
Winners announced: Sunday, January 8th, at 8pm, Pacific Standard Time.* This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for entering!
*Or, 10pm in Mexico City, 11pm in NYC, 1 am in Buenos Aires, 4am in London, 5am in Paris, noon in Singapore and Manila, 1pm in Seoul and Tokyo, or 3pm in Sydney and Vladivostok. Okay, you get the point. (You can refer to this handy Time and Date converter to find out what this is in your time zone.)
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551 Su
January 1, 2012 at 10:53 PM
Boys over Flowers!!
This drama changed my life!! Thanks to this drama i got to know a whole new wold :D Back then i was hooked, and my love for Lee Minho and Kim Bum began :D Gosh it's been so long.....
Thank God i stumbled across this drama. It made me a drama addict (don't really know if i should be happy or not :S)
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552 Kukilas
January 1, 2012 at 10:54 PM
My first drama love was My Name is Kim Samsoon. I had seen other dramas before then, and enjoyed them, but not until Samsoon had I discovered that I could fall so deeply into a drama that I was on tenterhooks every week waiting for the next episode, and shouting at my screen at Samshik! It even hooked me to the point that I needed my very own Samsook pig.
Happy 5th Anniversary and looking forward to many more anniversaries to come!
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553 Nina
January 1, 2012 at 10:55 PM
My first and the one that made me love kdramas was My Girl. :-)
Lee Dong Wook was also my first K-actor crush :P
Email: [email protected]
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554 Roxy
January 1, 2012 at 10:55 PM
Mine was My Girl and I still love it! I watched Personal Taste, Playful Kiss, and BOF before that but My Girl was the one who won me over. I would rewatch it every now and then and would never get tired of it. Therefore, the pairing of Lee Da Hae and Lee Dong Wook will always hold a special place in my heart and will always be a loyal follower of the Hong Sisters. My biggest wish is for Lee Da Hae and Lee Dong Wook to team up in another project, but I do know it's a long shot xD. I still hold some hope tho :D I will forever be happy if it does happen. My first year of obsession = 2010 ^.^
Email: [email protected]
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555 Sam
January 1, 2012 at 10:55 PM
the drama that started it all for me was Boys Over Flowers...i fell hard, and hadn't regret turning into a drama addict:)
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556 whatis
January 1, 2012 at 10:55 PM
THE drama that brought me over was Full House. I watched the entire drama in one sitting, and I was sucked into the kdrama world FOREVER!
I don't remember what the reason was for my venture into Kdrama because I've only been watching TVB Hong Kong dramas and Taiwanese dramas. BUT I'm so glad I did. I was growing soooo tired of the over exaggeration acting and the crazy evilness that goes on in HK dramas... I don't know why, but people are just evil for evil's sake, and it kills it for me. In Kdramas... in Full House, I thought wow... I know i'm not suppose to root for this 2nd lead, and I know she's suppose to be a hated character... but I don't! Yes, her existence is interfering with the main couple's loveline, but she's not evil and devilishly maliciously scheming. And THAT kind of thing, I just LOVE. I can't handle straight up evilness very well without a good backstory and motivation.
Happy Birthday Dramabeans!!! What would I do without you guys!!! *tear*
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557 Alyssa
January 1, 2012 at 10:55 PM
I would have to say Full House, I couldn't resist falling in love with the adorkable Rain. *drool* After seeing quite a bit more dramas I know it had many pitfalls, nevertheless it was my first XD
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558 bumper
January 1, 2012 at 10:56 PM
I got sucked into the dark hole after watching Star in My Heart. At the time (several years ago) the whole Cinderella story line was new and sweet and wonderful. I don't remember how I stumbled onto such an oldie, but it was the start of my addiction.
Long hair falling in his eyes, Ahn Jae Wook sort of looked like an old boyfriend from high school, only more handsome. Music so memorable. It still is my favorite drama.
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559 Cez Prieto
January 1, 2012 at 10:57 PM
My first drama love was Meteor Garden way back when I was a high school freshman. This was the start of my Asian drama frenzy that still continued till now. Feels nostalgic to look back on the drama that ignited me. I will never forget those times when me and my friends quickly run towards our classmate's house just to watch MG after our classes. And how we talk about it the following day as a summary and looking forward for another episode. Don't forget the reruns during the weekends which I always waited and gleefully watched.
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560 PilTa
January 1, 2012 at 10:57 PM
My first kdrama...I have been watching for so long I cannot quite remember it. Hmmm....it was around the time that hallyu first made its wave...I remember I got really hooked to watching Dae Jang Geum. I have loved watching sageuks since then.
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561 sharkie
January 1, 2012 at 10:57 PM
I don't even have to think about this. Mine is Summer Scent of the Endless Love season dramas!^_^ Despite the impossibility (at certain points, lack of logic) of the plot or the weird wardrobe choice for Song Seung-heon, it was the first drama that reeled me in with the captivating feel of summer, the picturesque backdrops and the always radiant Son Ye Jin.
This drama made me watch it dubbed, subbed and unsubbed (yes, I watched and rewatched without understanding a single word!). Online streaming wasn't so popular then. Only a handful of my friends had the same yearning for the dramas that since then, we helped each other find and share new titles to obsess over.^_^
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sharkie
January 1, 2012 at 11:00 PM
happy anniversary, dramabeans! we, your reading public, are truly grateful! <3 much love to you!
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562 Caroline
January 1, 2012 at 10:57 PM
My first drama love was 9 End 2 Outs, which coincidentally was the drama that took my drama virginity. Although it's in my top favourites it isn't my favourite of all time (Because there's City Hall & Coffee Prince - Dramas that have forever stolen my heart...they refuse to give it back).
But 9 End 2 Outs is a really good drama - one that I owe my addiction to dramas to.
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563 Min-Ah
January 1, 2012 at 10:57 PM
Boys Over Flowers! It wasn't the best drama but c'mon, all that eyecandy *o*
-cough- lee min ho -cough-
Ever since then I've never turned back and have been officially sucked into the kdrama world!
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564 Ranl
January 1, 2012 at 10:57 PM
The first drama that brought me into the k-drama craze was Full House. I thought it was such a cute story and I even liked the repetitiveness of plot! After this, I searched up dramas that had similar stories and came across Delightful Chun Hyang. For some reason, however, it took me several attempts to start Goong even though Goond also has a bickering pair living together. Thanks Dramabeans for being a wonderful source of info/insights/critiques of k-drama!
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565 Kyuu
January 1, 2012 at 10:57 PM
The first k-drama that got me addicted was Stairway to Heaven. I'm in my 20s, so I've watched a lot of dramas. That one opened the doors to K-drama craziness for me. It had your typical girl who loses her memory, it had the evil family members who tried to sabotage the main characters. And it had the typical infamous korean tragedy that always befalls on k-drama main characters: a terminal illness. Plus it got me addicted to Kwon Sang Woo. I used to think he was hot and was such a big fan of his back in the day.
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korean.craze
January 4, 2012 at 10:55 PM
i think KSW is still hot!~~
but in a slightly different kind of way now :D
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566 Grace
January 1, 2012 at 10:58 PM
Goong, with Yoon Eun Hye! I was instantly in love, and I never looked back.
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567 Moranyelie Osorio
January 1, 2012 at 10:58 PM
My drama first love was Boys before flowers in the year 2009, and I'm been addicted to K-dramas ever since..when you see Lee-Min- Ho in a swim suit there's no going back. ^^
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568 SA
January 1, 2012 at 10:58 PM
+My first love for K-drama is "All About Eve"... even till now after re-watching it... It's still have a special feeling in my heart...:)
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569 Jung
January 1, 2012 at 10:58 PM
Stairway to Heaven :)
Though I also love historical dramas
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570 hellohello
January 1, 2012 at 10:59 PM
For K-dramas it was Jewel in the Palace. I had watched others before (Full House) but it was this one which sucked me in. It was all thanks to the AZN channel which was the only channel I had that aired K-dramas and their weekend marathons of Jewel in the Palace. I still remember the frustration I felt every weekend when the marathon ended. It brought me into the world of dramas and frantically searching up the Internet to find out what happened!
However, the one that really sucked me into K-dramas specifically was 49 Days and Prosecutor Princess. I love those two dramas with every inch of my being.
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571 hpn88
January 1, 2012 at 10:59 PM
Congrats on 5 years! Its even crazier to think that I have visiting this site for 3 of those 5 years now. How time flies indeed.
The drama that brought me to the dark side was Goong. I watched it in 1 weekend and I've never looked back.
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572 jinkzz
January 1, 2012 at 11:00 PM
Congratulations on your 5th anniversary.
The first drama that started my K-drama addiction was Lovers in Paris. I remember stumbling upon it by chance on youtube then did a marathon on veoh...from start to finish, I think it took me around 22-23 hours to finish... I watched it straight taking only bathroom breaks and time to heat food...hahaha... If I remember correctly, I watched this around the beginning of 2005...from that point on, it became a full-blown addiction with me soending countless hours watching every possible K-drama that I could get my hands on... lol... 2005 to 2009 have been crazy years for my k-drama addiction but it has (in my opinion) waned a bit since 2009 since I do not watch every single drama that comes out anymore but instead watch only those that are interesting to me plus I have also dropped several that was not to my liking :) part of the reason might have been due to the fact that I watch more k-variety shows now.
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jinkzz
January 1, 2012 at 11:03 PM
Come to think of it, I think I have been visiting this site for about 4.75 years now...man, that is crazy...time does fly so fast...
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573 stickyfish
January 1, 2012 at 11:00 PM
You're Beautiful brought me to the dark side. Although I didn't get any cookies for going to the dark side... that drama got me watching more and more dramas!
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574 boxtheturtle
January 1, 2012 at 11:00 PM
Although I have been watching korean dramas for a while now, my first love would have to be My Girlfriend is a Gumiho! Best drama ever
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575 Charmaine Chong
January 1, 2012 at 11:00 PM
Congratulations! :) My first drama was actually Autumn Tale (was that the title?) with Song Hye Kyo and Song Seung Hun. I was only around 12 then, and I realized then and there that I didn't like melodramas. :)) No wonder a few years later, when I started picking up Korean dramas again, I first watched My Girl, then Delightful Girl Choon Hyang, and it was all downhill after that! It was addicting! I especially sought out youthful rom-coms like Coffee Prince and You're Beautiful. While I still avoid melos like the plague, I think that someday, I'll be mature enough to actually enjoy watching them. Oooor, maybe not. ;)
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576 Verónica
January 1, 2012 at 11:01 PM
Princess Hours. I was sick at home and cable was out of service that particular day. So I started surfing through local channels and I saw this amazing scenery at this palace and some hot Asian dudes and I fell in love right away. Needless to say, I called the channel, asked for info regarding the tv show that was being aired, and found myself watching the entire series at crunchyroll.com in less than two days. And thus, my kdrama obsession began!!!! :)
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Verónica
January 2, 2012 at 8:13 PM
Forgot my email: [email protected] send me that You're Beautiful DVD set already!!!! ^_^ :D
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577 badmarkz
January 1, 2012 at 11:02 PM
full house! that's for sure.
by that time, internet was still out of my reach so i just watch any korean dramas aired on tv station. it was the time when local dramas started to get really really tiresome that even one of the most-tiring-korean-drama-ever was like a drop of water in the middle of my 'entertainment' desert.
*sigh* (not so) good ol' days.
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578 Yumi
January 1, 2012 at 11:04 PM
oooh, it was definitely you're beautiful. there was no turning back for me after 16 episodes of tae-kyung's guyliner.
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579 Jo sno
January 1, 2012 at 11:04 PM
"Personal Taste" was my first Korean Drama. A little over a year ago, I randomly stumbled accross it on hulu and tried it out. Then after I had watched a few episodes and my addiction was really starting to take hold...they pulled it off hulu! So then I had to go search it out on other websites...which led me to discover that there were other Korean dramas out there. And evenutally I stumbled accross a great site called "Dramabeans" which helped me navigate the cultural nuances of the dramas lost on this very non-Korean woman from the U.S.
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580 Bluefyre
January 1, 2012 at 11:04 PM
First of all, congratulations to us all! But especially to JB and GF :D
(also can't believe the amount of pages this post has! MAN...
Oh well, here's my two cents...
My Girl.
It was hilarious, fun, and totally addictive! Not to mention, I totally LOVED Lee Da Hae in it. And we mustn't forget Lee Dong Wook ;)
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581 Denise
January 1, 2012 at 11:05 PM
A netflix suggestion of BOYS OVER FLOWERS, brought me over to the right side, lol
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582 jenna
January 1, 2012 at 11:07 PM
Totally out of left field, I stumbled across THE juggernaut of K-drama, "Dae Jang Geum", on a public access channel. No, I'm not BS-ing you: Public access.
Somehow, a guy who works out of a closet in his folks' house (purely guesswork on my part) had gotten the U.S. distribution rights.
Anyway, he worked it out with a rinky-dink student-run station to broadcast it throughout that summer. If I recall, each episode was shown 4 or 5 times a day!
For years, the only Korean stuff I knew were, DJG, Memories of Murder (purchased from a video club because I had to make one more buy before cancelling -- do you remember video clubs?) and of course the jars of kimchee next to the plastic tubs of tofu in the supermarket. But, for only 3 things, they're 3 very good things, right? I think I lucked out; you can let me know if I'm mistaken.
Congrats on the milestone and the excellence you achieved in the process. As they say on weekend dramas when someone gives birth, "Good job!"
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583 Karsensis
January 1, 2012 at 11:07 PM
WOW Happy Anniversary Dramabeans !!!
My very first drama, the one that got me into this this whole wonderful mess, was Boys Before Flowers. I found it totally by accident one day while playing around on Hulu and I was totally hooked after one episode. I've actually gotten a lot of my family and friends into Korean dramas because of BBF, and even though its not the best written drama it will always have a very special place in my heart because...well...it was my first !
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584 Urnaa
January 1, 2012 at 11:08 PM
My drama first love is What Happened in Bali. I was rooting for Soo Jung and Jae Min. Since then i watched many dramas, i am still has weak spot for Jo In Sung's tears.
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585 happyshirt
January 1, 2012 at 11:09 PM
1st ever Autumn Sonata but not finished then Dae Jang Geum all 50+ eps cos it was just so great and different from the standard tear jerkers that had been k-dramas before. Plus its all about the power of woman!! yeah
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586 ashnia
January 1, 2012 at 11:10 PM
For me, when I was younger, I use to watch tons of hindi dramas. The world of extra marital affairs, revenge, lust, social class etc was very interesting to my 14 yr old girl inner self. Yes I was 14 at the time when all this intrigued me. But unlike K-Dramas which have a set number of episodes, Hindi Serials as the call it, goes on and on and on and on sometimes of even 1000 episodes. Until finally the show loses popularity and they create the most bizarre endings ever possible to man.
So I guess K-dramas was replacing my childhood love for dramas.
My first drama love was def Boys Over Flowers. I got into K-Pop Nov 2008. So I was pretty interested in all things Korean. By around Feb 2009, all these K-Pop idols I were fans of were talking about this drama called Boys Over Flowers. I was like what is this show. I youtube-ed it and ended up watching like 8 eps in one sitting. CRAZY. And of course in a couple of days I like caught up and couldnt wait for the next eps. Hello, to the world of K-DRAMA ADDICTION. Since than I have watched tons and tons of dramas. I even have a journal where I write down the dramas I have watched. I know I am that obsessed.
Now that I look back on it, this drama is kind of silly, with few material and TONS OF FLUFF. But hey wont like it was first love. All the hot guys, pretty girls and just plain fluff and dream like story intrigued me when I was teenager in high school. My drama tastes have now changed but BoF will forever me the first shot of soju *coughdramacough* that brought me into this whimsical world of K-Dramas.
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587 Waetoriya
January 1, 2012 at 11:10 PM
Ahh, so mainstream, but Boys Over Flowers!
I mean, who could resist that never-ending whirlwind of feelings?
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588 Nialee
January 1, 2012 at 11:10 PM
You're Beautiful!!!!!!
A.N.JELL all the way! <3 <3
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589 gia
January 1, 2012 at 11:11 PM
My first love kdrama was Hong Gil Dong...
In the first 5 minutes, i was not really in. But Sung Yuri was so natural that i feel in love with the serie... She make me cried a lot...
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590 Vayne
January 1, 2012 at 11:13 PM
The first drama that made me fall in love with dramas is Boys Over Flowers. This drama made me discover what made korean television so interesting and made me a big fan of lee min ho t the point that I had to watch anything else he was in(City Hunter, Personal Taste:P)
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591 jaimelee123
January 1, 2012 at 11:13 PM
Boys over flowers....
I <3 Gu Jun Pyo :))))))
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592 Christine
January 1, 2012 at 11:13 PM
My first kdrama was City Hall, the chemistry between the leads was sizzling hot! I was especially hooked by the kissing scene in episode 14. It was so sensuous, I replayed the scene over and over!
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593 ChoiSun
January 1, 2012 at 11:13 PM
My first drama I fell in love with was Goong/Princess Hours.
At the beginning I did not know anything about K-Dramas because there are not that popular here in Germany.
But it all started when I read the manga of Goong. I was so interested that I researched about it and then I found out that there is a korean drama about it , so I decided to give it a try. I really enjoyed every minute of this drama and I was so upset that it ended. I found the actress was really good so I started to watch other dramas from her. I realized that not only the series in Germany or in America are good but the dramas in South Korea aswell. I am really thankful that I watched Goong and find the K-drama world. If not I would not have seen those beautiful dramas and this site so I NEVER REGRET IT and I WILL NEVER REGRET IT!
e-mail: [email protected]
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594 Diane Wu
January 1, 2012 at 11:13 PM
Pasta was my first K-Drama - all thanks to one bored summer night and hulu! Since, it was my first drama I loved it. It was cheesy, cute, and something better than the cable and Chinese TV shows that I was watching! Thanks to Pasta, I watched Personal Taste. My first love - Lee Min Ho! And I bet you know what my next drama love was - no, not BOF that was the fourth, it was You're Beautiful- by that time I was addicted! Now, I knew the meaning of a K-Drama addict. At times I wouldn't sleep until the sun rose or 15 mins. late to work just because I couldn't wait until the next day/after work to watch the next episode. Because of my new addiction I found you, dramabeans. You were and still are my best friend the K-drama world next to allkpop :p I go on your site almost everyday just to catch up on my dramas (that you recap) to keep up in case I can't watch or won't watch, but just read and let you do all the work, kekeke ^.^ Because of my addiction I came to love K-pop and K-music in general then onto Korean culture and especially their food! I don't know how my life would be if it weren't for that faithful night. Happy anniversary dramabeans and may there be more years to come for us to rant about dramas we love and hate!! ^_*
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595 jandoe
January 1, 2012 at 11:14 PM
Winter Sonata - a Kdrama virgin then, everything about WS brought me over to a time and place I never knew existed. Unrequited love never looked so beautiful! (then)
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596 Mariama Bah
January 1, 2012 at 11:15 PM
wow, happy birthday and thanks for all the K-Drama love. my first love into the world of Kdrama is A Love To Kill by Rain and i fell in love with him also from there
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597 SimSimani
January 1, 2012 at 11:15 PM
Happy Birthday! :)
My first drama (and drama love) was Playful Kiss, early last year.
I was sick, in bed, and I had just cancelled cable due to my addiction to Jersey Shore (don't judge!!) . So I logged on to Hulu to wtch something, and somehow decided to watch PK (Must have been KHJ's looks ;-) ).
16 hours later, I realized I'd marathoned through the entire thing. Obsession doesn't even begin to describe the first few weeks - I watched PK a couple of times, and then off I went in search of more! And the rest, as they say, is history :)
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598 anon123
January 1, 2012 at 11:16 PM
You're Beautiful!
It's funny because I remember watching kdramas in the past that were shown in our local tv channels, but You're Beautiful was the first I got addicted to and watched in my computer on my own. It was the start of my love for kdramas.:D
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599 martalena
January 1, 2012 at 11:17 PM
Definately Coffee Prince..
By watching this drama, make me want to persuit my dream. Finally taking a barista course and now have a small coffee shop in town.
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600 Ktichel17
January 1, 2012 at 11:17 PM
My first love was the japanese of Hana Yori Dango. Til lthis day that drama gives me chills! After that I found my way in to other dramas and i NEVER went back!! ^^
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