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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1101 jantina144
January 2, 2012 at 7:47 AM
Soulmate was the drama that sucked me in. I can't even remember how long ago it was, maybe 3-4 years. And I haven't stopped since! I have actually reduced my American show watching to fit in more dramas!
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1102 dee
January 2, 2012 at 7:49 AM
Stairway to Heaven :(!
my mom made me watch dramas with here haha XD but i really did like this one even though i cried buckets!
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1103 AnAn
January 2, 2012 at 7:50 AM
Coffee Prince was the first drama I fell in love with, I laughed and cried more than I ever had watching anything else. The plot and characters were really magnificent. It really gave me the push to dive into asian drama, and i've been hooked ever since. Even now, I watch Coffee Prince and it seems my worries are alleviated and I still laugh and cry by the bucketload.
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1104 Daniela
January 2, 2012 at 7:50 AM
Coffee Prince! That was my first drama. I slept at 7 am one night (ok, morning) because I HAD to end episode 12. I watched the whole drama in 2 days or less.
It is, until this day, my favorite drama, the first on my list. Also, I fell in love with Gong Yoo (gorgeous man).
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1105 baby panda
January 2, 2012 at 7:51 AM
My bf told me to watch my name is kim sam soon and i've been addicted to k dramas ever since.
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1106 Yangi93
January 2, 2012 at 7:52 AM
BOYS BEFORE FLOWERS it was the first thing one ever watched benn hooked ever since :)
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1107 Laura
January 2, 2012 at 7:53 AM
Bottom of the 9th with 2 Outs was my first k-drama love, so different to other dramas and series I'd watched before. Although I have seen many better dramas later, I still love this one a lot.
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1108 jebbah
January 2, 2012 at 7:54 AM
'Soul mate' was the very first drama I watched and it hooked me frlm day one. I never turned back since.
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1109 mim
January 2, 2012 at 7:55 AM
Boys Over Flowers for me, too. I think I've watched kdramas before but that one was the one that got me into kdramas and reading blogs and etcetc.
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1110 zoe ji
January 2, 2012 at 7:55 AM
Dae Jang Geum was my first drama and first love. It was airing on a Vietnamese channel so I just started watching it. Before I knew it, I was hooked. It was also the first time I had that much patient to sit through a 50 episodes drama.
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1111 salt
January 2, 2012 at 7:55 AM
i can't even remember how i stumbled on to the da*n thing but the one drama that introduced me to the world of K-drama is BOF. and since then there was no turning back. that drama was the reason that i found this site... HAPPY BIRTHDAY...
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1112 Nam
January 2, 2012 at 7:55 AM
Meteor Garden (2001)- if between k-drama, tw-drama,ch-drama and j-drama. MG is my first drama love and I guess it is the same for most of us here in the Philippines. MG, specifically F4, started the whole Asianovela/ asian drama fever. Before MG the only Asian actor I knew were Hong Kong-based actors like Jackie Chan and Jet Li. But when F4 came--they came in a wave. They came with the "gigolo-ish" hair and clothes, the Chinese-songs-we-don't-understand-but-love-to-sing and the infamous F4 PEPSI commercial!
Goong or Princess Hours (2006) if it's only for k-drama. Before Goong I liked really masculine looking lead actors like Jerry Yan. But when Jo Ji Hoon appeared on TV wearing his almost-girly prince costume it was love at first sight! Goong's Chae Kyeong played by Yoon Eun Hye was also the reason why I started loving k-drama female leads. They are usually spunky, OA, outspoken and very animated. Just watching Chae Kyeong's delusions about kicking Lee Shin's ass made me want TO BE IN A KOREAN DRAMA! <3 <3
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1113 eret
January 2, 2012 at 7:55 AM
my first drama was boys over cause i was curious on other version ,,i watch the japanese should had stuck with that one but it kind of open my eyes and i started looking for the many awesome kdramas!!!!
congrats dramabeans!!!!
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1114 indigirl9000
January 2, 2012 at 7:56 AM
My Girl!! I stayed up till like 4 am everyday just so I could finish it!
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1115 Little One
January 2, 2012 at 7:58 AM
My first drama that I ever fell in love with was Stairway to Heaven. I know it's a rather old drama, but Kwon Sang Woo was so charming and perfect. I also loved that he truly loved her and was more than willing to give up an eye for her, just so that they could see the world together. Choi Ji Woo's character was strong and spunky. What brought me over to the "dark side" was the storyline and characters. Everybody did such a good job. This is the first and only drama I've ever cried about. I'd rush home with my family from a party just to finish the drama :). Haha.
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1116 Pat
January 2, 2012 at 7:58 AM
winter sonata (yea - i know it dates me.....lol) the chemistry beteween bae yong jun and choi ji woo (and their innocent love) really caught my heart.....and of course the amnesia story line - i mean who wouldnt be sold?! :)
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1117 Memlu
January 2, 2012 at 7:58 AM
Congrats on turning five! Five! The magical age at which children stop being completely feral and start transforming into something sort of resembling a human. Oh, wait, that sounds kind of insulting. UH.
Anyway!
My first kdrama was--as I think it was for many other people--My Name Is Kim Sam-Soon/My Lovely Sam-Soon, way back in Autumn 2005. I'd asked some friends on-line for recommendations for shows to watch and someone suggests MNIKSS. I don't remember quite how she sold it to me--after all, this was back in 2005--but whatever she said, it worked, and a couple days later I was settling down with the first couple episodes.
I've watched lots of dramas since and I've enjoyed other dramas much more, but MNIKSS will always have a special place in my heart; there are things it did, moments it gave me, emotions, that have stayed with me for seven years. I remember that opening scene in the hotel, with Sam-soon heartbroken and angry at her heartbreak, and how it struck me so powerfully (I was in high school at the time and no stranger to unwanted heartbreak). I remember being so MAD at Jin-heon for the first couple episodes, because I'd grown so attached to Sam-soon so quickly, and then, almost to my horror, coming to like and even love him in short order. I remember (oh, my God! So clearly!) Sam-soon sitting on the swing in her yard and thinking of her father; I've had a contentious relationship with my father all my life, and at two in the morning as I watched Sam-soon alternate between being angry at and longing for her dead father, I started crying and couldn't stop for a very, very long time. I went to school with a monster of a headache three hours later, and when I got home at six that night, I started watching the next episode right away. I remember Sam-soon trudging along a dusty road with her high heels in one hand, and I suppose in many ways that image of Sam-soon persevering despite discomfort and the pettiness of others, of Sam-soon maintaining her dignity and fighting back and never, ever giving up, characterizes the show for me. Maybe there have been other kdramas since, but so few of them have touched me the way MNIKSS did. It came at precisely the right time for me, during my senior year of high school just as I was giving up emotionally on a lot of things, and it pulled me through. Kim Sam-soon reminded me of love, love between mother and daughters, between sisters, between friends and strangers as well as lovers, at a time when I sorely needed to believe in it.
Hahaha, sorry! This is kind of an embarrassing comment, oh, gosh. Now that I think about it, I still really need to rewatch MNIKSS. I meant to when Samsooki was recapping the series in 2011, but I think maybe it didn't feel private enough to rewatch it at the same time as so many others. (Oh, Lord, that sounds so weird.)
I've actually already got the You're Beautiful director's cut, which means this comment is even more embarrassing. I just wanted to talk about MNIKSS!
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Memlu
January 2, 2012 at 7:59 AM
OH, GOD, THIS COMMENT IS SO LONG. AHHHHHHHH. Everyone ignore me, please!
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1118 cookieprincess
January 2, 2012 at 8:00 AM
Meteor Garden was the drama that first brought me over to the dark side! :P It was the first Asian drama shown here in the Philippines (subbed in Filipino) and it started the drama craze here! I was still in college and I remember rushing home in the afternoon so I that wouldn't miss an episode. I haven't looked stopped watching dramas ever since.
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1119 Jessica L.
January 2, 2012 at 8:08 AM
I had just lost my job and was looking for something to watch during the day that was not Oprah or Maury Povichs' Who my baby daddy. I stumbled upon Kim Sam Soon and that was it. Sadly most dramas have not lived up to Samsoon:(
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1120 Hapoy
January 2, 2012 at 8:08 AM
Got hooked on K-dramas after watching Successful Story of a Bright Girl starring Jang Hyuk and Jang Nara. It seemed like ages ago when the series came out but I remembered watching the vcds (yup, way back then when Vcds were still in circulation) through the night and went to work looking like a panda. I really liked the storyline although Jang Hyuk did "overact" in some of the scenes when he was supposed to appear angry. Jang Nara wasn't the prettiest of all actresses but she was sweet and I really enjoyed the chemistry between the two leads. For me, the show had a feel good factor. Many dramas came along after that which were really good but SSBG certainly started it off for me :-)
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1121 Love 49
January 2, 2012 at 8:08 AM
I started watching kdrama's .... In 2007 ~" full house" was the one that got me hooked~~~~ followed by "my girl"~ " stairway to heaven" ~and my life was never the same :)
Btw happy 5th birthday!!!
E Id : tpsnowangel@gmail. com
:)
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1122 Blanche
January 2, 2012 at 8:10 AM
Winter Sonata when i was seven years old.
My babysitter, who was also a close family friend borrowed all 20 episodes of this drama on VHS,
and we spent that whole night watching each episode under a fluffy blanket, while she cried the whole night.
My mother was horrified to see us awake at 11:30 at night and berated us to go to sleep.
I still remember Bae Yong Joon's face when his childhood memories returned.
sigh...
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1123 hey1308
January 2, 2012 at 8:11 AM
Okay, you might not believe it, maybe you might.... my first ever k-drama was 49 days. Yes, that melodrama story that Ji Hyun had to find 3 tears.... since then i'm looking forward to watching k-dramas.. hehe ;)
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1124 ruby
January 2, 2012 at 8:14 AM
This question makes me feel old - (although I saw it a few years after it aired) All About Eve and Successful Story of a Bright Girl. Before that I wasn't much interested in Korean dramas, only in Korean film.
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ruby
January 2, 2012 at 8:20 AM
By the way, congratulations! I stumbled on this site 5 years ago during the Coffee Prince days, and have appreciated the quality of writing consistently put up.
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1125 Gaby
January 2, 2012 at 8:16 AM
Happy 5th anniversary
Boys over flowers..
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1126 Amy C.
January 2, 2012 at 8:17 AM
My first K-Drama was Goong and it is still one of my favourites. When I first watched it, I was in the final semester of my master's program and super stressed. Came across the drama because I was watching old X-Man clips on YouTube to destress and Yoon Eun Hye was often a guest. So Goong often popped up as a related video. Started watching Goong and then next thing I know, I was watching through the night and totally ignoring that stack of articles I had to read for class.
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1127 CS
January 2, 2012 at 8:18 AM
The drama that brought me over to the dark side was Full House. I had accidentally stumbled upon it on a local tv station that plays kdramas. A few minutes of this show had me wanting more. I found myself coming back to the show week after week till I discovered other shows on the internet. Five years later, the fascination not only continues with Kdramas but has evolved to include jdramas and twdramas.
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1128 daniela
January 2, 2012 at 8:18 AM
Dae Jang Geum, my very first k-drama! And it began the madness- Dong Yi, Full house, Spring days, ... Tree with deep roots.
I discovered this site in April 2011 and it remain on my fav. list.
Congratulations on your 5th Anniversary!
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1129 kyary
January 2, 2012 at 8:18 AM
Mine would be 49 Days! It's not the first drama I watched but it's the one that pulled me into k-drama land. My first k-drama was Boys Over Flowers and I absolutely hated it. It wasn't nearly as good as the Japanese version and the main actress annoyed me. 49 Days was different though. Ji Hyun (Nam Gyuri) was so cute and loveable and the Scheduler (Jung Il Woo) stole my heart. I thought that the plot was interesting and original and after watching it...I regret nothing :D
I'm glad I watched 49 Days because otherwise, I wouldn't watch another k-drama again :P
My email is [email protected]
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1130 sassyhufflepuff
January 2, 2012 at 8:20 AM
Happy birthday Dramabeans!
My first love was Boys Over Flowers. As soon as Saxophone Bestie pulled out his sax for the first time, I was completely hooked. And Lee Min HOpp......dayum! SO HOT!
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1131 Jen
January 2, 2012 at 8:20 AM
As embarrassing as it is to admit: Boys Over Flowers.
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1132 Masumah Mad
January 2, 2012 at 8:20 AM
My first one was You're Beautiful. My friend (who was already a kdrama fan) wouldn't stop talking about it for weeks so I gave it a try and pretty much fell in love. It led to a slight obsession with Hong sister dramas and CN Blue (and also got me into the world of kpop). It became so bad that at some points I had to watch them secretly at night so that my mum wouldn't catch me. Ah, good times. :)
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1133 neb
January 2, 2012 at 8:21 AM
first i want to say 10q 4 every recoups,and my first k drama was sad love story.i saw the last part were he got killed. i don't know what happed or what the story is i just cried. when he looked loving at her.i saw it in another channel. in another Lang. and than i meet boys over flowers and i could not stop after it.
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1134 Jenny
January 2, 2012 at 8:21 AM
Coffee Prince! Cross-dressing, sizzling chemistry, cute boys and plenty of angst all around. What's not to love?
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1135 Kirsche
January 2, 2012 at 8:22 AM
It's also FULL HOUSE for me! Happy anniversary Dramabeans!
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1136 shevie21
January 2, 2012 at 8:22 AM
The first drama I watched was Boys Over Flowers. Looking back, it was not the best show but googling for the OST for the show brought me to dramabeans and I've never left.
Congrats on turning 5 and thanks for all ur hard work. Best site ever!
But the show that got me addicted and made k-dramas (and all things korean) a permanent part of my life is 49 days. I found myself surprisingly connected with the characters which isn't an easy thing to do (i'm very picky).
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1137 Bonnie
January 2, 2012 at 8:22 AM
My Girl!!!
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1138 kiwi
January 2, 2012 at 8:22 AM
My first drama I fell in love with (like I was obsessed) was Full House. (Although, now I can't even stand that drama anymore, LOL.)
I was a little girl back then, and I first got exposed to the drama while I was at my aunt's house. (funny enough, I was in Korea, too!) She had the TV on, and it was playing a re-run of an episode of Full House (sadly, I don't exactly remember what happened...)
But yeah.
Full House started it all. Made me into a kdrama addict.
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1139 Sophia
January 2, 2012 at 8:25 AM
Coffee Prince!!!! XD
Previously, k-dramas would equal amnesia, birth secrets and bucket full of tears in my brain... until coffee prince. It was the quality and execution of this well-written drama that drew me in ( the music was just so awesome!!!) and made me a fan of k-dramas ( and k-indie music). =)
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1140 sleepypanda
January 2, 2012 at 8:26 AM
Coffee Prince ! It was my first K-drama..and I fell in love with.. Of course Gong Yoo is my all time favorite actor since then ^^
Fisrt I couldnt get used to it their language at all. But after 3 episode I was like " I have to watch this!!!" I finished 15 episode like in 2 days..Their acting was awsome! I wacthed last 2 episode 2 weeks after, because it was so beautiful and special I didnt want to let it go.. T-T Yeah sounds so cheesy.. well... I bought DVD and watched again and again.. so yeah I became d-addict !!
Congratulations on your 5th Anniversary! :)
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1141 kpax
January 2, 2012 at 8:28 AM
Boys Over Flowers all the way! If a drama can make me think the perfect guy wears pink pants, Beethoven-esque blouses and has big permed hair then you know it has cast some major love spell.
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1142 ro
January 2, 2012 at 8:30 AM
my first love was my girl. but my true love is coffee prince. :)
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1143 stranger
January 2, 2012 at 8:31 AM
Goong! The one that led me to the world of kdramas. And developed my love for Yoon Eun-hye.
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1144 mvl
January 2, 2012 at 8:32 AM
my lovely sam soon/my name is kim sam soon was my 1st & remains my favorite k-drama. my watching it was a accident. my then cable server was trying to tempt me to buy more expensive package by teasing me w/channels i didn't currently have for a couple of weeks. as i was cheerfully flicking through the different channels i happened apon azn, the asian channel (that no longer exist) & they happen to be showing this korean drama & i just fell in love w/the character kim sam soon. i was able to watch several episode, although i can't remember what episode i 1st started watching, before my cable server stopped the free watching. but i even try to watch it as it would flicker & i couldn't read the english subtitles. that put me on a search for getting the video. i was able to watch the 1st 3 episodes on azn internet site. so i went looking for the video. i do admit to culture ignorance, being a middle age aa woman (still unforgivable) i went to a chinese video store looking for the video, of course they didn't have it. i finially found a korean video store but they didn't carry my lovely sam soon w/english subtitles. but this introduced me to a vast array of other k-dramas. i was also looking on line for it but at that time no of drama sites had access to it. i was frustrated but still hopeful. xmas was coming & requested it as a gift for the season. my sister bought it for me. let me say this i also asked for a dvd player for the holiday too because at the time i didn't own 1. i'm old school & not that into technology. so i can say the my lovely sam soon open up whole new worlds to me. i have probably watch the video close to a hundred times. i have also introduced others to it & they have loved it too. i had my lovely sam soon parties to introduce it to groups of my friends. that's my story & i'm sticking to it!
can i just add i think javabean & girlfriday should think about writing a drama. i think it would be awesome!!!
happy new year!
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1145 nimagooy
January 2, 2012 at 8:32 AM
The drama that made me fall in love with Korean dramas has got to be Autumn's Tale. It was my first drama that made me bawl like a little baby so it definitely left such a deep impression on me. Every time I rewatch it, I just shed so many tears!
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1146 creidesca
January 2, 2012 at 8:32 AM
Surprisingly, my first K-drama was the family drama from KBS, 내사랑 누굴까 (Who's My Love). I was attracted to Lee Tae Ran's portrayal of Lee Ha Na and her interaction to Kim Jung Hyun's role of Kim Sang Sik.
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1147 amysticlady
January 2, 2012 at 8:32 AM
CONGRATZ DB on ur B'day!! :)
My very first k-drama was full house..When I started watching that, I didn't even know that it was Korean!! yeah...it was dubbed!! aft the 11th episode, they suddenly stopped the drama. By then I was hooked and decided 2 search online for it...the rest is history!!
It was the first time I fell in love with a character (Rain)...and it took a certain Lee Seunggi to cure me off it!!
My fav drama however is MGIAG...*sigh*
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1148 comradeS
January 2, 2012 at 8:33 AM
My first love in k-dramas was "My Name is Kim Sam Soon". I saw it on Hulu and I was like, "SOUTH KOREA MAKES TV SHOWS?!?" It sounds really ignorant, but I literally knew nothing about the Koreas besides the little bits they fed to me about the Korean War in high school. I had always wanted to learn more about Korea and it seemed an easy way to see and learn some Korean culture. Plus, it seemed to have a quirky heroine and a hot guy for a love interest.
1 year and 32 k-dramas later -- and I am chained forever.
[email protected]
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1149 Fasha Mamat
January 2, 2012 at 8:34 AM
I can say proudly..... WINTER SONATA..2002
i still remember...malaysia all have bae yong jun fever at that time..
i even save money for 3 month to buy a full box of winter sonata cd at that time ..price RM165 = around 60 dolar(a huuuge amout for a a 13 years old girl)
everytime i walk the cd shop, i will stare at the cd box for 5 minute,when i finally buy it...i cry
it still in my room,safely in my pink box...forever as my treasure / founder to the amazing k-drama land
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1150 RawrItsKaren
January 2, 2012 at 8:35 AM
Congratz on the 5 year annivarsary! You guys are amazing!
Heh, first drama to the dark side, eh....that would have to be You're Beautiful. Oddly enough, it was my korean friend who wanted nothing to do with dramas, kpop, etc who brought me over and watched it with me together! This one I'll always have a soft spot for, as it's probably the reason my grades tumbled, and the reason I was up at 2am. I just got completely sucked into dramaland!
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