K-drama has had two major impacts on my daily life: (1) I started to learn Korean, and (2) I have made substantial efforts to get strong foundations in Korean history so as to better understand the context of the historical dramas I love to watch. :3

Although, I haven't read all the comments; I'm in agreement with most. Here's where my Kdrama love has taken me in life:
1. If a drama is not too complicated, dialogue-wise, I can understand it without subs.
2. Learning Korean is an ongoing process; so far, I can read Hangul and speak a few conversational phrases ("Otteokke" is one of my favorite).
3. I love Kimchi and Seaweed; they are now mandatory additions to all of my meals.
4. I went from buying Korean food to making it at home. Right now I have Cabbage Kimchi and Daikon Kimchi in my fridge. I also make Dwengjjangjigae (or miso soup) every week. I've even tried my hand at Ddeokbokki and Jjajangmyun.
5. Of course, I can't forgot my Kpop addiction!

Most of the things I've now started doing are little things. Like saying common phrases and words in Korean because of heard them so often in dramas they've leaked into my everyday speech. Also I try to eat practically everything with chopsticks. As silly as it is, it just makes eating more fun:) The biggest thing though is I've also become obsessed with the music. I always considered myself to have eclectic tastes when it comes to music but now its even more diverse all thanks to K-dramas. Gotta Love 'Em

Rae

Any one i come into contact, i make sure to share my love for Kdramas and i have made so many friends based on our love for the K-drama. I also have started using Korean phrases and crave Korean food! In fact, my friend and I actually planned to visit Korea next year for the first time in honor of our addiction to the Korean drama and culture!

My taste in men changed ! Lol ....

Never thought feminine looking guys with skinny legs would excite me !

I've started to learn Korean and about Korean culture! K-dramas are so different from other countries and the first time I was hooked by k-dramas, I was so fascinated with Korean Culture.

I also started eating more Korean foods :) My best friend is Korean and she loves the fact that I'm in love with Korean culture because we get to watch dramas together, go to Korean restaurants and other stuff ^^

I also started saving up to go to Seoul on vacation :D I actually wanna go there on a scholarship or something, maybe a summer program of some sort.

since watching k-dramas i have started listening to k-pop,loosing sleep to watch a new episode( alot of sleep),and getting a few of my friends hooked also:)

I started eating Kimchi (lol) and bibimbap. I also started to self-study Korean.

I'm currently on cross country trip with two Singaporean friends whom I've never met before till this trip. But we've known each other for 3 years. And how did this come about? Through the power of the Koreans that is.

eating ramyun out of a pot:)....and checking out just about every kbbq place in ktown:)

hmm...i have kimchi in the fridge. i try to eat korean food (out) as often as i can. i pretty much only listen to korean music. i'm self-learning korean. all sad and true. ;)

I watch more Korean Dramas than Hollywood shows or movies. Always craving for Korean food. Just went to Toronto for business and what was the first thing I did after checking in my hotel......went to the Korean Restaurant across the street to eat Korean BBQ dinner...alone!!! Totally enjoyed it. I read about Korean actors and actresses. I dream about being reborn as a Korean actress so I can star beside Lee Min Ho or Hyun Bin or Song Seoung Hoon! Last but not least........I regularly visit your website...Dramabeans.com to read your latest blog and recaps. Love you guys. Congratulations.

I went through a bunch of phases when i got addicted (what am I saying? I'm still addicted!) to K-dramas. First phase was using phrases like "Ahjussi" and " Kansahmida" with friends. We also listened obsessively to Kpop.

Second phase involved searching for jobs teaching english in korea and dreaming about the various Kdrama heroes proposing to me. :P This was the phase of Super Junior, and all my friends had dibs on one or the other member of some group and knew everything about them.

Right now, I'm into Korean food and their culture. This has resulted in watching Arirang, their main channel(?) and learning more about the history of Korea. :D Someday I hope to learn the language and travel so i can experience their culture! :)

It made me love everything about Korea. EXCEPT the temper of the mother in laws in every drama. Makes me think twice about hitching.
Anyways, I LOVE(X3) the clothes to the men to the story and more importantly the scenery, cool weather and the actresses 'egg-like glowing faces' (What facial products are they using man!! Or is there something in the water? Twinge with envy)!!
Eversince I start watching k-dramas, the first thing I NEVER fail to do when I on my laptop is to click on DRAMABEANS.COM (Crazy huh? But serious. I do that subconsciously that it has become my most viewed pages on google chrome)
I've signed up for Korean lessons and I am thinking of taking a break from work. Rent a house in korea and have a 3 months break!! Imagine the shopping, the food and the scenery. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH, it makes me drool and inspire me to earn more $$$.
How's that for an answer?
P.S: I’m NOT a resident of US/Canada.

Hello! Firstly, thanks once again for picking me as one of the winners of the 1st giveaway! Never did I once think I'd win something, out of the many, many readers at this site! It was awesome to receive an email from javabeans too! :P

I skimmed through some of the earlier comments, and it looks like we are all in the same boat! After jumping on the K-drama bandwagon, I've taken Korean lessons at a local language school, and just last weekend I stumbled upon an old Korean movie, A Moment to Remember (starring Jung Woo-sung & Son Ye-jin - seriously, they don't look like they've aged a day, even though the movie was released in 2004 :O ) on youtube, and successfully watched the entire thing in Korean without subtitles! :D I haven't done that before, but it did help that the movie didn't really have very difficult-to-understand lines, but still, I consider it a personal achievement! *grin*

I can't help but smile knowingly to all the comments about using all the Korean expressions unconsciously - in exasperation "aishhh" comes out of my mouth; "aigoooo" when I'm trying to carry something heavy; and I think I once snapped at someone who bumped into me with a loud "YAH!!!". HAHAHA.

I've also developed a love for Korean food (tried soju before but I guess it's cos I'm not really into alcohol, it tasted like medicine to me :/ ), Korean music (first started with K-drama OSTs) and I am making plans to go for summer exchange in Korea this year! Can't wait to physically step on the ground of the land that has captured my interest so, so much. :D

I'm not a resident of US/Canada! You guys who are, you're so lucky to be able to access Dramafever!

Watching kdramas made me follow Jang Keun Seuk on twitter!
I was just reading a twit and my friend sitting beside me during lunch break was really impressed that I can read Korean! I told her I use the translation mode, and that was it! She knows I've gone kdrama crazy!!!
I would really want to thank kdramas in saving my sanity after a day's work. It's my way of de-stressing.
Kamsahamnida!

(not a resident of US/Canada)

Kdrama brought me three major things for the last 7 years:

1) Exchange student scholarship in 2008. I still remember what the screening staff told me: "You like Jewel in the Palace (Dae Jang Geum) so much, right? Why don't you apply for a year round scholarship in Korea?"

2) Administrative Officer position in the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines in 2010. "My Korean name is Young Ae." That was part of my self-intro I gave the Korean Embassy official during my job interview.

3) Founding the Korean Drama Society in the Philippines 2011. I thought it would be good to have an umbrella organization for the many kdrama fanclubs in my country.

Watching and writing about Kdrama were just a hobby to me before, but now it is something that is part of my daily life, something that will 'energize' me everyday ^^

*I'm not a resident of US/Canada

I started using a lot of korean words and people look at me weird. For examaple chincha haha :D

BO!

You want to know how KDrama's have changed me?

I know where all of the HMarts are in a 50 mile radius of my house (there are 3!). I know that American Soju is less potent than those sold in Korea. I eat almost everything with stainless steel chopsticks. I love Bulgogi.

I once had a 45 minute conversation with a korean american girl who was watching a drama on her ipad on the train and quickly found that I have seen more dramas than she has! I told her about Dramabeans!

I have kpop programmed into both my lastfm and pandora accounts (can't understand a word still...).

But the most important change that KDrama's have brought to my life since watching KDrams is becoming Cha Seung Won's #1 African American Stalker!!! He's my screen saver at work.

I stared learning Korean and eating at Korean barbecues. Yum Yum!

Definitely trying to eat a greater variety of korean food :D. yumm.

Not much has changed since I started watching kdramas, but I HAVE started to try Korean food -- which is a bit interesting as I'm really not a meat eater. I've also attempted to make my own kimchi (both cabbage and radish) and come up with something edible.

Of course, the best thing that has come out of the attempt is that I absolutely ADORE daikon radish. It's now my favorite snack. ^^

(Not a US/Canadian resident.)

Well, I only started watching Korean dramas really recently, in fact, my very first k-drama was actually Vampire Prosecutor. I loved it soooo much, and I was really disappointed that there wasn't much about it on the internet, so I did something different and created a fyeahvampireprosecutor tumblr blog. That was unusual for me because I usually tend to be a lurker, and I would never have considered creating a fandom blog before. Since then I've been able to connect with other fans on tumblr, and it's been a lot of fun. I can't wait for season two! :D

Spend 18 hours and more of my wake hours curled up with my laptop just to finish watching an entire 16 or more episode of kdrama watching it over and over, reliving every moments and details as if it’s the first time I’ve watched it! =)

*I am NOT a resident of US/Canada.

I think the craziest thing I did because of k-drama is being in Japan and trying to go to Dream High's concert, last September. You had to have bought the (ultra expensive) DVDs, which I didn't, but that didn't stop me of taking a plane so I arrived in Japan the day before the concert, and going to the stadium just in case I was able to enter. Moreover, that day I lost my credit card, and I was willing to not eat anything just to watch Kim Soo-hyun and the others.

...OK, mainly Kim Soo-hyun lol And sadly, I wasn't able to enjoy the concert :(

If it has to be daily, I suppose it would be starting to learn Korean and using it even with my parents, who aren't interested in it at all xD Because even if I went twice to Korea, it was more because of k-music (but hey, I did go to Coffee Prince and other drama places!) ^^;

I'm not a resident of US/Canada~ And my e-mail is yoio AT hotmail.com

I think I'm going to spill coffee on a charming but short-tempered man and that we'll fall in love.

I think I've mainly just delved into the Korean culture a lot more. I exposed myself to Korean food and learn to fall deeply in love with kimbab, haha. My music tastes have also greatly shifted and you'll find me mainly listening to Korean songs all the time now. My Korean friends also find it greatly entertaining to discuss drama and music topics with me now. I think it brought a new aspect to our interactions and hangouts, so it's been grand. :)

I am a US resident and my email is [email protected].

Kdrama and Korea in general have made me done the weirdest things.

First, learning the language. I've caught a lot of Korean words while watching and listening to dramas, shows and music. It's crazy, without being able to read Korean or ever having attempted to learn it, I already know over 150 words just by watching and listening to Korean things.
Second, the food. Marveling over eating with the same weird spoon as they did in dramas roflmao. I even tried the thing where they wrap meat in lettuce and I felt like a drama heroine as I sat in the Korean restaurant lmao XD
Thirdly, the music. I got into Kpop and this is kind of my biggest past time right now. I've stopped listening to American music a long time ago. I spend my past time watching my idols and fangirling. I stayed up to 6 am just to see the release of teaser pictures. I'm a huge fangirl lol and I know abnormally much about the idols I care about.
Also, an annoying thing of me is that I'm using random Korean words or even Engrish sentences through my normal usage of vocabulary. Please note that I'm neither Korean nor English. I'm saying 'don't go~', 'lies~', 'shut up!', 'wanna die?' etc in Korean and for Engrish 'STR~ESS' and other lyrics of songs.
I also started to use aegyo. I live in Europe so aegyo isn't normal but I've started to use aegyo which is an absolute disaster lmao.

Korean things have definitely started to become a big part of my life!

Ah yeah, I forgot to mention that I'm not a resident of the USA.

And Kpop definitely forced me to go berserk twice when SMTOWN and JYJ came to Europe and I couldn't go because I had my exams. As a student who barely earns 100 euros a month, I was willing to pay more than 300 euros for a concert for my bias lol. Kpop makes me crazy like that.

I started saying kdrama catchphrases like "ggoraji hagoneun" from Fantasy Couple, "you're fired" from Last Scandal, and "haarrrt brrrake" from Best Love.

Watching k-dramas have led to me actually taking classes to learn Korean and I'm going to Korean restaurants a LOT more often since then :p

gahh, i hope it's not too late!! in the name of kdrama, i've started to say "aishhhh" whenever crap happens haha. my sister noticed me saying it and she was like what the heck?? haha. but after kdramas, i've become more aware of korean culture and wanna eat korean food :D

Omg. Well I am korean and after visiting korea and stumbling upon the craziness of korean dramas I have taken my addiction and passed it on to many different people. My close friend and I have not taken Sunday's as our drama days. We watch korean dramas all day and eat korean food...well we ate chinese the other day because we were so lazy to drive farther for the korean.

I've started to eat ramyun in a little pot rather than a bowl. Actually, every time i watch a drama, i always end up eating ramyun because the way that they eat their food make me soo hungry. Not to mention, i tried a rice cake because I saw it being eaten in a drama.

Because of K-dramas...I really want to use words like Oppa and say "sumida" after everything! Basically, it's gotten me really interested in the language! Yay Kdramas!

kdrama made me love korean food!!! also made me motivated to learn some korean ^^

Honestly, how has K-drama changed me personally? I buy the lunch box set of chicken or beef bulgogi at the Korean stall for lunch almost every working day.

AND to the annoyance of my office mates and family members, I say "jinjja" in several different ways in reaction to an incident: e.g.-

1) "Uh jinjja??" in reaction to someone telling me something I didn't know and I am truly surprised by it.

2) "Ahh jinjja!!" in reaction to the photocopier being out of paper.

3) "hisssshhh jinjja!" in the way the local ahjumma would say it when she disapproves of something she sees

3) "... jinjjaaa..." in reaction to everything else that can be related by the words "seriously" or "really".

Also, I am convinced that my 6 month old daughter calls me "Omma" instead of "mama" or other "mmmaaa" babbling sounds.

-not a US/Canada resident-

Watching Korean dramas has made me appreciate many of my friends better. Many of them are Korean and I now understand some of the cultural things that they talk about, like saunas and Chuseok. Thank you Dramabeans!!

I am an US resident!

I'm really glad that my best friend introduced me to K-Dramas. Although this might sound silly, k-dramas have helped me get through some of my worst times by offering me comfort, laughter and issues to sympathize with. Also, not only k-dramas, but variety shows as well! This year I am starting to learn the Korean language because my best friend and I will be traveling to Korea in 2013! I am so excited for that! I plan to visit places like the "Sam-Soon Steps" (I should probably learn the actual name, lol!) and other places such as Hongdae and Jeju Island.

Honestly, K-dramas have been a great hobby that has been in my life since 2009. I am quite proud to say that I am a K-Drama fan. :D

By watching kdrama, I'm starting to pick up various korean phrases and definitely eating more korean food!

K-dramas changed my life. I started eating Korean foods and learning to cook them. I even bought some recipe books. Bibimbap is one of my favorites. I also started learning Korean in my own. Most of it I understand now. I even call an older girl friend unni. Oh, and I also learned writing the characters. And because of this craziness, I spread the love to my family and friends. My mom learned Korean through me and she got addicted in watching k-dramas. I also call her eomma. And even though she doesn't understand as much as I do, I still talk to her in Korean language. I even say the expressions i often see such as aigoo, aishh and so on. In k-dramaland, I especially love sageuk dramas so I started
finding more about the history of korea. Dong yi inspired me! Basically, k-dramaland became my world. It is my greatest dream to be able to go to Korea. I'm even planning on applying as an exchange student there. :D

definitely doing all-nighters was the biggest change. i never went to watch for straight hours. and that was what kdramas made me do.

not a us or canada resident

my hard disk got filled up with kdramas. i cant leave the next episode unwatched and i'll end up doing all-nighters.

watching kdramas has influenced me a lot. It gave me additional knowledge about korea and a glimpse of their culture. For the past 7 years of watching them, i was really desperate to learn hangul. But due to school works and time constraints, learning through the internet wasn't enough. i even bought a korean dictionary, but self-learning was difficult than i've imagined. Fortunately, our university had a free korean language session every friday. As a nursing student, it was hard to sacrifice my time of learning korean which others think is irrelevant and a waste of time. Because i got a chance to join one of their session, it was very fulfilling, it gave me hope that korea will just be within my reach. hehe, it even made me think if having a korean boyfriend would be possible, considering the language barrier (think of it as absurd, but its true). I even bought ramyun, not out of curiousity, but because of how delicious it is whenever i saw korean artist eating one full and contented. Ramyun bought here in the Philippines is slightly expensive, but i took out my savings because of my fandom.

*I’m not a resident of US/Canada.

I started listening to K-Pop even though I don't know any Korean. It seems like every time I watch a new drama, I *have* to buy the OST because the songs are always amazing. As a result, my K-Pop music collection is slowly catching up to my J-Pop stuff as I keep discovering new artists I like.

I've started involuntarily making that snarling, curled-lip expression that indicates a Kdrama girl is annoyed. Unfortunately, it's much cuter when a dainty, well-manicured Korean girl makes this face than when I do it. I think I may be scaring people ;)