Spill the Beans: Dramas on vacation, in the hospital, and all night long

by javabeans

Thanks to everyone who sent in addiction stories! To submit, email us your stories, and we’ll keep sharing them as long as you guys keep sending them in.

Louisa writes about her “Oh My Traveling Ghostess” experience:

I’ve been a long time K-drama watcher and so has my sister. This past summer we embarked on our first trip to the land that started it all. It was during the time Oh My Ghostess was airing in Korea, probably episode 10? Anyway, we were totally fine traveling and actually not thinking about catching up on episodes until one day, the urge began to brew inside of me. By then we had made it to Japan and on this particular night, we were back at the flat early and I decided to download the latest episode to watch.

Maybe there’s something about just being on the literal streets of where these scenes could have taken place, but all four of the other people that traveled with us, including my 22-year-old, superbly white-washed brother, latched onto the show like it was the only entertainment worthy of our time.

I ended up re-watching the whole first half of the show with all the other newbies just so they could catch up. One time, we even purposely stayed in. We STAYED IN after traveling thousands of miles to another land just to binge on the goodness of Ghostess.

Before we left Japan, we downloaded the latest two episodes because we needed to be up-to-date. During our boat ride back to Korea, we sat in the corner of the cafeteria, one of us completely sea sick and with a barf bag in her lap, and absorbed the episodes.

Needless to say, we finished the show the day the last episode hit the worldwide web. If you ever find yourself at the Yellow Hostel in Songdo Beach (Busan), on the second floor, you WILL find the hallway wall full of Oh My Ghostess references and hearts with the initials BONGBORO <3 CHEF KANG.

This sounds like a pretty epic Goong (Princess Hours) marathon, as bipolarMe recounts it.

Though this was airing in our local TV channel back in 2006, I and a bunch of other colleagues wanted to watch it continuously without interruptions. Fortunately one of us was able to buy the DVD set. It was a 24-episode series, so it would clearly take a full day to watch it. Since there were about 7 of us on queue to borrow it, each borrower was only allowed maximum of 3 days to finish the entire series. But one office-mate’s diligence went overdrive. She squeezed watching all 24 episodes in just 2 days. We work 8 to 5 everyday, but of course we don’t get to go home at exactly 5. We would normally render a 30 min to 1 hour OT daily, then her trip home would be around 30 to 45 minutes. For 2 consecutive days she didn’t sleep just to watch our beloved series. So naturally, towards the end of her second day marathon viewing she was so out of it. Remember there was a scene on the last episode where the OTP was walking on the streets of Seoul, and then as they kissed the shot began to pan-out and the screen transitions to black and white. She was really smashed that she thought that the TV actually broke down due to her non-stop viewing. She said, she repeatedly stroke it to get back the color. Then she eventually realized that the TV isn’t defective, and it was in fact just part of the effects in the video. LOL! We were really ROTFL at her when she was telling us her woes. #KdramaAddictionBlunders 😀

Pirate! has another Goong experience (well, Goong did have a certain crack factor):

The Philippines always imports Korean dramas to local TV (albeit a year or two late lol) and dubs them in our local language — that year they brought in Princess Hours.

I was so addicted to that drama, but alas, online streaming wasn’t as easy before as it is now, so I had to resort to buying the (pirated — I’m sorry lol) DVD copy of the drama BECAUSE I WAS SO DARN ADDICTED TO IT.

I watched it on TV with the local dubbing, and rewatched it on DVD with English subs. That year, we were going to spend our summer in Singapore and I haven’t gotten over the drama yet so I literally smuggled a pirated DVD copy of Princess Hours. What I did: I covered the DVD with a piece of paper, then placed it inside a shirt, covered said shirt with layers and layers of other clothes. Since I successfully smuggled the copy to Singapore, I watched and re-watched it the whole summer. I was too scared to bring it back to the Philippines, though. Lol.

Rachel got a friend interested in the stories through “verbal recaps” of dramas… maybe one day your friend will actually watch one!

After I had been watching kdramas for a couple years, but hadn’t yet discovered the online community of fellow watchers, it was sometimes difficult because I didn’t have anyone to discuss my shows with. I started telling my roommates about my shows and using them to vent my excitement and frustration. Whoever happened to be in the kitchen or living room when I came out of my room got an earful about the latest events on my current drama.

This became a real problem with Bridal Mask (Gaksital). I was obsessed with that show. My roommates knew when I was watching a new episode because they could hear me yelling at my computer. Fortunately my favorite roommate’s schedule worked with the episode air dates so she was always home when I watched a new episode. I would come out of my room and verbally recap the episode while she was cooking dinner, and then we would discuss it. She would sometimes come up with some really good insights, especially considering she never watched a single episode! She told me later that of all the shows I’ve given her the verbal recaps for, Bridal Mask was her favorite and that she actually looked forward to hearing about the newest episode. Yet I still can’t get her to watch any kdramas. :p

pancchi was initially turned off of dramas, but came around. They’re hard to resist like that. 😉

So, I came across this Spill the Beans and found my perfect gateway for confessing about my kdrama obsession.

In my country, there are only a handful of people watching kdramas. If you lucky you can be blessed with a friend staying at hostel or pg. But I was born unlucky. I was 16 years old when I heard my first kdrama plot — Full House. I didn’t think they were pretty. It was more because I had been molested at 5 by a home tutor who had double-lid eyes and in my small world, all double-lidded men were scary. Then I became friends with a double-lidded girl who told our group about this kdrama she had watched in her native place. I decided to check it out in 2012, when i started college and got a cell phone. I kept raving about it to my friends and would sing the “Three Bears” song when I don’t even understand Korean! Lip-sync!

I am no longer friends with that girl, and I stopped kdramas in 2012, got busy with college and house work. Last year after graduating I resumed watching kdramas again, couldn’t keep up with Boys Over Flowers, but then there was Coffee Prince! School 2013! Alien Manager! Sam-soon and many more!!

I saved money walking instead of taking bus, waking up early during holidays so I could watch a few more episodes. I watch all this on my cell.

I don’t have any best friends, I’m a true introvert but I have changed a little bit now. I curse, don’t care about people and speak my mind. I’m happy for discovering a whole new world which I may have missed because of a creep.

I love this site and kdramas so much I shared something with those I don’t know, for the first time. And it feels great. Thank you so much! Love ya, take care 🙂

Flo Oy Wong, now that’s attention to medical care!

I am an elder k-drama fan, actually an EOB, an elegant old broad about to turn 77. I have watched countless numbers of dramas for 10 years now, faithfully forgoing American TV shows. My obsession with K-dramas started with the visually stunning and compelling Dae Jang Geum. I could not believe what I had stumbled on as I obsessively watched the amazing historical drama (with a wonderful feminist twist) with Lee Young-ae. After taking a break when Dae Jang Geum finished its broadcast, my older sister encouraged me to watch more K-dramas. I told her to leave me alone. I was too busy being an artist and a sucker grandmother. Well, my sister’s constant nagging wore me down and I jumped into watching dramas.

Our city’s library had shelves of dramas for drama addicts like myself to check out. So I trekked to our library every few days to check the shelves. Sometimes my husband was my drama runner. I began to know who Choi Ji-woo, Kwon Sang-woo, Lee Byung-heon was. I inhaled the dramas like there was no tomorrow as I forgave cliches to indulge in narratives where children paid the price of their parents’ sins. The fashions, the emphasis on surface beauty mixed with the depths of emotions the actors made me believe in what was overwhelming. There was a time I stayed up watching dramas till 4:00 am causing me real-time problems the next day and I couldn’t be my bright self. I fell in love with Kang Ji-hwan, Kim Sun-ah, and many the elder actors portraying interfering parents and grandparents.

I am still a faithful K-drama fan, sometimes taking a break to watch Taiwanese and Japanese dramas. But there is nothing like K-dramas even when the plot is truly stupid. I have expanded into listening to Youtube drama OSTs and gobbling up Dramabeans blogs and recaps.

Recently, I went to the local clinic to get an epidural shot. The nurse who assisted me through the procedure was a K-drama fan. We chatted through my nervousness as though we were BESTIES. I told him I liked listening to Michael Learns to Rock, the group that sang for Ji Chang-wook’s Healer. As I laid on the hospital bed to get my shot the medical team played the music of Michael Learns to Rock. I could not believe it. After I listened to a few of their songs the doctor told me I was finished. I was so completely into the music, almost forgetting I was getting the shot. When the doctor said goodbye to me, he told me he was acquainted with Michael Learns to Rock. Turns out the group also sings for Chinese dramas, too.

At this time I have become an elder fan of the amazingly-dimpled Lee Sang-yoon. But then there is also Sung Si-Kyung who sings some amazing songs for UBER dramas like You From Another Star.

Qi had to resort to sneaking around, which is a popular activity among drama addicts:

I doubt my story is as interesting as the others’, but when I look back at what I used to do it’s amazing how I resorted to all kinds of ridiculous antics. ?

It actually started out with Taiwanese dramas that would air from 9:30 to 11 pm on my local channel every Saturday. As the KWave hit Singapore, the channel switched to airing K-dramas and I was hooked on Boys Over Flowers.

The thing was, my dad always wanted me to switch off the TV by 10 pm but how could be I satisfied with only 30 minutes of Lee Min-ho?? Given that the TV was in my parents’ room and facing their bed, every Saturday night at 10 pm I would switch off the TV, wait till my parents fell asleep and then switch it on again and watched the whole drama on mute (that’s how desperate I was ?). Thank god for English subs!

To make things worse, the TV was quite bright so I would stand in front of the TV holding up a blanket so that my parents wouldn’t be awakened by the lights HAHAHA. When I look back I realize how ridiculous I must’ve looked but all in the name of Lee Min-ho and K-dramas!!!!

Sadly I don’t have time to watch dramas as of now because of the upcoming A Levels but luckily for Dramabeans to keep me updated via recaps! I have a loooooong list of dramas awaiting me after the exams hehehe.

sleepypie1212, you can never have “just one.” NEVER.

I first discovered dramas when I was a senior at university three years ago…bad timing, perhaps lol!

I was scrolling through Netflix late at night, wanting to watch one (one!) thing before turning in. The Netflix recommendation algorithm had been throwing k-dramas at me for a while, but I’d never really looked at them. Finally, desperate, I clicked on Autumn in My Heart. I watched two episodes, was intrigued, but realized that this was a genre with a whole set of rules I didn’t understand, and maybe I should try something a little more beginner friendly.

So I did some googling, and came up with Secret Garden as a decent place to start. That also happened to be on Netflix, and even though it was midnight, I decided it couldn’t hurt to just see what it was like…

I lived the rest of that week in a Hyun Bin-induced daze. I’d never considered myself into rom-coms before, but I couldn’t resist. And when that was done, I watched Boys Over Flowers, Rooftop Prince, Dream High… I was well and truly hooked. I consider it a minor miracle my grades didn’t suffer and I still got into grad school!

K-dramas were a wonderful window for me — not only did it broaden my cultural horizons and start teaching me a new language, it introduced me to feminism as a positive thing for the first time in my life. Now I have absolutely no problems being both a girly girl and a complete nerd. Thanks K-dramas!

Drama Propagandist, we’re glad to know you in the AD (After Dramabeans) era. Congratulations on your victory!

As highlighted in many readers’ emails, watching dramas was (and sometimes still is) a lonely sport. Friends and families in the Western world rarely understand the appeal of Asian TV series, considered so cheesy, clichés and over-the-top. In a time BD (Before Dramabeans), I used to write when I was bored at worked (=often) what I called “drama chronicles” emails to send to my equally bored friends, in which I gave lengthy summaries of my favorite dramas, hoping my friends would give it a shot (they loved the chronicles, didn’t give it a shot). I stopped when I discovered Dramabeans, which obviously wrote better summaries than me, with screencaps!

My younger brother was particularly averse to my new hobby. He kept telling me that nobody in their right mind (nobody in France anyway) would watch such “stupid things,” and kept pestering me about it. Until one day we made a bet: I would create a drama fan group page on Facebook, and if I gathered 50 members in 2 months, he would have to do 50 push-ups on video and I would post that video on that page. Now I must say that I’ve never been very active on social networks, and there were not that many French-speaking Asian drama fan groups on Facebook in early 2010. But wouldn’t you know, in less than a month I had over 100 members in my group! My brother, then a skinny 20-year-old, had to practice hard to achieve his push-up goal with penalty (considering how fast I reached my target) — he eventually did about 70 push-ups on camera with a balaclava to protect his online identity, and a message in which he admitted his complete defeat!

That online group is now long gone, but my family and friends have now accepted that dramas are part of who I am — and I recently showed Miss Granny to my mother, who loved it!

And Am may be a relative newcomer, but has certainly put in the work catching up.

First, I am new to the K-drama world. I cannot believe that less than a year ago, I knew nothing of its existence.

I was first introduced to K-dramas by one of my friends. She is a casual k-drama watcher, having watched a few K-dramas since high school. Although she is not an addict, she loves them all the same and really wanted to share her love for them with me. However, I was not really interested. I have to admit that I had a bad preconception of what K-dramas were. I thought they were the Asian equivalent of American daytime soaps, both in quality and subject matter. Therefore, I was really hesitant to give up my American, Canadian and British shows for them.

Fortunately, my friend insisted. She made me promise to watch My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho (her favorite drama) with her and I finally agreed at the end of January 2015. After class, we would eat dinner in my dorm room and watch an episode of it.

At first I was pleasantly surprised. I was enjoying it more than I thought I would and found the whole thing ridiculous in a hilarious way. But then, I found myself alone in the middle of the night watching the next episode, and the next, and the next… until I finished it at 4am.

The moment I finished it, I craved another. I started watching another one, and then another. I became obsessed with Lee Seung-gi and soon enough I had watched all of his dramas, Running Man appearances and his movie.

I started keeping records of the dramas I watched and wanted to watch. Both lists kept growing and growing.

We are now in October, not even a year after my first drama, and I have now watched more than 60 dramas!! My friend believes that she has created a monster.

 
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