Spill the Beans: Susceptible family members and questionable moral choices

by HeadsNo2

The addiction never stops—thanks to everyone who sent a story in. The greatest thing about dramas is their ability to bring people together, isn’t it?

To submit your story, email us your stories, and we’ll keep sharing them as long as you guys keep sending them in.

Jang Geun-seok was a gateway drug for many with his timeless hit You’re Beautiful, but it looks like he’s still bringing in new fans like Naila in with Love Rain.

One night, I was searching for new English songs on YouTube when I stumbled upon a clip of Jang Geun-seok in Love Rain. It was the scene where he hugs Yoona with a pained expression, before he lets go by shaking his head and saying something. The clip didn’t have any subtitles, so I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but I was so moved. Jang Geun-seok got me hooked on k-dramas.

Of course, I watched You’re Beautiful next and went crazy. But it’s only because of these dramas that I felt renewed, and began to understand the world around me. K-dramas have shown me what it’s like to love your own country, and how important a role your own language can play in the process. Why would someone be ashamed of following their traditions when they’re defined by them? I saw Answer Me 1994 and Thank You before the beginning of my third year in medical school, and watching Oppa’s character study so diligently made me wonder, “Why the hell am I lazing around? Why do I not understand basic concepts like he does?”

Minus the rudeness, Jang Hyuk’s character became my role model. He was such a good doctor, and I wanted to be as good as him. So, when I returned for my third year, all my friends and hostel mates were surprised to see me taking my studies so seriously. Sure, k-dramas have made me a darkness-craving, drama-watching crazy person, but I love it. I love that I can see the world in a different way because of them.

We all know what it’s like to get our arms twisted into watching dramas, or we’ve done it to someone else. Terri knows what it’s like to be, er, coerced into drama addiction.

My sister started my addiction to k-dramas. I live in Florida, and she lives eight hundred miles away in Maryland. She told me she was losing weight by using a fitness app and walking on the treadmill while watching dramas. My treadmill had been gathering dust for a few years, but I couldn’t understand how you could watch subtitled shows and run at the same time without getting motion sickness. She kept telling me how wonderful the dramas were and that I had to start watching while treading to lose weight too. I drove up for a visit and she “forced” me to start watching Coffee Prince. Then she “made” me buy a Roku and showed me how to watch dramas online. I was still slow to get on board until she reported her current weight, which was less than mine for the second time in our lives. The competition was on.

After Coffee Prince came Pasta and most of Lee Sun-kyun’s dramas—he was just so sweet! Then came Arang and the Magistrate, where I fell in love with Lee Jun-ki. Which was followed by all of Lee Min-ho’s dramas, and I started my k-pop addiction by buying the Boys Over Flowers soundtrack and Lee Min-ho’s CDs (yes, I was that enamored with him at the time). I almost wavered on my #1 crush, but then I saw Lee Jun-ki’s dance practice for his song “Ma Lady,” and he’s remained my solid #1—that man can act, sing, and dance! Close on his heels is Park Yoochun and JYJ. GOT7, BIA4, and Infinite also get me hula-hooping and walking outdoors.

Bottom line: my sister lost fifty pounds and has kept it off for almost a year. I lost forty pounds, but still have ten to go. I got a little lazy when my knee started acting up and I had to slow down, since I was sometimes on the treadmill for two to three hours at high speed because the dramas I watched were so addictive! I had to buy an elliptical machine to give my knee a rest. Then, I bought a second Roku for my living room so I could binge while being a couch potato at times. My New Year’s resolution is to lose that last ten pounds. My sister and I are both over sixty years old, but feel decades younger (my nephew thinks it’s creepy that I’m fangirling over guys his age). We are seriously contemplating a trip to Korea soon, which of course will include k-drama filming locations. This is particularly amazing because my sister has refused to fly since we were in our teens. Yes, k-dramas are that good!

The struggle is real when it comes to demanding mothers and a constant drama supply. Chesens paints a picture for us through dialogue. Was Lee Seung-gi the John Mayer in this scenario?

Mom: “I’m on Episode 19. But the copy you gave me got all the subs wrong. I can’t understand a thing.”

Me: *panics* “Oh my God! Wait! Don’t watch it yet! I’ll find you a good copy!” *calls sister* “Mom is on Episode 19 of King 2 Hearts but her copy doesn’t have good subs. S.O.S.”

Sister: “I’m at a party, I don’t have access to the internet.”

Me: “But she’s going to watch it now! And Bot Soldier is dying in that episode!” *panics again*

Sister: “Oh, right. Okay, I’ll find a way to send her my copy.” Later: “I found a laptop and e-mailed her the copy just now. Please check on her right away.”

Me: *sigh of relief* “Good. We can’t let Bot Soldier’s death go in vain.” *calls Mom* “Did you get it?”

Mom: “I don’t know how to download it.”

Me: *dictates downloading process step-by-step*

Mom: “Okay, I got it. Gotta go now, Bot Soldier just pointed his gun at John Mayer. Oh, by the way, please send me another drama. I’m almost done with this one.”

Deborah knows what it’s like to eat, drink, and sleep dramas. She also has a keen appreciation for male beauty and good blogs.

I stumbled upon k-drama by mistake. It was The Legend, and my little cousin bought it. I became so addicted that I couldn’t do anything other than think about that drama. In my house, we have thing thing about not watching television when our parents are around, but when we started watching The Legend, everything changed. We didn’t give a hoot if they were there or not. I didn’t care because I was so in love with Bae Young-joon.

When I first saw him, I was like, “Did he fall down from heaven?” I was so in awe of his beauty. Plus, the storyline was great, I hadn’t seen anything like it and when it ended I couldn’t even believe it. I cried. I was so moody that I couldn’t eat or do anything but think about Bae Young-joon. Then I came upon Lee Min-ho in Boys Before Flowers and was like, “Can God really be this partial in creating people?” Then came Personal Taste, which I’ve watched a thousand and one times but still can’t get enough of it. The rest is history. I even introduced dramas to my sisters and friends.

I love k-dramas, I love South Korea and its culture. I have learned a lot watching them. Dramabeans and crew, you guys are awesome, and add so much flavor to watching. It’s more fun reading the recaps. My closet is filled with k-dramas, I’m still downloading and still glued to Dramabeans.

No one can blame Cait and her sister for experiencing the undeniable draw that is Kim Woo-bin.

I can’t believe it’s been eight years since I began my drama addiction! I remember coming home after school and eagerly awaiting (more like impatiently grumbling at no one in particular to sub the latest episodes faster) the next episode. I first got hooked when I was being bullied by my “friends” at the time. I was one of only a few Asian kids in a class of six hundred people and was the butt of a lot of mean jokes. When things were at their worst, I met a pair of Korean girls who had just moved to the area, and we instantly bonded. Not only did they get me addicted to k-pop, but they introduced me to k-dramas as well. We had a sleepover and binge-watched all of Stairway to Heaven. Choi Ji-woo sure knows how to wring out the tears, we must’ve gone through four boxes of tissues that night.

Needless to say, after that bonding experience we’ve been friends ever since, despite being many miles away from each other now. They passed their k-drama addiction to me, and my family has never understood my obsession with all things Korean. But years after I started watching dramas, my youngest sister became interested in what I was watching. I was watching School 2013 at the time and she asked, “Who is that good-looking guy?” Of course, it was Kim Woo-bin! She pulled up a chair to watch and has been hooked ever since, though she’s a little heart broken that he’s dating Shin Mina now.

We’ve watched Pinnochio together and even though I told her not to, she binged the hot mess called Heirs because of her love for Kim Woo-bin. The highlight of our week is when we watch a new episode of Running Man and roll on the ground in tear-inducing laughter. Now that I’m always away at graduate school, she’s the one who uses my streaming account the most. I proudly admit that I created a new k-drama addict.

I’m so happy that k-dramas are a part of my life now. I couldn’t imagine it any other way. It gave me friends when I needed them most and it has brought me closer to my youngest sister, who’s always been distant. The community here at Dramabeans has always been something I look forward to every day. The first thing I do when I wake up is look for new recaps on Dramabeans, and it’s the last thing I check before I sleep. I love all you fellow addicts.

MollyP has a message of addiction and hope—specifically, the hope to find someone that can live up to the sky-high standards drama heroes have set for us.

I love Korean dramas and have for many years. I have watched at least 75% of the dramas on the ratings page, and others that are not on the list. I regret a few, but not too much. I adore the rest and surrender to the roller coaster ride that is k-drama.

But once in a while, a drama just bursts on to my (computer) screen that has me hook, line and sinker. Even though I was along for the ride that was Boys Over Flowers (Almost Paradissseeee), and You’re Beautiful, amongst others, I wasn’t at the mercy of the Drama Gods until Sungkyunkwan Scandal. Damn you, Sungkyunkwan Scandal! The hijinks, the fusion-sageuk concept, the stunning settings, and of course, THE BROMANCE. I became a victim to the power of Yoo Ah-in and Song Joong-ki, and have never shipped anyone harder while confusingly desiring them myself. I still ache when I think of it. What could, and SHOULD have been.

The obsession became progressively worse, when I watched Flower Boy Ramyun Shop. I loved Jung Il Woo from Return of Iljimae (sigh) but this was just off-their-heads fantastic! This is still my go to drama she I am having a bad day. It helped me through my last year of University and still does to this day.

In 2012 and I watched a (not-so) little drama called Answer Me 1997. It was different and I loved it. And for the first time I didn’t want the hero for myself! That was definitely growth. But it rocked my world in the best way possible! It was nostalgic, well written and hilarious, but still made you sob when anyone got their hearts broken. It was an amazing drama that helped me feel there was a light at the end of the tunnel when things looked bleak. I felt like I grew with the characters, especially as I was at a point in my life where I needed to grow up and make life-changing decisions myself.

2013 shook thinks up again. Three words: Lee! Jong! Seok! Wearing his heart on his sleeve! I Can Hear Your Voice was incredible and I hadn’t been this in love with a character since Moon Jae-shin (I will love you forever, Geol-oh). I had to share this magic with others, so I forced (and I mean, made them sit with me, bribed with food and drink) my sister and a friend to watch it, and two years on they are still regular viewers of k-drama. It was an excellent stress relief while I started off into a competitive field, where sometimes you feel you just aren’t good enough. It made me believe that if you try hard enough, you will achieve whatever you work towards. And I did.

2014 was a slow year for me in terms of dramas, I didn’t have any time and the storylines seemed stale to me (I can be picky). But 2015 has been quite the opposite. After adoring Oh My Ghostess (Chef-nim!), I recently came across a little drama called Sassy Go Go! It’s not the best, but the chemistry between the co-stars is cute. But I binge-watched all eight hours of it (so far), not for the chemistry but for Ji Soo! Its Lee Jong-seok and Yoo Ah-in all over again. I followed this eight hour binge with a sixteen hour binge of Angry Mom (which I really enjoyed) because of Ji Soo! His adorable puppy love and hopeful demeanor in both roles has me completely absorbed. It came to me at a point in my life where I needed something adorable and comforting, like his characters in both dramas. This obsession of mine has become an all-consuming monster (but a beautiful one). I have never binged anything for twenty-four hours ever! Which is why I felt compelled to write this post.

Dramas are a vehicle to help you move through the phases of life. They provide subtle support by transporting you to another time, another place, an escape from the difficulties life can throw at you. They remind you that life is beautiful, you just need to find the beauty in it. And they give you hope. Everybody needs a little hope. Especially if they hope to find a Ha-joon, Jae-shin, Yoon-Jae or Soo-ha of their own.

Channel is yet another reminder that the true power of Lee Min-ho can’t be quantified.

I’m fairly new to k-drama addiction. I guess it was just more than a year ago when my addiction started.

I work in the post-production department of an advertising agency. When all projects are at the pitching stage, I have nothing to do. One day, I ran out of books to read so I decided to get a new hobby. I remember how much I enjoyed watching k-dramas back when I was in college, so I said to myself, “Why not try it again?” But I didn’t know what to watch. I went back to all the dramas I’ve watched and googled the actors in Goong and Boys Over Flowers. Of course it was Lee Min-ho who captured my attention.

I started researching his filmography. Luckily, Heirs was airing in Korea at the time. Bless the YouTube community for being so diligent in uploading the episodes online. After watching Heirs, I instantly got addicted to Lee Min-ho (of course—who doesn’t, right?). Then, he visited our country and had a fan meeting. I wasn’t buying the products he was endorsing, but for the love of getting a VIP ticket to his fan meeting, I actually bought the products. There was a segment where the MC would teach him sentences in our native tongue and in return, he would also teach his fans Korean sentences. He was going out of his way to teach his fans some Korean sentences when the MC refused to translate his words because it wasn’t part of the script anymore, and asked him politely to stick to the script. It got me really irritated with that MC. Two semesters after and I’m still not fluent in the language, haha. But thanks to k-drama, I discovered a new culture, learned a new language, and visited a different country.

It’s easy to make fun of others for excessive drama-watching until it happens to you. Sweetlove618 shares her story:

Years ago I used to make fun of my sister for watching too many Korean dramas. I was still watching Hong Kong dramas at the time. I remember watching Winter Sonata and how Choi Ji-woo was always crying in it. All the shows she watched had a lot of crying and were so long. I couldn’t stand it!

But one day, not too long ago, I watched my first drama: My Love Patzzi, with Jang Nara and Kim Rae-won, who I fell in love with! Then I think I took a break, and then one day picked up Beautiful Days again with Choi Ji-woo and Lee Byung-hun. And I’ll be honest, I love Lee Byung-hun! I just thought he was such an amazing actor, and I never felt that way about American actors. Again, I took another break, I think because I didn’t rent these dubbed shows in my own language.

Fast forward many years later when 49 Days came out. My sister convinced me to watch it and that’s when all hell broke loose! I can’t remember how many years that’s been now, but these days all I watch is k-drama and thanks to your website, I’m able to read recaps and all wonderful things Korean. I’ve had nights when I’ve had to go to bed for work but stayed up till three or four in the morning to watch. I declined family calls to watch. I’m pretty sure I got my BFF watching it too. Watching historical dramas gave me an interest in Korean history. I am addicted to k-pop and that’s all I listen to these days. My husband makes fun of me all the time and says I’m a wannabe Korean person, and when he talks about Korean people, he refers to them as “your people.”

What can I say, I’m just addicted! Even my daughter watches with me and loves it too. Now my sister says I’m more addicted and know much more than she does. And she used to be the crazy one!

Maybe we haven’t quite been in Robbyn’s situation, but a drama-induced crisis of conscience shouldn’t be foreign to anyone here.

My husband and I went on our first ever couples vacation to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, with a good friend from college and his long-term girlfriend. The girlfriend was the last to arrive, so she felt like she had to catch up on drinking when she finally joined in. Several shots later she was singing loudly, puking, and breaking things in the rented condo. The fighting got loud and epic.

I sooooo would have broken it up, or at least tried to separate them, but the condo had wifi and I was already eight episodes in to Two Weeks. That show was like crack. Even my subtitle-hating husband loved it.

The next day, the other couple sobered up and tried to rouse us to go out and explore the island. We offered them a rain check with the excuse of being tired, but really, we just wanted to see how Two Weeks was going to shake out and spent an entire foreign vacation day watching it and eating ramen in the condo. The other couple got into another fight while they were out alone and eventually ended up breaking up before we left the island. Could I have done more? Probably. But it was Lee Jun-ki. #sorrynotsorry

Katshirou’s cultural expansion brought her to k-drama, and to that we say: Welcome to the rest of your life. It’s wonderful here.

My k-drama love started with my love for Japan and my Appa’s coworker. You see, my dad’s coworker had twin sons who were my hoobaes in elementary, and sometimes, my Appa would ask her to pick me up from school since we lived in the same neighborhood.

One fateful day, she asked if we could stop by a store before we headed home. This was when I was still residing in the humble town of Koror in the small, but beautiful country Palau. Internet was still at turtle speed, and globalization hadn’t really reached Palau yet… so only one or two stores sold DVDs of k-dramas (at a whopping five dollars each, which was expensive considering they were, well, not original *wink wink*).

So going back, she asked if we could stop by the store, and I saw that she was there to get the DVDs she pre-ordered. After we left, she started telling me about the dramas and some of her favorites. She lent me a few, among which were Tree of Heaven, My Girl, and My Name is Kim Sam-soon. I brought them home, but I wasn’t really intending to watch them. She was quite persistent that I try watching, so I didn’t want to refuse. But come weekend, my Unni and I were bored, so I saw the DVDs and started reading the plot summaries.

At this point in my life, I was already an anime addict and ended up falling in love with all things Japanese. So I have a bias for Japan, even at the mere mention of the country. And voila, Tree of Heaven was set in Korea and Japan! Plus, it was only twelve episodes, so it was perfect for the weekend… well, I didn’t add to the equation that I was going to get hooked. And so I saw “Japan” on the DVD jacket of the drama, took the CD, inserted it into the player, pressed play… and I ended up finishing My Girl that weekend too.

The rest is history. And to this day, I have an Appa (not a Dad), an Omma (not a Mom), and an Unni. I have an older brother, but I don’t use Oppa, because I want to reserve that for my special someone.

 
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