You're Beautiful was my first k-drama, I liked it but I didn't love all of it. I especially didn't like all the story between Tae-gyeong and his mother. Now I'm really curious how I would feel if I were to re-watch it in 2017, maybe I should just do that, hehe.

Also, I'm 100% convinced that Coffee Prince will never become dated. (Happy 10th Birthday, Coffee Prince!!!!)

"...except that smaller section is my ability to purely enjoy something, while that big chunk is my insatiable need to deconstruct and/or make fun of something when it’s terrible."

"I like shows that play hard to get over shows that clearly present the romantic couple to you..."

Uhmm @headsno2, can you read minds? Bc this post is SO me. My thoughts feel strangely invaded, lol

And ditto to the bromance.

@headsno2 you're beautiful will always have a special place in my heart
Forever hang tae kyung

I do feel that the crack drama syndrome is not as exciting as before
I love kdramas I dunno since when (2004)
But it's not as crazy as coffee prince ,BOF ,you're beautiful ,sunkyungwan scandal,city hunter...the last crazy obsession I had was Healer

"I think I’m realizing that I like shows that play hard to get over shows that clearly present the romantic couple to you at the beginning and spend the rest of the show working to sell that romance."

THIS! This is why I am so wary of flat out rom-coms these days, and why Chief Kim was so special to me. I thought cynic me was so done with romance and then realised I wanted more in Chief Kim... at the same time, the snippets we got were just right for me. But I agree, the real romance was the bromance. Seo Yul and Kim Sung Ryong!?

Thank you Heads for sharing your thoughts!

But it’s only with rom-coms that I worry I’m truly disconnected with the usually very large audience who enjoys them, and it’s not fun (even if it’s sometimes unavoidable) to lampoon something that a vast majority of people find hugely enjoyable.

It's like you're speaking to my soul. I continuously ask if there's something wrong with me because everyone enjoys the popular rom coms but I can barely sit through them. And it's hard when all my friends are raving about the same show and I just can't feel the excitement they feel.

Romances just seem more satisfying when it's a subplot in a thriller (Lookout, Forest of Secrets, Tunnel) or comedy (Chief Kim). That way there's an ACTUAL plot happening as well as I'm left craving more romances scenes.

As much as I adore you're beautiful, if it was aired today it'd be an automatic pass. I guess my drama tastes have grown up as I've gotten older, gone to college and had more experiences with guys. Hopefully one day I can rediscover that feeling that I got when I first watched you're beautiful.

I'm still a romcom girl. Nothing makes me squeal harder than watching our two leads trying to navigate the world through their new awakened feeling for each other. But nowadays I become pickier. I used to love all the romantic tropes dramaland provided for me. But now, overloaded cliche makes me cringe and I even learned to use fast forward button. (Gasp! The horror!!) The upside though, is that now when I manage to find a really good romcom, it gives me the sort of warm satisfaction that I didn't gey back in the day. So I'm perfectly happy with my changing tastes.

I couldn't agree more about rom coms. When I first started watching kdrama, I gobbled them up indiscriminately--they were cute and amusing and so completely different from anything I'd seen on western television. But once the euphoria faded, and I started to get seriously invested in kdrama, my sense of enjoyment in these shows grew hollow, and now all I have left is bitter dregs haha.

I think that my main problem is that if you've seen one of these things, you've seen them all. Practically every single one of these shows is manufactured on the same assembly line, and as far as storytelling goes, the means have become the ends, if that makes any sense. Like, the average trendy doesn't even try for organic build up or thematic consciousness anymore, opting instead for shortcuts that trigger viewer expectations—it’s no longer a story about two people falling in love, but a calculated sequence of types and tropes and ~moments that have become signifiers for hetero mating patterns (not to mention the heavyhanded directorial cues that have come to herald any one of these things--ballads for sad couple moments, kpop for happy couple moments, multiple camera angles on Kisses, etc). So it's not about telling a story anymore; it's about getting from Checkpoint A to Checkpoint B while pushing the pleasure button as much as possible. And then it's on to the next.

idk. The sad thing (for me lol) is that I still can and do enjoy this genre when it's done well, which it never is anymore. I have an insane amount of love for shows like Ruler of Your Own World, Kim Sam-soon, What's Up, Fox?, Wild Romance, and Answer Me 1997.

Rom com was my most favorite genre, I remember I used to enjoy Full House, Goong, You're Beautiful, Secret Garden, Gumiho, and even BOF. But as time goes, I am become harder to please. Everytime I see lovey dovey cringey scenes in today rom com dramas, I can't help but rolling my eyes. It feels too outdated because I have seen them in old dramas. They need to be in a whole different level or at least likeable enough for my taste in order to snatch my heart

Thank you for sharing your changing tastes @headsno2. I really like reading your article and it made me think if my tastes has changed as well. I may need to rewatch old dramas to see if I still like it.

It's the lazy rom coms I don't like the ones that keep that damn checklist of cliches and make sure every single episode used every single one of them...sometimes more than once. And the inane writing and god awful acting. They throw in some weird murder mystery or birth secret or disease of the week with a lightweight rom com full of idols and it just doesn't work. I LOVE the intelligent rom coms though. Jealousy Incarnate is a prime example! Something about 1% was fantastic even with the poor budget. And I'll always love Marriage Not Dating.

I've gone back and watched some of the really old rom coms I watched and loved so much when I first started watch Kdrama. Not doing that anymore. It totally ruins my memories when I see one with really awful acting or scripts.

A good bromance or sismance (?) is something that will never change in my preferences. And as I read the post I've been nodding all the way Heads!

I do agree that my taste is currently changing. I think it's because we are growing up everyday and certain things we saw in kdramas (as well as other dramas) proved not to work in real life.

I used to like Goong very much when I was a child. I think Goong is my first love and I've loved Yoon Eun Hye (don't think this is the correct pronunciation) ever since. However, I'm not sure if I'm going to love it if it began its airing now instead of then. Well, perhaps that won't make much difference since Eun Hye is my bias and I think no matter what she does I always support her.

As I think I'm no longer a teenager, my favorite dramas tend to be something relatable and provide glimpses of reality and hope for better future. I like Misaeng as well as Dear My Friends, but I also like Ojakgyo Brothers and Another Oh Hae-Young which are more dramatic. So my conclusion is that I tend to like dramas which are well-executed, relatable and have flawless flow and pace (so that I know that the director knows what he/she is doing). I don't want to pray that the show will end its run with a good impression, I want to have that feeling of confidence in the writer and director; that confidence relies in how the show progresses. And that's precisely what's lacking in many dramas I dropped.

About rom coms, I do agree with you that I always wonder if I have a special sense of humor as I found myself to have to try very hard to laugh find humor in certain dramas or scenes which many beanies like. For me, I tend to fall for something more subtle like the way Eric's friends walked after him one by one creating a line of sad men walking behind one another when Eric was heart-broken, or the way Eric closest friend found himself in Eric's room at the most awkward time (Eric and Seo Hyun-Jin was passionately kissing and didn't know that there was another person in the room) in Another Oh Hae-Young. Because of my preference in finding love in these kinds of scenes, I still fail to find any love in dramas with more direct and straightforward approach to humor (e.g. My Sassy Girl, still love u Joowonie).

" After all, it’s tough to stand by what you like if you only watch what you like without sampling the rest of what dramaland has to offer. " omg headsno2 I feel like you are talking to me!! I'm so stubborn about my choices of dramas but this is eye opening.
Also, this article is a new approach on how we can write our own changing tastes, because I was wondering if we could also write what type of drama we have NOT come to like that we initially did.

My sentiments exactly! I am glad to know that I am not the only one who feels this way. I am always wondering why the mainstream/over-popular romcom dramas nowadays don't make me crazy just like how old dramas did to me. I think that since I am so used to romcom cliches and I could not fully be immersed to their not-so-deep stories, I tend to be skeptical whenever I watch them. However, romcom has a special place in my heart and I would really love to watch something that would give me those old feelings. How I missed those times. **sigh**

genre I still don't like until now... Horror genre... I'm still at times can warm up with medical drama. I just have to skip surgery scene. But horror genre? I avoid by all means necesarry. I hate it particularly when they tend to offer no plot and only offering something horror for the sake of scaring people. freaking hate it. I'm such a scaredy cat because back then I lived in a house when there is a mean spirit lived. I can't sleep for weeks whenever my brother asked me to watched horror movie.

I loved classic romcoms like My Girl, Sassy Girl Chun Hyang, My Lovely Samsoon and some others but I'm not sure if I will love them as much I used to atm. Same goes to melodrama - I didn't really loved them, but sometimes I do miss them. Maybe that's the meaning of classic to us.

These days, I am no longer love romcom like I used to back to before 2010 as I've become more picky with plot & acting.
I am now only watching romcom if I love the casts lol, because there's not much to expect with the plot, right?

This speaks a lot to me! I think our impression on something changes depending on at what point in our life do we watch it. I had been thinking, there are dramas that I love and has a special place in my heart but if I were to watch it now I might not like it and find so many faults in it. Despite that, it's still on my Loved Dramas list because I watched it on the "right" point of my life (how do I say this). I guess I was in the right target audience when I watched it. Same goes to dramas (and mangas) I didn't like when I was younger, there are some that only now I could understand. Especially for logical reasons of why this character do this and that (for complex shows that have in depth characterization that I couldn't understand when I was younger). That comes with age and experience, I guess?

I used to only wanted to watch rom-coms, movies and dramas both. And sometimes, I still have that mindset. It's hard for me to start anything that's not comedy/romance. But I realised that the dramas/movies that I absolutely love were not focused on the romance. I love dramas with strong relationships and characterisation. I also love storylines that involves hacking and social engineering. A bit of action but not too much is also cool for me. (Hey, now that I think about this... that sounds like Healer? o - o action... hacking.... but, I actually dropped Healer lol).
An unexpected drama for me to like is Chief Kim. I loved it so much and maybe the fact that I started it without any expectation (and ready to drop it whenever) was a part of why I loved it THIS much. There were hints of romance but it wasn't the main focus and it gave just enough for you to wonder more about them. The comedy was the kind that I liked at I expected the characters to do something stupid or for the drama to turn bad midway but they didn't. They didn't do what I expected and I loved it. And of course a good bromance will always be a great thing in a drama.

So bottomline is : I loved only rom-coms. Or so I thought. Now I know I love dramas with romance not as the focus of the story and that I like slow burn romance. I also enjoy well-done rom-coms but I think it might be hard for rom-coms to climb up to my most favourite dramas list now. I also love characters with strong relationship. Between good characters and good storyline, I think I'll choose good characters. So I think I like characters-driven stories? I also like some mysteries, action, and spy stuffs. I need to try more things to know more but one things for sure is that I'm too much of a scaredy cat to watch anything horror :)

Rather than our taste changing with specific genre or formula, I think it's the ingredients in a drama that come together in perfect harmoning, making it possible for us to enjoy what we usually wouldn't in the past. For me, Secret Forest is the best recent example of that, I could swear I stay off procedural and medical drama, but this one just sucks me in with the brilliant writing and acting.

And I must say, the first picture in this thread makes it impossible for me to stay away. I just adore the way Yeo-jin penetrates through Shi-mok without him even realizing it. Who knew his smile is the sweetest thing?

If something like You’re Beautiful aired today, would we all go as crazy over it as we did then?
YESSS, I would haha, that much I know, my first real kdrama, and I am not at all embarrassed to admit that I love all the weird fashion choices, lee hong ki's crazy antics and JGS who nailed the role of a crazy bitchy rockstar. I think hong sisters have failed to create that magic, except for master's sun later, so it's solely to do with their capability as a writer I think, whether than our choice in dramas. As long as writers keep giving us something new, and unique, I don't think we'll ever stop enjoying them, or feel like this is the new crack drama. I won't say that warm and cozy didn't have hong sisters craziness, but it just failed to bring something new, which you're beautiful, masters sun or even the greatest love did. So I blame the writers, not our choice. Then again, I don't blame them, since they are humans too, and are limited in terms of writing may be, or may be has reached the saturation point, or does, after a certain time.

But @headsno2 didn't you like The Liar and His Lover? I'm curious: what was so different about that drama for you?

I'm not a cynic, and I still love a lot of those dramas I loved ten years ago. To me, production values may improve and I may be exposed to more variety, but certain things stay classic because they were classic to start with. I didn't love a drama like My Name is Sam-Soon for the production values or the innovation. I loved it because at its core it touched on universal truths about being a woman and a human. I still love it, and many other "old" dramas of various genres, for the same reason. They may get old-fashioned in style and appearance, but timeless messages never go out of style. (Case in point, I just watched Sweet 18 for the first time. It's as old style a drama as they come, but it touched me because the writing captured truths about human relationships that land whether it's 2004 or 2044.)

ARE WE TWINS?

Jk, but thanks for putting your thoughts in words, because everything you say is exactly how I feel about dramas. I basically only really enjoy mysteries and police- procedurals. Rom-coms or romantic dramas are a challenge I keep trying to surmount for the sake of joining everyone else in what appears to be super fun support groups for their drama addictions.

I don't understand medical dramas. I love getting teased with romantic what-ifs. I like shows that respect my intellect and make me work to peel away their layers. I think I used to really like romantic dramas but, well, that was a while ago ?

Wow @headsno2, I love what you've written as I seemed to find myself going "Me Too!" as I was going through your post

I think (?) I still am a rom-com gal, but a more discerning one as I've grown older. I def agree the over-use of tropes and cookie-cutter plots of some dramas have waned my interest for some typical rom-coms. Now I'm looking for more substance less fluff, more character growth less plot maneuverings. I sometimes mourn the loss of the squeeee feeling I'd get (and so easily too!) when I watched Full House or Beautiful You or Goong and proceeded to google the actors' profiles and pics and somehow believe that those are the same type of men I'd like to marry..lol

Now, the proportion of rom-coms I've watched vs how many managed to worm it's way into my heart has lessened whereas back in the day if it simply had a rom-com tag, I'd automatically be all in. I have also gravitated towards psychological/thrillers which I think also mirrors how kdrama has evolved as there are more of them being made now. One thing I still am hesitant to try are melodramas. I can't stand watching something knowing it'll lead to heartache/tragedy *shivers

I really have to thank you @Headsno2 because I am feeling the same these days but I couldn't express it so accurately!

My tastes have changed and it's a little bit sad I guess because, while it used to make my heart flutter, now I can't stand "fluffly dramas". Noble idiocy, love triangle and unnecessary angst are just things I can't stand anymore.
That's why I enjoy now shows like W, Chief Kim (I didn't know that I would love so much a comedy with such little amount of romance before this drama. Now it's one of my all time favorite.), Forest of secrets ( when I couldn't get through a crime/legal shows in the past) etc.
I still love to have a good romance mind you but I can't just sit through an entire drama only for that. I think W is a prototype of what I want in the romance department in a show.

Sadly, I can't get through more of the shows airing right now.

I loved You're Beautiful back in the day. Watched it twice. Remembering my love of it had me trying to re-watch it again recently and I just couldn't do it. I only made it a few episodes and moved on to something different. I couldn't get over how badly Park Shin-hye did in the drama. Her interpretation of how a girl pretending to be a boy should act was asinine. And she shuffled everywhere. Why couldn't she walk like a normal human? But when I first watched the drama I didn't think about this stuff, I just enjoyed the fluff. But now I notice stuff like this. I used to love rom-coms but have noticed that I am hard pressed to name a rom-com I really love lately. I still like them as a mindless distraction but none get me hyped and excited like they used to in the past. I have very few rom-coms on my top favorite lists and the ones that are my favorites have my catnip in them (noona romances). My change in taste is definitely that I've become more picky and critical. And like mentioned in the article I know part of this is I have grown to hate certain cliches that seem to dominate the rom-com world like the noble idiot or the forced separation. When I first started into kdramas and rom-coms these were fun and interesting but now that I have years of kdrama watching behind me I am tired of these overused and blatantly lazy tropes. And yes, every kdrama and just show in general utilizes their own set of tropes, but the tropes I hate the most are almost always exclusive to rom-coms. So while I do still like rom-coms I enjoy them as a brainless desert that are sweet but have little substance and easily forgotten. I used to absolutely love rom-coms but my tastes have moved away from rom-coms and moved to more meatier offerings.

I think it's just natural that as years pass, our taste in things change. It's call growing up or rather ageing.haha.

I always had this varying tastes even in rom-coms, You're Beautiful, BOF, The Master' Sun weren't my type even for the first-watch and couldn't understand the hype around it. I mostly watch rom-coms for its second part which makes the watch funny and I used to enjoy its first part initially when I started watching K-dramas but I think from last one year I din't find WLF-KGJ lovely as most beanies did and Goblin felt unbearable.

The main problem lingering for me is I can't watch thrillers like Signal, Tunnel, Hello Monster with murderers floating around. I watch dramas literally only for all the silly laughs and gags like the one The Best Hit provides and most rom-coms does that but if I strongly dislike them then I'm probably left with nothing much to watch.