The Merits of Foreign Dramas
Lately, I have been obsessed with Asian dramas!
I have focused on mostly Korean and Chinese dramas, but it has been an incredible spiraling slide. Normally, I am not one to jump on a bandwagon very quickly, but once I am on I stay loyal.
Honestly, I should’ve seen something like this coming, since I just went through this with a certain Doctor and all of his regenerations. So let's just say that I’ve got an easily addicted personality.
This past month has been an interesting one for me. I had a personal crisis, my work is in transition and I have been completely blocked when it comes to my writing. But God has been good to me through all of it. About halfway through this time, I met with a lovely International Worker that came to speak with our church about her projects. We were talking about some of the things that she does to wind down in the day and she happened to mention that she watches C/K Dramas, and we were instantly friends. As I was talking to her I began to notice that there may be some therapeutic benefits to watching shows like these.
There are so many reasons I would suggest watching foreign dramas, but I am going to focus on four of them.
1. REQUIRES YOU TO PAY ATTENTION
They are foreign dramas so there is more than likely some sort of language barrier. Not only are you watching the show, but you are reading it as well. So there is a requirement to set the world aside and just focus. I use this as an hour or two that I put the phone and work away and allow myself to step into the world that has been created for me. These shows tend to be about 1 hour or less and since you are focusing it is an hour of easy breathing.
There are many benefits to this type of escapism. It is about the same as digging into a really good book. Escapism can be a good thing as it takes you out of the situation and allows you time to regain your stability, and then get back to work when you are ready.
Another benefit is that these dramas are probably the cheapest form of cultural exposure that we have. Not only is the viewer being exposed to foreign languages but also their festivals and traditions. Because most dramas are trying to portray everyday life, you get to see fictional representations of things like Chinese New Year and other festivals. This, by no means, replaces the beauty of actually experiencing a culture, but it softens the blow for those of us not able to travel often.
2. SIMPLE PLOTS W/ONE OR TWO TWISTS
As a storyteller, it is really hard to come up with a completely original storyline. Ecclesiastes 1:9 “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” There are very few truly original storylines so why would you expect TV shows to be completely original?
Some of my favorite show plots are as simple as the professor and the former student, the CEO and the employee, or the neighbors that can’t stand each other. These are not new stories but they are presented in some fun ways.
Right now my favorite Chinese drama is called Perfect and Casual. The show centers around a former student that believes in the people around her and they take advantage of her. She gets intertwined with her former professor when she encourages him to lie about having a girlfriend to his dying grandfather. He does and then convinces her to be that girlfriend.
Turn on the subtitles…
I just finished a Korean drama called Doom, at Your Service. This series was about a semi-Deity, Doom, who makes a deal with a dying lady that he will keep her pain free but before she dies she has to wish for the world to end, or someone “she loves the most” will die in her place.
These are simple stories: boy meets girl, someone needs something from the other, and they fall in love in the process of getting their objective. But I get invested because I’m curious how the showrunners are going to make this story stand out among the others.
3. THE ROM-COMS ARE WELL-PACED
Now, obviously, as a hopeless romantic I tend to lean toward stories that have a romance. So I find that I appreciate the pace of these shows. Most of the shows that I have come across have about 16-28 episodes. I have only found one so far that is 40 episodes.
The romance is usually well-paced, mutual affection showing its head around episode 6 or 7 and then the main distractions or dilemmas take over. The other thing about these dramas is that they have at least two different love stories that you choose to follow and root for.
Because of the language barrier, I think foreign dramas do a much better job of showing the emotions involved with their plots, and the physical contact is more realistic. There is just something about knowing the leads will end up together and then just enjoying the process.
The clip below is from episode 16 from Hello, The Shrapshooter. Our two leads are officially dating but Tang Xin (Female Lead) is dealing with some personal PTSD and Shen Qing Yan (Male Lead) is willing to wait on her timing. Look at how they try to meet the other halfway.
I also do have to give props to the show soundtracks they are well chosen and fit the drama perfectly. It is especially fun when there are little sound effects thrown into the mix as well.
4. WHOLESOME CONTENT
I have not found a show yet that had sex and overt innuendos. I am not suggesting that there aren’t any out there, but I just haven’t found them. It makes me feel good that I don’t have to worry if I am thinking about showing it to my grandmother or sharing my favorites with my friends.
In all of the shows that I have been watching the humor is clean, and laced with a little bit of sarcasm which is just my type of humor. The couple of innuendos that are laced in a story almost always come from a loving relationship, and you expect them to make those jokes.
If there is swearing then it is in another language and is easily lost in translation. If there is nudity it is also in the context of a loving relationship or used as a plot point for the drama. It is rarely there just to be there.
I will happily take a break from my busy day job to enjoy an episode or two before I go to bed at night. The list below is of a few that I would personally recommend.
On Netflix you can find:
- Cinderella and the Four Knights
- My Secret Romance
- Put Your Head on My Shoulder
- Well-Intended Love
- Crash Landing on You
On Youtube you can find:
- Perfect & Casual
- Unforgettable Love
- Hello, The Sharpshooter
- My Little Happiness
- My Girlfriend is An Alien
I hope that you find something so easy to escape into that you can tune out the world… even for an hour.
Until Next Time,
Peace Out Lovers.
