K-dramas. For some people one of the biggest parts of their life and for some one big mystery that they want to resolve but they are hesitant to. Today, I would like to lift a little the veil of secrecy and show you what k-dramas are and maybe convince you to immerse yourself in this wonderful world!

But what does the word 'k-drama’ mean? A drama in Korean literally means  a series. K at the beginning is just short for Korean. So k-drama means a Korean series. Even though before Covid 19 k-dramas were not so well known and were just beginning to spread themselves in the world, the pandemic changed everything. Mostly because of the streaming platform Netflix that produced many of the most popular dramas in the world which are, for example,  Crash Landing on You, Sweet home etc.

K-dramas are built differently than American series. They usually have one season that consists of 16 episodes of of approximately one hour each. Almost every drama has a love thread interwoven in it. Dramas may be about a very strong, young, revenge-focused and independent woman but still her prince charming will occur at some point ;). A typical old drama that focuses only on love and delicate women are not so common nowadays.

K-dramas’ characteristics:

– The main plot is a romance between a female lead and a male lead.

– The male lead is a  child of a rich cheabol (a South Korean conglomerate) and a female lead comes from a poor family.

– There are many obstacles on the way to happiness of the main characters, for example, a mother of  the male lead.

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Vocabulary:

a K-drama –  a Korean drama

a male lead – a man who is the main character

a female lead – a woman who is the main character

a second lead – a man that steals the audience’s heart but not the female lead

a second lead syndrome – occurs when you start to ship the  female lead with the second lead

a cheabol – a Korean term for a conglomerate

Now it is time for some drama recommendations:

„Hotel Del Luna”– An amazing series that shows  a ruthless and indifferent owner of the hotel for ghosts. She does not care if she vanishes from this world or not, as long as she gets her  revenge,  but she changes when gods put on her way an ambitious and stubborn young hotelier.

„Boys over Flowers” – If you want to experience a Cinderella’s story in Korean version, this position is for you. You will find here a poor but extremely smart and ambitious girl that encounters a well-known and influential group of silk stockings (rich men) named F4. What will happen if two of them fall in love with our female lead? Find out for yourself!

I hope my post brought you a little bit closer to the world of k-dramas! 🙂 Enjoy!

🇰🇷🍚🥢🍜  2023/2024 © Amanda Szczepankiewicz,  Języki Obce w Mediach i Biznesie, 3 rok, Akademia Nauk Stosowanych w Koninie