I got into Korean dramas in 2010. I read an article about DBSK/TVSQ, the pop group
with the biggest fan group in the world.
So I went on YouTube to check out their videos. Then I watched several videos from the side
bar (I later discovered that they were Sungkyunkwan Scandal fan fics). These were confusing and had no subtitles,
but they piqued my interest, so I searched out the actual drama and began
watching it from the beginning. By the
third episode I was hooked.
I watched the first four episodes with Spanish subtitles
(thanks to a YouTuber in Peru), then that channel was closed down, so I watched
whatever I could find with English or French subtitles. There were a couple episodes that I watched
raw on Chinese video sharing platform, Tudou because I couldn’t find them
subtitled in any of my languages. I
then watched four more dramas between winter break and Martin Luther King
Day. I began to realize that I had to
take a break because my stack of grading was piling up (I’m a high school teacher). So I took about two months off, and then
started watching them again, but limiting myself to just one per month. Meanwhile, I discovered Kpop, drama recap
websites, Korean food, learned how to read & write hangeul and am learning
how to speak Korean. All because of a
fluff piece about Caceopeia on Yahoo
News.
As someone who isn’t terribly impressed with Hollywood’s
output, I’ve always been into world cinema, so it’s not unusual for me to watch
subtitled films. I’ve been through a
French & Italian film phase, a Chinese film phase and, in the early 2000s,
a serious Bollywood movie phase. Since
I’ve always been a bit different from my family and friends in general, they
don’t think much (good or bad) of my current predilection for Korean
entertainment. Also, being an adult, I
don’t worry about what people think about my choices.
December 2011
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