omonatheydid | KCON 2013: The World of K-Drama Recap

This year I went to Day 1 of KCON to attend The World of K-Drama panel, brought to us by Viki, featuring actor Sean Richard and Dramabeans owner/editor Dramabeans and Girlfriday. I actually wasn’t going to go, but I ended up going to help out the awesome girls from KPop Savant and I’m so glad I did! While the panel was scheduled at the very beginning of KCON (Doors opened at 10am, panel started at 11am), giving me the feeling that the powers that be wanted to get the panel out of the way so that the KPOP portion can finally begin, I have to say it was my favorite part of the day. Not just because I’m a drama fan before anything else, but because it was nice to meet people that were interested in having serious conversations about the many times ridiculous world of dramas. That’s rare.

We started off talking about why K-dramas are so popular and the panelists agreed that K-dramas have a format that can be appreciated by many people. We all know that these dramas will have one season, we’re not left with season cliffhangers, forced to wait months for another season or to even find out if we’ll get another season, such as American or British television. We get strong endings that generally tie up any loose ends and more likely to be satisfying on many levels. We’re not left wondering or, drama gods forbid, left hanging when it gets abruptly cancelled.

Now, dramas ARE formulaic, but there’s a conscious effort by every new drama to up the ante. Every drama is an attempt to speed up the plot or give what the audience wants immediately while still staying true to the story. The same plot devices are used, but with small improvements. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But when it works, it’s awesome!

Although, even with those “small improvements” dramas can still miss the mark, yet we watch them until completion. Why do we do that?! Especially when it causes us so much pain! Well, Dramabeans stated that it could be blamed on their ability to give us that quick emotional high. Even when a drama is good, it could be one of those heart-wrenching, tear-inducing dramas that we still come back to week-after-week. There’s definitely something to that and I would have to agree it’s the high that DB mentioned.

Another reason why K-dramas have been so successful is their live filming. Sean Richard, who’s worked on Athena: Goddess of War and Jejoongwon, talked about how, while this method may be great for a series’ run ratings-wise, it’s very demanding for actors as it results in a very tight schedule. For example, while he worked on Athena, he would receive a script at 11am, would be required to film his scenes from that script by that afternoon, they would finish filming at 6pm and the episode would air at 9pm. Yeah, it’s that rough. He even mentioned that at one point during the filming, the actors came to the set and there was no script so the director gave the scenario to the actors and simply asked them what they would say if they were in the particular scene. It was funny, but it may also explain a lot about certain shows if this happens often.

Remember, dramas generally start out with a roughly 70-page complete synopsis that is given to the actors that they’d like to cast in the drama. The scripts are made when filming begins.

While live filming is demanding on the actors and crew, live script changes make us feel like the writer is listening to us. Not just Korean viewers either! Girlfriday pointed out that comments on forums such as the Dramabeans comment sections have been translated by drama crews into Korean so that they can be taken into consideration for a drama. So, KEEP WRITING THOSE COMMENTS. Whether it be on Dramabeans, Soompi, heck, even right here on Drama Debussie. And be honest! Our dramas can’t get better if we lie, now can they?

We also talked about the internet and how social networking has made it possible for international drama watchers to get their drama fix. Granted, we (OP note : Americans) have Dramafever, Viki, Netflix and Hulu as LEGAL options to watch dramas now, but it wasn’t like that a couple of years ago. Girlfriday referred to dramas having a “wild west” era where they had to be downloaded in order to be watched. Granted, those days aren’t completely over, but downloading has been cut down exponentially since these streaming sites have come out on the scene.

I actually remember the days when we had to use a torrent to download an episode and wait days, sometimes weeks for subtitles. This is is why you’ll never find me complaining about the speed of subs on streaming sites. We’ve come a long way and waiting a couple of days or in many cases HOURS to watch an subbed episode is fantastic.

So, what’s the future of K-dramas? Very likely collaborations with other countries. We’re already had some joint ventures between Japan and Korea, but they haven’t been that successful.

Sean Richard mentioned that in order for K-dramas to grow, its format would have to be the preferred format in Asia and then it could reach to other countries. Sure, there have been K-drama adaptations of Japanese dramas and vice versa, but they were both remade in a way that catered to their audiences.

Will America be one of those drama adapting countries? Meh, maybe. Dramabeans explained that it’s hard to translate that style to American television and I have to agree. A few shows have been optioned, such as My Name is Kim Sam Soon, but nothing has happened. It’s hard to take 16 episodes and try to turn it into multiple seasons, 5 seasons being the magic number since that’s when a show goes into syndication AKA the big bucks. I love My Name Is Kim Sam Soon, but I just don’t see any way it could stay true to the original work throughout five seasons without being forced or cheesy. Not that the show HAS to stay true to the original content, but Kim Sam Soon works for a reason and deviating from or elongating the story is dangerous.

The difficulty actually lies in one of them main reasons we love dramas so much. The plot is designed to span however many episodes it has, not season after season. Most K-dramas are successful because of it’s instant gratification, but American dramas are designed to give us a little at a time. It kinda sums up the difference between American and Korean priorities, now doesn’t it?

Some other highlights of the panel was Sean Richard talked about how Lee Min Ho got the lead in Boys of Flowers. It was as simple as Lee Min Ho’s friend knew the producer of BOF who was looking for an actor to cast in the lead role. His friend knew Lee Min Ho was having a hard time finding a job, he suggested him to the producer, a meeting was set up, Lee Min Ho was cast on the spot, and the rest is history. One day a monument will built in honor of that man with the inscription, “A Great Friend to Lee Min Ho, Forever in Our Gratitude and an Enemy to Every Young Actor Out There That Wanted That Role.”

I also was able to nervously ask why we have the media back and forth when it comes to casting. Why do the rumors start that an actor is cast and then the actor comes back two hours later saying that they are “currently reviewing the project. It ultimately comes down to media play. The actors may be considering the role, but haven’t made a decision. Production companies or broadcasters will usually release news that an actor has been cast in order to speed up the process. Sean had the same thing happen to him with Take Care of Us, Captain where news was released that he was cast in the series, but he knew nothing of it (ha). Turns out his agency was discussing the role with the producers, but nothing had been signed.

He also wanted to stress that we can’t believe everything we read in the news. Which, yeah, we know but what else do we have? It’s always important to use commonsense when reading news but most of us don’t have the inside track, now do we?

Overall, I thought it was great panel and a great experience. I just wish it was bigger. I understand that dramas would not be the focus of KCON and, honestly, they didn’t even have to do this panel, but seeing all these K-pop fans have two full days of being able to share their K-pop love made me feel like the single friend who’s forced to watch all her friends with their amazing relationships. I’m happy that K-poppers have a way to celebrate their favorite artists, but I would love drama fans to be able to do the same. Maybe one day we will. You never know.

dramadebussie

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From:

purekpopology.livejournal.com

I'm really happy to hear the kdrama panel went well. If I'd had the change to go to KCON I would have really liked to go hear girlfriday/dramabeans talk and answer some questions!

From:

ceecile.livejournal.com

I love their podcasts!

endless charms, endless possibilities

KCON 2013: The World of K-Drama Recap

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