I have been quite addicted to watching Korean dramas lately because I just love the unique storyline of every series I got to watch, which made me want to watch more. I used to watch K-dramas when I was still in Elementary and the first series I got to watch was the "Boys over Flowers" and "My Girlfriend is a Gumiho". I also watched some episodes of Princess Hours, The Heirs, and City Hunter. I was influenced by my cousins who were always fond of watching the Tagalog dubbed Korean novelas that were aired on the ABS-CBN network.
And when I was already in Senior High School, I was again influenced by my friends who were always talking about the latest Korean dramas they are currently watching. Since I couldn't relate to what they were talking about whenever we have our group chitchats, I decided to copy some of the series they already watched so that I wouldn't feel out of place in our circle of friends. Then I got to watch some of the best Korean dramas that were aired last 2016, like the Descendants of the sun, Goblin, and Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo. And from only 1 series, I already got to watch almost 30 Korean drama series.
At first, I wouldn't call myself a "K-drama fan" because I thought that a "fan" is just someone who has already watched a lot of Korean series. But my perspective about being a K-drama fan changed when I realized that watching Korean dramas have already influenced my life in one way or another.
Because of watching Korean dramas,
I learned to drink (lols)
Yes, watching Korean dramas is somehow a bad influence because even if you are not actually into drinking alcoholic beverages, your curiosity will kill you once you watch a scene where the characters are out there drinking soju, which is a Korean alcoholic beverage. I remember, drinking Yogurt Soju Blast was my first drinking experience when we had a sleepover with my friends.
I tried Korean Foods
Korean dramas always showcase their unique food in every episode, which made me want to try their food too. It's the reason why I wanted to try eating samgyupsal (Korean barbeque) in the first place, and I even bought my own samgyupsal grilling set and a pair of chopsticks just so I can feel the K-drama vibe even if we're just eating out at home. I also tried eating kimchi, tteokbokki, odeng (Korean fish cake), kimbap (Korean sushi roll), and kimchi ramen because of K-drama.
I discovered new Oppas/Unnies
Before, the only Korean actor I know was Lee Min Ho because I got to watch him in Boys Over Flowers and Shin Min-a because of My Girlfriend is a Gumiho. But now, whenever I'm scrolling down on Facebook and I see a post of a compilation of Korean actors and actresses, I can already recognize them and memorize their names and even say what K-drama did I get to watch them. Sorry to Lee Min Ho but my top favorite Korean Oppas now are Lee Dong Wook, Kim Seon Ho, Cha Eun Woo, Park Bo Gum, Yoo Seung Ho, and 99+ others. 😂
I'm learning the Korean language
After watching more than 20 Korean drama series, I'm so happy that I'm slowly learning some of the basic Korean words already and I already know what it means whenever I hear it being spoken by the characters in the drama. My goal this year is to learn to speak at least the basic Korean language so I already started learning how to read and write Hangeul, which is the Korean alphabet.
Sometimes, when I'm with my friends, I'm also trying to use the basic Korean words I know whenever I'm talking to them, like the "Annyeonghaseyo", "Kamsahamnida", and "Ne". And they also go along with me because they are also fond of watching Korean dramas.
I want to visit Seoul, South Korea
I think one of the main goals of Korean drama fans now is to visit South Korea, especially in Seoul so that they can actually live their Korean dream, and I'm not an exception. In fact, South Korea is now the number one country on my list of dream travel destinations I want to visit outside the country. Although it's quite impossible to visit there now and there are a lot of requirements before one can visit the country, I'm still looking forward to visiting South Korea in the future so I'll continue working hard now and keep building my Travel Fund for it.
Who would have thought that just watching Korean dramas can influence my life like this? Watching K-dramas is now my number one stress reliever and I'll probably keep watching until I am fed up with them, which is impossible.
How about you? Do you also like watching Korean dramas? How did your life change after watching these series?
There's no exit!hahaha. I Love the plotwist in every series. The fashion style and their aura(actors) was satisfying to watch.