Korean Drama-Obsessed Employees Talk About Their Favorite Dramas and Actors (Part 1)

Just as SKY PerfecTV! has various specialized channels for "sports," "music," and "movies," SKY PerfecTV! employees also have their own "obsessions," "biases," or deep expertise in specific genres. There are many employees who are passionate about some form of entertainment content.
Here, we have launched a roundtable discussion project where we gathered employees who couldn't help but talk about their favorite content after sending out a "Calling all [Genre] nerds!" email to the company, which prompted them to step forward, and asked them to talk freely!suspicious We are starting a roundtable discussion project where we gather employees who couldn't help but talk about their favorite content after sending out a somewhat suspicious email to the company and having them step forward to talk freely!


The first topic we will cover is, already (?), content that makes you "fall into the swamp", which is famous as Korean dramas! As the person in charge of this note, I might be able to claim to be an "otaku" in some circles, but I am completely ignorant when it comes to Korean dramas.

Of course, I am well aware that Korean dramas are
"a swamp once you get hooked" content, but I haven't even been able to dip one foot in because of things like the high number of episodes per series and not knowing the actors...!
So,

"So, in the end, what is the appeal of Korean dramas?!"

With that question in mind, I would like to hear from the Korean drama-obsessed employees.


For those who love Korean dramas, I hope you enjoy this as something you can "relate to," and since a total beginner to Korean dramas will be asking the questions, I hope those of you who are like me and think, "I want to watch Korean dramas but don't know where to start!" can enjoy this as an "introductory guide"!



So, here are the

"self-proclaimed Korean drama-obsessed employees" who reacted to the email!▼

Oniku (pseudonym)
(14th year at the company, in charge of Korean drama/K-POP genres)
The reason she got hooked on Korean dramas was an image of Lee Jong-suk she happened to see while working.
From there, she started watching works featuring Lee Jong-suk and fell into the Korean drama swamp, and before she knew it, Korean dramas became a part of her daily life. She has also been an ARMY (BTS fan) since around the time of "I Need U".

Beer (pseudonym)
(6th year at the company, in charge of media broadcasting technology)
A genuine Korean drama nerd whose relatives all love Korean content.
She studied Korean in college and watches dramas while understanding the Korean language. "Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth," which featured BTS's V, was her gateway into the swamp, and she also has a high passion for K-POP, being a fan of BTS, BIGBANG, TWICE, BLACKPINK, and recently ITZY.

Potato (pseudonym)
(2nd year at the company, in charge of affiliate/SNS)
It started when a friend told her it was crazy not to watch "Crash Landing on You," and after watching it, she went on to watch famous works like "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" and "Start-Up," discovering the depth and fun of Korean dramas and falling into the swamp.
She also started getting into BTS, and recently NCT, whom she saw at SM TOWN LIVE.

Mikan (pseudonym)
(3rd year at the company, in charge of domestic drama/variety/stage/idol genres)
Captivated by Park Seo-jun's acting in "Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth," she fell into the swamp along with her mother, who was watching it with her at home.
After that, "Fight for My Way," which she borrowed after being recommended by Oniku, was also good, and she is steadily stepping up to become a Korean drama nerd.



―Thank you all for coming! Today, I would like to delve into the appeal of Korean dramas, and personally, I would love for you all to evangelize them to me (laughs).
You Korean drama lovers really do binge-watch them, sacrificing sleep, don't you?
Oniku: It's not so much sacrificing sleep, but more like "I realized I had no time to sleep" (laughs).
Mikan: It's like, "I'll sleep after watching this. Oh, I'll sleep after watching this one too." You get curious about what happens next and want to watch it.
Everyone: (Bursting into laughter)

―My apologies for that (laughs). There is an image that there are many episodes, but once you start watching...?
Potato: It's over in a flash. It doesn't feel long at all.

―How many episodes are there in one series?
Beer: About 16 episodes... some of the longer ones have over 20.

―That's nearly twice as many as Japanese dramas!
Mikan: And they usually take a full hour, or even more. But Potato-chan and I were talking about this the other day, the first 1 or 2 episodes can be a bit boring (laughs).
Everyone: (Bursting into laughter)
Mikan: But, from around the 3rd or 4th episode, you start thinking, "Huh? This is interesting...!" From there, it's an instant. For example, with a work called "Fight for My Way," I was told "Park Seo-jun is cuter than ever" and borrowed it from Oniku, but the character Park Seo-jun plays in "Fight for My Way" feels unreliable, so I didn't understand that cuteness, and I thought maybe my way of thinking is different from Oniku's. So, I watched it the next day, and the second episode also felt "meh." But, from around the 3rd episode, I was like,
"Hmm? He's cute!". Everyone: (Laughs)
Mikan: My mother, who was sitting next to me and said she had no intention of watching it after seeing only the first episode, started saying, "I'm going to watch it after all, wait a second." (laughs) From there, the two of us watched it at a pace of 3 episodes a day. Towards the end, I was sad that I wouldn't be able to see Park Seo-jun anymore, so I even said, "Let's stop at 1 episode today...!" (laughs)
Everyone: The sadness of not being able to see them anymore, I get it!!

―That much!? Somehow, I've become curious about "Fight for My Way." What kind of story is it?
Oniku: It's a love story between childhood friends, a boy who was a former taekwondo athlete and a girl who wanted to be an announcer but couldn't. You can see a "super affectionate" Seo-jun.
Mikan: "Affectionate Seo-jun".
Everyone: (Laughs)
Beer: Does Oniku own the DVD for "Fight for My Way"?
Oniku: I watch it on SKY PerfecTV!, so I burn almost all of it onto Blu-ray.

―You are the mirror of a viewer (laughs).
Oniku: I also watch it on streaming services, but I want to record my favorite works and keep them on Blu-ray. In terms of the number of such works, KNTV is definitely a god!
Everyone: Yeah, yeah.

Oniku: For Park Seo-jun, like in "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim" or "She Was Pretty," there's a pattern where he plays a "tsundere role, and what's more, he's only 'tsun' at first, but once the 'dere' comes out, you suddenly get hooked."
Mikan: Seo-jun in "Fight for My Way" also shows a "tsun" side, like an elementary school boy who is a little mean to the girl he likes, so I watched it thinking that part was cute (laughs).

―I watched the Japanese version of "She Was Pretty" too. It’s true that the "dere" (lovey-dovey) side only really came out in the second half.
Potato, are there any settings in a romance that you find totally addictive?
Potato: I’ve been really into historical dramas lately.“He’s the king’s son, so he’s in a high position, but he’s straightforward and lovey-dovey with the girl he likes.”I love that kind of setup.

―That setup is amazing (laughs). So there are quite a few works with that "tsun (cold) on the outside, but dere (lovey-dovey) only to the person they like" dynamic.
Potato: Exactly.
Beer: Whenever I watch a drama, I end up falling in love with whoever the protagonist is. That goes for Park Seo-jun, and also Song Joong-ki, who played the lead in Vincenzo.
Even if I wasn't that into them in other dramas, once I see them playing the lead, I start to like that actor, and from then on, I like them even when they appear in other shows. Even Gong Yoo (who played the lead in "Goblin") is an older guy, but... (laughs)
Oniku: They start to look cool, don't they? (laughs)
Beer: So, maybe it’s not about the setting, but the person.I watched Vincenzo four times (laughs).

―Four times!? (Looking at a photo of Song Joong-ki) No... he is definitely cool, I agree.

―Do you all have any favorite actresses?
Everyone: There are so many! (laughs)
Beer: The one from "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim"...
Oniku: Park Min-young!
Everyone: She is seriously so cute.

Oniku: I like Gong Hyo-jin. Do you know "When the Camellia Blooms"?
Beer: I do!! (Very excited)
Oniku: I really love her. I think her acting is so natural and wonderful.

Mikan: I like Kim Go-eun.
Everyone: Ah~~~ she’s so cute, isn't she?
Mikan: She’s the type that the more you watch her, the more you get sucked in. She’s really cute, and even though she’s around 30, she can play a high school girl, and she has this simple, natural vibe.
And when I look at her Instagram, she posts photos without makeup, which is also cute, so I keep hitting the like button (laughs).
Everyone: (laughs)
Oniku: Her voice is cute, too.
Mikan: It is. In "Goblin," the scene where she says“Saranghaeyo” (I love you)was so cute. (Everyone: Ah~~~~~~)

Potato: I like Park Eun-bin, who played the lead in "Extraordinary Attorney Woo." She’s super cute, and the gap in her acting is amazing. In "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," she plays someone with autism, but in "The King's Affection," she plays a role where she cross-dresses as a man, and her range is incredible.

―Oh no. After this meeting ends, I feel like I’m going to follow all the actors and actresses we talked about today on Instagram all at once (laughs).
Everyone: (Roars of laughter)

―You’ve already mentioned quite a few titles, but are there any others that left an impression?
Mikan: Among the ones I’ve watched recently, I’d say "SKY Castle." I love messy, dramatic stories, and "SKY Castle" is exactly that. Plus, unlike Japanese dramas, the "messiness" is on another level.

―Is that "romantic messiness"?
Mikan: This one is "exam messiness." It’s not the kids, but the parents fighting each other. At first, I was just watching it because it happened to be on TV, but the characters live in such high-society places, their clothes are stylish, and everyone has such good posture. (Everyone: (laughs))
The actresses in the mother generation wear clothes where I’m like, "I could never wear a golf outfit with a miniskirt like that!" I was drawn in by the appeal of the costumes, too.
As I kept watching, it got messy and“Wait? Who’s the mastermind in the end?” “Who’s the bad guy and who’s the good guy?!”I got hooked on the mystery aspect of it as well.
After I finished it, I looked at various sites, and apparently, it had really high ratings in Korea too. I won't go into details because it would be a spoiler, but I wasn't very satisfied with the final episode, and it seems many people in Korea weren't either, which caused a huge stir.
Oniku: You’re passionate (about the drama).
Mikan: Yes. It’s a work where you can really feel how much money was spent on props and such, so I definitely want people who like messy dramas to watch it.

―I do have the impression that there are quite a lot of messy Korean dramas. There are messy dramas in Japan too, but is there a difference?
Oniku: I think the "unbelievable" factor is much higher.
Mikan: Instead of just arguing, they go straight to "pulling hair" (laughs).

―Whoa! That’s intense!
Potato: They are very expressive with their emotions (laughs).

―You mentioned costumes earlier; is there any fashion you bought or copied because of Korean dramas?
Oniku: Gong Hyo-jin had a pink Gucci pochette in a drama called "The Producers," and it suited her so well... but since it was Gucci, I agonized over it fortwo or three years (!), and then I bought it!
Everyone: Oh!!
Oniku: The actresses have such great style. Their fashion is cute, and I admire how they wear things.
Beer: For me, Son Ye-jin in "Crash Landing on You" wore a white jacket, white short pants, and black boots...I bought that whole set (laughs).
Everyone: The whole set! (laughs)
Beer: But I haven't worn it (laughs). I’m satisfied just having bought it.
Mikan: Also, it’s not fashion, but after I finish watching, I find myself saying things like "Jincha♡" (really) or "Andwae~~" (no way). I only copy the Korean words that are easy to say (laughs).
Everyone: (laughs)
Potato: For me, it’s not a K-drama, but I was watching "IN THE SOOP: Friendcation" at a friend’s house, and Park Seo-jun was making kimchi fried rice, and it looked so delicious. (Everyone: I know, right!), so my friend and I went to buy the ingredients and made kimchi fried rice right then and there (laughs).
Mikan: It’s true, after you finish watching, you end up wanting to eat the food that appeared in the drama! So, I think I should order chicken before I start watching.
Beer:Chicken and beer, right?. (Everyone: Roars of laughter)

―It’s true, it’s not a drama, but after I finished watching the movie "Parasite," I wanted to eat "Chapaguri" (laughs).

What was supposed to be a one-part article turned into a non-stop conversation among the four, leading into the second half.


Next week, we will deliver“We put out a call for ‘○○ fans’ and interviewed the employees who gathered. [K-Drama Fan Employees - Part 2]”!!

▼ You can read the second half here.

▼ We also held a roundtable discussion for BTS-loving employees. Please enjoy it here!

▼ You can also find the latest K-drama broadcast information and columns here!

Click here for previous roundtable articles!