Counting Pulses

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About Me

I'm Kay, I live in London and I LOVE all things Korean - food, history, language, music and film.

신화, Drunken Tiger, Epik High, 이준기, 주지훈, Teddy Park, 성시경

Western music: Lisa Gerrard, Sarah McLachlan, Heather Nova and any other artist who sings with their heart on their sleeve

My Review website

Blogs I follow:

Theme by: Miguel
  1. Kpop Reality Check: 17. Why is Ramen such a dominant motif in Boys Over Flowers?

    kpoprealitycheck:

    saharial:

    kpoprealitycheck:

    Motif: is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative (or literary) aspects such as theme or mood.

    We’ve all seen Boys Over Flowers, we all laughed, cried, felt pissed off and basically went on a roller…

    Awesome article! I remember when watching the Banjun dramas how often they would eat Pizza and that’s cos they were sponsored by Dominos - not something you always know unless you see the credits and listings at the end of an episode which I don’t on a lot of occasions. I often wonder how many social ideals are engineered into dramas along with the advertising and how many political points. By the time I had finished watching ‘Dr. Champ’ i was able to say ‘Korean beef/pork is better than foreign beef/pork, its more tender and has a better flavour, Its cheaper too, and better for the economy’  I swear every character said at least once in the drama that as they were always sitting down to eat meat. as soon as anyone commented on how nice the meat was the cook would say ‘that’s because I use domestic… etc etc’

    Hello! I’ve actually replied to this via your formspring but i’ve checked that and i’m going to assume that your not active on that so i thought i’d take the opportunity to talk to you here instead after the last CF post. When i just read your comment i sat with a dopey grin on my face thinking “Yes, someone gets it!” I checked out the Banjun dramas after you mentioned it and found out Rain was in one of the episodes…  at pizza hut XD lol :D 

    “ I often wonder how many social ideals are engineered into dramas along with the advertising and how many political points.” You could not have put together a sentence any more perfect. Considering the dramas are created for Koreans first and foremost it’s primarily going to have Korean social values and their politics. I think that’s amazing that they had that ‘meat one liner’ so often in that drama, whether it was part of the storyline or if there was a meat brand sponsor i don’t know but it’s abit condescending. Which sorts of challenges that if they know they have an audience outside of Korea, would they be deliberately saying that line? I guess they are taking advantaged of the Korean wave, i mean i bet their tourism is booming but that’s because kpop fans have perceived Korea to be this euphoria. ANYWHO, there are so many gender stereotypes and Korean ideals in dramas it drives me nuts sometimes (in a good analytical though provoking way lol). There is an obvious inequality value that still exists in korea especially since it’s represented in the media. I mean the latest was Hyuna with her banned bubble pop dance for being sexually provocative but it’s socially acceptable for men to walk around half naked. I’m rambling on aswell! Perhaps i should make an actual post instead of rambling to you (sorry :D). 

    Anywho, please continue to write your comments, i really appreciate your opinion because they’re really rich and thought provoking. Not only that i don’t know everything and it’s great to get some perspective. Thanks heaps :D (I hope you don’t mind me reblogging.)

    Kdramas are at times like hour long promos for products, music and social values. The scary thing is, how many people might think life in Korea is like this. I certainly don’t judge Western TV as indicative of our culture and attitudes so I don’t do it to Korean ones, but there will be a lot of people out there who get fooled into thinking this way and have a pretty nasty culture shock over it all.

    Phones, sportswear, food, music, jewellery, toys… its in every drama. Look at ‘You’re beautiful’ and the merchandise from that - the pig-rabbit, the hair bow. Whilst  they were relevant to the story you do wonder to what extent things get engineered into the drama as a way of providing funding to make it in the first place. IRIS was even worse with merchandising, though even I got keen on having the USB that looked like a cross (but then I’m a bit of a tech head and i love sneaky USB designs).

    There will be a saturation point one day and the initial fall out from it it won’t be pretty.