I Enjoy The Best Of Korean Culture While I Hate Koreaboo Bandwagons

I'm a fan of quality Korean drama (though I'm selective like every culture). What bothers me though is the annoying Koreaboo Bangwagon. What's a bandwagon you may ask? Investopedia would define it as, "The bandwagon effect is a psychological phenomenon in which people do something primarily because other people are doing it, regardless of their own beliefs, which they may ignore or override. The bandwagon effect has wide implications, but is commonly seen in politics and consumer behavior." What's a Koreaboo? Weeaboos are those who aren't Japanese but overrates Japanese culture. Koreaboos are those who aren't South Korean but they overrate South Korean culture.

Some people just get into Korean drama or culture because they fear that they don't conform to their Koreaboo peers or even society even if it goes against their own productive individuality. Exposure to Korean culture was something new and people just picked it and more people picked it. The Korean bandwagon just kept getting bigger and bigger where people got into it to "look cool" and not to be labeled as an "outsider". That means some Korean culture were actually forcing their views on others who don't like Korean culture while others failed to defend their productive individualism as a result.

What's worse about with Koreaboo bandwagons is that you can soon expect some internal bullying one way or another. It's just like the experience I've had with bandwagons. I don't like the latest entry of a certain franchise because either it sucks or it's not my cup of tea -- I end up getting "left out" and they say that I'm stupid for not liking it. They end up trying to become one hive that just wants to blindly accept everything from their side as good and everyone else's side as bad and you must conform and never have an opinion of your own. Worse, they may even tend to care only if something is new rather than if something new actually delivers results. I like what's new not because it's shiny and new -- instead I like it only when it delivers my intended results.

I just thought of why I got into Korean drama didn't always have a good reason. I guess everyone already knows of the stupid moment where I got into it because certain South Korean girls were kawaii -- though some of them were just results of surgeries but others were just naturally gorgeous. I still can't help but admit how I once enjoyed Autumn in My Heart and Full House for the girl and not for the plot at first sight -- then I started enjoying them for the plot. I got into Korean drama not because I wanted to fit in but only because it was appealing in some way either visually or story-wise. Sometimes, some of them just plain suck. One of my most hated K-Drama is the Korean version of Hana Yori Dango called Boys Over Flowers -- the Taiwanese version was SO MUCH better!

I enjoy Korean food which IMHO tastes better than Japanese food. Sure, I would enjoy having a tonkotsu or bone broth ramen every now and then all the while I think Korean soups such as the seollongtang or someori. I occasionally enjoy Korean music even if in reality I just don't care too much about the soundtrack vs. the plot of the K-Drama. All the while, I would really like some kimbap, Korean style gyoza (also called mando dumplings), some warm Korean beef soup (specifically the ox bone soup or ox head soup) all the while I want to enjoy some Japanese entertainment and music at the same time.

It's plain and simple. I'm a fan of something because I'm a fan of something. I realized that recently I just don't care anymore about silly fights such as J-Pop culture and K-Pop culture. Instead, I choose to break that rule and enjoy the best and throw out the worst from both worlds. Also, if you don't like Korean culture then fine but don't force your view upon others.

"Light The Night's" Finale (Spoilers Ahead)

SpikyTV I guess the series just kept us guessing, right? I finally got the chance to finish it after some busy nights. I was right that the killer was HANA (Esther Liu) BUT there's a twist - it was more of voluntary manslaughter than murder. Manslaughter is when one kills out of the heat of passion and that's what Hana did twice in the story. Hana had one against a client who used her and another against Sue after some unfortunate insanity attack. Hana ends up planning to hand herself over but her lover commits murder (towards a character named Chiang An) to protect her. The whole psychological thriller for me just didn't match up to what I wanted. I guess I was too used to how Victim's Game rolled out. I was expecting some real murder scheme. Instead, it was the anti-climatic manslaughter where Hana decides to hand herself to the authorities after what she did. I really still think that the finale wasn't worth too much of the wait. I was expecting something gran

I Just Finished "My Golden Life"

I finally finished My Golden Life which I was hesitant to watch. 52 one-hour long episodes? I was thinking it was easier to watch the Wuxia series that had 40+ minutes per episode such as Princess Weiyang which was quite long. A lot of episodes of My Golden Life would have a few minutes more depending on the coverage of the episode. So, I'm done and I never thought I'd actually finish it since I'm way too used to short K-Dramas. This one was rather long but it was rather entertaining in many ways. I was thinking about how Shin Hye Sun actually did well with on-screen partner Park Si Hoo. Sometimes, I'd like to joke about how they had a chemistry that looked good and felt good. Looked good? Both aren't attractive and I often joke how Hye Sun's face feels melted or how she was rightfully matched with Lee Jong Suk in Hymn of Death . Hye Sun isn't pretty but she really makes up with her good acting and likability. The same goes for Si Hoo with how he acts out hi

Just Finished "My Glamorous Imperial Concubine" (Some Spoilers)

This is another Wuxia series finished. I was having some expectations broken. The show can be full of spoilers when discussed even further. In fact, some characters are walking spoilers. If you're not ready to be spoiled - DON'T READ. If not, you can read further. I feel the show had some plot twists and turns. Besides, maybe some of the villains in this show weren't as evil as you think. Emperor Liancheng is an antagonist but dies before the show can end. Liancheng may have some idiotic obsession with Ma Fuya. It becomes even worse when Liancheng's younger sister Liansi and his younger brother Lianxi get involved. Liansi develops a crush on Meng Qiyou and even gets pregnant in the process. It seems that Ma Fuya was pregnant with Liancheng's baby but ends up in Qiyou's household after Liancheng dies. Liancheng dies doing a selfless act to save Ma Fuya. The obsessive empress Ma Xiangyun commits suicide to kill Emperor Liancheng. Emperor Liancheng's quite a

Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

Search This Blog