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Thread: K-Dramas: Categorizing Common Themes & Cliches

  1. #1
    Moderator Suet Seung's Avatar
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    Default K-Dramas: Categorizing Common Themes & Cliches

    Here's a twist to the listing of common themes and cliches, instead of just listing descriptions of common themes and cliches in K-Dramas, let's try categorize them too. BTW, Love triangles don't count because that exists in almost all romance stories.

    Here I'll start...

    May-December Relationships
    -My Name is Kim Sam Soon
    -Oh Dal Ja's Spring

    Young Unwed Mothers
    -Thank You
    -Country Princess
    -Only You
    -Wonderful Life (for a while until family forces main couple to marry)

    Contract Relationships
    -My Name is Kim Sam Soon
    -Delightful Girl Choon Hyang
    -Full House (?)

    Terminal Diseases
    -Autumn in My Heart/Autumn Tale
    -Love Story in Harvard
    -Thank You
    -Stairway to Heaven

    Taking the Battery Out of Cellphone (when pissed off and does not want to answer that person's call.)
    -My name is Kim Sam Soon
    -Delightful Girl Choon Hyang
    -Full House
    -Witch Yoo Hee
    -Snow White
    -1% of Anything


    Can you add more to the list? or Think of any other categorizes?
    I just love how you Captivate My Mind

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    Senior Member Jilly's Avatar
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    Contract Relationships
    -My Name is Kim Sam Soon
    -Delightful Girl Choon Hyang
    -Full House (?)

    + She is Nineteen (My 19-yr-old Sister-in-law)
    + Sweet 18
    + Rules of Love
    + 1% of Anything

    Terminal Diseases
    -Autumn in My Heart/Autumn Tale
    -Love Story in Harvard
    -Thank You
    -Stairway to Heaven

    + I'm Sorry I Love You (Misa)
    + Stained Glass
    + The Snow Queen

    Taking the Battery Out of Cellphone (when pissed off and does not want to answer that person's call.)
    -My name is Kim Sam Soon
    -Delightful Girl Choon Hyang
    -Full House
    -Witch Yoo Hee
    -Snow White
    -1% of Anything

    + My Girl
    + 9 End 2 Outs

    Can you add more to the list? or Think of any other categorizes?
    Amnesia:
    - Winter Sonata
    - Save the Last Dance

    Non-blood Related Sibling Relationships:
    - Autumn Tale
    - Stairway to Heaven
    - Tree Heaven
    - One Fine Day
    Last edited by Jilly; 06-04-08 at 01:48 PM.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Jean's Avatar
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    Pulling heroine away from oncoming traffic
    My name is Kim Sam Soon
    Delightful Girl Choon Hyang
    Snow White

    And I think there's may-december relationship in Snow White too?

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    Senior Member jadebunny9's Avatar
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    The main heroine is poor but kind-hearted, and stuck between two extremely hot, rich, sweet guys
    Too many to list


    Slaps. Korean dramas have this slapping fetish.
    It's everywhere. Once again, too many to list

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    C'mon, can you really say these are May December relationships? The age difference (in the story) is usually less than 12 years. That's May September, at best. Oldboy was May December. I would categorise the listed May December dramas more as a older woman theme than May-December

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    Quote Originally Posted by jadebunny9 View Post
    The main heroine is poor but kind-hearted, and stuck between two extremely hot, rich, sweet guys
    Too many to list


    Not just poor but also not very bright and sophsticated type.
    More Careless, absent-minded, simplistic and could be a country girl.

    Full House, Hotelier, My Girl, Princess Hour, Que Sera Sera, Thank You, Fashion 70s and the list goes on.....Anyway, I never get tired of such story line.

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    Moderator Suet Seung's Avatar
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    1st Love is not Main Girl
    Main guy has a first love or girlfriend but is forced to become close or have a relationship with the main girl, who he hates and fights with all the time and eventually falls for the main girl and leaves the first love/GF behind.

    -Sassy Girl Chun Hyang
    -Kim Sam Soon
    -Full House
    -Thank You
    -My Girl
    -Witch Yoo Hee?
    -Exhibition of Fireworks
    -Wedding
    -Which Star Are you From
    -Wonderful Life (I think has it?)

    More?
    I just love how you Captivate My Mind

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    Senior Member jadebunny9's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by starcandy View Post
    Not just poor but also not very bright and sophsticated type.
    More Careless, absent-minded, simplistic and could be a country girl.

    Full House, Hotelier, My Girl, Princess Hour, Que Sera Sera, Thank You, Fashion 70s and the list goes on.....Anyway, I never get tired of such story line.
    Simplicity can be good, but a lot of these characters come across as over-ditzy. And personally, I feel that it has a bad influence on the population of young Korean girls, who think that acting in such a way would snare hot, rich, sweet guys.

    And the heart of gold thing is overdone too. People are just WAY too kind and selfless. Probably the only exception to this is Sam Soon.

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    Moderator Suet Seung's Avatar
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    This is kind of off topic, but I notice despite how poor the girl is she'll always have more than one fashionable winter coat (several actually) and all these clothes that seem better than the average moderately poor person. Korean drama makers really do not know what poor is.

    Like in Hello MR. God, the main heroine is a poor girl but she still has at least 3 different winter coats and purses that matches her clothes. I don't get how that happens but it isn't real life.
    I just love how you Captivate My Mind

    Self reminder - Update blog more often and continue editing/writing for TOV fanfic.

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    Love Squares (2 men, 2 women)

    - All About Eve
    - Over the Rainbow
    - I'm Sorry I Love You
    - Say You Love Me
    - Oh! Pil Seung
    - All In
    - My Love Patzzi
    - Four Sisters
    - Wuri's Family a.k.a. My Home
    - Endless Love a.k.a. Autumn in My Heart
    - Happy Together
    - Hotelier
    - Love Story in Harvard
    - My 19-year-old Sister In Law
    - My Name is Kim Sam Soon
    - Save the Last Dance For Me
    - Tomato

    One woman, two men

    - Lovers in Paris
    - Jewel in the Palace
    - Which Star Are You From
    - Attic Cat

    Disturbing (the female and male lead fall in love despite first thinking they were blood siblings)
    - Endless Love a.k.a Autumn in My Heart
    - One Fine Day
    *-._.-*-._.-* carpe diem *-._.-*-._.-*
    www.the-exalted-rambles.blogspot.com

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    Tomboyish, gutsy and fiery female leads who screech and then screech some more

    - Jung-eun (Attic Cat)
    - Seo-yoon (I Am Happy)
    - Bok-sil (Which Star Are You From)
    - Song-ee (My Love Patzzi)
    *-._.-*-._.-* carpe diem *-._.-*-._.-*
    www.the-exalted-rambles.blogspot.com

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    Airport Finale/Climax Scenes

    - Attic Cat
    - Lovers in Paris
    - Love Story in Harvard
    - Wuri's Family
    *-._.-*-._.-* carpe diem *-._.-*-._.-*
    www.the-exalted-rambles.blogspot.com

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    I can't believe no one put down piggy back rides, especially after a bout of drinking followed by soul-baring revelations...

    Wonderful life
    Save the Last dance
    Snow queen
    Green rose and my girl (?) can't remember exactly.

    more amnesia dramas
    Queen of the game
    Bad family
    and that love something, she married her stepbrother.

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    Junior Member SodaPop's Avatar
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    Kids that grew up together fall in love, get seperated, and reunite
    The Snow Queen
    Winter Sonata
    Stairway to Heaven
    Autumn in My Heart

  15. #15
    atlantean0208
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    I guess there is only one with feet blowing/messaging (don't get me wrong, this is not fetish but it's very romantic in those scene!) and Back From The Dead & Super Rich:

    Green Rose

    Well I guess the Back From The Dead & Super Rich is a global cliche copied directly from Dumas's Count Of Monte Cristo
    Last edited by atlantean0208; 09-02-08 at 07:03 PM.

  16. #16
    Moderator Suet Seung's Avatar
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    I had to resurrect this thread...

    There's always a scene in a k-drama where the characters drive down the road thinking and suddenly they're hit by an epiphany or become upset or jealous or whatever and they would make a U-turn or pull over to the side.

    The main characters is usually from a poor or rich family, but can't be all poor.
    I just love how you Captivate My Mind

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    A common thing I notice in Korean dramas is ending narration. There is no narration throughout the show until the last episode. It seems as if the producer doesn't know how to end the show so he/she decides to have the main character (usually the main girl) narrate the ending.

  18. #18
    Moderator Suet Seung's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dictionary View Post
    A common thing I notice in Korean dramas is ending narration. There is no narration throughout the show until the last episode. It seems as if the producer doesn't know how to end the show so he/she decides to have the main character (usually the main girl) narrate the ending.
    Can you give me some examples of it? In which dramas?



    There's always a crazy mom who's against her son's choice of love/wife. Worst is when both mother and father of the son is against his choice of love or in some cases the girl is rich and the guy is poor so the parents of the girl is against her courtship with the guy.
    I just love how you Captivate My Mind

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  19. #19
    Member mi do ri's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Suet Seung View Post
    Can you give me some examples of it? In which dramas?



    There's always a crazy mom who's against her son's choice of love/wife. Worst is when both mother and father of the son is against his choice of love or in some cases the girl is rich and the guy is poor so the parents of the girl is against her courtship with the guy.
    I think Scent of A Women is one and Secret Garden might be another, except I think SG was narrated by Hyun Bin's character.
    Less Than Perfect

  20. #20
    Moderator Suet Seung's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mi do ri View Post
    I think Scent of A Women is one and Secret Garden might be another, except I think SG was narrated by Hyun Bin's character.
    Thanks, but I meant to ask Dictionary about his/her examples for
    A common thing I notice in Korean dramas is ending narration. There is no narration throughout the show until the last episode. It seems as if the producer doesn't know how to end the show so he/she decides to have the main character (usually the main girl) narrate the ending.
    I just love how you Captivate My Mind

    Self reminder - Update blog more often and continue editing/writing for TOV fanfic.

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