Ask an Ajumma

Hello all our lovely MDL friends! It's time, yet again, for a round of questions for the ajummas. We have some great questions to answer as well. Please enjoy yourself, and if you have any questions to ask please send a PM to  ask-an-ajumma. On with the questions!

If you are in a huge drama slump, what dramas would you suggest to get out of one?

- Iamadramalover

Dearest -

If I’m in a drama slump here’s my recipe for shaking up the screen drama doldrums:

• A: Read a book - turn off the screen and jump into a world between the pages. If your mood is in flux, then try something to stir the senses
• B: Watch something other than Kdrama, jdrama, lakorn, etc.... my go to is always foreign MOVIES. Why? No pesky episodes, story gets completed in 1-1.5 hours. I like anything with lots of dancing & great butt moving music + a great storyline - so off to Indian movies. Try: ABCD Anybody Can Dance or Barfi!, a heart-stirring story with fab scenery.

If all else fails combine A & B, watch & read any JANE AUSTEN title: "Pride & Prejudice" or my fav: "Persuasion". The game changing move to beat any slump is to get outside, breathe deep and smile at the next person you see. It's all about perspective dramalover - remember life is the real drama, darling! 

-- Bookish A.

"Dear Ajumma,

Would you mind telling me if there is any drama, you will definitely not allow your child to watch and why?

Thank you for your reply"

- Klaudia

Dear fellow addict,

I don’t think I have a specific drama to forbid my child from watching, but I would rather not have him/her watch any drama to start with. I don’t believe most dramas are suited for their age and mentality; it’s too soon to expose them to this addiction. They can discover it on their own when they get past their teen years. So, at this point, I won’t allow my child to watch any drama on my list. It’s still early and can be proven as a bad influence – it’s not that I consider Asian dramas bad influence but rather a time-consuming, unwanted addiction for children and young teens. I hope this answered your question, and I apologize that I couldn’t give you a specific drama title.

-- Romantic A.

"Dear ajummas!

I have a question which is really bothering my mind and as a drama addict i want this all out of my mind. Do you think that Korean dramas should change in a bit and be more mature well more is like ”a lot”? For example i started watching dramas because of the innocence, example Playful Kiss! I have really problem watching mature dramas even when i’m mature myself so….finally my question is do you think korean dramas should stay like this or be more american stylish? ( which i don’t like…)

PS- Any innocent drama to recommend? I am drama addict so i saw lot already but still wanna watch more :))))) 

You’re BIG fan Dak-shi <33333"

I personally think that what distinguishes Eastern dramas from Western type fiction is exactly the innocent aspect of most of their stories. I would definitely not enjoy them as much if they were too similar to American fiction for example, as I find this is their unique trait. 

Admittedly, sometimes I believe that in dramas they take this innocent aspect to an extreme, especially in stories involving older and mature characters, and I would not mind if they represented relationships in a slightly more realistic way but not too much, in other words I would like a healthy way in between one extreme or the other.

As I haven’t seen Playful Kiss I am not sure if the following dramas would be to your liking but out of the ones I have seen I would recommend: Cunning Single Lady, Flower Boy Next Door, Shut Up: Flower Boy Band, Miss Korea, My Princess, Oh! My Lady, Tomorrow’s Cantabile, You’re Beautiful.

- Chatty A.

"Ajumma, thanks for your reply! I’ll watch the dramas you’ve remained in the article, btw, do you know any dramas like High school: Love on! ? I think I’ve saw all the dramas that are like that one, so i would like to know if there’s airing or if it will air another drama like that! thank you! :))"

-- Anonymous

Hey there, anonymous!

I took a look at your list and saw that we have watched a lot of the same shows! I wish I could add to the list of shows that are like Hi! School: Love On, but I’m having a difficult time thinking of any. It’s hard to find something that has supernatural elements, love triangles, comedy, and drama, all set in a high school situation. What I can do is give you a few off of my list that you didn’t see yet.

Shows that have at least one of the leads in high school: High School King of Savvy, Switch Girl!!(seasons 1 & 2), Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy, and Shut Up: Flower Boy Band (dark, but totally good!)

Shows that do not have high schoolers in them: Surplus Princess, Cunning Single Lady, Marriage, Not Dating, Panda and Hedgehog, My Princess (not an absolute fave, but it was cute).

As for upcoming shows, I’m interested in: Blood (Korea), Spy (Korea), Healer (Korea), Scholar Who Walks the Night(Korea), Hyde, Jekyll, I (Korea), Maids (Korea), and Ming Ruo Xiao Xi (Taiwan) — I think that this one may have aired this past summer, but I’m not quite sure. I need to find it though. LOL!

I wish I could help you more, but those are the ones I’d recommend from the list of shows I’ve personally seen or have been keeping an eye on. I wish you happy watching!

- Obsessive A.

Hi! 

Recently, I’ve fallen in love with dramas that include main characters with really big character flaws such as having a bad personality, being cold and heartless, or just having a really short temper and acts out violently. I was hoping you could recommend me some dramas or movies that include a protagonist that is misunderstood or just has a really bad rep. Some of the drams that I’ve really enjoyed that included main characters like this have been Go Hye Mi in Dream High, Song Eun Ju in Cinderella’s sister, and Jang Mi Ri in Miss Ripley.

-- EverettDelaney

You have seriously given me a poser!  Since I haven't seen Dream High, Cinderella's Sister or Miss Ripley, I was in a bit of a quandry as to how to respond to your question. I went through my "completed" list and discovered that it's difficult to find main female leads with bad character flaws in most dramas (and movies)! But I found a few. 

Movies first: My Sassy Girl. It's the classic "girl with a bad personality" movie to watch. Wasn't my personal favorite, but it seems to be pretty popular. Another movie where the main female doesn't have the best personality: Why Did You Come to my House? (to be honest, I wasn't a big fan of this film, but who knows.. you may like it)

Now for the dramas: Attic Cat. The main female is nice, but she also has a bad temper. She may or may not be what you're looking for. You can compare her to Yang Song Yi in My Love Patzzi (but Patzzi is a far better drama imho). Next, Take Care of the Young Lady: She is selfish and spoiled at first, but is transformed by love...  it's sort of the reverse rich boy/poor girl scenario. Finally, Keizoku 2: SPEC is part of the SPEC series of Japanese drama, specials, and movies where the main female is socially inept/awkward. 

If you're looking for more recommendations, I suggest asking in the forums where I'm sure many of our MDL family members will have suggestions for you. Or perhaps some might be generous enough to recommend some here in the comments?

- Introspective A

 Please look forward to the next issue of Ask an Ajumma!