This ain’t yo mama’s glossary, nor is it a really a helpful assemblage of drama terms or anything useful. Instead this is basically a collection of similarities I’ve noticed/put upon the dramas I have watched. Emphasis on me, (because I obviously don’t do that enough on this blog), so many of these are very weird, make little sense, and/or may not the the most politically correct thing to ever grace the interwebs. But thats what the internet is for right?!? So I’m apologizing in advance, and below the two columns I attempt to explain some of the more vague subjects. Oh, and the colors just helped me locate the commonalities to the specific drama when this was in spreadsheet form.
1/2 Hasians = half asian or mixed race person who appears on screen; they are usually American.(Ex. Daniel Henney, Ricky Kim)
Black it up! – a person of African descent in Korean drama (usually extras, or gangsters. Ugh.) (Ex. Rooftop Prince, Queens Classroom)
Cum on= my elegant way of saying that a sex scene (more likely the insinuation that sex was had) occurred.(Ex. What Happen in Bali, Nine times travels)
Epiclogues – epilogues that occur following most episodes of said drama (Ex. MLFTS, Salaryman)
Episodicia – has similar elements that occur each episode (ex. ghost of the week in Master’s Sun)
Female has $ – No candies here, basically the female lead doesn’t have to worry about paying the next utility bill. (Ex. Padam Padam, Secret Love Affair)
Friends: Endangered Species – Bromance for girls. Bitchy second leads pretending not included. A rare thing to witness in dramaland. (Ex. Personal Taste, I Need Romance)
Gender Dynamic Twist – Subverting gender norms (Ex. IHYV, LSJ likes to clean!)
Hong Kong (Gong) – This is a weird one that could only come from my mind. Take the writers (Hong Sisters) and actress (Gong Hyo Jin) whom I’ve seen several of their projects, combine to form a city-state! (Ex. You are Beautiful, Biscuit Teacher)
Hybrid Hodgepodge – any combination of several different types of genres, moods, or tones. (Ex. IHYV, Arang)
Idol acting – Bad acting performance. Doesn’t have to be idols (Ex. O face in Nine, Jan-Di in BOF)
Kiddo – A child has a regular role on the show. Does not include younger versions of characters (Ex. Queen’s Classroom, Thank You)
Killing Me Softly – A death of significance/personally effected me. (Pilot episodes deaths don’t count) (Ex. SPOILERS!)
Let’s Get Political – Yeah Yeah Yeah! – anything where politics come into play (Ex. City Hunter, King 2 Hearts)
Makeout FY – No lip presses here! Premium examples of some smooching (Secret Garden, AM97)
Now thats what I call second lead syndrome – Can either be std. 2nd lead syndrome, or you prefer a secondary couple to the OTP. (Ex Painter of the Wind, I need Romance 3)
Rooftops and wonders.. -Rooftop is a prominent setting for character interactions. (Rooftop Prince, King of Dramas)
Season 2 – I wanna second season, either because it left me wanting more, or much was left unanswered. (Ex. Joseon X Files, City Hunter, HotS)
Secret Garden Reference – Track Jackets, sit-ups, SG OST, the references… are everywhere (Ex. FBRamyunShop)
State Farm – Like a Good Neighbor… This is basically where the leads are neighbors. Makes for convenient run-ins. (Ex. FlowerBoy Next Door, Shut Up FBB)
That’s so Gayven! – Some sort of LGBT character in a drama (Queen’s Classroom, Answer Me, 1997)
The House. – I want to live in there. (Can be any sort of MASH building. (Mash= Mansion, apt, Shack, or House. (If you don’t know MASH, then your childhood is missing something))) (Ex. MGiaG, Rooftop Prince)
Trifecta Perfecta – A well conceived love triangle. May include: Where one person isn’t just an obvious flaming bitch,stalker obstacle for the OTP. Where you may switch loyalties. Where you don’t know the outcome or OTP. (Ex. Something Happened in Bali, Coffee Prince)
The ones in white are even more arbitrary and only occur in a couple of dramas, like in #skinning where it reminds me of the British high school show Skins, or So American where the show feels more like an NBC show than distinctly Korean. Upon looking these over I probably feature as many anti-tropes or subversions of the norm, then the standard cliches. Anyways, I’ll be referencing these in my reviews so maybe this does serve a tiny, microscopic purpose after all!
The East West Dramality 