Korean VS Japanese dramas: Which do you prefer?

[rynnerae]

From Descendants of the Sun to Love in the Moonlight to Scarlet Heart to Weightlifting Fairy to Hwarang to Legend of the Blue Sea to Goblin... As a Kpop fan, I'm very well aware of how K-dramas are all the rage lately. Well, to be more accurate, Korean dramas have always been more popular the two, considering how many (older) fans of Kpop were pulled into Korean entertainment in the first place through dramas (like Boys over Flowers, Full House, etc.) before becoming fans of the music.

Personally, however, I prefer Japanese dramas. Physical appearances aside, I find Korean acting to be a little cringe-y (pretty sure the word doesn't really exist, but I'm sure you guys get me) and can only really appreciate movies. I tried watching Heartstrings and Perfect Match several years back, but I could never make it past more than 4 or 5 episodes. Maybe it's just a comfort thing for me, considering I basically grew up on anime and am more used to Japanese (voice-) acting, which prepared me for my drama-binge stage back in high school. I plan on watching couple of K-dramas (as in the series, specifically Love in the Moonlight because of B1A4's Jinyoung and Hwarang because of BTS' V/Kim Taehyung), so I might change my mind---

But anyway. Regardless of my opinions, I'd love to hear what you guys think!

[Linzz]

For my part, I had a hard time getting used to Korean language, actually. Since like you, rynnerae , I am also used to Japanese animation and had always heard Japanese language most of the time and prefers original Japanese voices than English dubed ones.

Another point is, I don't watch drama that much unless it is an adaptation of my favorite anime/manga series (examples were Detective School Q, Detective Conan, One Liter of Tears, etc...) I usually watch movies in the J-drama side because they take so much time with my life. Just think of what you could do within one hour instead of sitting in front of your screen! So I don't really watch that much since I also have some anime to watch (with lots of titles, by the way).

I only watched Heartstrkings and Dream High because my classmates recommended them and I love how their story was created. It wasn't just about love but how music and how someone can do almost anything to achieve their dream and I felt so moved and inspired. So basically, that's where I started watching K-dramas but only a few titles.

If I were to compare K-drama to J-drama, I'd say I agree that how K-drama's actors and actresses tend to act cringe-y while J-drama has this stiff ones (since most actors and actresses for J-drama are new ones while for the movie are the comprehensive ones). Although I find both of them amusing, I find J-drama more accurate into my taste than K-drama. I don't really like historical touch on stories except if they are Jackie Chan ones (you know you can't get tired of Jackie Chan and Historical China). On the other hand, I have such deep interest with Japan's History than Korea's so.... lol

[rynnerae]

Linzz : I completely agree, though I mostly started watching J-dramas after getting into several groups like Hey!Say!JUMP (half of the group is called Hey!Say!7 and they sang the 2nd opening and ending songs of Lovely Complex), NEWS, KAT-TUN and Arashi. I've definitely watched more Japanese live action series than Korean ones, which other K-pop fans I've met find strange. Oh well.

I am trying to be more open though. I love a few older Korean movies, like Speedy Scandal. And like I said, I'm planning to watch a few newer dramas, plus some movies. Hopefully I'll actually get around to doing it, considering my list of anime and j-dramas to watch is also pretty long---