K-DRAMA SKEPTIC’S QUARANTINE WATCHLIST

A K-Drama Skeptic’s Quarantine K-Drama Watch List

By Nathan Ng (G9)

Iwas never really a big fan of Korean Dramas or “K-Dramas” for short. I would watch some dramas here and there but I never found myself hooked, turning to Hollywood blockbusters or Filipino teleseryes instead. However, if the grueling 10 months (and counting) of lockdown has taught me anything, it’s to give new hobbies a chance. In my boredom, I tried new video games, learned some recipes, read more books than I could count, and when all avenues had been exhausted, I decided to give K-Dramas just one more chance (big mistake!).

As you can probably tell from the title of this article, I found myself pleasantly surprised with the entertainment K-Dramas provided me over the lockdown. Well, that would probably be an understatement. I had a great time (binge) watching them because of the great storytelling, and I’m willing to bet you will, too. Although I didn’t enjoy them before because I found the storytelling repetitive, giving K-Dramas another chance has definitely been one of my 2020 highlights.

With that, below is a list of some of the K-Dramas I enjoyed these past few months, along with reasons I think you’ll enjoy them too — whether you’re a K-Drama newbie or a long-time veteran. Be warned, however — you will be hooked!

Sweet Home

Starting off the list is the Netflix Korean horror series, “Sweet Home”. This K-drama shows that you are never truly safe from danger. The story follows a young high school student named Cha Hyun-soo who moves to a new apartment when, ominously, all hell breaks loose as neighbors suddenly transform into monsters, fueled by their hidden desires. As anarchy consumes the building, Hyun-soo meets other residents whom she must team up with to survive this new monster-filled world. Inspired by the webtoon of the same name, this drama is filled with action, suspense, and most importantly, monsters.

To me, the creatures of Sweet Home are what set the series apart from any other post-apocalyptic drama. The monsters are terrifyingly creative, varying in size, appearance, strength, ability, weaknesses, and much more. One mistake could spell the difference between life and death for our survivors, adding to the tension and suspense that fill each scene.

Aside from the monsters, the strong writing allowed me to connect and empathize with the characters on an emotional level. Such an example is with the character Lee Eun-Hyuk. Eun-Hyuk is a leader that is ready to do whatever it takes for the group to survive. During life and death situations, you have to be prepared as a leader to do whatever it takes for the survival of the group, even when it means making unpopular choices. Some call him cold, but I say he’s just being realistic. In desperate circumstances, he is willing to fight for the group, sometimes even sacrificing his own ideals if it means ensuring the survival of his members.

If you like a survival-themed, monsterfilled, action-horror series driven by strong character development, give “Sweet Home” a try. Itaewon Class

Next on the list is the famous “Itaewon Class.” The story revolves around a kindhearted and well-meaning boy named Park Sae-ro-yi who dreams of becoming a police officer. Park’s father works for a mega food corporation named “Jangga”, but this job comes to an abrupt end when Park saves a classmate from a bully by the name of Jang Geun Won, whose father is revealed to be the CEO of Jangga. With the influence of Geun Won’s father, Park is expelled from school, and his dad is fired from the company. Adding to our protagonist’s woes, Park’s dad dies of a road accident, leaving Park an orphan who is then sent to prison on charges of assault on Geun Won. This makes Park swear revenge on Jangga through his dad’s dream of starting a business to rival the mega corporation. This K-drama, inspired by its webtoon counterpart, is nothing short of an emotional roller coaster ride.

Though I’ve always gravitated towards action-oriented shows, I found Itaewon Class to be still entertaining. This drama shows the power of genuine motivation and passion, but also highlights its pitfalls. When a deep desire for revenge is used to fuel one’s actions and consumes one’s mind, it can get all too easy to forget one’s own identity and principles. Saeroyi is a complex character -- a damaged soul with a good heart and iron will -- and he makes this series all the more emotionally inspiring. I constantly ask myself whether or not I actually want to see him succeed! There are many more lessons and themes to learn from this series, but I will leave those to you to explore.

Art by: Sky Angeles (G9)

Boys Over Flowers

Last but not the least, we have the romance K-dramas (cue the “Ewww”). Hear me out: I simply cannot forget the K-Drama genre that inspired legions of converts to watch in the first place. The romantic K-drama I enjoyed most is entitled “Boys Over Flowers.” Though this one is older than the rest of the dramas on this list (all others being released in 2020), I still found it extremely enjoyable and fondly memorable.

This romantic-comedy starts with a girl named Geum Jan-Di who, while delivering laundry to a student (Lee MinHa) at the prestigious Shin Hwa High School, saves Min-Ha from his supposed suicide and is named a hero. The averted suicide caught the attention of many Koreans as it exposed the school’s toxic bullying environment. To extinguish the public’s anger, the school offered Jan-Di a swimming scholarship. Jan-Di declines the scholarship but her family forces JanDi to attend. On her first day of school, she meets the infamous Flower Fou [F4]: Gu Jun-Pyo, Yoon Ji-Hoo, So Yi-Jung, and Song Woo-Bin. Known for being the four most popular and wealthiest students in Shin Hwa High School, they also use their power to terrorize weaker students and bully those they do not like. Jan-Di is irritated by the love and admiration her classmates have for the F4 especially its leader Gu Jun-Pyo. As time goes by, however, Jun-Pyo develops feelings for Jan-Di. Unfortunately for JunPyo, Jan-di begins to like another (Ji-Hoo). This K-Drama explores the “love-triangle” kind of scenario which makes it interesting to see as you don’t know who the main girl will end up with.

Inspired by the manga of the same name, Boys Over Flowers is definitely one of my all-time favorites, in and out of the K-Drama realm. What can I say? The music, the actors, the storytelling... everything just “clicked” to create this masterpiece of a show.

Well first, the Boys Over Flowers’ soundtrack was sweet, melodious, and most importantly… extremely catchy. The intro music alone gave me LSS. When a person asks me a question, you know the LSS is bad when I no longer answer in English. Kidding aside, the music was simply so catchy; I still have the songs stuck in my head!

Along with the music, the actors in Boys Over Flowers are simply “G.O.D.-TIER...” I don’t know how I can describe it better than that. My favorite actor here would probably be Lee Min-Ho (Gu Jun-Pyo). Remember when I said I would watch K-Dramas “here and there”? Most, if not all, of those K-Dramas had Lee Min-Ho in them. This might sound like fanboying, but if my favorite Hollywood actor is Will Smith, then my favorite K-Drama actor would be Lee Min-Ho. I give props to the writers of this K-Drama. Though built on a simple and tried-and-true premise, it was executed perfectly. I definitely recommend you give this one a try, even if the idea of watching a rom-com series appalls you at first.

Verdict

Since we all have different tastes in television, my K-Drama preferences may be different from yours. If you do not agree with my list, I urge you to explore and find the K-dramas that suit your preferences. If one K-drama disinterests you, it might be that you just haven’t found the right one for you yet. I had found nothing special about K-Dramas when I would watch them before, and maybe the boredom of the lockdown was starting to get to me, but speaking from experience, finding the dramas that I clicked with was a matter of trial-and-error, and look at me now!

Here are a few honorable mentions you might also enjoy:

• The Uncanny Counter • Kingdom • Inheritors • Vagabond • Arthdal Chronicles

To Regulate or not to Regulate?

WHY MTRCB IS WRONG TO REGULATE STREAMING SITES

By Anton Go (G9)

On the 3rd of September 2020, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, more commonly known as MTRCB, proposed to regulate videos, movies, and other media on Netflix and similar streaming platforms.

MTRCB chairperson Rachel Arenas stated that such a proposal is for “the protection of the viewers.” MTRCB’s legal affairs division chief Atty. Jonathan Presquito even explained that regulation is essential with the many “unrated” videos that can easily be accessed along with the fact that more people are viewing these videos especially during the quarantine, where the demand for entertainment has increased.

However, these are just some factors that make MTRCB’s decision to regulate unreasonable.

For starters, this movement does not even fall under mandated MTRCB powers. The regulation of videos, films, and others on video-on-demand platforms is out of the jurisdiction of MTRCB as stated by the 1986 Presidential Decree by late President Ferdinand Marcos, according to UST media and technology law professor Enrique dela Cruz.

“Obviously, it’s not in their charter and they need to approach it with a different model, or use a different charter or model if they wish to regulate the films coming out, because their charter is filter and use.” As an alternative, Dela Cruz said, the government can restrict the ability to view these films. However this alternative is not within the powers of MTRCB. “That’s telecommunications. That’s NTC,” he said. But even if we ignore that this litigation is not within MTRCB powers, the proposition of regulation remains flawed. Should the MTRCB manage to bypass its own limitations and enforce the policy, the current availability of restricted films on other media platforms renders the plan futile.

In fact, there is a decent-sized number of pirated movies that have been uploaded on YouTube. Some, like Hachman (2014), have even made a list of some of these pirated films found on the platform. Although this list was made over six years ago and those movies could have been taken down by YouTube in that period of time, there is a possibility that some of these videos still exist. If that is the case, will MTRCB also make an agreement with YouTube to regulate its content?

Streaming sites could likewise regulate their content without MTRCB intervention. Some have already executed this idea. Take Netflix: the application includes parental controls that allow the parent to manage the access of a child to specific kinds of films.

There are also others who share the same sentiment like Senator Franklin Drilon. The idea to regulate video-on-demand platforms is “very impractical,” he said. The overwhelming number of movies equals to at least hundreds, and that includes only one streaming application, highlighting the impracticality of this proposal. He went on to question if MTRCB has the time and power to review all of these videos. Even if they plan to go through all of these videos, there would be no guarantee that they will be able to review all content: rating every film may be an inefficient use of government resources and time.

In addition, the senator argued that these streaming platforms already do a good job on rating these films so there is really not much need to regulate videos on these sites. Netflix, he pointed out, has features in its application that inform the viewer of the movie or show’s rating. A brief but clear description of why Netflix has rated the video as such also accompanies the rating.

“If the platform is able to effectively selfregulate and has installed features through which access, particularly by certain age groups, can be limited, then there is no role left for the MTRCB to play,” Drilon said.

In situations where these limitations are unavailable, the decision of watching an unrated movie should fall under the responsibility of a parent or guardian. It is their duty after all to guide the minor in their choices and it should be left to the adults in their child’s decisions regarding this matter.

In summary, MTRCB should not push through with its plan to regulate. Though the action was made for the benefit of its viewers, it is simply an unwise and unnecessary move. The reasons being the sheer effort of reviewing hundreds of movies and the restrictions possibly being avoided are an example. Therefore, MTRCB should abandon the pursuit of a law that limits access to movies on videoon-demand sites solely because they do not agree with the organization’s values.