What Dramaland Taught Me

Dramaland is our own Wonderland. We go there for hours every day, spend time with its residents, enjoy some laughs, shed some tears, and get stuck in its dramatic schemes sometimes.

And even though our dear dramas of Dramaland originally stem from the Chinese, Japanese or Korean cultures, I like to believe that Dramaland--in a way--has its own culture. 

The point is; when exposed to any new culture it can affect you one way or another, and Dramaland is no exception.

That’s why, what I’m going to talk about in this article isn’t exactly the influence of the culture in which a drama originates but instead, the influence of Dramaland’s culture itself. For clarification, by 'culture', I mean all the unique characteristics that collectively separate the world of Dramaland from any other. From the smallest detail like characterization in dramas to something as general as the seemingly infinite amount of dramas to watch, Dramaland is a vast and diverse culture that might change anyone exposed to it.

Many of you had read my 1st article that discussed a similar topic (6 Habits Of Being a Drama Addict).

It was about the exterior effect of Dramaland on me. Now, in this article I had noticed another 6 changes in me that were caused--I guess--as a result of my exposure to Dramaland.

As always, it could be just me – I tend to get affected by my surrounding :$, I kinda absorb and analyze every new variable I encounter – but I sure hope It’s not only me, is it?? Is it just me?

Ah, I haven’t exactly explained what I’m talking about, sorry XP...Well, here it is:

Things I learned in Dramaland:

1. Accept the differences

Actually this kinda hit me after writing my previous article. While writing it I just kept thinking how this drama I hated is actually someone else’s favorite, and this actor I didn’t like may be the bias to someone else. That’s why I hesitated for a while before submitting it.

Surprisingly, many of your comments guys were like: “I don’t agree regarding the ___, but nice article :)”

Every single one of us “I guess” liked a drama that had bad reviews or no one else liked, or at the very least hated a drama that everyone else just LOVED! (In my case, it was Queen In Hyun's Man. I totally hated it -_-)



This made me understand, in a very simplified way, that every one of us have his\her unique personality. Reviews can be very helpful, but none of the people that had watched this drama was “me”, and that’s why, no matter how good the drama may be, I fully understand that you may not even like it :)


2. Respect my job

Work hard. Love your job. 

I had heard these sentences for very long, but it never really had an effect on my career.

I graduated three years ago and started working two years ago. As a student, I was that girl who would only study the night before the exam, and pass with a B-. I( never really competed to be one of the top three in my class--it’s boring and pointless (in my opinion).

At Work, I took that attitude with me. I did the tasks that were appointed to me in the last minute, in a level that my superiors would “accept”. (Don’t freak out. I’m not planning on telling my life story here, I have a point, I promise >_<)

I was an OK employee I guess.

And here was when I started my drama addiction.

I was sitting in my room for hours, staring at my computer screen, and confessing to people on screen (I confessed to Kim Ji Hoon yesterday while watching Love & Marriage ♥)

Then… one day, I got up, started taking my job really seriously, worked hard, and now I’m the manager of my department :D

What was the reason of this sudden change you ask? I think it was due to the time I had spent in Dramaland!!

While I was staring at the screen watching cute love stories, or unreasonable dramas (Like how the grandmother decided to give her entire inheritance to a complete stranger in Shining inheritance), what I actually saw was people working hard to be the people they wanna be or to pursue their dreams or to simply move on with their lives and achieve something.



While I was admiring Lee Seung Gi’s smile and enjoying the cute love story, Ko Eun Sung was working her butt off trying to achieve what the whole world told her she couldn't!!

Being exposed to this kind of attitude drama after drama, without me even realizing it, I think that was what changed me. It made me realize that my job is a part of me as a person. If I didn’t respect it, then I’m disrespecting an important part of me. Thus, I don’t deserve people’s respect.

It also taught me how having a job is a blessing I should be thankful for. While watching Cheongdamdong Alice,



Hotaru no Hikari,


Rich Man, Poor Woman,


Witch Yoo Hee, Cinderella's Sister, … and the list goes on, all of these dramas took part in teaching me a lesson in respecting my job because of how hard the heroins worked to get a job.

Also, people at work always admire the way I act professionally and how I could change from a carefree girl to a hard-working woman. Poor ignorants U_U they don’t know that I’m a “Switch Girl” now ;)


3. Anger management

Strange, right?! When thinking about dramas the only thing you think about is a girl screaming in some guy’s face :) I know.

But for some reason I had developed better anger management after starting my drama addiction. Really!!  I think this has something to do with the Japanese and Korean culture. They are famous for their poker faces after all.

Now, I had noticed that every time I receive an annoying text message or some bad news I just sigh U_U and then go on with whatever it is. I don't react in that moment but instead take a moment to think of a solution or something. I never linked it to my drama addiction, but I’d started to see many similar attitudes in similar situations in dramas. The last one was while watching The Best Lee Soon Shin.



I’m still not sure it’s DramaLand effect, is it? What do you think?


4. Embrace that spontaneous, irrational part of me

I thought about this while watching a friend of mine trying to look cool as she tried to justify why she’s watching the movie Twilight. "The cinematic graphics were great!", "I know the story gets kinda cheesy but the imagination in it was really great U_U", and I was like : -_- "Can’t you just say you liked the romance in the movie and get over it? Or that you admire Edward as a flower boy and you went on with the sequel for that reason???”

We, drama addicts, do this all the time :D and we’re open and proud about it!!

My bias is 7 years younger than me… sue me!!!

The other actor I liked looks better than I do in women clothes. You have a problem with this?



I had watched tons of boring drama just because I loved the leads or the romantic story was cute, and you know the fun part? I got hooked up to the silly story and couldn’t wait to see what happens next :D

AND I’m proud about it!!

Why should I try to act cool about it? We, drama addicts, ARE cool. Why act? ;)


5. Bored? What does that even mean??

If you looked it up in a dictionary, I think the definition would be: "That feeling you have when you have nothing to do and just stare at the wall, or you have something to do, but you’re in a bad mood, so you don’t feel like doing anything."


Actually this never happened to me ever since I started my drama addiction, the time when my plans with my friend fail or I’m alone at home and have nothing to do is the golden time for me!! It’s the time I can take some dramas off of my PTW list to my Completed list :D


I have 65 dramas on my PTW list, 20 of which I’m dying to watch, and frankly 24 hours are just not enough for me. :( So you’re gonna tell me you’re bored? I tell you, go to MDL, pick a drama (this process alone can take up to an hour of fun!! :D) and start watching whatever genre you feel like.

You feel like a good laugh? Watch You’re Beautiful.

You feel like shedding some tears with a heartwarming ending? Watch The Moon That Embraces the Sun.

You’re in the mood for a tragedy??!! Ummm, I don’t really understand you, but watch Mulan :D

So forget about being bored! I give up most of my sleeping time for some extra drama time!!



6. Enjoy these little parts of my everyday life

With the right OST playing, any day at work, a walk home, reading at a restaurant or even just lying in my bed can be fun :)

I never had this kind of experience when I used to watch western dramas and movies. I think Asian dramas have had a greater affect on me because of two reasons:

First, because many scenes focus on the main leads’ everyday life activity, like working, walking or even doing house chores, maybe it’s to buy some extra time for the drama, but this did affect my everyday life.


Second, it’s due to the great artists who created the music for the dramas and movies. Most of us have downloaded some drama’s OSTs and listen to them every day.

So you have to walk down a street full of people every day? Just play Konayuki (1 Liter of Tears OST), volume up, and enjoy the walk ^_*



Yet again, sorry for the long article >_<. I’ll try to make my future articles shorter. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and I’m waiting for your opinions :)

     Love ya all,

     Shaza