I also think it's an issue in many countries media how they cast incredibly attractive ppl (especially in terms of men) as these characters. And people just ignore their behaviour for the looks.
Yes, this is not exclusive to Korean media, Hollywood and every other TV industry has this problem too! I feel like this also translates in real life too - unwanted attention from an attractive person is framed as a compliment and is not taken seriously.
@@kdramaresearchinstitute Considering the supernatural teen dramas in the US have characters like tyrannical mass murderers as the main leads, stalking is the least of the crimes their attractive leads commit.
As for American films and series, Pop Culture Detective made an amazing video, on the same subject , titled" Stalking for love " . He also made a video about all the movies and series that turn voyeurism into something funny and innocent by making a main character spy on somebody most of the time when they’re undressing/undressed. It made me realize how used we are to these types of scenes and how it's everywhere, including in ongoing shows like Stranger Things.
This reminds me of 'Mask Girl,' where the main female character was stalked and had her privacy invaded by a coworker. They made him look unattractive (the actor is really handsome in real life) and portrayed him as the villain, until another guy revealed himself as an even worse creeper. Then, when he saves and helps her, you start to see him as not as bad as initially shown. You don't actually root for the initial stalker to be with her, but it comes as a surprise when he tries to assault her, even though that's what stalkers do in real life. Your video made me really think about how it's easy to make a stalker look like a good guy in TV shows and sometimes even in reality. Amazing video!
Stalking is romanticized in romantic movies and subplots of so many different country's movie industries. Our view of romance is so messed up. It's nice to see more people recognizing it and calling it out.
As for American films and series, Pop Culture Detective made an amazing video, on the same subject , titled" Stalking for love " . He also made a video about all the movies and series that turn voyeurism into something funny and innocent by making a main character spy on somebody most of the time when they’re undressing/undressed. It made me realize how used we are to these types of scenes and how it's everywhere, including in ongoing shows like Stranger Things.
Worst one is people who report stalking and get invalidated cuz someone watched those dramas or think its cute /sign of affection Not that they are a psycho My ex classmate stalks me since 13 and people want me to date him cuz "hes so in looove " Hes a creepy incell I as a woman on the internet got stalked by many men a lot times Blocked a lot accounts Some got bored after 2 years My classmate didnt This is horrible and needs to be taken srsly and criminalisdd not "cute shows they care for u" Im not eaven preety and i dont show my face Im just female ♀️
This is why it's so important to talk about this trope and how dangerous it is - in k-dramas stalking is portrayed as a guy pining after a girl, but in reality it is super scary! Stay safe!
Ngl subscribing to this channel was one of the best decisions. You give me new perspective on things related to k-drama. Also you pointing out and giving 2 examples of how a sweet, innocent scene can change into a suspense, thriller one just by changing music is on point and eye-opening. A lot of kdrama watchers are teengers and when they see stalking scenes like these with a sweet background music, they really start thinking that this is how you show love and care for someone you like. Which ultimately brainwashes them into believing stalking (only if the dude is handsome) is cute. This video needs to go viral in the kdrama community asap.
Aaw, thank you so so much for this comment it really warms my heart! I have absolutely learned some wrong lessons from 2000s rom coms as a teenager and there was no wide availability of video essays critically examining the tropes. I feel like the young adults of today have a much easier access to these types of critiques, but also movies and TV shows still romanticize the same type of behavior, so I am not sure we got thaaat far as a society since...
@@saudel01 uhh.. cause it's a channel that researches on kdramas only. The person also watches kdramas and wants to spread awareness in the community. Even if we show this video to non watchers will they understand the context? cause asian media and western media is totally different. Like the creator pointed out the colours used. If people in the west really wanted they could have made videos pointing out the wrongs in Twilight but they are busy making memes out of it.
@@kdramaresearchinstitute for example....cop, main lead from "Behind Your Touch", but people called him "protective", that behaviour is farr from that. Many main roles in kdramas looks like forcing girls to be with them, i don't know, maybe is that reflect on korean society?
Oh I haven't seen that one, but not surprised that the main lead can get away with problematic stuff. I also feel like specifically male protagonists can get away with more - so many toxic MLs that we are rooting for, they are allowed to be imperfect, that makes them complex and interesting and the audience is very forgiving, to a degree which is not granted to female leads.
@@kdramaresearchinstitute the audience is delusional. Can you please analyze scene from True Beauty? Talking about when 2nd male lead is trying to kiss drunk wasted female lead! Not only she is drunk...she is almost sleeping! But no one talking about that! That's abusive, using and sexual harrasment of a girl! But for delusional audience 2nd male lead i better than Suho! Jesus Christ.
Omg, I totally forgot about that scene! You are right! If the same scene was not with the popular handsome second male lead but with a random guy, people would think it is creepy. I am thinking of making a video essay about alcohol in k-dramas, that would be a great addition to the topic :)
I really love your videos. It's really hard to find videos analyzing kdramas. And so far this is the only channel I've found dedicated to it. You bring up issues and topics that are interesting as a kdrama fan. Thank you for your hard work! Words are not enough how grateful I'm for your videos and my English is not so good. So, please excuse my grammar.
That's why I started this channel, because very few people on UA-cam are talking about these topics in depth. I am very happy that my channel found it's way into your feed! Don't apologize, t's always the most eloquent people with great language skills who apologize for their grammar, lol
Stumbled on your channel and really enjoyed it. It's very difficult to find serious dedicated analysis of korean drama that is not simple MyDramaList-style reviews and recaps.
Brilliant video essay! Love your analysis of how the types of shots, lighting, angles, and sound can frame and change how audiences view a scene. Also, I love that you discuss the real-life consequences of stalking being woefully inadequate in Korea. Liked and subbed!
Pop Culture Detective made an amazing video, on the same subject but focused on american movies and series , titled" Stalking for love " . I strongly recommend it ! He also made a video about all the movies and series that turn voyeurism into something funny and innocent, by making a main character (often male) spy on somebody (often female), most of the time when they’re undressing/undressed. It made me realize how used and oblivious we have become to these types of scenes and how it's everywhere, including in recent shows like Stranger Things, that consider themselfes feminists.
@@Verinexa Brilliant recs! I know and am obsessed with Pop Culture Detective. He does such nuanced, engaging video essays on anti-sexism and the intersectionalities around it! I actually made a video essay on the sexism that can occur in the trope of fictional characters entering bedroom windows, and Pop Culture Detective retweeted my video essay, which was very exciting!
I do think Mad for Each Other did an ok job with its depiction of stalking; the stalker was a former boyfriend that terrorized her when she tried breaking up with him, and her trauma wasn’t “pretty” (as in she didn’t suffer in silence, she developed a lot of paranoia and trust issues and she acted out on them). There were still flaws, but I think that might’ve had to do more with run time than the writing (it was like 13, 30-40min episodes which is very short compared to the regular 16, 1hr+ episodes). I could get into detail about the issues I had with it, but I still liked it - it was better than most stalker stories in kdramas so I accepted it as a good example of the bare minimum. There are still the creepy faceless kinds of stalkers in real life, but I think they’re better fit in stories about idols/celebrities. For regular people it’s most likely someone they already know. Also I love the high school shenanigans - because whoever had a crush in high school definitely knew their crush’s schedule and did everything in their power to see them more (and if they say they didn’t they’re lying) - but if it goes beyond school it’s no longer cute. Like in 20th century girl, learning his shoe size from a pair left in his locker is dumb and embarrassing but not super awful - but then following him home, going through his trash, and obtaining his number without his consent? She took it too far! I think Chinese dramas do a better job of high crushes; they’re just so embarrassingly accurate with the antics, and the only two reasons they know where their crush lives is (a) if they are walking each other home or (b) they’re neighbors. Also I really wanted to see Born Again, but after you talked about it I am thoroughly disgusted and have no intention of watching it. Also pt2 #JusticeForLeeSooHyuk he deserves a good (as in green flag) lead role, or at least a role that isn’t a bad guy Edit; I have to add one guilty pleasure. I know Seo In Guk’s character in The Smile has Left Your Eyes is just awful and their romance isn’t worth rooting for, but the acting and the chemistry between the two of them was just so amazing I couldn’t hate it. If the chemistry sucked I would’ve dropped that drama so fast, I swear. But every single episode I was sitting there going “I know he’s horrible and she should run, but wow! Their tension and emotions are so well built!” And I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the story and the mystery too. It was a good show for a lot of reasons, even though I had to keep reminding myself the romance was … questionable, at best.
First of all: thank you so much for such a long an dwell though out comment! I think Mad for each other depicted stalking in a really good way, I think this is pretty good representation, along with Link: Eat Love Kill it has the best PTSD representation. Mad for Each Other footage is included as one of the examples of good representation, even if it only deals with the stalking itself only in the last couple of episodes. And the high school shenanigans thing. Yeah, I definitely knew my crushes schedule and knew which direction they went home and what their name was, but I feel like 20th century girl goes way beyond that and it is never called out in the movie. I really wish media would tell us that following your crush home is a no go when I was growing up, I hope we stop making media like this, so the next generation doesn't grow up with the same problematic and romanticized narratives! Honestly Born Again is not just a problematic kdrama, it is just an overall very messy plot that is not that well written and is not a good watch even if you don't mind the plot. They changed the screenwriter halfway through the series and it all just goes downhill from there. I have mixed feelings about The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, because Seo In Guk's character was very clearly set up as morally grey, he was never supposed to be the good guy and he is shown as creepy. Seo In Guk really loves a nice dark role, and he always nails these types of characters! I think the tension between the darkness and the chemistry was exactly the point and the actors portrayed it perfectly. It was never meant to be a green flag fluffy romance, but it also kind of does romanticize stalking!
@@kdramaresearchinstitute Yes, I was really happy when you included scenes from Mad for Each Other as good depictions. At the end you asked to talk about the ones we found good so that was why I expanded on it. I too hope younger generations will get better representation for school shenanigans. As I mentioned, I really like how they’re portrayed in Chinese campus dramas (ones set in school are called campus dramas, which is pretty convenient). They show all the silly awkward antics of having a crush, oftentimes having the character with the big crush go through multiple embarrassing encounters if they ever do something that seems to take it too far - it’s almost a punishment for attempting something like that, kind of. I believe there was one drama where they tried to follow their crush home and they got caught so quickly and were scolded for acting like a creep - we definitely need more of that. Let the kid get punished for their creepy behavior! Teach the audience that it’s bad! They changed the writer HALF WAY THROUGH???? That’s - honestly that explains your description of it even more. I will remove it from my watchlist immediately. I think The Smile has Left Your Eyes is the only version of dark romance I’ll accept; the whole time, his character isn’t made to be some kind of hero. We know, from beginning to end, that he’s not a good guy. I think one of the reasons I allowed myself to like it as much as I did is the fact that they actually didn’t sugarcoat it. I felt like I was always aware of when he was doing something wrong, and I never saw his actions as romantic until she actually reciprocated his feelings. And from her perspective, she sometimes scolded herself for feeling so attached to him despite knowing he’s bad. I never felt like I was trapped into thinking it was so ideally romantic. It was dark, it was tragic, it was never meant to be a good thing. I can probably write 10 essays detailing how good that show was - not just with the chemistry and the acting, but also with the writing the aesthetic the directing, all of it. Was it portrayed as romantic? In a lot of scenes, yes. From my perspective, however, during the scenes it they weren’t romantic. It was seen as romantic later on when the feelings between them were mutual. I don’t know if I explained myself well, but that was my interpretation of it. Obviously different viewers will think differently, I’m just explaining my point of view from when I watched it.
I'm not a big kpop person, I've only watched a few so I wasn't aware of how common this trope is. Stalking must never ever be romanticised even if it's just in a movie or a drama series, it's bad enough that most of the time it's not taken seriously irl.
If you're interested, the youtuber Pop Culture Detective made an amazing video titled" Stalking for love " about the same subject , but focused on American movies and shows. He also made a video about all the movies and series that turn voyeurism into something funny and innocent by making a main character spy on somebody most of the time when they’re undressing/undressed. It made me realize how used we are to these types of scenes and how it's everywhere, including in ongoing shows like Stranger Things. The title is "The Ethics of Looking and the Armless Peeping Tom".
Another excellent video and analysis. I just love your videos (almost as much as I love KDramas!). They are such good counterviews from the mindless watching. I also have to say that I laughed the most at this video from any of yours from before. I know this is a very serious topic, but the sheer absurdity you reveal in your words made me laugh. So well done to elicit this response of making me laugh and making me think! You deserve to be a lot more viewed. Will share. Thanks again.
Haha, glad you liked my jokes 😀 Mindless watching is actually not that bad, ever since I started the channel it became super hard for me to just watch and enjoy dramas without constantly taking notes, writing down critique and overthinking tropes! Very happy you liked the video ❤
@@kdramaresearchinstitute Your loss of mindless watching is our gain at more insight. May you be continued to be cursed like this and create more videos for us!😀
As for American films and series, Pop Culture Detective made an amazing video, on the same subject , titled" Stalking for love " . He also made a video about all the movies and series that turn voyeurism into something funny and innocent by making a main character spy on somebody most of the time when they’re undressing/undressed. It made me realize how used we are to these types of scenes and how it's everywhere, including in ongoing shows like Stranger Things.
honestly after watching when i fly towards you i thought Su Zai Zai was just downright creepy and obsessive , i know she’s around 16 at the start of the series but she was just too deeply engrossed in Zang lu rang, it was creepy
I thought this channel would legitimately be a k-drama research institute's pet project. Like idk maybe a couple of sociologists and media phd's got together to perform actual studies on an influential new form of popular media. I didn't think that was impossible. I feel silly now.
It's more of a tongue in cheek name for a channel, it is not a literal institute.I do have a background in cultural studies, sociology and political science if that makes it any better? The video essays are supposed to be critical media analysis packaged as entertaining and understandable for a wider audience. But the analysis of k-dramas is meant seriously and for episodes that involved research the sources are linked in the description box :)
I also think it's an issue in many countries media how they cast incredibly attractive ppl (especially in terms of men) as these characters. And people just ignore their behaviour for the looks.
Yes, this is not exclusive to Korean media, Hollywood and every other TV industry has this problem too! I feel like this also translates in real life too - unwanted attention from an attractive person is framed as a compliment and is not taken seriously.
@@kdramaresearchinstitute Considering the supernatural teen dramas in the US have characters like tyrannical mass murderers as the main leads, stalking is the least of the crimes their attractive leads commit.
Penn Badgley himself, the actor of YOU on Netflix, constantly has to remind the audience that his character is an horrible person
As for American films and series, Pop Culture Detective made an amazing video, on the same subject , titled" Stalking for love " .
He also made a video about all the movies and series that turn voyeurism into something funny and innocent by making a main character spy on somebody most of the time when they’re undressing/undressed. It made me realize how used we are to these types of scenes and how it's everywhere, including in ongoing shows like Stranger Things.
This reminds me of 'Mask Girl,' where the main female character was stalked and had her privacy invaded by a coworker. They made him look unattractive (the actor is really handsome in real life) and portrayed him as the villain, until another guy revealed himself as an even worse creeper. Then, when he saves and helps her, you start to see him as not as bad as initially shown. You don't actually root for the initial stalker to be with her, but it comes as a surprise when he tries to assault her, even though that's what stalkers do in real life. Your video made me really think about how it's easy to make a stalker look like a good guy in TV shows and sometimes even in reality. Amazing video!
Stalking is romanticized in romantic movies and subplots of so many different country's movie industries. Our view of romance is so messed up. It's nice to see more people recognizing it and calling it out.
As for American films and series, Pop Culture Detective made an amazing video, on the same subject , titled" Stalking for love " .
He also made a video about all the movies and series that turn voyeurism into something funny and innocent by making a main character spy on somebody most of the time when they’re undressing/undressed. It made me realize how used we are to these types of scenes and how it's everywhere, including in ongoing shows like Stranger Things.
Worst one is people who report stalking and get invalidated cuz someone watched those dramas or think its cute /sign of affection
Not that they are a psycho
My ex classmate stalks me since 13 and people want me to date him cuz "hes so in looove "
Hes a creepy incell
I as a woman on the internet got stalked by many men a lot times
Blocked a lot accounts
Some got bored after 2 years
My classmate didnt
This is horrible and needs to be taken srsly and criminalisdd not "cute shows they care for u"
Im not eaven preety and i dont show my face
Im just female ♀️
This is why it's so important to talk about this trope and how dangerous it is - in k-dramas stalking is portrayed as a guy pining after a girl, but in reality it is super scary! Stay safe!
Ngl subscribing to this channel was one of the best decisions.
You give me new perspective on things related to k-drama.
Also you pointing out and giving 2 examples of how a sweet, innocent scene can change into a suspense, thriller one just by changing music is on point and eye-opening.
A lot of kdrama watchers are teengers and when they see stalking scenes like these with a sweet background music, they really start thinking that this is how you show love and care for someone you like. Which ultimately brainwashes them into believing stalking (only if the dude is handsome) is cute.
This video needs to go viral in the kdrama community asap.
Aaw, thank you so so much for this comment it really warms my heart!
I have absolutely learned some wrong lessons from 2000s rom coms as a teenager and there was no wide availability of video essays critically examining the tropes. I feel like the young adults of today have a much easier access to these types of critiques, but also movies and TV shows still romanticize the same type of behavior, so I am not sure we got thaaat far as a society since...
Why just the kdrama community? Twilight shows that the western media isn't immune to this trope either.
@@saudel01 uhh.. cause it's a channel that researches on kdramas only. The person also watches kdramas and wants to spread awareness in the community. Even if we show this video to non watchers will they understand the context? cause asian media and western media is totally different. Like the creator pointed out the colours used. If people in the west really wanted they could have made videos pointing out the wrongs in Twilight but they are busy making memes out of it.
Not only stalking but abusive behaviour also.
Totally! It's kind of hard to tell where stalking ends and abusive behavior starts, they definitely overlap!
@@kdramaresearchinstitute for example....cop, main lead from "Behind Your Touch", but people called him "protective", that behaviour is farr from that. Many main roles in kdramas looks like forcing girls to be with them, i don't know, maybe is that reflect on korean society?
Oh I haven't seen that one, but not surprised that the main lead can get away with problematic stuff. I also feel like specifically male protagonists can get away with more - so many toxic MLs that we are rooting for, they are allowed to be imperfect, that makes them complex and interesting and the audience is very forgiving, to a degree which is not granted to female leads.
@@kdramaresearchinstitute the audience is delusional. Can you please analyze scene from True Beauty? Talking about when 2nd male lead is trying to kiss drunk wasted female lead! Not only she is drunk...she is almost sleeping! But no one talking about that! That's abusive, using and sexual harrasment of a girl! But for delusional audience 2nd male lead i better than Suho! Jesus Christ.
Omg, I totally forgot about that scene! You are right! If the same scene was not with the popular handsome second male lead but with a random guy, people would think it is creepy. I am thinking of making a video essay about alcohol in k-dramas, that would be a great addition to the topic :)
I really love your videos. It's really hard to find videos analyzing kdramas. And so far this is the only channel I've found dedicated to it. You bring up issues and topics that are interesting as a kdrama fan. Thank you for your hard work! Words are not enough how grateful I'm for your videos and my English is not so good. So, please excuse my grammar.
That's why I started this channel, because very few people on UA-cam are talking about these topics in depth. I am very happy that my channel found it's way into your feed! Don't apologize, t's always the most eloquent people with great language skills who apologize for their grammar, lol
I love k-dramas and video essays, so your channel is just perfect for me
Stumbled on your channel and really enjoyed it. It's very difficult to find serious dedicated analysis of korean drama that is not simple MyDramaList-style reviews and recaps.
Brilliant video essay! Love your analysis of how the types of shots, lighting, angles, and sound can frame and change how audiences view a scene. Also, I love that you discuss the real-life consequences of stalking being woefully inadequate in Korea. Liked and subbed!
Pop Culture Detective made an amazing video, on the same subject but focused on american movies and series , titled" Stalking for love " . I strongly recommend it !
He also made a video about all the movies and series that turn voyeurism into something funny and innocent, by making a main character (often male) spy on somebody (often female), most of the time when they’re undressing/undressed. It made me realize how used and oblivious we have become to these types of scenes and how it's everywhere, including in recent shows like Stranger Things, that consider themselfes feminists.
@@Verinexa Brilliant recs! I know and am obsessed with Pop Culture Detective. He does such nuanced, engaging video essays on anti-sexism and the intersectionalities around it! I actually made a video essay on the sexism that can occur in the trope of fictional characters entering bedroom windows, and Pop Culture Detective retweeted my video essay, which was very exciting!
Why is every single one of your videos an absolute banger? I love and miss your content!
I am working on more videos!
I do think Mad for Each Other did an ok job with its depiction of stalking; the stalker was a former boyfriend that terrorized her when she tried breaking up with him, and her trauma wasn’t “pretty” (as in she didn’t suffer in silence, she developed a lot of paranoia and trust issues and she acted out on them). There were still flaws, but I think that might’ve had to do more with run time than the writing (it was like 13, 30-40min episodes which is very short compared to the regular 16, 1hr+ episodes). I could get into detail about the issues I had with it, but I still liked it - it was better than most stalker stories in kdramas so I accepted it as a good example of the bare minimum. There are still the creepy faceless kinds of stalkers in real life, but I think they’re better fit in stories about idols/celebrities. For regular people it’s most likely someone they already know. Also I love the high school shenanigans - because whoever had a crush in high school definitely knew their crush’s schedule and did everything in their power to see them more (and if they say they didn’t they’re lying) - but if it goes beyond school it’s no longer cute. Like in 20th century girl, learning his shoe size from a pair left in his locker is dumb and embarrassing but not super awful - but then following him home, going through his trash, and obtaining his number without his consent? She took it too far! I think Chinese dramas do a better job of high crushes; they’re just so embarrassingly accurate with the antics, and the only two reasons they know where their crush lives is (a) if they are walking each other home or (b) they’re neighbors. Also I really wanted to see Born Again, but after you talked about it I am thoroughly disgusted and have no intention of watching it. Also pt2 #JusticeForLeeSooHyuk he deserves a good (as in green flag) lead role, or at least a role that isn’t a bad guy
Edit; I have to add one guilty pleasure. I know Seo In Guk’s character in The Smile has Left Your Eyes is just awful and their romance isn’t worth rooting for, but the acting and the chemistry between the two of them was just so amazing I couldn’t hate it. If the chemistry sucked I would’ve dropped that drama so fast, I swear. But every single episode I was sitting there going “I know he’s horrible and she should run, but wow! Their tension and emotions are so well built!” And I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the story and the mystery too. It was a good show for a lot of reasons, even though I had to keep reminding myself the romance was … questionable, at best.
First of all: thank you so much for such a long an dwell though out comment!
I think Mad for each other depicted stalking in a really good way, I think this is pretty good representation, along with Link: Eat Love Kill it has the best PTSD representation. Mad for Each Other footage is included as one of the examples of good representation, even if it only deals with the stalking itself only in the last couple of episodes.
And the high school shenanigans thing. Yeah, I definitely knew my crushes schedule and knew which direction they went home and what their name was, but I feel like 20th century girl goes way beyond that and it is never called out in the movie. I really wish media would tell us that following your crush home is a no go when I was growing up, I hope we stop making media like this, so the next generation doesn't grow up with the same problematic and romanticized narratives!
Honestly Born Again is not just a problematic kdrama, it is just an overall very messy plot that is not that well written and is not a good watch even if you don't mind the plot. They changed the screenwriter halfway through the series and it all just goes downhill from there.
I have mixed feelings about The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, because Seo In Guk's character was very clearly set up as morally grey, he was never supposed to be the good guy and he is shown as creepy. Seo In Guk really loves a nice dark role, and he always nails these types of characters! I think the tension between the darkness and the chemistry was exactly the point and the actors portrayed it perfectly. It was never meant to be a green flag fluffy romance, but it also kind of does romanticize stalking!
@@kdramaresearchinstitute
Yes, I was really happy when you included scenes from Mad for Each Other as good depictions. At the end you asked to talk about the ones we found good so that was why I expanded on it.
I too hope younger generations will get better representation for school shenanigans. As I mentioned, I really like how they’re portrayed in Chinese campus dramas (ones set in school are called campus dramas, which is pretty convenient). They show all the silly awkward antics of having a crush, oftentimes having the character with the big crush go through multiple embarrassing encounters if they ever do something that seems to take it too far - it’s almost a punishment for attempting something like that, kind of. I believe there was one drama where they tried to follow their crush home and they got caught so quickly and were scolded for acting like a creep - we definitely need more of that. Let the kid get punished for their creepy behavior! Teach the audience that it’s bad!
They changed the writer HALF WAY THROUGH???? That’s - honestly that explains your description of it even more. I will remove it from my watchlist immediately.
I think The Smile has Left Your Eyes is the only version of dark romance I’ll accept; the whole time, his character isn’t made to be some kind of hero. We know, from beginning to end, that he’s not a good guy. I think one of the reasons I allowed myself to like it as much as I did is the fact that they actually didn’t sugarcoat it. I felt like I was always aware of when he was doing something wrong, and I never saw his actions as romantic until she actually reciprocated his feelings. And from her perspective, she sometimes scolded herself for feeling so attached to him despite knowing he’s bad. I never felt like I was trapped into thinking it was so ideally romantic. It was dark, it was tragic, it was never meant to be a good thing. I can probably write 10 essays detailing how good that show was - not just with the chemistry and the acting, but also with the writing the aesthetic the directing, all of it. Was it portrayed as romantic? In a lot of scenes, yes. From my perspective, however, during the scenes it they weren’t romantic. It was seen as romantic later on when the feelings between them were mutual. I don’t know if I explained myself well, but that was my interpretation of it. Obviously different viewers will think differently, I’m just explaining my point of view from when I watched it.
I'm not a big kpop person, I've only watched a few so I wasn't aware of how common this trope is. Stalking must never ever be romanticised even if it's just in a movie or a drama series, it's bad enough that most of the time it's not taken seriously irl.
If you're interested, the youtuber Pop Culture Detective made an amazing video titled" Stalking for love " about the same subject , but focused on American movies and shows.
He also made a video about all the movies and series that turn voyeurism into something funny and innocent by making a main character spy on somebody most of the time when they’re undressing/undressed. It made me realize how used we are to these types of scenes and how it's everywhere, including in ongoing shows like Stranger Things.
The title is "The Ethics of Looking and the Armless Peeping Tom".
You always make such detailed and amazing video. LOVE ITTT
Thank you so much!!
Another excellent video and analysis. I just love your videos (almost as much as I love KDramas!). They are such good counterviews from the mindless watching. I also have to say that I laughed the most at this video from any of yours from before. I know this is a very serious topic, but the sheer absurdity you reveal in your words made me laugh. So well done to elicit this response of making me laugh and making me think! You deserve to be a lot more viewed. Will share. Thanks again.
Haha, glad you liked my jokes 😀 Mindless watching is actually not that bad, ever since I started the channel it became super hard for me to just watch and enjoy dramas without constantly taking notes, writing down critique and overthinking tropes! Very happy you liked the video ❤
@@kdramaresearchinstitute Your loss of mindless watching is our gain at more insight. May you be continued to be cursed like this and create more videos for us!😀
Haha 😀
As for American films and series, Pop Culture Detective made an amazing video, on the same subject , titled" Stalking for love " .
He also made a video about all the movies and series that turn voyeurism into something funny and innocent by making a main character spy on somebody most of the time when they’re undressing/undressed. It made me realize how used we are to these types of scenes and how it's everywhere, including in ongoing shows like Stranger Things.
Yes, I love that video!
I love you analysis! Also, I really liked the kdrama 'Link: Eat, Love, K1ll'
Thank you!
your*
luv ur videos... your channel's so underrated 😔
7:30 😂😂 I cannot stop re-watching this and laughing
your videos are always the best, so informative and amazingly edited as well! keep it up
thanks for the vid, I love your analysis videos ♥
Happy to hear that :)
So much work attention and detailing keep it up
honestly after watching when i fly towards you i thought Su Zai Zai was just downright creepy and obsessive , i know she’s around 16 at the start of the series but she was just too deeply engrossed in Zang lu rang, it was creepy
brilliant video essay!
Can't help myself, but I love Stalker K-dramas. I just like to watch it.
Kdrama is very tame romantisizing toxic relationships and @buse compared to manhwa and knovels
Omg, totally!
I thought this channel would legitimately be a k-drama research institute's pet project. Like idk maybe a couple of sociologists and media phd's got together to perform actual studies on an influential new form of popular media. I didn't think that was impossible. I feel silly now.
It's more of a tongue in cheek name for a channel, it is not a literal institute.I do have a background in cultural studies, sociology and political science if that makes it any better? The video essays are supposed to be critical media analysis packaged as entertaining and understandable for a wider audience. But the analysis of k-dramas is meant seriously and for episodes that involved research the sources are linked in the description box :)
@@kdramaresearchinstitute so you ARE the institute
hi! what was the kdrama at 22:33? i feel like i’ve seen it but i can’t remember and it’s driving me crazyyy
Kim Ji Young: Born 1982, it's a movie :)
Love this so much! Still mid watch but what's the kdrama at 11:50? I recognise it but can't put my finger on the name
Nevertheless! It is not a stalker k-drama, but a great example of "if the male lead was not hot, his behaviour would be considered creepy" :)
Thrilleeer thriller night
After just one kdrama I just want to throw up… is this the type of shit normal in Korean culture????
i'm always sated for your videos, i love them sm thank you for posting and now i have to watch eat love kill. thanks for the rec btw 🤍🤍
Yay, some took my recommendation! It's great show, the cast is top notch!