If you know me, you know I love Korean drama. If you’re new here, you should know – I love Korean drama. My love started way back in 2011 and has followed me for the past 10 years of my itinerant life. Within that time I graduated with a masters, worked in publishing, worked as a professional cellist, became a Hallyu journalist, moved to Korea from the U.S., fell in love with a Korean man and got married. Now in 2021, I work as a content marketer in a Korean company while moonlighting in journalism.

Where does that leave Korean drama? Well, let me tell you folks – it’s where it has been left for many an ex-pat… a lonely corner.

In the years that I’ve been in Korea, my Korean has improved immensely. I go about daily life in ways that mimic many of the K-drama heroines of yesterday and today. (Yes, I’ve had ramen in a corner store, almost had a run in with a wayward scooter, and worn matching couple outfits.) Heck, I even got my K-drama Hero! (Love you, Mr. Yoo!) This has led to the decline in my drama consumption. But I’m not the only one. Many K-drama lovers who move here have found that the time they once dedicated to Korean drama has dwindled.

Do we love it less? No. But it has gotten lost in the swirling vortex of life that is Seoul, at least for me and other Seoulites.

Now this doesn’t mean I haven’t binge-watched “Sweet Home” or that I’m not salivating at the thought of “Hospital Playlist 2” coming out in a couple weeks. I just means the frequency is not what it once was.

For a while my main K-drama block was the fact that I wrote about it for a living. When it becomes a job, you avoid it just to get away from work. But now that I am your run-of-the-mill foreign marketer in a Korean office (I’m joking, we are not run-of-the-mill), I’ve started to crave the sweet agony of exhaustion after a night of binging. Even though I’m happily yoked to a great Korean guy who treats me so well, I still yearn for ridiculous meet-cutes and epic kiss scenes.

Which brings me to this blog post. Join me as I re-discover the beauty of the K-drama. Watch me laugh as my husband cringes at the cheesy deliciousness of second lead syndrome. What happens to a K-drama fan when she moves to Korea?

She gets her groove back.