I seriously cannot forget the first time I came across anything Korean, It was through a K-dramas, and the first one I ever watched was Boys Over Flowers, you see at that time, I didn’t even know much about Korea then , I just wanted to see what the hype around this drama was about because everybody seemed to be talking about it in my school then . I was still an high school student.
I remember sitting down to watch it, and at first, it felt kind of funny, I mean the language sounded very different from what I was used to, the characters acted in a way I wasn’t used to, and the whole setting was just new to me too, but before I knew it, I was already hooked, the storyline was interesting, and I found myself falling for the characters one after the other. Gu Jun-pyo with his stubborn, proud attitude, and Jan-di with her never-give up spirit omo, I was glued to my TV screen.
See that drama was my real gateway into the Korean world, after finishing Boys Over Flowers, I wanted more, and from there, I started watching other K-dramas, and honestly, it became something I really enjoyed a lot , at first, it was just about the drama and the entertainment, but along the way, I started noticing other things too.
For example, I began to pay attention to how they dressed, the fashion sense was so different but very stylish, and I found myself admiring it so much, then there is the food even though I had only tried Korean ramen, I could see in their dramas how important food is in their culture, the way they sit together to eat, the respect they show to elders before eating, and the way the meals are always set on the table with their side dishes… all these small things started catching my interest.
My understanding of Korea also started to change because of the values I saw in the dramas, you could see how they placed so much importance on their family, hard work, and respect, even though some dramas are exaggerated, you still learn a lot about how their society works, and the truth is, many of these values are things I can relate to from my own background.
If someone had told me back then that watching one drama like Boys Over Flowers would make me fall in love with Korean culture, I probably wouldn’t have believed it, but you see, here I am, years later, still watching K dramas and still enjoying every bit of it.
For me now, Korea is not just that place where they make interesting dramas, It feels like a culture I am slowly getting to understand, piece by piece, I have tasted their ramen, I have admired their fashion, and I have picked up little things here and there about how they live, one day, I honestly hope I can visit Korea and experience all these things in real life , like really , the food, the fashion, the music, and maybe even walk through those beautiful locations I always see in the dramas too.
So yeah, my first encounter with Korea was through Boys Over Flowers, and that simple beginning opened up a whole new world for me.
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