Come join The Fangirls as they look back at their beginnings and where they are now as they celebrate four years of Fangirling!
The Beginning
Dramas With a Side of Kimchi released our first blog post in October of 2015. Since then, we’ve bonded with readers over manes of glory, abs,
The Fangirl life
We are an eclectic group, with lots of different interests. Some of us like fluffy romances, while others adore makjang and politics. If you snicker and laugh when you read our group posts, that’s ok. We snicker and laugh when we write them. The Fangirls talk every day. Yup, that’s right, every day. So when you read our group posts, you become a part of the fangirl party!
What About Kimchi and Face Masks?
Way back in 2016, we did a blog post about The K2. The whole idea was that we would wear face masks and eat snacks while we did a group watch of the first episode. The first episode was awesome (hello shower scene!) but the drama didn’t keep our interest. Instead, we discovered how much fun it was to watch dramas together. Since we are scattered all over the United States, we can’t just show up and lounge on someone’s couch. We make a movie or drama date, and everyone joins online. We’ve had a few in-person meetups, and a Fangirl Slumber Party is exactly as fun and crazy as you can imagine.
Behind the Scenes
Clkytta: I’m a huge fan of mysteries and romances. I avoid anything with politics and most saeguks, mainly because saeguks are historically correct and my people never have the ending I want. I am usually watching a few current shows and doing a rewatch of at least one drama. I’m currently recapping Extra-Ordinary You with Kmuse.
Kmuse: As long as it is well written I will watch pretty much any genre. I find that my least favorite does tend to be law themed dramas. It has gotten harder to watch everything these last several years as driving my kids around to errands becomes more of a priority so I am picky on what I stick with. My current favorite drama is My Country.
Karie the Maknae: After just over two years in k-entertainment land, I finally know what I like! Fluffy romances are my number one favorite — Korean or Chinese — followed by slice of life and office dramas and high school dramas. All I require smart characters and a good plot twist or two. Goblin was my gateway drama and remains my favorite all-time drama. Historical and makjang dramas are my least favorite, but I’ll watch them if my kbesties are involved! I’m currently watching and LOVING Extra-Ordinary You, The Tale of Nokdu, and Arsenal Military History.
Telzeytalks: I enjoy writing for the blog, and before that, I enjoyed reading it! Some of my favorite Korean dramas are mysteries with maybe a touch of the supernatural. But I like them pretty light, and I need my good guys to win pretty regularly. I can’t take it if the bad guys consistently walk all over them! And I especially like humor. Extraordinary You hits the spot pretty well! I also enjoy Japanese dramas like Caution Hazardous Wife.
Kdrama Jen: I love dramas. That is the simplest way to put it. I appreciate a wide range of genres, and I can find something to appreciate in most dramas. I particularly love it when I can make connections from one drama to another—maybe it is the same historical figure, cultural celebration, time period, or trope. I love it when I can compare and contrast as I watch. I am all in for Sageuks, revenge dramas, fluffy high school dramas, bromances, romances, idol dramas, fantasy elements, and everything in between. I love both Korean and Chinese dramas. If I have one type of drama that puts me off it is when the writer or director tries to mix genres and we get too much silly or buffoon-like characters when it is supposed to be serious or we get too many melodramatic elements when it is supposed to be light and fluffy. Other than that, if the casting and writing gel, then I will watch almost anything.
MiataMama: I love happily-ever-afters and avoid noona romances like the plague, lol! At the moment, high-school dramas and well-written/acted sageuks have me captivated – I’m sub-stalking Extra-Ordinary You, The Tale of Nokdu, and My Country. Also, about a year ago, I let the Maknae talk me in going down the K-pop rabbit-hole and now I am obsessively fangirl-stalking ATEEZ. (Kdrama Jen: Just FYI, that makes you a Noona stalker…)
Drama Geek: I love when writers subvert the normal tropes and surprise me. I am a huge sucker for a strong female cast, and will watch most things if they have characters that aren’t normally represented in Asian tv. I’m drawn to fantasy, and really appreciate a novel idea or concept. I am a sucker for romance, but my dramas do not have to contain it for me to enjoy a well written show. I am also a huge fan of sword fights, and a well choreographed fight scene (especially if a woman is involved). My most recent obsessions were Melo is My Nature and Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung.
What’s your favorite Fangirl memory?
Kdrama Jen: My favorite fangirl memory is… I can’t choose. That is no surprise to my fellow fangirls. I always try to pick three when they say to pick one! So, here they are: my first co-post with Kmuse about which drama things we are thankful for—this was the beginning for me, our first podcast experience (we were kind of a mess, but it started something I look forward to each week), and my first meet-ups with my fellow fangirls in-person! I met some at the LA BTS concert and others while attending a conference for work. It’s so much fun to chat via text, but nothing beats the face to face time when we giggle and watch dramas and enjoy the fangirl life! It’s been FOUR years, but I feel like we have been sisters for life!
Clkytta: My favorite fangirl memory is when we all watched Tonight, at the Movies. I was having a hard time, and my kbesties set up a date to hang out. It’s more than just dramas, it’s quality time with friends. Runner up would be four of us all crammed on a bed trying to watch a drama in L.A.
Karie the Maknae: My favorite fangirl memory is MADLY catching up on Legend of Fuyao and surprising my kbesties by commenting on it in the next chatty recap. After days and days of posting the GIF below when they would talk about it (or post pictures…), it was wonderful to be in the loop with them! What can I say? These girls easily tempt me to the dark side. 😀
Kdrama Jen: THAT was hilarious! We all thought you were just annoyed that we kept talking about a Chinese drama you had no interest in watching, and then you suddenly started commenting! It was the best surprise! And aren’t you glad we lured you into the world of Chinese dramas??? (Drama Geek: I laughed SO hard when we finally found out she was watching!)
MiataMama: I can’t imagine life before the daily chats about dramas and Kpop with my Kimchi sisters. My favorite fangirl memory is getting to meet up and chat in person, this past summer -언니들 사랑해요!
Telzeytalks: My favorite time is probably when I was writing a post and Clkytta popped in and said she was watching it too, and could she collaborate on the post for Pretty Proofreader? Its a lot of fun to do things together! (Clkytta: We need to find something else to write together!)
Drama Geek: I’m taking a page from Kdrama Jen’s book and not picking just one. First one was co-recapping Signal with Kmuse. I was an avid blog reader and had always wanted to share my thoughts on something, and it was so much fun being able to do with her. Next would be at the airport in LA, and the days following it. I really needed my Kimchi besties, and they were there for me when I needed them most. I will forever be grateful for such acceptance and understanding. I purple heart you ladies so hard.
Kmuse: It is impossible to only choose one moment but a few that stood out were the following. Chatty Recapping Prison Playbook and Legend of Fuyoa were great memories. There is something about sharing a great drama with friends (and readers) that gives me all the feels. These two were some of the best. Who can ever forget singing the song Gaston in their head every time we had to recap? Creating memories together is by far the best part of doing the blog.
The best is yet to come,
The Fangirls