There's no doubt that K-dramas (Korean drama = T.V. show) are extremely popular, even outside of Korea. But what can't be denied is that all dramas are kind of the same, and a different type of dramas have been extinct for about 8 years: children's drama. Children's drama is just what it sounds like, it's a drama where all the main characters are children and because it's children's drama, they're appropriate yet very amusing because well, it's still dramatic.
Children's dramas are my childhood. The only three that I have grown up watching, and those three happen to be the most remembered and popular children dramas, are 요정컴미 (Fairy Commi), 매직키드마수리 (Magic Kid Ma Su Ri), 마법전사미르가온 (Magic Warriors Mir and Gaon). As you may be able to tell from the titles, these are all fictional however, they were very realistic, I guess you can say like Twilight. Judging from the titles, you may think they're very childish, but hey, I still love them even at this age, they're my childhood!!
So why did they stop making these Children's Dramas? The broadcasting company, KBS aired all three of the above mentioned most popular shows, and after 'Magic Warriors', they did air another children's drama but it wasn't popular, hence children's dramas declined since. I find it so unfortunate! Korean kids today are growing up with... well, I don't know how else to say it, but with corruption. They flip on the T.V. and they see "bed scenes" and people making out on dramas and the alternative is a music program where a lot of the performers there are wearing questionable clothing, dancing to questionable moves, and singing questionable lyrics. Of course, I'm not saying all Korean kids have their innocence stolen and it's not like they have absolutely no age-appropriate shows to watch, there's also cartoons, kids are still kids with their innocence. But we should all be concerned with the changes in the media, how sex appeal is used more and kids can't always be shielded from them.
But, very recently, Korea is trying to restart the trend for children's dramas. Like I said, the "original" children's dramas in early 2000 were crazy popular - not only did the kids in the elementary schools gobbled them up but so did the teenagers, and the parents could also watch with them. Fairy Commi had broken the record for the highest rates of views. The merchandise of these children's dramas were in most houses with children. Do you understand that I'm not being biased by saying that these children's dramas were crazy popular?
In addition, I'm not the only old Korean student who remembers these dramas with nostalgia. There are a lot of blog posts by Koreans that talk about the "Children's Dramas of the Past" with affection and a hint of sadness. Think of it this way, Harry Potter fans were all emotional when the very last movie came out, ending the series on screen. Same thing with children's k-dramas.
Anyway, back to my point about how Korea's been trying to go back to the children's dramas. KBS, the producer of the "top three children's dramas", has taken one for the team by releasing their new children's drama series, 코파반장의 동화수사대. To roughly translate the title into English, it would be "Nose-picker Principal's Fairy tale Warrant." Let me be straightforward here: even the title sounds stupid. I read the summary, it's lame. Plus, a grownup is more of a main character than the children, which makes no sense because it's a children's drama! Also, it looked to me more like a Sesame Street-type little kids' show rather than a children's drama. Let me make that clear, children's dramas are not like a PBS program!! These are supposed to be real children playing the roles of real children with realistic lives!
On February 7th (which is today in America but it was yesterday in Korea), EBS, an educational broadcasting system, aired their first children's drama in forever, called 풀루토 비밀결사대 (Pluto Syndicate ?) and this one actually has children being the main characters! But my complaint here is that the children are all middle-schoolers. What in the world?! I mean children's dramas have always featured children in elementary school - and I like it that way because well, that's just the way it is and I've grown up watching children's dramas in elementary school. Plus I've been re-watching children's dramas (not ashamed!) lately and they do a great job of making me miss elementary school. But this new children's drama Pluto-Something has middle-school students? I don't miss middle school that much!
Anyway, my point is, so Korea has been trying to bring back those children's dramas but if they want to re-experience and re-live the tremendous fame that Fairy Commi and Magic Kid had, then they better follow the basic rules: child actors actually in it and elementary children while you're at it!
(813)
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