A K-Drama Addict’s Nirvana

I have reached the Nirvana of a K-drama addict. That awesome point you get to when you are not overwhelmed with your love of all things Korean, but rather can enjoy them as they come.

As has been mentioned in other posts, there are certain stages of a k-drama addict. This is my interpretation of the stages though:

Step one: You just finished your first drama and you really liked it, now you want more. You will probably start with dramas that have the same actors as the last one you finished.

Step two: You are now venturing into different genres and actors. You will watch anything that is available. If you haven’t already, by now you have definitely downloaded an app to watch the dramas.

Step Three: You have started trying to convert your friends and family members into addicts as well. If you weren’t already, you now listen to K-pop more often than music in your own language. Speaking of your own language, you are now actively trying to learn Korean. You are already saying things like: OMO, Oppa, saranghae, and aigoo.

Step Four: You have given up on real life people and now troll the interwebs for K-drama communities. You read the blogs, you join the apps, you are signed up on mydramalist.com.

Step Five: You have started your own blog. You watch live streaming dramas in addition to the marathoning that you do on the side. When you watch movies in your own language, you translate them into Korean.

Step Six: The slump…you are having trouble finding a drama that you like, let alone love. You spend more time looking for your next drama than the time you spend with the drama you are “currently watching”.

Now how you survive that slump is what determines if you “cure” your addiction or you reach the k-drama addict Nirvana level. If you give up on dramas, then sad congrats for you, you have been cured. Return to your previous life of whatever that was that you were into before the Hallyu wave drowned your soul.

Nirvana Level: You have decided to NOT give up on K-dramas. You have invested way TOO much time to just give up. But you have learned to take a step back. To enjoy things as they come. To reintroduce other subjects into your life. Little things like family, work, and school. You have learned balance. Weeeeeell, as balanced as a K-drama addict is going to get. You still watch at least 4-6 episodes a week.

You still read the blogs. You are still singing k-pop and responding in Korean. But you have stopped the endless hunt for the next “great” drama. You aren’t reading recaps so that you can know about the drama faster than just watching it. You are capable about having a conversation that does not include the words: Korean, drama, oppa, or bias.

I have reached the Nirvana level. And I am so happy yedera! You see, I am obsessive by nature. I have been since I was a child. My first obsession was Peter Pan. My longest obsession was Phantom of the Opera. And there have been many in between. But one of the (many) problems of obsessing is BURNOUT. It is so disappointing when something you loved passionately becomes something that you can’t stand because you overdid it.

I was so worried this was going to happen with k-dramas that I spazzed out a bit. They make me so happy! I didn’t want to lose them. But then I realized I was trying to hard and not even enjoying myself. So I stepped back, and found balance.

So things are going to be changing a bit around here in my life, and in my blog. But I am going to make that a separate post because this one is already waaaaaaaaaaaay too long.

I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to these lovely K-drama pins that you can check out here: Korean dramas Make Me Happy

And one last awesome pin