Do K-Dramas raise the girls expectations of men and romance too high? Do the K-Drama leading men raise the bar too high for the guys?
I often hear those words from people who don't want Korean dramas. I have often wondered if we are in fact chasing after rainbows and if kdrama fangirls do have unrealistically high standards for men because of all the cool guys we see in the kdramas. What do we see in them anyway? what do they all have in common? what do we like about them?
1st. The Looks.
Obviously, lol. One might say that we fangirls only want guys who is as charming as our oppas. Sure you can say that they'd obviously be frickin handsome from head to toe because they are celebrities, but every guy has his own charm. It might be hard to believe but not all girls like Lee Min Ho, some may prefer Song Joong Ki over him, there some celebrities who don't look attractive to some and some who looks very attractive to one but is less popular, not everyone likes the same cup of tea. What I'm saying is, you don't necessarily have to look like those kdrama leads, maybe a little skin care is all you need, but most of all you need to find/use your charm. It also wouldn't hurt to dress nicely. There's a saying that goes "If you don't look like a Calvin Klein model, don't expect us to look like Victoria's secret angels", and vice versa.
I'm not sure if I expressed my thoughts right, lol, but I hope you got what I was trying to say.
2nd. The cute gestures/thoughtfulness.
The way these guys hold the female lead's hand, the way they look and smile at them, the simple little things like getting/holding the door for them, tucking in a strand of hair behind her ear, patting their head/shoulder, ruffling their hair. All these things are so simple yet it gives us butterflies in our stomach. They're just so thoughtful to the girls, and it gives off a reassuring feeling that even though the words "I love you" wasn't said, you can still feel it. Also it's pretty cute when they act all cutesy one moment and so manly the next.
3rd. The way they protect the female leads
I mean, sure we might not have goons coming after us and trying to kill us and all that stuff but look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pZHJLn342U
We don't have a death wish, we also don't want you to get yourself killed because of us, that would be devastating. We just want to feel safe in your arms, whether it's protecting us from a perv or from a cockroach, just be our knight...even without the shining armor.
note: a combination of the 2nd and 3rd point makes girls feel like we are actually important to you, that you think about us.
4th. They love the female lead despite their clumsiness and weirdness.
Yes, I know some female leads can be too.... clumsy and dumb. BUT! I'm not saying us fangirls are like that too, well maybe there are some, idk, but the point is a lot of us girls are also clumsy and a bit nutty at times, especially when we have our special visitor. We fantasize about being those girls in kdramas, because we want to feel what she does, and that is to be loved entirely for who you are. Say there's this kdrama female lead who dresses in quite a funky manner, she's clumsy and might not be the brightest bulb in the shed, so she's not all that, she's just normal BUT! (butt butt butt) she is lucky enough to have someone tell her that she's pretty, she's special, and that she is loved, and that her unique qualities add to her charm.
5th. Their dedication and hardwork.
I could say the money since most of them are rich characters, but that's not how it rolls, we are not cinderella and you are not prince charming. The point is, they work hard to keep their riches, like Yoon Shi Yoon ( flower boys next door ) and Park HyungSik's (strong woman do bong soon) characters for example; they became CEO/big time video game developers through their hard work, and they continue to work hard to keep their selves afloat. We live in a competitive world, and slackers are not attractive, we don't want to end up doing all the work while you chill at home, and we most definitely don't want to end up as beggars with you. It's very attractive for a man to be passionate about something, whether it be music, arts, or dreaming to be the best in your field of work. We need to know that you won't just give up when nothing is going right, of course we also need to make sure to be there for you and help you through it, but we can't help if you don't let us help.
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I'm not going to include the nasty drama ( especially the jealous moms who only want rich girls for their sons ) we have our own real life obstacles that will come at us. But that's about it. All these are just my observations and personal opinions, other fellow fan girls might have more to say but I do think most will agree.
P.S love is a two way street, so these 5 things are also applicable to girls.