Things or Situations in K-Dramas That Probably Do Not Happen in Real Life

Sometimes, we watch a Korean drama and think, aw man that's so sweet, aw I wish a guy would do that for me, et cetera and so on.

To me, I find a lot of antics that are probably not gonna happen in real world, especially here in Jakarta, that happen in K-dramas. And they are not only the wishy-washy-mushy romance, but also some simple things other than that.

You probably might have to reconsider reading this post if you haven't watched any of the K-dramas that I would mention below, prepare yourselves for some spoilers.

1) "I Quit Today!"

In Misaeng, we saw Chief Oh submit a resignation letter to his superior, and on the same day, he packed his belongings, and waved goodbyes to all his colleagues and subordinates (of which I don't complain, because I find it as one of the best scene I ever seen in dramaland so far. So heart-breaking yet wonderful).

To me this situation is impossible to happen in real life. Why? In a company with the scale as big as International One (the company name in Misaeng), is it really possible to resign without submitting one month notice? I rarely doubt it, my friend. Whether if it's really like that over there in Korea or not, I still doubt this thing could happen in real life.

2) "For You, I'll Go Through All Kinds of Traffic."

In Plus Nine Boys, Kang Jin Gu (portrayed by Kim Young Kwang) is smitten so much by his best friend, Ma Se Young (portrayed by Kyung Soo Jin), that he was willing to take the same bus home with her, the bus that actually does not go to his home. And he's been pretending like that for a whole year. Of course, I am also not complaining with this because this is like one of the sweetest things a guy could do to his crush.

But then again, how could this really happen in real life, especially in Jakarta?? Let's say you work at Sudirman, and if it is situated like in Plus Nine Boys, you can't really go home on time at 17.30 (because of the workload and all). The fastest you can go home is 18.00, and then you take the Trans Jakarta bus with this girl to Kota. On the way, you cannot really have a romantic moment with her because the bus is so packed. You arrived at Kota bus shelter at 19.00, because all of the waiting and the traffic. You watch this girl walk home first because her home is just happened to be around the corner of that bus shelter. After she is out of your sight, you take the bus again to Sudirman, because your house is actually located in, let's say, Tebet. You probably will arrive home at 21.00 the soonest. The latest is indefinite.

It is so not possible having that happening here in Jakarta. I just cannot imagine that.

3) "I Can Eat Whatever I Want and Stay Skinny!"

In Let's Eat, we sure do see Lee Su Gyeong eat a lot. Like, a lot. That girl even eats more than me!

She even once eat four portion of ramen by herself. How is that even possible??

This series is like a food porn at its best. But then again, let's face the truth here, which girl could ever eat as much as Lee Su Gyeong and stay THAT skinny? She is so skinny, like real real skinny, she doesn't have any curves whatsoever. Does Korean entertainment industry really want to create this illusion that women can just eat anything and just don't get fat? Because that is just so unrealistic.

I'm not just talking about Let's Eat. In Personal Taste, Coffee Prince, Plus Nine Boys, all the main female leads eat so much, but they just don't get fat. They don't even exercise. Well maybe, other than Yoon Eun Hye in Coffee Prince who teaches Taekwondo, none of the other girls were ever shown having exercise or at least go to the gym.

I know some girls who are like that, they eat a lot even more than me, but still don't get fat. But they're like 1 in a hundred. Wait a minute, ok I don't know anyone who is like that. In K-dramas, almost all the main girls are like that. Maybe I'm speaking about this out of jealousy, but really, this kind of girl probably does not exist in real life.

4) "I Am Smart As Hell but I Will Surely Fall In Love with The Neighborhood Dummy!"

In all the Reply 1990s series (except for Reply 1994) all the main female leads are lazy and not that brilliant in studying. Even so, all the smart main male leads fall in love with them.
Well, those girls do have other qualities though; warm, cheerful, determined, et cetera, but still, dude? Seriously, like you think we would believe this?

There are two theories here that you may choose.
First is that these Korean fictional men really like the idea of dating women who are less smarter than them, because they will definitely feel intimidated by the presence of a more intelligent partner; or it is because these men are already highly intelligent that they do not feel the need to find a partner who is at least as (if not more) intelligent as they are, but instead have something else to offer, such as socializing skill, survival skill, and so on.

In real life, could this situation really really ever happen? Even though I do (or I want to) believe the answer to the above theories is the latter one, but I found an interesting article in Huffington Post: 'Men May Like The Idea of A Smart Woman, but They Don't Want To Date One.'

Which brings me to a presumption, hey this situation is not as impossible as I may think it was! There is a rather high percentage of chances that a man will probably fall for a more intelligent woman, but rather date someone who is less brilliant in the brain area.

But hey, who the hell am I kidding, the hopeless romantic that I am (and I know all women are) still believe that love does indeed overcome any shortcomings. The smart hottie may actually fall for the cheerful dummy. 

So, those are few of the many things in K-Dramas that I find probably will not be happening in real life. Do you have any other interesting things to add?

Godspeed!

Aku, Kamu, dan Kopi

Di hari itu aku akan datang dengan mengenakan pakaian terbaikku.

Aku memesan secangkir kopi hitam dengan dua sendok krim dan dua sendok gula.

Kopiku tidak sampai jadi dingin karena menunggu kedatanganmu, hangat saja.

Kau akan datang, wajahmu terlihat segar dan bersih karena jenggot dan kumismu baru saja kau cukur.

Kau akan datang, dengan wajah segar dan dengan perempuan lain di pikiranmu.

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Why Maleficent Should've Been The Right Role Model for Girls

Kita semua pasti sudah tidak asing lagi dengan settingan cerita dongeng dengan beberapa tokoh sentral yang cenderung dua dimensional: putri cantik binti baik tak berdaya dengan hidup yang bermasalah, pemuda tampan bin tajir yang pastinya bakal jatuh cinta dan menyelamatkan si putri, dan tokoh antagonis yang ambisinya adalah menguasai dunia dan/atau menghancurkan hidup si putri.

Saking akrabnya kita dengan latar ini, kita kadang sampai lupa bahwa manusia tidaklah sedua-dimensional itu. Semua orang pasti punya cerita, semua orang pasti punya latar belakang, meskipun tidak selalu bisa menjadi alasan.

Di tahun 2014, para penikmat film dan cerita Disney dimanjakan dengan film 'Maleficent' yang mencoba mengulik sisi A dan sisi B dari seorang Maleficent. Maleficent dikenal sebagai penyihir jahara aka jahat yang mengutuk Aurora supaya mati suri tertusuk jarum pintal di ulang tahunnya yang ke-16, tapi ada yang pernah tahu ga kenapa? Apa hanya sekadar karena dia sirkus aka sirik? Nah, 'sisi B' dari seorang Maleficent digambarkan dengan cakep banget di filmnya Angelina Jolie yang saya tonton sampe tiga kali di bioskop ini.

Inilah beberapa alasan mengapa menurut saya, teteh Maleficent tuh pas banget dijadikan panutan bagi para gadis-gadis muda yang lagi kehilangan arah mencari idola. Halah.

1. She is strong and powerful

Maleficent adalah seorang peri hutan yang melindungi negeri Moors dan segenap penghuninya. Hutan menyimbolkan kehidupan. Wanita adalah sosok yang kuat yang mampu melindungi kehidupan dengan seluruh jiwa dan raganya. She is a one goddamn fine woman who is loved by all the citizens of Moors AND knows how to kick ass!

2. However, she has ALL the right to be vulnerable

Sekuat apapun Maleficent, di film ini dia digambarkan mempunyai sebuah kelemahan, yaitu besi. DAN Cinta. Semua wanita kuat pasti punya soft spot di dalam hatinya. Menjadi vulnerable adalah hak setiap wanita. Menjadi kuat bukan berarti tidak boleh punya hati, bukan?

3. She takes responsibilities for her actions

Setelah mengutuk Aurora dan ternyata kemudian lambat laun jatuh sayang pada Aurora, Maleficent berusaha mencabut kutukannya kembali. She frikkin takes responsibilities for it! She is a frikkin lady boss!

Ya, menonton film ini bikin saya merasa puas sih dengan industri film Hollywood. Sepertinya semakin banyak peran putri dongeng yang mencoba "dipugar" dan "direbrand" oleh Hollywood.
Mulai dari Snow White dalam lakon Snow White and The Huntsman, Merida dalam lakon Brave, kakak beradik Elsa dan Anna dalam lakon Frozen sampai Maleficent.

Semua bervisi dan bertema sama, bahwa perempuan tidak memerlukan 'prince charming' untuk bisa survive dalam hidupnya, dan perempuan kuat haruslah saling mendukung satu sama lain.

Di post saya yang sebelumnya, saya pernah membahas mengenai pria penderita Cinderella Complex.
Mungkin pada kesempatan kali ini, post ini hendak saya dedikasikan untuk para kaum Hawa yang mengidap Cinderella Complex.

Because Cinderella ain't freakin' real. In real life, we gotta learn how to be more Maleficent, and how to be less Sleeping Beauty.

Although a long beauty sleep would not hurt once in a while. ;)

Happy belated International Women's Day 2017!
Godspeed!