Time travel, betrayals, sibling rivalry, star-crossed lovers… SBS’s latest pre-produced drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo has it all. Except the South Korean viewers. Those all went to KBS2’s Moonlight Drawn By the Clouds, which managed to garner more than double the amount of viewers of its rival historical K-drama before ending earlier this week. […]
With two weeks into October, K-pop releases have slowed it down for the more solemn months of the year. This, of course, doesn’t mean it’s all ballads, but the overall mood has dropped a bit from the thrill of summer. Here are our most recent faves that have been on repeat all week. “Better Day” […]
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Time travel, betrayals, sibling rivalry, star-crossed lovers… SBS’s latest pre-produced drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo has it all. Except the South Korean viewers. Those all went to KBS2’s Moonlight Drawn By the Clouds, which managed to garner more than double the amount of viewers of its rival historical K-drama before ending earlier this week. […]
With two weeks into October, K-pop releases have slowed it down for the more solemn months of the year. This, of course, doesn’t mean it’s all ballads, but the overall mood has dropped a bit from the thrill of summer. Here are our most recent faves that have been on repeat all week. “Better Day” […]
https://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Untitled-design-19.png7681024KultScenehttps://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/KULTSCENE-LOGO-2018-TRANSPARENT-RED.pngKultScene2016-10-16 16:08:512016-10-16 17:57:32Weekly K-pop faves: October 10 – 16
Time travel, betrayals, sibling rivalry, star-crossed lovers… SBS’s latest pre-produced drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo has it all. Except the South Korean viewers. Those all went to KBS2’s Moonlight Drawn By the Clouds, which managed to garner more than double the amount of viewers of its rival historical K-drama before ending earlier this week. International fans are clearly watching, but Moon Lovers is not really as popular as expected based on the fact that NBC Universal and YG Entertainment co-produced the show. But it’s more than just one show is better than another; Moon Lovers is struggling from immense flaws and the cute, safer (aka banal) drama is winning over Korean television audiences, with Moonlight dominating with more than double the amount of viewers that Moon Lovers retains in the same time slot.
So what’s going on with Moon Lovers exactly that’s making it bomb at home and causing international fans to stop watching?
Lacking Proper Direction and Editing
It’s not uncommon to get frustrated with a fantastic drama, but Moon Lovers took things to another level and truly well-done episode or scene is paired with a dozen less exciting alternatives. Because the show is spanning such a long time, it seems that the plot has been edited to speed things up rather than actually, you know, develop. Notably, we’re more than 15 episodes in and I doubt the titular lovers (played by IU and Lee Joonki) have had an hour of on-screen time together. There’s also a lot of focus on certain things, such as taking too long with determining Kang Haneul’s relationship with IU, and then rushing key moments of IU and Lee Joonki’s relationship. Some subplots, like a marriage of a prince, gets too much of a focus in order to highlight a key moment of the plot… Four episodes later. Can someone please fire the production team and replace the show so that we get the full story in a timely manner, please and thank you?
The development is completely hindered by the length of the show. Most historical dramas are typically at least 50 episodes long, or don’t really address major lengths of time. But attempting to gloss over time… It doesn’t really work. Moonlight took place over a few months, but Moon Lovers has skipped years at a time and left characters in just about the same spot they were or, even worse, with major changes that the audience is supposed to simply… guess? There have been some lovely scenes to portray the passing of time and some just gave the characters new clothes.
Idol Stigma
Aside from the production issues, the show was hurt early on because of IU and EXO’s Baekhyun. Both singers were announced as key roles and many people, particularly the Korean media and audience, appear to have shunned the show initially because of it. And, to be honest, neither of them are solid enough actors to take lead characters in a drama produced in part by NBC Universal. A pre-produced, well-funded show should have great actors. IU and Baekhyun have each shown their potential, but they’re relative amateurs and often rely on other actors to pick up the emotional brunt of the moment. With that said, the stigma is ridiculous since the show still manages to have some of the most intriguing plots of the year despite its flaws. Moon Lovers has such a great story with so much potential, it seems kind of silly at the end of the day that there are this many blatant flaws with it.
(And shout out to singer Z.Hera for doing a phenomenal role as the cute, yet fierce, Soon Deok.)
Pandering to International (Female) Audiences
Lee Joonki, Kang Haneul, Baekhyun, Hong Jong Hyun, Nam Joo Hyuk, and Ji Soo each play a prince, and each of them are fairly well-known and attractive young actors. While the show doesn’t lack extraordinary female characters (Woo Hee Jin deserves an award for her final scene as Lady Oh), Moon Lovers appears to be nothing but eye candy at first glance. While Korean audiences enjoy a good love story, Moon Lovers looks like the historic, updated version of the juvenile romance Boys Over Flowers. Which is a good thing to some people but also a deterrent for others hoping for a more serious show. Moon Lovers is more of a tragedy than a comedy, but it’s certainly more lighthearted than other famous Korean historical dramas, like Queen Seondeok or Daejanggeum, but it truly looked off putting at first glance.
Hands down, the worst thing to happen to Moon Lovers is the fact that foreign fans aren’t getting the same version as the Korean ones are. If you are watching the show and don’t know what I’m talking about, you need to start googling “Moon Lovers Korean version eng sub” or something similar, because you’re going to understand so much more of the show right now. That terrifying assault of a kiss? Still horrific, but there was actually something leading up to that which put it in perspective. But because Korea edited the pre-produced show and shipped it overseas before the air date, when the production team decided to re-edit the plot (aka LIVE PRODUCE) they weren’t able to send the updated versions. I reached out to DramaFever to see why that was the case, but unfortunately, never heard back.
So essentially, instead of pre-production ensuring the quality of the drama, it led to fans around the globe getting different versions of the show. Obviously pre-production has its positives, but it seems like it hindered Moon Lovers’ international distribution.
It’s Not Necessarily A Romance
Thanks Anna and Leah for making me realize this one. As much as a lot of South Korean dramas do well locally that aren’t melodramas or romantic comedies, those are mostly relegated to cable television and never garner incredibly high ratings. Like saccharine ballads replacing K-pop on Korean music charts, romantic shows like Moonlight will always do better than more politically driven shows like Moon Lovers. (Kind of like how Signal is acknowledged as the best drama Korea’s put out this year but more mainstream-friendly ones with straightforward plots, like Descendants of the Sun and W, pick up all of the awards).
At the end of the day, most people in South Korea don’t appear to want to watch a show about a long ago dynasty’s struggles, and that’s what Moon Lovers is at the end of the day: a succession story. The romance comes secondary, to the degree that many viewers (myself included) want there to be more time spent on the lead couple’s romance. But this show isn’t necessarily about the titular lovers. Rather, Moon Lovers about the foundation of Korea’s Goryeo dynasty.
What are your thoughts on Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo? Share your opinions in the comment section below. Be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.
With two weeks into October, K-pop releases have slowed it down for the more solemn months of the year. This, of course, doesn’t mean it’s all ballads, but the overall mood has dropped a bit from the thrill of summer. Here are our most recent faves that have been on repeat all week.
“Better Day” by 100% (Released Oct. 12)
The charismatic guys of 100%, who always makes sure to highlight their uptempo choreographies for every comeback, are finally back! However, this time around, they’re experimenting with a more mellow and mature sound for title track “Better Day.” Unfortunately, another member, maknae (youngest member) and rapper Changbum departed from the group a few weeks ago, but they regained their leader back, Minwoo, who was on hiatus from the group due to his military service.
“Better Day” reminds me of something I would’ve listened to growing up in the ‘90s; a fusion of what pop and R&B was. Unlike some of the songs that are currently out, nothing about this song seemed forced or over the top. Everything from the smooth transitions to those exceptionally high notes, were all easy on the ears. And even though the song is about a breakup, I couldn’t help but feel entirely relaxed while listening to it. Although the beat for “Better Day” may not be as intense as previous songs, I’m sure they’ll kill it with their choreo anyway!
Top Media needs to do a better job at actually promoting 100% (they’ve been around since 2012 and are still heavily underrated) so that everyone can stop sleeping on them.
Davichi came back recently with their latest album “50 X Half” and while all the tracks this time around are amazing, my personal favourite would have to be “Love Is”. This sorrowful song is perfectly suited to the vocal talents of this duo and my heart melts whenever I hear their emotional crooning. The track as a whole is a quiet one but it seems to reach the recesses of my soul and touches me deeply, something I haven’t felt from a song for a long while. The music video released is just a cherry on top, since Lee Jong Suk’s marvellous acting really matched the sadness of the song. The video is also beautifully directed and shot, with an obvious but still heartbreaking plot. This album is a great comeback for Davichi, who hasn’t been disappointing with their various releases this year.
— Anna
“Prove It” by GOT7 (Uploaded Oct. 15)
This is cheating, I’m aware. GOT7’s newest album has been out for a minute and the single and b-side they’re promoting are good, but as an IGOT7, I can’t help but want more. Sadly, when it comes to K-pop mini and full albums, we only get one single before they come up with the repackage. It’s frustrating because sometimes the original album has amazing songs you want a music video of, but nope; we get an entirely new song. So when GOT7 took to V app to deliver performances of the other b-sides on “Flight Log: TURBULENCE,” I was here for it. Especially when the live performance of “Prove It” came out. Written by JB, he recruited the crooner line (Youngjae and Jinyoung) plus the group’s best rapper Mark (yep, I said it). The combination of these specific members’ voices is the perfect formula for a heartfelt yet sexy rendition of a love song. Extra points for JB being in his feelings as per usual.
For year’s I’ve been a lowkey fan of Davichi. The pop-ballad duo wowed us all at KCON LA in August and now again with their new EP 50 X Half. Along with absolutely adoring the single “Beside Me,” I fell in love with the playful “Pet.” Davichi is pretty well known for their more serious songs, but they’re also phenomenal when making things a bit more upbeat. The bouncing melody and Davichi’s reassurances of being fine are just so heartwarming, and I really adore the beats and the guitar melodies that seem like something out of 10cm’s music.
— Tamar
What was your fave K-pop song this week? Share your picks and thoughts in the comment section below. Be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.
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