Welcome to The Asexual K-Drama Geek! - An Introduction
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| Image description: An image (obtained from Google images) of a hand making the gesture known as the "Korean heart," with the addition of a heart-shaped asexual flag (made and added by me). |
Hello everyone! Whether you’re a new K-Drama fan or have
been watching Korean media since before it was cool, welcome to my new blog,
The Asexual K-Drama Geek! I’m Rachel, and some of you may recognize me from my
main blog, titled simply The Asexual Geek. For just over three years, I’ve been
discussing the intersection between asexuality, aromanticism, and other related
identities, my experiences as an aromantic asexual woman in fandom, and some of
my favorite geeky media. I’ve discussed everything from the sci-fi series Star
Trek to the video game series Dragon Age to my favorite band BTS,
and a whole lot more!
More recently, I’ve started discussing K-Dramas as well. BTS
was, of course, my first introduction to Korean media back in early 2020, but
it wasn’t until late 2021 that I started branching out into Korean dramas. When
I did so, I discovered something amazing – a vast majority of the dramas I was
watching were not only insanely good, but they were also perfectly keeping with
my own needs and wants as a person on the asexual spectrum. In my own aspec
life, I enjoy romance stories, but the media of my own country (America) – and
indeed most media coming out of the Western hemisphere of the world – often
leaves me exhausted when it treats romance and/or sex as an essential thing for
its characters and storylines. Even worse, my main blog is full of examples
where I’m excited to find characters that I feel like I can identify with, only
to see them either ridiculed for the very things I recognize in them, or worse,
to see them changed by the media they’re in until they become more “normal.”
K-Dramas, however, have been my safe haven for the past year
and a half. Other than a few notable exceptions, a huge majority of the dramas
I’ve watched and enjoyed have been entirely non-sexual. Some are even devoid of
romance. When it comes to the dramas that do feature romance, those romances are only one part of the larger whole and are oftentimes satisfying slow burns
built on character development, compatibility, and intriguing plot
circumstances rather than any kind of forced metric of “normalcy.” I’ve
discussed some of my favorite K-Dramas on my regular blog, as well as topics
such as why I love how K-Dramas handle romance and my favorite heroines who
don’t have sexual or romantic relationships at all. But over the past year and
a half, I’ve watched so many dramas I’ve been absolutely longing to discuss –
and I know I’m destined to watch dozens more as the months go on. So I decided,
why not make a new platform where I can talk about these dramas?
And so that’s why I’m here now. In this sister blog to my
main blog, I’d like to review the K-Dramas I’ve seen – both for their content
in general, and also through my own personal aromantic asexual lens. I think I
have a unique perspective to offer when it comes to these amazing shows, and
I’d love to be able to celebrate the many things I love about them. Over the
coming weeks and months, I want to dive deeper into the characters, plots,
relationships, and bonds that make Korean dramas special. From friendship to
family to sometimes romance, K-Dramas have given me some of the best
relationships I’ve ever seen, along with plots I’ll never forget. The way I’ve
laughed, cried, and gasped in shock has left me one very, very happy Asexual
Geek, and has turned me into a full-fledged Asexual K-Drama Geek too.
If you’re reading this, I hope I can pass some of my
excitement and love for these shows onto you! Maybe my musings will encourage
you to start K-Dramas if you’ve heard a lot about them but haven’t started
watching yet; or maybe, if you’re a long-time fan, my recommendations will lead
you to your new favorite bingable masterpiece. But above all, I hope this blog
can bring to light at least one asexual perspective when it comes to this
popular genre. I am just one person, and the asexual and aromantic spectrums
are large and varied; thus, my own opinions cannot possibly speak for everyone
who identifies using these or related terms. But I can certainly speak for
myself and then hopefully get other people thinking about these topics in new
and unique ways.
If you’re new to either K-Dramas or asexuality/aromanticism,
fear not! Much like I do on my main blog, I will have a section dedicated to
defining terminology that you’ll need on your journey – both when it comes to
my aspec analysis, and when it comes to K-Drama terms you may need! I encourage
you to check out my Glossary of Terms at the top of the page. Additionally, if
this is indeed your first time here, please check out my aptly titled “New? Start Here!” page, also located at the top of the page (below the blog
description). These will hopefully serve as valuable tools for you when you
read my reviews.
Overall, I hope you’ll join me as I explore these amazing
shows every other Friday. This won’t take the place of my main blog, where I
get into more analysis on broader topics, but I hope it can serve as a fun side
project to bring both aspec identities and Korean drama to even more people.
And to give me a place to fangirl, of course. We can’t forget that.
With platonic love,
The Asexual (K-Drama) Geek.
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