Why do dramas do that?

Korean television dramas aren't just for Korea anymore—their popularity has exploded across the globe, picking up rabid followings and spawning addictions worldwide. Maybe it's the glossy production value or the fast-paced, addictive storytelling of dramas like Boys Over Flowers, Coffee Prince, or Secret Garden. Maybe it's the family bonds that pluck the heartstrings, or it's the pathos of a hard-won love that rings true with its universality.

Yet for all the universal themes at play, inevitably things will get lost in translation. Like why heroines always get swindled out of house and home, or why heroes will fight tooth and nail to win their beloveds, only to send them away "for their own good." Or perhaps it's the language itself that doesn't quite clear the cultural gap—why does nobody call each other by name? Why is everyone always encouraging each other to go "fighting"?

The authors created the wildly popular blog Dramabeans.com to explore these questions and more, where they deconstruct Korean dramas and pop culture on a daily basis. They take their trademark irreverence to Why Do Dramas Do That? Part 1, where they answer those questions and explore the most common tropes that arise from drama to drama. A must-read for anybody who's ever fallen headlong into a drama addiction, puzzled over a story turn, or wondered, "Why do dramas do that?"