While you were sleeping

Joan Lee, News Editor

Korean dramas, shortened as K-dramas, are the counterpart of American TV shows, except in Korean. The majority of these are filled with cliches, making them predictable most of the time. Instead of pre-recording, K-dramas tend to shoot scenes hours before broadcasting. There is usually only one director and one screenwriter, which results in a specific directing and language style. In addition, many K-dramas do not have a second season. For the most part, they end up with 12-24 episodes, each an hour long.

The particular K-drama I watched recently was “While You Were Sleeping.” The last episode aired on November 16, 2017. Each episode of the 32-episode-long K-drama is approximately half an hour long.

“While You Were Sleeping” is about reporter Nam Hong-Joo, played by Bae Suzy, who can see the future through her dreams. Prosecutor Jung Jae-Chan, played by Lee Jong-suk, Hong-Joo’s neighbor, tries to stop the tragic events in her dreams from happening.

The K-drama is a nice mix of action, comedy, and romance. “While You Were Sleeping” has an assortment of hilarious sections and serious scenes. Jae-Chan has his adorable scenes that I chuckled at, and I was absorbed into scenes where the main characters encounter danger and need to find ways to get out of it. I was also surprised several times with the twists and turns in “While You Were Sleeping,” which is unusual in K-dramas since they tend to be cliche.

I really liked it and would recommend it for people who prefer a variety of film genres.