4 Ways Korean BL Can Be Better

‘I am waiting, I have been waiting for you Woo TaeGyeong, Are you going to keep me waiting’ - Noh ShinWoo in "Light On Me"

Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers about various BL dramas.

Many BL fans can relate to this statement because for a very long time, we have been asking the K-Drama gods to give us a proper BL drama, one that will make our hearts yearn and beat faster with anticipation, our eyes grow bigger with excitement, and joy.

Our prayers were answered when the short but interesting, charming, and superbly acted series "Where Your Eyes Linger" was released back in 2019, creating shock waves in the industry and ringing in a new crop of eyes and interest in the K-Drama world.

Yes, there has been quite a number of LGBT Dramas and movies such as "Night Flight", "Method", and "Two weddings and a Funeral", all of which were released prior to "Where Your Eyes Linger", but they never gave us the proper ending we all craved and got from “regular” K-Dramas, it was always subtle, hinted at, or worse ending in tragedy, sort of painting a very weird and sad like view of the LGBT community. It never really painted the full picture. We needed the happy gleeful moment, one where the main leads realize their deep affection for each other, that butterfly fluttering moment when they kiss and go on to live happily ever after, and with "Where Your Eyes Linger" we were able to finally get what we had always wanted.

The success of the series leads to many production houses finally realizing that this genre could not just be impactful but also profitable as it got the interest and attention of many international eyes. That lead to a release of a lot of BL themed dramas like "Mr. Heart", "Wish You: Your Melody From My Heart", "To My Star", "You Make Me Dance", and then "Light On Me". This welcomed interest in LGBT themed series and characters also led to more inclusion of LGBT characters in regular dramas like: "Itaewon Class", "Sweet Munchies", "Record of Youth", "Mine", "Nevertheless" and the slightly hinted at but funny bromance in "Mr. Queen", etc. A very appreciated move by many K-Drama fans.

 

While we must admit and acknowledge the intent and growth in the industry, we must still recognize and bring eyes to some of the shortcomings these BL-themed dramas have and how they can be better going forward.

Here are 4 areas Korean BL dramas need to improve on.

 

1. Dialogue

The dialogue can be better. For many, the conversations and interactions between the characters seemed a bit forced, dragged out, and sadly, sometimes dull. While we acknowledge the contrasting and different personas the characters have as well as the theme of the drama, we also expect a smart and quick response/scenario. Those unnecessary pauses, or overemphasized and elaborated moments sometimes take away the joy and feelings from the viewers or worse make them yawn. It really can be better.

 

2. Diverse Themes/Storylines

As much as we enjoy and appreciate a cute high school teen romance, making us sort of fantasizing and wish that we could live similar moments and have cute interactions with our crushes, there is a need to break out of this particular theme. Most BL is usually teen-centered, yes, it thus panders to the demographic or at least its majority, however, we might need to start delving into adult-themed dramas. Create content for everyone.

Two notable series that did this were “You Make Me Dance” and “To My Star”, giving us a look into the lives of 2 adults and perfectly sharing their stories. This theme was mainly appreciated by many because of how well the story was told and the chemistry shown by the incredible actors who starred in it.

While we rightly enjoy the cute and beautiful scenes of a briding teen romance, we also need a diverse storyline. Give us a rude and charismatic boss who falls in love with his cute but clumsy intern, or a young chaebol who returns back home and accidentally runs into his first love who was also the son of the housemaid, or a werewolf whose wife was killed by his mystical rival is reincarnated as a man and is being hunted by the same being. DIVERSITY.

 

3. 20 - 30 mins are never enough!

 

We need more! More time! More stories! We need it to be lengthy, give us backstories, make us see who the characters actually are. Take for example with "Light On Me", we needed to see what happened to ShinWoo in the past and why he was being harassed by those group of boys who hinted like they knew he was gay or with Shin DaOn, how he was with his parents that made him feel the need to be perfect all the time, and the teacher's character, what was that subtle hint towards the end? Who was the man that walked up to him? Why was he so accepting and welcoming, always encouraging the boys? What is his backstory?

When the storyline is broad and full, the viewers pay more attention and enjoy the series as they are able to pick up on various aspects of the characters that they might relate with. This cannot be captured in 20mins.

 

4. Kiss Scenes

The only shortcoming that dramas like "Where Your Eyes Linger" have are the short and non-enthusiastic kiss scenes. While we understand that these actors might not be gay, and they are just playing a role which in reality might make them uncomfortable but if you're going to fully immerse yourself in the character and make it real, then you have to go all-in too, in every aspect.

From the viewers perspective, we understand that some of the viewers might be on the younger demography and so the production would want to make it as clean as possible to avoid certain drawbacks, but still many had hope that in tune with the storyline, scenes like these should be made to evoke the proper emotions that were meant to.

We however got what we needed with "Light On Me" and "To My Star" that final kiss scene was perfect, it wasn't subtle neither was it overexaggerated, a beautiful way to end the series.

We might still have a long way to go in terms of production, scripts, and casting but, we do acknowledge and appreciate the efforts and courage that these individuals have put in to make our dreams and fantasies a reality.

What are your thoughts? Share with us in the comments section