More K-drama Posters and the Messages They Didn't Mean to Send

About a year and a half ago, I wrote about some of the odd advertising choices I saw for upcoming K-dramas. Well, I don't know if there's something in the water at Korean advertising offices or what, but I have seen enough questionable posters recently that I thought the topic was worth revisiting. Here are some of the best (and by best, I mean worst) recent examples:

1. Blood

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What it should be about: A handsome young doctor seems like he has it all: looks, money, and love. But what his coworkers don't know is that he and his mysterious twin brother are hiding a dark past, filled with intrigue, murder, and some hinted-at-but-never-actually-confirmed incest. (This premise then goes on to inspire loads of fan fiction—all of it erotic.)

What it's actually about: A handsome young doctor seems like he has it all—too bad he's actually a VAMPIRE.

 If you want to sell your vampire show, you probably don't need to make it look more angsty than it already is. Did Vampire Prosecutor teach you nothing? Also, it's a pretty bad sign in the romance department when your male lead has more chemistry with himself than with his leading lady. 

2. Hogu's Love/Fool's Love

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This poster wouldn't be on the list, except it's very obviously the Pieta—you know, where the Virgin Mary holds the dead body of her son, Jesus. Even if the religious reference isn't weird, the whole mother/son thing still is.

What it should be about: A nun becomes pregnant after an unexpected clandestine night of passion. Imagine her surprise when she gives birth to an adult man who acts like a baby, Benjamin Button style! With the help of a sassy guardian angel, she tries to figure out what she's supposed to do (cue awkward attempt at breastfeeding).

What it's actually about: Kang Ho Gu is kind of a pushover, and he's always been unlucky in love. When the girl of his dreams re-enters his life, things get complicated really fast. (Spoiler alert—there's still a baby!)

3. King of High School/High School King of Savvy

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What it should be about: A tomboyish hockey player can't stand the thought of going to her five-year school reunion alone, so she hires a high-paid gigolo to pretend to be her boyfriend. As with all fake romance, they fall in love. The trusty school secretary helps.

What it's actually about: A high school student pretends to be his older brother, who just took a big job at a major company and then disappeared.

I think my premise is more plausible. Also, can she please not have her head in his crotch?

4. Witch's Romance

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What it should be about: A pair of grifters move to a small town and start an elaborate money-making scheme involving a disco skating business (because why else would Park Seo Joon ever wear that shirt?). What the con artists didn't expect was that the townspeople would worm their way into their cynical hearts.

What it's actually about: A woman and a man want to date, but she's 14 years older than he is! (Gasp!)

5. Shine or Go Crazy

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What it should be about: Oh, cool, it's The Night Watchman's Journal!

What it's actually about: Wait, it's not The Night Watchman's Journal?

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I'm not kidding when I say that I clicked on the poster for the wrong show while trying to find images for this post.

What other terrible posters have you seen lately? Or am I totally off and these posters are awesome?

Kdrama Posters: The Message They Didn't Mean to Send

One of the reasons we wrote some of our recommendations posts is that it can be really difficult to sift through all of the dramas out there to find one you really love.  While I usually rely on reviews from bloggers who seem to match my tastes to help direct me to new dramas, I have to admit that I'm also really heavily swayed by advertising.  A great drama poster can push a show to the front of the line, while a ridiculous one can sometimes prevent me from starting something I might otherwise really enjoy.  Sometimes, the posters are so random or poorly planned that I have to wonder what advertising executive signed off on it in the first place.

With that in mind, here are some of my favorite random kdrama posters:

1. Shark

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What it should be about: A man with some sort of brain injury is very sad, so a nice lady lets him drool on her breasts for comfort. Then she is also sad.  They are both very, very sad.

I have seen this picture popping up all over Pinterest, but I just can't get past this poster to give it a real chance. 


What it's actually about: (from Wikipedia): "Han Yi-soo (Kim Nam-gil) narrowly escapes death and loses his father because of the owners of Gaya Hotel Group, the family of Jo Hae-woo (Son Ye-jin), his first love... 12 years later he returns to Korea with a new identity and carefully plots to avenge his family."

So at least I was right about the sad part.  Good job, advertisers!


2. Twelve Men in a Year

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What it should be about: With the help of a gigantic book/magic carpet, Cupid helps a sassy Korean girl discover the wonderful world of reading!

According to the movie poster, this show should be something like Wishbone, just more Korean.  And maybe with a love story. Now that I mention it, that sounds like an awesome premise for a show!  And probably better than the actual premise, which I quit after one episode.

What it's actually about: (from Dramawiki): "Na Miru, a twenty-nine old woman, starts a dating column and dates twelve men for each astrological sign in the calendar."

3. Full House, Take 2

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What it should be about:  A cross-dressing Golden Girls impersonator is torn between his split personalities: a nice college student named "Danny" and a rich, permed playboy named "Alfonso."

What it's actually about: (from Drama wiki) "This series pivots around a hapkido teacher Jang Man-ok (Hwang Jung Eum) becoming a stylist of top idol group TAKE ONE, composed of the perfectionist Lee Tae Ik (No Min Woo) and a free yet kind guy named Won Kang Hwi (Park Ki Woong) and getting into a romantic relationship with them."

Sooooooooo, that lady in the middle gets to be the stylist?  Somehow, that doesn't sell me on the show.


4. Secret Garden

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What it should be about: A Korean businessman almost dies and wakes up as Mary Poppins.  He falls in love with his "charge," and they use his new powers to fly to Bavaria!

What it's actually about: (from Wikipedia) "The drama tells the story of love story between Gil Ra-im (Ha Ji-won) and Kim Joo-won (Hyun Bin). Gil Ra-im is a poor but proud stunt woman who has supported herself since her father's death. Joo-won is an arrogant and eccentric CEO who maintains the image of seeming perfection. . . . A strange sequence of events results in them swapping bodies."

5. You're Beautiful

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What it should be about:  A ragtag gang of angels kidnap a grumpy man.  They teach him all kinds of useful things, like how to shoot lasers out of his hands and that he shouldn't wear tunics over suits.  He returns to earth a better man.

What it's actually about: (from Wikipedia) "Go Mi Nyu (Park Shin-hye) is a sister-in-training. Her twin brother, Go Mi Nam successfully auditions for the musical band A.N.JELL but is forced to leave for the  United States to correct a botched plastic surgery. Mi Nyu is approached by Mi Nam's manager to pose as Mi Nam while he recovers. . . . Mi Nyu enters the group A.N.JELL and meets its members: Hwang Tae Kyung (Jang Keun-suk), Kang Shin Woo (Jung Yong-hwa) and Jeremy (Lee Hongki)."

This is another case of a series that would have been better off just following the poster instead.

Which K-drama advertisements have left you scratching your head?