K-dramas and Chinese dramas are redefining entertainment standards in 2025. Here’s how!

A majority of the world today prefers the comfort of home with a feel-good K-drama or Chinese series over a trip to the cinemas. So, what's their secret to consistently striking a chord? Let's dig deeper!

As someone who grew up watching the peak Bollywood classics in the early 2000s, it was rather disappointing for me to see the industry slowly lose its charm over the years. The stories stopped feeling entertaining after a point and the songs that once made me feel an entire ocean inside my heart, are now being remade into something that only makes me feel numb. So it wasn’t a surprise that during the pandemic I found K-dramas filling the void that Bollywood left in me. Eventually, I found my way to Chinese dramas like Hidden Love, First Frost and When I Fly Towards You. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t that I completely stopped watching Bollywood films, when once in a while it does hit the bulls eye these days I am first in line at the cinemas but the number of times I do that has reduced drastically. I thought I was the only one making this shift until I realised everyone around me, be it at work, at home or in my social circles sub consciously being pulled towards these Asian dramas as well!

Let’s take just the first six months of this year as an example! We’ve had movies like Nadaaniyan, Loveyapa, Mere Husband Ki Biwi and Bhool Chuk Maaf which have not only made us question the cast, it genuinely made us all wonder where the future of Bollywood is headed. The comparisons made between Bollywood back then and Bollywood today were made in the past six months more than ever before! I mean there’s a reason why theatres are deciding to re-release old movies that worked to the point where it does not even feel nostalgic anymore. It is recession season indeed and no one would’ve seen this coming few years back! So in an era where the Hindi film industry is scratching heads over what could possibly work today and what doesn’t, the K-dramas and Chinese dramas are somehow managing to get it right!

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Here’s how!

They’ve mastered the art of making stories from the female gaze

Rom-com is a genre that caters mostly to women and yet it is rarely told from our POV. For the longest time, it’s been about what the guy wants in a girl and if it is ever told from a woman’s point of view, it is often termed as ‘unrealistic’. But K-dramas and Chinese dramas turn the tables and simply aren’t afraid of portraying the gentleness and emotional intelligence women look for in a man. 

Even though their episodes are as long as a movie, they manage to keep us hooked because there’s never a dull moment!

It isn’t just the main plot that keeps you engaged in a K-drama, there are multiple sub plots unfolding simultaneously and they’re just as interesting. Not once do you ever feel like skipping to the parts where it's just the leads. Every single person on-screen has something to contribute to the story and it's written in such a way that it challenges today’s short form content that’s taking over everyone’s attention span.

The writing is given the utmost importance 

In the K-drama and Chinese drama world, stories aren’t written around a certain cast, or to appease the crowd with what’s trending, it’s about giving the writer utmost freedom to tell their stories the way they want. Oftentimes fans are hyped up for these dramas not even because of the lead actors but because of the writers.

They constantly keep re-inventing themselves while still keeping their core alive

While certain small elements in these dramas are perpetual, the story as a whole will rarely be the same. K-dramas and Chinese dramas constantly re-invent themselves in terms of their premise. They constantly deep dive into various career fields to keep audiences hooked and also show that love can bloom under any circumstances!

The stories strike a perfect balance between relatable arcs and a fairytale love story

Let’s take Netflix’s recent drama When Life Gives You Tangerines that made it everyone’s watchlist! The drama made us weep because of how it made us feel seen through the eyes of a family's struggles and wins. But at the same time, the makers melted our hearts with Gwan-Sik and Ae-Sun’s love story. After a point it just felt like he was too good to be true even for the fictional world. A lot of K-dramas work on similar lines of giving us the best of both worlds!

The men in these dramas are what women idealize their partners to be 

There’s no denying that these dramas are popularly known for portraying the greenest flags on-screen. They all feel like men written by women, for women. They show us what it can be like to set the right standards for us and how the right person will always come through! Early 2000s Bollywood films worked on similar themes but lately, movies like Animal have depleted our trust in that quintessential Bollywood charm to say the least!

Every drama has a new OST, remaking songs does not exist as a concept there

Remaking songs isn’t a thing there. Every drama has its own soundtrack list which is according to the theme of the K-drama. It immensely helps elevate certain scenes during the course of the story and sometimes also helps make the drama really popular!

The emotions transcend language barriers 

K-dramas and Chinese dramas are proof that good stories will go beyond language barriers. You needn’t necessarily understand what they’re saying but it is the emotions and good writing that is crossing continents and making a place in everyone’s hearts! 

Do you feel K-dramas and Chinese dramas are the new benchmark for filmmaking today? Let us know in the comments below!

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