Teasing Upcoming Kdrama Teasers

There are distinct stages of promotion or news before bringing a new drama out. We have the 1) so and so is considering upcoming drama 2) So and so officially cast in upcoming drama 3) Table read of upcoming drama 4) Poster of upcoming drama 5) Character posters of upcoming drama 6) Teasers of upcoming drama 7) Premier. Every drama goes through this sequence, some going back and repeating a few steps, but all of them eventually hit each one.

And we eagerly await them all.

Each little bit of information gets us hooked more and more, we build what we think the drama is going to be in our head until those teasers come out, finally giving us some sort of glimpse into the finished product. Or at least a glimpse into what the production team whats the drama to be. I could be really excited for a show and WHAM a few seconds into that teaser, I’m instantly turned off. Or, turned on. (Stranger things have happened.) As excited as I get for shows, I really try to wait, hold out judgment until they reveal the teaser. There is nothing more disappointing than a show you were excited about bombing that upcoming kdrama teaser. If a director isn’t talented enough to put out a clever or interesting teaser? Well, what’s the point.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if directors had to have a test before being signed on to direct? Like a pop quiz. “Sure, we’ll give you this project, but first, here’s a DVD of Boys Over Flowers, go make a teaser.”

Anyway, I might be on a tangent I don’t entirely believe in as its not always the people who can tell a joke who can tell a good story. Though a writer writes the story, the director directs it. They are in charge of everything from the look, pacing, lighting, camera work. Gah. I really have gone sideways in this post, but I find it interesting so I’m leaving it.

Long story short, there are a lot of shows that are coming up, and a whole pack of them have released teasers. Let’s check them out and see what they have to say. Most of these I’m going in blind, not knowing what the show is about.

Alice. Again, not looking at the premise. All I can see is it has Joo Won. I love Joo Won even if there aren’t many shows of his I’d actually sit down and watch….so why do I love Joo Won? By the power of Bridal Mask itself? Or he was very compelling in Tomorrow Cantabile. Also, he’s pretty. Do we need more of a reason than that? Let’s take a look at the teaser.

No lie, I watched this two times and I have no freaking idea what is going on. I want to say Joo Won’s mom was killed in the past or she killed someone and now everyone is out for revenge? Or to find her? They also mention a doppelganger in the subs? Joo Won does, indeed, look pretty? The thing looks twisty and turny and action-packed. Huh. Let’s see what the synopsis actually is as I’m at real loss.

Hotel Alice is a place where time travelers stay right before they travel back in time.

“Alice” will tell the story of a man and a woman who are separated by death, only to be reunited by overcoming the limits of time and space. Yoon Tae Yi is a genius physicist who holds the key to uncovering the secrets of time travel, while Park Jin Kyum is a detective, who wants to do good, learns a hidden secret about himself while attempting to solve the mystery of time travel. He meets Yoon Tae-Yi. They unravel the secret of time travel together.

That THE hey. Yeah, I never would have gotten that. I had no idea that it had anything to do with time travel. And I watched it TWICE. I guess that was what the big circle thing was? How effective was this teaser? Welllllll…. I’m not certain I’m going to watch as I’m now looking at this whole thing side-eye.

Let’s move onto the next tab. (I just opened a bunch of teasers in tabs and I’m going to look at them randomly, again not looking at the premise beforehand.

And instantly I’m cheating. This tab is the new season of Show Me The Money! While I don’t watch the show, I do love the music that springs from it. (Its how I fell in love with Bobby.)

A little boring, but intense music makes you think its pretty epic. It doesn’t announce who the leaders are or who the cast is, but now I’m excited – “Who IS the next young boss?” I want to know!

The next one is Lee Joon Ki in Flower of Evil. I want to say I know a little bit about this show just from seeing some teaser pics. They were once married agents and maybe their son died and are now on opposite sides of the law? That’s what I’ve gleaned from pictures. Lee Joon Ki does have a certain raaawwr as a bad guy or a good guy with bad guy leanings.

Ooooohhhh this was good! So much blood and mystery and sinister. This doesn’t show the kid at all but I know there is one. Perhaps it’s a story where he was always bad and she didn’t know and married him and now has to figure out her husband is a straight-up murderer? That sounds like it would be edge of your seat excitement there.

Let’s see what its actually about:

Baek Hee Sung appears the ideal husband. A hard-working craftsman, his metal-work studio has been successful enough to provide a good life for his wife and daughter. Equally comfortable working around the house or in his workshop, Hee Sung easily fulfills his roles of father, husband, business owner, and craftsman. But this perfect exterior hides some very dark secrets, secrets he would rather his detective wife, Cha Ji Won, never uncovers.
It is hard-hitting homicide detective Cha Ji Won’s job to uncover as many secrets possible in her never-ending quest for the truth. With an insatiable curiosity and unwavering determination, Ji Won lives for her work. Thriving on the excitement of unraveling mysteries and the high that comes with bringing criminals to justice, Ji Won is always in search of that next clue. Taking on a particularly cruel case, she finds herself going down a very dark path – one that could crumble the very foundation of her own happy life. Diving deeper into her investigation, she comes to realize that her dangerous prey has been in her midst all along!

This sounds kind of familiar? I wonder if I read something about it before. I thought for sure the kid was dead though. The teaser is killer effective and even though I’m in no place to be wanting any sort of suspense or police drama, I’m super compelled to it.

We might be going down rom-com path now, with a show called When I Was Prettiest. (Which for me was def pre lockdown when I washed my face with fancy products and put on makeup on the reg.)

Oooooh this looks dreamy and beautiful! The music playing on in the background was perfect. If the whole show has the tone and palate of this teaser, it could be swoon-worthy. This teaser, while scrolling down the post to grab the link I saw right in the title this is about two brothers who love the same woman. Normally I’d vote for the cute Shownu-y looking one, but I’m guessing the guy at the end is his brother and he’s dreamy too. this show feels like it’s going to be filled with angst, probably the older brother going all white-knighting and giving up the girl for the younger brother to which I say boooo. I understand as his little heart is on his sleeve, but boooo she is his teacher, it was never going to work out in the first place.

Official word says: (ooh before I look it up, one more thought, wouldn’t it be terrible if he does step aside and then it time jumps forward in the future when the teacher and older brother meet up again by chance after the younger brother has moved on? I infer that purely from the title. I hope if this is the case, the younger brother will graciously step aside….I mean, in my head he does.) Okay, back to the official synopsis.

Oh Ye Ji is a ceramic artist. She has a pure heart and relentless optimism and refuses to give up no matter the situation. She dreams of finding ordinary happiness but in a cruel twist of fate gets caught in a love triangle with two brothers, Seo Hwan and Seo Jin.

Seo Hwan, an architectural designer, is an innocent young man who falls in love with Oh Ye Ji at first sight. His feelings put him at odds with his older brother Seo Jin, but he can’t let go of his fateful first love.

Seo Jin is a race car driver and the leader of his rally team. He is cool and reserved on the outside but is ruthless in the pursuit of what he desires. When he meets Oh Ye Ji for the first time at his father’s workshop, he instinctually feels attracted to her.

Carrie Jung, described as a femme fatale, is Seo Jin’s ex-girlfriend and marketing partner. She is charismatic, but she is also intensely jealous over her ex-lover and has a selfish and egoistic streak. She feels passionate love for Seo Jin, whose rally team she used to sponsor, and is unable to let go of him even after they break up.

Hrm. Not what I was imagining. And di they really need to bring in the femme fatal? Don’t they have enough drama here? Teaser? Super effective, but I might be turned off by the synopsis. Do I like the teaser enough to give it a try?

Next!

Can’t Be Bothered to Date, But Don’t Want to Be Lonely. This sounds kind of familiar. That could be because this is the story of my life. Might as well be called Stephanie: Hates People But Wants A Second Income To Rent A Nicer Apartment.

Huh. I know I should want to see this? Perhaps it’s charming but without subs it’s just an irritating guy talking to the screen in a room. I’m in no way compelled to see this. Looks like the next teaser is the girl’s POV. Let’s take a look at that.

Well, I want to say that’s a little better. At least there was a shirtless guy in it? Still, not feeling the urge to watch this one. Let’s see what the synopsis has to say:

A story of young people residing at a co-living house. They do want to date, but they don’t want to be serious. They prefer being free, but they also don’t want to be lonely.

Cha Kang Woo is a single man in his 30’s and he works as a psychiatrist. He is full of curiosity about human beings. Even though he is an attractive man, he is afraid of having romantic relationships due to trauma from his past. A woman appears in front of him and he begins to have feelings for her.

Lee Na Eun is a freelancer copy editor. She is generous to good people, but she does not tolerate injustice. She hopes to become a novelist one day. Due to her situation, she has not had a boyfriend in 4 years. She begins to stay at the co-living house and develops romantic feelings.

A little better (though I ask why a psychiatrist doesn’t live on his own). The only real thing that gets me to want to watch this show is it looks like this is the show that Gongchan from B1A4 is going to be in! Awww Gongchan! Now I want to watch her teaser again to see if I can find him. Hold, please. He is! He’s the third guy! The one with the cool haircut!

Awww Gongchan! Not going to lie, this makes me a little excited to see the show, he’s so grown up!

Next:

This one, Chip-In took me a while before I found the teaser. There are a lot of posts giving tips on how to watch the show and what to look out for as apparently its some sort of mystery, but the teaser was scarce. By the power of Youtube we’ve got it! I’m going in completely blind on this one except that there is some sort of mysterious mother-daughter relationship.

NO IDEA BUT THIS LOOKS FREAKY AND COOL. Do you think its counting lies? Or murderous thoughts? Or days until you get murdered? I don’t know but I need to find out!

Bit Na is the daughter of a famous painter, who owns billions of won in property. A fierce battle takes place over the property, with Bit Na becoming involved. She tries to figure out the truth.

This tells me even less! But I’m in. Who’s with me?

I was going to say I feel bad for whatever show is going to go after that one, but it’s our last and it’s Park Bo Gum’s new show, Record of Youth! Straight out of the box, I say Park Bo Gum is dreamy. And? I know this show is about wannabe models. Let’s see what the teaser has to say.

Ohhhh I’m in! Sure it’s about the modeling world which I’m not super into (as she deletes her browsing history of America’s Next Top Model) And Park Bo Gum! And the teaser is straight-up kdrama, but is endearing and effective.

Any of these you’re planning on watching? How does a teaser make you feel?