Thai Dramas Styles: The Differences

by Brownie, July 28, 2020

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Hello/Sawadee, fellow MDLers!

It’s Brownie! I’m back as I’m starting to feel more comfortable writing now, but it did take a bit of effort.

This article was inspired by Yuanwei.

So today, I would like to talk about different types of Thai dramas because I’ve noticed people don’t actually realise there are differences.

Many times, I’ve received messages asking for Lakorn recommendations which I happily give. They would write back saying “No, not those ones. The gay ones.”

Now, in theory “lakorn” is Thai drama if you’re looking for what it means in English terms, however not all Thai dramas are lakorns. Being someone who has watched a bit of every type of Thai drama, I started to see that there were differences between them.

Going by my observation over the years, I would say this is probably the most popular type. They usually are school-based and/or BLs.

Pros

Shorter in duration and episode count.
Subtitles are easier to find, typically on YouTube.
Pretty boys... if that’s your thing. lol
Most of them are light, fluffy and cute.

Cons

Pacing can be rushed especially if the episodes/duration are too short.
Popcorn. Popcorn everywhere. “What is popcorn?” It’s when you are watching something that’s been cut up into itty-bitty pieces, and you have to go looking for each one - if they’re not part of a playlist. This is more annoying because you end up with 80 parts of 9 - 14 mins. I’ll never understand the logic of doing this, especially when it's from the official channels.

Example of a Popcorn

ONE episode a WEEK. Perhaps I’ve been spoilt from watching lakorns that give me 2 to 5 episodes a week, but once a week is just torture and it's also why I wait for a series to finish, more so when the Hype Cult are lurking around - I finally watched 2 Moons 2 a year after it premiered and found myself enjoying it more than I did when it premiered - back then I never even finished one popcorn. Yeah, that’s right! That’s how hyped I felt this series was.
Spoilers. Spoilers everywhere. Spoilers for me are like trying to finish Super Hard Super Mario level.

Hype Cult. Hype Cult everywhere. Hyped dramas are essentially Spoilers’ relative. I avoid them like the plague.

Some examples of Series

2gether Boy For Rent The Gifted Girl Next Room: Richy Rich

2 Moons 2 Tharntype Special Theory of love Great Men Academy

Unpopular Opinion

A big part of why I don’t watch much series is because of my dislike for sequels. When I start a title, I don’t have the mindset of “oh gosh, I hope this has a sequel”. Not all sequels are necessary and not all sequels are good. I feel the majority of the time, producers (or whoever’s in charge) just want to milk the cow for all it’s worth just because the first season did well.

This is my own personal favourite, probably because they are adult based. Their plots tend to be a bit over the top, lots of arguing and shouting. I hate when people argue and shout in real life, but I guess when it’s a lakorn, it’s classed as a guilty pleasure.

Pros

They are longer in duration, which falls between 1 hour 30 mins to 1 hour 50 mins which means there will be between 11 - 17 episodes. This is the type I tend to watch more of.
They also have lakorns that are only 45 mins to 1 hour, but these episodes can go up to, if not more than 40 episodes. This is the type I tend to watch when I need a break from the long stretch.
You’ll get more out of longer ones (1 hour 30+), in one episode than you would in 45 mins one.
Spoilers... um, what spoilers?! Lol. This is the best thing about lakorns. I get put off by spoilers almost instantly, but with barely anybody watching lakorns, the chances of running into one are practically slim to none so I can go on social media and MDL feed safely.
The coverage of serious issues... for those who are looking for mature, hard-hitting plots.

Cons

Probably not suited to viewers who don’t have a lot of patience because the durations are quite long, especially if you’re not used to it. I struggled with this when I first branched out. I was tired and shocked by just three episodes of Kleun Cheewit. Persistence is key, but also it helps enormously if you are watching an excellent plot with (just an added bonus) actors/actresses you admire.
Subtitles are much harder, almost impossible to find if you don’t know where to look. I use fansubbers for all my lakorns. I will talk more about this later.
Sometimes episodes can feel like it’s dragging. This has been apparent when I have binged a couple of titles.

What’s in a typical lakorn?

There isn’t a vast range of types of plots, but a lot of the plots are based around Revenge (Slap/Kiss and otherwise), Love-Hate Relationship, Contract Marriage/ Pretend Relationship, Cohabitation, Spy/ Mafia, Bodyguard and historical.

Some examples of Lakorns

Ruk Laek Pop Tra Barb See Chompoo Poo Bao Indy Yayee Inter

My Husband in Law Hua Jai Look Poochai Kao Waan Hai Noo Pen Sai Lub

Those who have come across my posts on the feeds will have seen me use this term. An Inbetween is a Thai drama that I personally don’t class as a series or a lakorn. If you watch one of each, you’ll start to notice how they are different.

Some examples of Inbetweens

Singha Naka Quarantine Stories

My Dear Warrior Happy Birthday

The way I watch Thai, you’d think I fell in love with their dramas immediately, but that’s honestly not the case at all. I struggled precisely the same way I did with Korean, but I also never watched it consistently - every couple of months, I would watch one title. I watched my first Lakorn in 2017, but I didn’t start watching properly until 2018 when I began to lose interest in K-dramas.

TIP 1: Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone

For a first-timer, I thought their language was very aggressive but also my first Thai experience was Kleun Cheewit which meant I watched a Slap/Kiss without even knowing what it was, but I knew immediately I didn’t like all the forceful stuff. The only language I felt comfortable watching without any issues has been Chinese... quite different from Thai and Korean.

TIP 2: Don’t let language be the reason you don’t watch, especially if you like the plot

I watch lakorns all day unless I want to take a break then I would watch a series, especially if I’m suffering from a headache or earache from all the screaming and shouting. I am used to it now, but there are the few awful ones, so that’s when I take breaks but, honestly, those are super rare.

TIP 3: Don’t give up after just one go. If the first one wasn’t to your taste, try a different one. It may be “the one”, and if that fails, you can always ask around.

Where I watch

Muse - justanothermuse.com
I have been using them from the first time I watched a lakorn, but I haven’t watched all the titles they have subbed as they’re not all for me. You will not be able to use their website since they went private and what that means is that you’ll have to donate. I personally don’t have a problem with that, and since I can afford to, I have. I watch with them as titles air.
Neko Meow Meow - nekomeowmeow.com and Oh Sweet Thippy - ohsweethaven.com
I don’t know how long I’ve been using these sites for, but I also like their stuff. I normally watch from them after titles are completely subbed.

Youtube

I only use this for series. I love to eat popcorn, not watch it.

WeTV app

I watched a couple of lakorns here raw....because I couldn’t wait for subs! Lol, and then rewatched again with subs so I can see the parts I didn’t understand.

Telegram groups
I don’t really use this if I can watch it with original subbers, but some of them also have TG channels where they can upload safely without fear of having their work removed.

I don’t use sites like Kissasian or Dramacool etc.

We have reached the end of the article now. Thanks very much for reading another one of mine. I hope I’ve managed to clear some stuff up and possibly help those that need it.