Why a Memorable OST Matters

by Size15FeetJames, September 5, 2020

Without good music, life would be incomplete. You can say the same thing about an OST with a drama. Without an impactful soundtrack, a drama can’t be a perfect 10/10. Because whilst you may not remember the show scene-for-scene, you should be able to remember a heart-fluttering song or two from it.

[Note: Click on the images to be redirected to the OST videos for each respective drama.]

My first example:

Wow! I bet that song came straight into your head, didn’t it? For me, it certainly did!

You may be thinking, which song is he on about? The intro song? I can fly the sky? But it doesn’t matter! It just proves that Itaewon Class has such a memorable OST if there are multiple amounts of unforgettable songs that can be instantly re-thought of! In fact, the Itaewon Class OST is more searched than the drama itself on YouTube! This means that there is a huge fanbase constantly thinking about Itaewon Class, just by listening to it’s OST. Why? Because they loved the music so much that they wanted to listen to it again-and-again to relive their tears of happiness or motivation or tears or sadness, just like they had done by watching the drama. Whether one or more of their songs is on their workout playlist, motivational playlist or mood playlist, Itaewon Class has become a part of their life, not by just simply watching the drama from start to finish, but by transferring a part of the show (the memorable OST) to their everyday lives. An unforgettable melody will be placed in your mind for eternity.

Of course, music is subjective! One OST might be a pot of gold for one person, yet a great heap of garbage for another. But I guarantee that even if you loved or hated Itaewon Class, you remembered the music that came with watching it. Shall I move on to one that should be talked about more next?

The underrated example:

If you’ve already watched Hyena, you would know how privileged you are to have already experienced perhaps the most underrated OST in recent history!

This is another drama that benefits from having a memorable OST! Although still solid in its own right, Hyena benefited greatly from the music they included. But what made this soundtrack special was how the different types of songs were created to implement the scenes you were about to witness. For example, when the first second of Giriboy - Hyena struck on your screens, you instantly knew that something chaotic was about to occur, and that suspension inside of you couldn’t wait to find out what.

Songs that make you feel emotional and motivational are the best gift music can give, but when it’s bound with a great drama, these two things can create something so powerful. Oh, and could I also mention from a legitimate scientific point of view that good music raises body levels of feel-good endorphins, which protects against infections. Music has a therapeutic value, so another reason why having memorable OST matters!

Why it sucks to have bad or forgettable music in a drama - example:

Finished, good drama. A few months later, when writing this article, I couldn’t even remember any of the plot or characters. Why? I think you know already. ^-^

Triad Princess, the first non-K-Drama I had ever watched, and although it was short in length, a good watch! Months later, and I’m just glad for myself that I write my reviews a few hours after completing each drama, otherwise I wouldn’t know how to describe it! If this had a memorable song in it’s OST, just one at least, I would be able to recollect the images, the thoughts, and feelings I had for Triad Princess at the time I had watched it.

That’s why it is honestly so important for a drama to include memorable songs, it helps the viewer store their memories, their thoughts and feelings they were having whilst watching the individual scenes, so whenever they reheard the drama name, they would be able to not only remember the drama itself, not only some scenes and characters but the music, too.

Music can make the difference between a good and a great drama, whether you subconsciously know it or not.

Now, here’s something different. How about listening to an OST before watching a drama? It has its benefits!

Here’s an example:

You may be thinking, why would you listen to an OST before watching the actual drama? Well, by listening to it’s OST, you may be able to judge if you’d enjoy watching it, just by their choice of music. If you think the music is dull and boring, you have a chance of being bored by the drama. If you think music is enjoyable and addictive, you have a chance of being entertained.

When I first saw Clean with Passion for Now in my recommendations, I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy it, so I listened to its OST before watching the drama. I found the music surprisingly to my liking, especially in its addictively cute theme song and gripping music in the form of Huh Gak - Cosmos and Joohee - You Are Everything to Me. I finished watching the drama, and although CWPFN isn’t in my top five or anything, I was entertained, and I have to thank its OST for it. Its OST improved CWPFN by at least another +1 to +1.5 in its rating I gave.

Let me know if I’m not the only one who sometimes listens to a drama OST before watching the actual drama itself!

A short but sweet OST:

Life is great, and whilst some things may be a blur, the best things are short and sweet. Exactly how like Life, the drama, and it’s OST is, too! ^-^ They have somehow managed to perfectly combine their use of music and cinematography to their advantage, making it legitimately seem like their scenes were built for their OST. That’s another reason why having memorable OST matters! When that music hits your brain again, if it’s a good piece of music, you’re going to instantly remember those scenes second-by-second if the composition is done correctly! And although there is only a total amount of 6 (yes, six!) songs that make a combined 22 minutes of listen-time, you’ll always remember each melody for each song and most of the lyrics, even if you hadn’t listened to any of the songs for many months!

It may be a rule that some may not want to follow, but I believe that you can decipher the quality of a drama by listening to its OST. If you can’t remember any of the songs in a drama’s OST after watching it, it will most likely mean it wasn’t one of your favourites. If you can remember a song or two or more, you’ll instantly think about those many amazing hours spent watching an enjoyable drama that you now perhaps want to relive again!