Omg, I was totally thinking about this the other day and today! I was trying to find another drama to watch to wait for Scarlet Heart Ryeo (I know most people think it's overrated, but its like crack to me for some odd reason), and nothing seemed to interest me. I started watching Moon Embracing the Sun, which is supposed to be the "best drama ever" and just could not get into it. It was like the leads were too perfect or something.
And THAT got me wondering when I ever had complaints like that. I was thinking to myself (yes, I know how odd that sounds) "Wow, I was never this picky about dramas before. I watched it FOR the cheesiness and I used to love dramas despite bad plot, bad acting, weak characters, etc."
Like, lately, I cannot watch dramas where the female lead 1) is really really childish 2) gets treated really badly by the male or 3) is not a prominent part of the drama. And as you stated, start to see "the same character" over and over. And really, that never bothered me before. Boys Over Flowers? Today, I would probably hate it. Then? Loved it, to be point of embarassment.
As for what you said on public opinion, I just read an interesting article on Kdramas catering to international audiences:
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http://www.inquisitr
Ugh, don't know if it pasted correctly. First, the article popped out at me cos as an international fan myself, I was more addicted to SHR than LitM, so it was kind of like, woah, what a coincidence. But it just got me thinking a lot about K-entertainment evolution to reach the international base. I feel like this is a double-edged sword. On one hand, I guess it'd good because Kdrama people might try to write/produce better dramas to appeal to more people. But on the other hand, when you try to please other people too much, you lose your base and end up being a cheap copy. I dunno, maybe you (and me) are feeling the effects of that a little?