Now that Dramafever has shut down where can diehard K-drama addicts get their fix online now. Until fans waxed nostalgic about mysoju.com in my Dramafever shut down post I had totally forgotten about that site which offered aggregated K-drama viewing in the early Hallyu days without official licensing but also because the Big Three Korean networks hadn’t yet gotten around to licensing their dramas. After Dramafever pioneering the official licensing of K-dramas for streaming sites there have been major developments including the rise of fan-subbed Viki and the big players Hulu and Netflix offering Korean content. Those three along with newer arrival Kocowa, a streaming site started by the Big Three MBC, KBS, and SBS, are now the only available official streaming site for K-dramas online offering English subtitles. If you can’t find your desired K-drama then the only options are to learn Korean or find a new hobby.
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If you're in Asia, there's Viu.
I mainly watch chinese dramas and DF has been so good before in bringing in Cdramas.
So sad! Now I just hope Netflix get more of them as well. I can't get used to viki no master how many times I tried.
I hate Viki! Its got so many ads and Viki pass is useless most of the times!
Yes I'm rooting for Netflix too. Their collection is growing rapidly and what with them picking up original dramas now I'm looking forward to what they do next.
Not rooting for Netflix at all, they alter scenes and music due to license restrictions and their subs for kdramas have been subpar for almost a decade now.
They've not even had kdramas for a decade so I have not idea what you're saying. Their subtitles are done by proffessionals licensed by the production company itself.
I watched my first kdrama (BOF) on Netflix in 2010 and that’s why I said, ALMOST a decade. Also people have been complaining about the quality of Netflix subs for a long time, it’s actually ne of the reasons I moved on from watching dramas on Netflix years ago before they started airing exclusive dramas recently. If you think the subs for most of the dramas on there are good enough, then that’s good for you.
Hulu is only for the States.
Yeah, and Netflix is not offering much in my country for Kdrama / Asian drama fans. I cancelled my trail subscription with them.
Viki or illegal is they only way to watch Dramas with English subs here in Germany. Kocowa doesn't work for me, neither. If someone has a recommendation that's legal, please be kind and share.
I do pay for viki pass standard (viki pass plus is not available here). However, due to geo restrictions / blocking I do not have access to the same content as the American version. It's s*cks.
Years ago I tried to have access to Dramafever and I regularly subscribed for information to get updates when they'll be available in my region. They offered that, but never got back to actually make it available in Europe.
I'm sure, I'm not they only one who has envied the options American viewers have.
[BTW, yes, I tried VPN. But it's so slow and you get kicked out a lot during an episode. Not a real option :( ]
I would try a few different VPNs then until you find one that works for you. I know there are German (or Germany-based) fans who don't have any problem accessing dramas.
Viki pass is useless, the resolution isn’t the top notch, subs are fan translated and come super late. Viki used to be better without the pass and fans used to translate at the speed of light. Some dramas aren’t available in all regions? Kocowa is useless because it’s not available in all regions. Netflix is of higher quality but translations lack knowledge and episodes come too late. They still haven’t realised in the headquarters that the attraction of kdramas is that they’re available immediately. Hulu doesn’t accept credit cards outside of USA. I have no desire to subscribe into HBO/WB/HULU anyway. DF, now taken down, was full of dramas that weren’t available in my region anyway. I have no choice but to use VPN to get to watch some dramas and go to illegal sites.
Lol for once I agree with your post. I have a viki pass but Kocowo has everything licensed to the US for viki premium. And I am a viki or was a contributor. Well guess I am since I sub but can't watch so many airing dramas since I don't live in the US. It pisses me off. I have a drama coming Nov and it will be not funny if I can't access it even as a manager.
VIU subs are not bad. Netflix subs like DF you lose the actual translations and Korean- centric sayings/idioms. I don't even bother with subs for shows I really want to watch. Or if I watch then mentally correct the lines till it is actually right. To understand what the heck the characters actually mean.
Luckily I can watch both C and Kdramas raw. I only need subs for Japanese dramas.
But I really really hate that VIU, DF and Netflix don't sub song lyrics. And the lyrics are ALL correct during the scene. It is almost like a dialogue. Fans lose so much if it is not subbed. That's why I still like viki subs.
I already stopped watching dramas on anything but Netlfix since last year. They quality is amazing but the sad part is waiting for the series until it finishes airing. Though it looks like they're getting into the simulcast mindset with Mister Sunshine so my suggestion would definitely be to go for Netflix. Within Asia at least their kdrama selection has just been increased massively.
Its sad that most of the legal websites are only catered to us/canada. Its hard to find sites that offer the latest series to Europe/ Scandinavia. In example I have Netflix but the koreans series is very limited.. Viki used to be good but its also restricted based to where u live
Dramafever will be missed because of their active subbing for chinese dramas.
I think Netflix will be the way to go for drama viewing in the future. They already own the US and they're stating to make headway in Asia. I don't know what their base in Europe is like but they have so many Netflix Original shows for European audiences which are simply awesome. I'm looking forward to them doing more Netflix Original for Korea as well.
Isn't OnDemandKorea legal as well? I haven't checked them out yet, but I heard they are picking up some of the shows Dramafever dropped.
That's just what I was gonna say. I read that they're offering a free two-month trial. Hopefully it's true that they'll be offering a lot of the shows that DF dropped.
On Demand Korea's dramas are not all subbed. Also, hey carry a lot of dramas that are already subbed on YouTube - like those daily afternoon dramas that are on KBS World. Recently, I watch a lot of dramas on YouTube. Our family has subscriptions to everything DramaFever, Viki, Hulu, Netflix, even Amazon Prime. The best one for me is Viki because it has the most variety although there is lack of professionalism. Hulu and Netflix have good quality, but I've seen most of their dramas somewhere else already if it's not an original production. I understand Japanese, so if I want Jdramas I just watch them on maplestage without subs.
Netflix added many new korean dramas recently. But not to all countries!
Kissasian is illegal but people may try it
Kiss Asian and another couple of illegal sites is the go to when all of the above options are unavailable/inaccessible for the exception of Netflix. Then again only a few K drama content makes it to Netflix and I guess it’s better then nothing. I wish Kocowa was international though.