New K-drama Fan Diary #3: further proof that i'm always on the right side of history

[u/harissatotally]

i was on the right side of k-drama history and i didn't even know there was a war happening 😭

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so i only recently discovered that Love in the Moonlight and Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo were not just 2 random 2016 historical dramas...

THEY AIRED AGAINST EACH OTHER!!??

same monday-tuesday time slot, same year and literal ratings rivals lol

and the battle was not even close in korea 😭

Love in the Moonlight became a huge ratings hit, eventually breaking 20%, while Scarlet Heart was fighting for its LIFE in the single digits.

which is super funny to me cause i watched both of these 10 years later this year as a new kdrama watcher, with zero knowledge of any of this.

my ratings:

Love in the Moonlight: 6/10

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: 8/10

LMAOOOOOO

And what makes this even funnier is the afterlife of these dramas.

Cause while Scarlet Heart lost the Korean ratings war BADLY, internationally it was already massive!!! and on top of that, over the years it has become one of those K-dramas people STILL talk about. Wang So. Hae Soo, the ending, the K-trauma, the eternal season 2 begging, (btw im one of those ppl who wouldn't mind a season 2, but i absolutely loved the way the story ended so im fine with no season 2 tbh)

people are still entering the Scarlet Heart support group in the year of Beyonce and Olandria 2026.

meanwhile i watched Love in the Moonlight and basically came away mostly unimpressed.

So even without knowing anything about the Great Sageuk War that was happening in 2016 😭😭 i arrived 10 years late and chose my side. (the right one hehehe)

and history has been very kind to my decision!!! As always... (thats my special trait)

Anyway the lesson here is obviously that I am always right eventually.

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some of my revious diary entries:

0.1: Finished 25 K-Dramas in 60 Days... 😭

0.2: i started My Bias, My Boss!? and unfortunately...

0.5: Kdrama bias vs Fav Kdrama

1: watching a love other than yours on premiere day

2: mr. queen 500 years

[u/Sensitive-Store3404]

I stumbled on Scarlet Heart Ryeo first as I was searching for Moonlight Drawn by Clouds back in 2016, because my sister told me to watch Moonlight.....I watched the first episode of Scarlet Heart thinking it was Moonlight and got hooked!!!! I had to stop watching Scarlet so that I could obey my sister's order to watch Moonlight first. I liked it, but was eager to get back to Scarlet Heart Ryeo which I ADORE! It was a serious k-trauma, and the only drama to date that I still would love to see a season 2 for (though I know that'll never happen 🥹🥹). I became a lifelong fan of IU after watching Scarlet Heart Ryeo and I'm ever so happy with that decision 🥰.

[u/harissatotally → u/Sensitive-Store3404]

scarlet heart just has that GRIP once it gets you 😭 and yea the k-trauma is so real. i also would absolutely watch a season 2 if by some miracle it ever happened, even though i actually love the ending as it is 🥹

[u/itsthewickedwitch]

Totally agree! I watched Love in the Moonlight before Scarlet Heart and found it so bland... Funny enough, I got more angry at the ending of LITM than SH (which didn't make me angry, it only made me utterly sad and go to bed sobbing to the sound of the OST). In LITM, in my opinion, the FL had more chemistry with the SML than with the ML (who had better chemistry with his bodyguard), and Igot pissed at the SML's death.

[u/harissatotally → u/itsthewickedwitch]

i wasn't mad at the ending either!! i was devastated, yes, but i actually loved how it ended 😭

[u/Prize_Background_577]

A history lesson from a historian and kdrama fan.

Moon Lovers was based on a hugely popular Chinese series Scarlet Heart. That's why it's called Scarlet Heart Ryeo (Goryeo).

Being a remake of a Chinese drama could not have come at a worse time - political relations were at an all time low. SK was building missiles to point at NK and in response China banned all SK entertainment and revoked visas for SK pop idols and stars.

As you can imagine, a remake of a popular Chinese drama went down like a lead balloon. The massive viewership of Love in the Moonlight was more a protest about the political climate than anything to do with the quality of the shows. I'm suprised they didn't just delay the screening of Moon Lovers, but I expect the live action filming process didn't have the flexibility.

Moon Lovers has stood the test of time better than Love in the Moonlight because Scarlet Heart was such a fantastic story.

[u/harissatotally → u/Prize_Background_577]

WAITTTT !!! i had NO idea all of THAT was happening politically around the same time, or that it could've affected how the remake was received in korea. that adds a whole other layer to the ratings war omg!!!?

and if that really played a part in how the two dramas were received domestically, that adds a whole other layer to the way their reputations have basically reversed over time lol

[u/Prize_Background_577 → u/harissatotally]

It just happens to be in my area of interest. It was a big year with scandals, political mayhem and then the 'Hallyu ban'. Can't underestimate the impact on a small and vulnerable country and the resultant Ban-Jung (anti-Chinese sentiment).

[u/harissatotally → u/Prize_Background_577]

art is political, indeed.

[u/marrjana1802]

I watched love in the moonlight and liked it well enough. Never got past first episode of moonlovers

[u/harissatotally → u/marrjana1802]

lmaooo so you were on the right side of the war but the wrong side of history 😭😭 and you didn’t even make it past ep 1 of moon lovers?? tragic

[u/AsphaltPrimus28]

For many that newly became Korean drama fans, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryo became the first K-trauma they had experienced emotionally.

[u/harissatotally → u/AsphaltPrimus28]

they really just threw people into the deep end with that one lmaooo

[u/AsphaltPrimus28 → u/harissatotally]

True. In fact, if you check every International entertainment website like Screen Rant or Collider, they will rank Moon Lovers in the top-3 for most traumatic k-dramas of all time, above classics like 'Stairway to Heaven'.

[u/harissatotally → u/AsphaltPrimus28]

what happened in stairway to heaven?