'Lust Stories 3' has us wondering: Could K-dramas actually ruin your dating life?

Watching a K-drama often comes with feelings of disappointment. Wait, hear me out. Imagine spending hours watching a man look at his crush with a tender gaze, remembering her coffee order, which was revealed seven episodes ago, showing up just when she needs him (he's always there with an umbrella in the rain), and then finally confessing his feelings, but only after a huge misunderstanding, and in perfect lighting, of course. Now imagine closing your laptop, only to look down at your phone and see a dull “What's up?” from a man you've been talking to for six weeks. And all of a sudden, you can't help but feel like romance on screen is nothing but a scam. I recently watched Lust Stories 3, and I think the show seems to understand this particular crisis very well.

Vikramaditya Motwane's segment features Radhika Apte and Konkona Sen Sharma playing friends who bond over K-dramas while complaining about their own unsatisfying marriages. Their obsession with Korean romance becomes a catalyst to try to shake up their own romantic relationships. And honestly, who among us hasn't watched a fictional man do the absolute bare minimum with a soft piano playing in the background and thought, “Why doesn't my boyfriend communicate like this?” And this, I realise, is where the disappointment begins. 

The K-drama boyfriend has set an impossible bar

The problem with fictional romance is that it comes with exceptional writing. The tall and handsome Korean man with glass skin has all the attractive qualities. He listens, he remembers the little things, and he always knows when she's upset, even when she says “I'm fine”. He will stand outside her house in the rain for reasons that would seem mildly concerning in real life, but look extremely romantic when accompanied by a Korean OST and slo-mo effects.

Real dating, meanwhile, involves countless unread messages, awkward first dates, people who say they are “bad at texting”, and the eternal mystery of whether “let's see where this goes” means something or absolutely nothing at all. Which is why the youth are convinced that K-dramas hamper romantic expectations by creating exaggerated ideals of what relationships should look and feel like. Of course this doesn't mean that a Crash Landing on You marathon is directly responsible for your single status, but it could explain why fictional romance does, sometimes, become a useful measuring stick.

The interesting part about Lust Stories 3 referencing K-dramas is that the characters aren't simply watching pretty people fall in love and trying to copy them. But they are also using a fictional version of romance to confront what is missing from their own relationships. And that might be the real K-drama effect.

You don't necessarily want a chaebol heir who owns a perfectly tailored coat and lives in a penthouse in Seoul. You just want the feeling those stories sell you. You want someone who is curious about you, communicates properly, makes an effort, and actually seems excited to be with you.

So maybe K-dramas haven't ruined dating altogether. Maybe they have just made “he replied within 48 hours” a slightly less impressive achievement.

Lead image: Netflix and IMDb

Also read: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan's 'Best of the Best' is basically every desi girl's college fantasy

Also read: The big-boob tax is real: Why girls with bigger busts often pay more