Life in Lockdown: I Caught the K-Fever

WHAT'S NEW IN THE SECOND EDITION: Added K-drama tips, plus a guest K-pop music producer/artist!

The whole world never imagined waking up one day with a deadly pandemic that will shake everything up. COVID-19 is different from the previous ones. It is the real-life Thanos. In one snap, a person we know is either sick or had passed on. Everyone can feel there is something in the air, aside from the virus. Like Goblin's Grim Reaper prowling day and night, death is just walking in the streets and within one's neighborhood. It is the accurate picture the pandemic had painted in my mind.

Then quarantine happened. International lockdowns and border closures became inevitable as if each country was segregated by an invisible bubble. We learned to be self-sustaining: planting our food, baking our bread, trimming our hair, and entertaining ourselves.

How about you? What kept you sane at that time?

It's the entertain-yourself part that got me going. Thanks to my Netflix and Viu subscriptions and to a dozen friends who had been suggesting Korean teledramas. I must admit that aside from praying, the shows had successfully taken the paranoia off my head. K-dramas came at a time when I needed a different kind of diversion, something I had not tried. A light form of escape to alleviate a heavy form of mental anguish that many had faced or are still facing.

This pandemic is this generation's ultimate scar. It has left an imprint that will forever change many lives. To some, it is a battle scar that needs to be healed and unseen. While for others, it is a pretty mark of endless learning and discoveries. To me, it is when my incurable wanting for K-dramas has sprung.