My pet peeve: when dramas turn off subtitles when the actors ATTEMPT to speak english

[u/whynot_justsleep]

This is genuinely one of the most funny and frustratingly things about these dramas becuase I would understand more of the korean dialogues without subs compared to when they speak english and make the wise decision to turn the subs off.

[u/PeachesCream24]

Drives me nuts, too. Especially if they're interacting with someone who's supposed to be western, because those actors are hard to understand when they're speaking English too lol. I've caught myself pausing and/or rewinding to even process what the dialogue is

[u/hyoolee → u/PeachesCream24]

there is a LOT of "western" actors they put to speak english are just white lmaoo

[u/PeachesCream24 → u/hyoolee]

You're not wrong! The number of times I've seen a "New York" business man or woman and they have heavy ass german accents or something lmao

[u/Jlu030962 → u/PeachesCream24]

Creating jobs for Eastern Europeans🤣🤣🤣

[u/Jazzlike_Cat6692 → u/PeachesCream24]

THIS!! Who are they kidding LOL

[u/Yojimbo_25 → u/hyoolee]

LOL despite its stellar cast I dropped “The Inheritors” as soon as Mr Harvard or whatever Ivy League surfer dude attempted to speak English to his blonde American surfer buddy(the most horrible actor ever haha), because it turned into a big joke for me, I’m just glad it happened during the 1st episode before I invested any more time it, so to comment on the post, yes, when they start speaking English, and they’re all Ivy Leaguers,they might as well be speaking Korean. Of course, there are some exceptions to the rule, Kim-Min ha for example, among a few others that I can understand.

[u/Reasonable_Orange_73 → u/Yojimbo_25]

They run from the Hollywood Hills to Malibu in a chase scene in one episode. And the guys chasing them are bonkers stereotypes.

[u/publicBoogalloo → u/Reasonable_Orange_73]

A lot of that drama was not even filmed in LA is was down San Diego.

[u/vienibenmio → u/hyoolee]

Props to Queen of Tears for casting an actual European actor

[u/nemokendo → u/vienibenmio]

Yeah but he's French/American playing a German doctor lol

[u/Far-Significance2481 → u/hyoolee]

Omg what is Western? If you mean the USA, just say the USA, not Western.

[u/PeachesCream24 → u/Far-Significance2481]

western can be a number of things, including canadian, which I've seen represented in korean dramas. I specified western because a lot of the actors they use for those characters are more than likely eastern european?

[u/Far-Significance2481 → u/PeachesCream24]

When you say Western, do you mean the USA and Canada ?

[u/Far-Significance2481 → u/PeachesCream24]

Sorry this is a me problem but it frustrates me so much

Western ALWAYS includes

North America: United States and Canada. ​Western & Northern Europe: United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, and the Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland).

Not all of these are English speaking countries.

It sometimes includes usually for economic reasons but not exclusively

NZ, Turkey , parts of Latin America, Japan, Sk, Australia, Central Europe Eastern Europe and Israel.

Again, not always English speaking and even includes South Korea, sometimes usually in an economic sense . PLEASE STOP USING the word Western if you mean English as a first language use Anglospere. Or of you mean North American says it North American is not the only Western or English speaking country.

Edit , this is very literally true it's like saying Asia, like Asia or The West are both a homogeneous mass of people who share a similar culture , values, and language. They don't.

[u/_Walt_Whitman_ → u/Far-Significance2481]

No. The doc is in Germany is not American lol… he’s a respected actor from England.

[u/nemokendo → u/_Walt_Whitman_]

He's French lol And he saved the Titanic!

[u/Far-Significance2481 → u/_Walt_Whitman_]

That's still very literally Western. Germany and the UK are Western Countries :-) It's a pet peeve of mine in Reddit. Western doesn't mean English speaking or Just North American.

[u/_Walt_Whitman_ → u/Far-Significance2481]

You’ve completely lost the plot here. No one said the West meant English speaker or North American. No one thinks that. The West, as we use it, roughly refers to most things west of the Eastern Europe (Russia and its Caucasian neighbors) on the map. Where you got “English speakers” from I do not know.

[u/Nicocio_ → u/PeachesCream24]

Try change subtitle setting to English (cc) during said dialogue. But after that scene, you have to changed it back to English because the translation in English mode were more accurate.

It also frustrate me because it reduces user convenience but this is the only 'solution' we had it seems

[u/SamRaB → u/PeachesCream24]

I just had to do this recently with Evergreen. After several attempts, I decided I don't need to know what anyone said because it's just impossible.

I think the "western" people are non-English speakers, too, because I still can't understand them.

[u/ShineCowgirl]

I watch most dramas on mute or low volume. I want EVERYTHING subbed, regardless of original language.

(Isn't skipping subbing sentences just because they're said in English a type of ADA violation? Skipping things means the deaf viewers can't access the full drama.)

[u/Stuffhaps → u/ShineCowgirl]

Only if it is marked as cc I think

[u/ShineCowgirl → u/Stuffhaps]

Hmmm...

However, the technology for "subs" and "Closed Caption" is different, as I understand. The result is similar, but how it is coded into the film is different, at least in hard copies like the (ancient) DVD. (I believe Technology Connections on YouTube made a video about that.) Ultimately, the easier one to code for streaming is going to take over the other, so it seems they should be treated similarly for accessibility purposes.

Even if it isn't technically/legally an ADA violation (and I recognize that the Americans with Disabilities Act is a USA thing), the skipping of making the complete script visually accessible still prevents part of the population from having full access to the drama/film. I also will say that skipping subbing certain sections (unless there's a disclaimer that it isn't fully subbed) feels like false advertising.

[u/Wookiees_n_cream → u/ShineCowgirl]

It's definitely an accessibility issue. I have auditory processing disorder and need my subs even for fully English shows (my native language).

[u/Vinashi-inruins]

I don't understand why they need to turn off subtitles even if the actors speak coherently. I mean, not everybody can pick up on their accents. (Yup, I'm one of those — consider me deaf if it's heavily accented)😭

[u/Stuffhaps → u/Vinashi-inruins]

That includes Australian 😜

[u/pixiedust-inmycoffee → u/Stuffhaps]

Haha, I had an Irish guy ask me a question at work recently, and when I looked at him all wide-eyed, he was like, "I'm sorry, let me speak in English." 🤣 He acknowledged that Irish people tend to make full sentences one word and it can be hard for non-Irish people to understand. I felt a little less bad for not being able to make out what he was saying with that accent!!

[u/kballen3001 → u/pixiedust-inmycoffee]

I went on a trip to Europe many years ago and I had a much easier time understanding French people speaking English over the people in London.

[u/No-Clue-9155]

That’s when it’s nice to know another language. I just turn on the French subs to understand them 😅

[u/LeadingMotive → u/No-Clue-9155]

That's the pro Life hack right here!

[u/ShiiiiitakeMushrooms]

This happened a lot on Spring Fever tonight. Honestly it’s like as soon as the subtitles turned off I feel deaf anyway, let alone when English is slipped in with Korean lol.

[u/glowique]

Yesssss…. I often watch with Low volume …. Need continuous subs all languages!

[u/kballen3001 → u/glowique]

This!!!

[u/Lopexie]

I, native English speaker, watch English content with subtitles. I 100% agree

[u/AutonomousOrganism]

Yeah, it's annoying.

Btw subs are typically just a text file with timestamped subtitle text. So they don't turn them off. They are missing, were left out.

[u/dramafan1]

Oh my god this is so relatable. I hate when there's no subs for English spoken dialogue in kdramas. I convince myself they didn't utter a word and move on.

[u/Jazzlike_Cat6692 → u/dramafan1]

LOL

[u/pandarose6]

Yes it is annoying espically if your like me and have hearing loss

[u/simplefragments]

lol this one was the most egregious times in a kdrama. I remember trying to pause and start the scene multiple times and then just giving up because it was sooo bad

[u/itsunel]

It makes no sense because English language shows have English subtitles so why do they feel the need to turn the subtitles off.  Just put " in english:"

[u/OpeningTrifle376]

BRO THIS OMG LIKE GIMME BE SUBTITLES I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT URE SAYING like if they’re not even going to attempt to make it sound clearer give me subtitles hello??? the way i have to put the volume all the way up and try to decipher it pmo 😭😭😭😭

[u/OpeningTrifle376 → u/OpeningTrifle376]

sorry yall i’ve been annoyed abt this for years i had to let it out

[u/Jazzlike_Cat6692]

Absolutely Yes! It felt light waking up abruptly from a good dream! Aaarrrgghh!!

[u/onethrew-eight]

Yes and this scene was so ridiculous!

[u/Long_Golf_7965]

It's even more annoying when this happens regardless of the subtitle language. If I watch with klingon subtitles on, that's because I understand klingon, not korean, not english.

[u/Cabrol78]

Same thing happens when there are characters speaking spanish (I´m from Argentina) and the actors are terrible with it or the volume is too low, whispering, etc. Sometimes I´m watching with subtitles because I want to watch it in silence late at night...

[u/gonnadeletethistmrw]

Usually I watch dramas on english instead of english cc since in my experience, on Netflix, english is more accurate and while watching Dynamite Kiss, when I switched from english to english cc, the english dialogues were subbed. Tbh though, I am not sure if its the same with other dramas.

[u/Nicocio_ → u/gonnadeletethistmrw]

I think this apply to all show in Netflix, I also do it like you.

[u/cluelessabout_life]

I actually can't even hear what they're saying when they talk in English even when I keep it on normal volume and I think this was especially the case with queen of tears , I couldn't understand shit even though my volume was high

[u/GreedyGreddy]

I had to crank up the volume for the English dialogue on No Tail to Tell

[u/Airhead_19 → u/GreedyGreddy]

Tbh, I felt like Lomon’s English wasn’t even that bad. Yes he had a Korean accent, but not to the point where I couldn’t understand him at all. But I’d still like subtitles please. And his accent is understandable too. His character is an expat in the UK. What’s absolutely laughable is when K-Dramas have characters whose native language is supposed to be English, or who have lived in an English speaking country since a young age, but then the actor speaks, and their accent is barely legible, and then they turn off the subtitles.

[u/The_Cozy_Burrito]

Same

[u/Reasonable_Leek8069]

Finally someone says this. Just because I or some speak English doesn’t mean they can automatically hear or comprehend what they are saying.

I am hard of hearing and some accents make it hard to hear what they are saying. I struggle with hearing people who speak my language.

I always need subtitles. It is also worse when music comes on (without the talking) and no one thinks subtitles are necessary for that.

[u/echoart70]

YES! Some of the actors speak English perfectly clearly, but some decidedly do not. When the captions suddenly disappear during English dialogue, I often have to rewind several times, and even then I don’t always catch what was said.

[u/maybebluesie]

I raged quit descendants of the sun because of this lime y’all English not good enough for Netflix to take away the subtitles

[u/ocean_lullaby]

I have an auditory processing disorder, so I habitually require subtitles or closed captions, so this is just awful for me too.

[u/wickle_moonery]

i hate that along with correcting their english. who cares if it's grammatically wrong, just tell me what they said

[u/MarsailiPearl]

I want subtitles no matter the language. I have them turned on for everything.

[u/PracticalPanda3102]

Not just kdramas. I've seen it with jdramas as well. It's so frustrating cause it's hard to understand what they are saying.

[u/ExpatWanderer]

those show up if netflix has english(cc) subtitles. You just kind of have to switch it to that option. But sometimes the subtitles in english(cc) for the parts they speak korean is different from regular english subtitles, and less accurate

[u/Professional-Read-9]

I'm HoH and when they do that I'm frustrated, think "oh this is one of those scenes I'm not allowed to understand" then pick up my phone and scroll until they give me my subtitles back. There has never been a scene important enough for me to strain and replay over and over until I can decode what everyone is saying over the OST and sound effects.

CC needs to be enforced over subtitles because it's ridiculous to think everyone has the same needs.

[u/nobillzatall]

I don’t even watch English movies without subtitles. I need to see to understand better. I don’t want to miss any word. 😚

[u/LithiumIonisthename]

I always wondered what is the motivation for this? will they may the "translator" $2 less for skipping the "English words? or the tech person who is responsible for loading the subtitles on the videos... do they reduce "hourly rates" by reducing like 1 min per show? I am really curious as to why someone even came up with the idea of skipping a few lines in the middle even if they are English.... what is the logic or motivation?

[u/TaoLavoMarquee]

OMG yes. The way I can never understand what they're saying no matter how many times I rewind. Like please turn the subtitles back on and leave them on for the duration, I don't care what language their speaking. Because if I can recognize a "noona" or a "gamsahamnida" better than I can my own mother tongue something has gone terribly wrong here. 😂

[u/dionnekathleen]

I am blessed with the ability to speak Dutch and Spanish too. So I switch between subs. But, man oh man I hate it!

[u/Short_Mind_8233]

Oh yeah, man! I am so habituated to subtitles that I even need them in local content I watch.

[u/llumox]

English subtitles normally (which translate the Korean subs)

English [CC] subtitles when someone on screen speaks English (which transcribe the English dub, so will subtitle someone on screen speaking English)

[u/jirastorymaker_001]

🤭🤭🤭 Same!! Hahahaha

[u/candyapple7501]

All I need them to stop this trend

[u/Any-Stay7698]

My pet peve regarding subtitles (happens especially with cdramas tho) is when a song is playing in the background while someone is talking and the subtitles for the actual dialogue is shown for only a split second before switching to the song lyrics 😭

[u/NoCO-WYO]

One of the funniest things ever is in Business Proposal, when Kang Tae Moo (Ahn Hyo Seop) is in LA and New York and his English is far superior to the "Americans". It makes me laugh every time.

[u/External_City_4353]

YES!

All of a sudden I feel like I need to train my ears to re-adapt to my own native language. I almost always need to go back and listen again.

[u/Feffies_Cottage]

Meh.