I should really know better than to start a Korean drama.

Every time, I tell myself I have time for just one more episode. Every time, that turns out to be a lie. Before I know it, it is late, I am still on the sofa, and the drama has completely taken over the evening.

Korean dramas are especially good at this. They know exactly how to end an episode in a way that makes stopping feel unreasonable. There is always one more reveal, one more emotional twist, one more development that makes you think, well, I cannot possibly leave it there.

That is probably why so many people said this cartoon felt painfully familiar when I shared it on Instagram. There is a particular kind of binge-watching that Korean dramas seem to encourage so well: the kind where you fully intend to be sensible, but somehow end up ignoring the time because you need to know what happens next.

At this point, I try to be a bit more strategic and save drama watching for weekends or holidays, rather than casually starting something and acting as though I will exercise self-control. I was once given a tip that you should not stop at the very end of an episode, because that is when the cliffhanger is doing its job. Instead, you watch a little bit of the next episode and stop there. It sounds clever in theory if your self control is good.