Another YouTube transcription... this time it's only one part

[HaraKiriBlade]

Hello,

I wonder if it's OK for me to keep posting these "Help, I'm trying to transcribe this video and I'm stuck" threads. I'll try and limit this type of question to once a week or less.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrlKtlVq6Z0

It's actually the very first sentence of the video I am having trouble with.

"The drama in South Korean soap operas like these look harmless enough, but if you believe South Korean officials, Kim Jong-un executed North Korean party officials merely for watching them"

1. I definitely hear something other than "if you believe" there - more like "as you'd believe," but I don't think that makes sense.

2. [Grammar] - "The drama in South Korean soap operas like these look harmless enough" - if I made out this part correctly, I believe the "look" in the sentence should be "looks" as the verb agrees with "The drama." Can CNN make grammar errors, too, or did I miss something here?

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

- HKB

 

[Raymott]

Yes, it's acceptable if you make the subject title relevant to the grammatical or pronunciational point you're asking about, eg. "But if you believe?"
Yes, that's what she says. She might be saying 'look' or 'looks'. It's easy to swallow an 's' like that in fast speech. It's probably there in her mind, but didn't quite get to her tongue or make an impression on the microphone.

 

[emsr2d2]

I think she said "look". I can't hear any hint of a swallowed "s" at the end. I have a feeling that she might have been thrown by having just said "South Korean soap operas​".

 

[HaraKiriBlade]

I still hear something other than just "if," but that's the only word I know that would make sense in that particular spot. It still bothers me, though. Can't shake the feeling that I'm missing something there.

As for the missing "s," I don't hear any hint of it, either, but as Raymott have said, it may have been in her mind but failed to make it to her tongue.

Thank you very much, Raymott and emsr2d2, for your opinions. I'm not a native speaker, so even a simple confirmation by a couple of native speakers really helps.

 

[Roman55]

I think she is saying, 'but if you believe' and that the soundtrack of the soap opera extract being shown gets in the way.