Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
“The Hymn of Death” is a bittersweet three-hour mini-series that tells the real-life story of Yum Sim-Deok — Joseon’s first soprano — and Kim Yoo-Jin, a renowned writer and playwright. Set during the period when Korea was under Japanese rule, the tragic story is familiar to many Koreans.
During this pandemic when most of us can’t travel and are stuck at home, we can live vicariously through the delicious adventures of Rain and Noh Hong-chul in “The Hungry and the Hairy.”
Based on Gong Ji-young’s 2009 novel, “Silenced” is a brutal look at the systematic torture of children at a facility for the hearing impaired. Though Gong’s book is fictional, the stories she tells are based on the decades of real-life abuse that handicapped students endured at the Gwangju Inhwa School for the Deaf.
Based on the 2016 K-drama, “Cheese in the Trap” — which was based on the webtoon of the same name — this film adaptation is a good primer, but it’s lacking in telling the characters’ full stories.
“The Way Home” is a bittersweet film about a young Seoul boy who is forced to spend the summer with his grandmother, who lives in the countryside. It’s not a quaint rural area that rich folks like to vacation in. Rather, it’s a small village where the bus comes on a irregular schedule and an angry cow chases little children.
“Melancholia” is a nuanced series that depicts how a math teacher (Im Soo-jung) encourages her morose student (Lee Do-hyun) to live up to the potential he had as a child genius.
“Sisyphus: The Myth” has an intriguing premise, in which an inventor creates a time machine. And as with many time travel stories, you have to suspend your belief in reality to enjoy this production.
Lately, there have been some compelling K-dramas where the female lead is more than just an object of desire. Rather, she is the capable one who is an integral part of the plot. Here are 11 K-dramas from recent years that exemplify female empowerment.
As the year winds down and we get ready to welcome 2022 in less than two weeks, it’s time to give ourselves the gift of relaxation. If you’re lucky enough to get a few days off from work, why not snuggle under your blanket and treat yourself to a K-drama or two (or more!)?
“The Silent Sea” is based on director Choi Hang-Yong’s short film of the same name. Starring Bae Doona and Gong Yoo, the eight-part series is set on the moon, where the astronauts have been tasked with recovering research from the previous mission.
Narrowing down the best-of list to just 11 K-dramas was painstaking. But these shows from 2021 are must-sees that you will want to add to your watch list. Below, dive into the best K-dramas of 2021.
Set in the 1990s, “Tune in for Love” is a beautiful slice-of-life film focused on a young couple who meet as teenagers, lose touch, and reunite on and off throughout their twenties.
2PM’s Chansung is getting married and expecting a baby with his long-time fiancée! Let’s catch up with the idol actor and his bandmates.
You asked for more ajeossi actors and we’re here to deliver. Who do you think made it onto this list of six top actors of a certain age?
There are still 18 days left until the end of the 2021 — and Gong Yoo’s “The Silent Sea” doesn’t even makes its premiere until December 24. But I don’t know that there will be a better K-drama this year than “Happiness.”
“Inspector Koo” starts off strong, with a whip-smart teenage serial killer manipulating her victims, teachers and the police. She is as much a sociopath as a psychopath, which is explained away during a backstory that involves childhood trauma.
In many ways, “Nevertheless” is a primer for how women are manipulated into diminishing their own wants and desires for a man.
Aigoo or aegyo? Sunbae or hoobae? Is there anything more frustrating than watching a K-drama and not understanding what’s going on, even when you have the subtitles turned on?!
“Having been raised using Korean in her family, a Korean American journalist said that she still struggled to speak Korean fluently, and this experience led her to question why Korean entertainment writers and consumers failed to question improbable stories, such as that of ‘Vincenzo,” Lee Kyung-eun — the director of Human Rights Beyond Borders — wrote in her OpEd piece. The journalist she is talking about … is me.
Hwang Jung-Eum is one of my absolute favorite actresses. I love everything about her, especially the forthright way she delivers her dialogue. Her chemistry with both leading men is on point and viewers can see the family-like dynamics shared by the trio. Choi Won-Young and Yook Sun-Jae are superb actors whose subtle (and overt) mannerisms speak to viewers without them having to utter a word.