Tag: Family Night K-Dramas

“Descendants of the Sun” (태양의 후예)

Jae-Ha Kim

Production on “Descendants of the Sun” began just three months after Song Joong-Ki finished his mandatory two-year military duty in Korea. He displays an easygoing flair in the role of the charismatic leader of the Alpha Team. Even bulked up (for him), Song is slight of build and baby faced. At times, I wondered whether someone like So Ji-Sub would’ve been better cast in the role. But, what he lacks in brawn, Song makes up with magnetism. He has one of those faces that the camera loves.

“The Little Penguin: Pororo’s Racing Adventure” (뽀로로의 슈퍼 썰매 대모험)

Jae-Ha Kim

So, what the heck is a Pororo, you ask? If you can’t tell by the cover, it’s an adorable little animated penguin. In South Korea, where the “Pororo The Little Penguin” series made its debut in 2003, it’s the show for the preschool/kindergarten set. While it airs in more than 80 countries around the world (including Brazil, Australia, France, India and the United Kingdom), the show never made a concerted effort to break the U.S. market.

“Doggy Poo” (강아지 똥)

Jae-Ha Kim

“Doggy Poo” is based on Kwon Jung-saeng’s 1968 children’s book of the same name. During that time period, South Korea was still in the process of recovering from the Korean War. It was still decades away from becoming the high-tech, wealthy country it is today. And I can’t help but wonder if the book wasn’t an allegory for how its citizens must sacrifice themselves (brutal work conditions, relentless hours spent studying at school) for the greater good of the country.