Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
This beautifully-executed slice-of-life K-drama spans the decades-long relationship between Ae-sun — who wanted to escape Jeju-do and become a poet in Seoul — and Gwan-sik, who wanted nothing more than for Ae-sun to love him back. We watch as their relationship unfolds from their childhood in the 1960s to the present day.
Based on Sang Young Park’s bestselling novel of the same name, the K-drama adaptation was overshadowed by the film version, which stars Kim Go-eun (Little Women) and Steve Sanghyun Noh (Pachinko). But this series is so relevant as it matter-of-factly addresses homosexuality — a topic not often depicted in South Korean media in any meaningful way.
“Let’s Eat” offers some of the best mouth-watering food scenes I’ve ever seen in any series. But is there more?
The heroine of this Korean drama is the epitome of a long-suffering doormat, whose life would’ve been so much better if she grew a spine and stood up for herself. Instead of being guilted into giving up her hard-earned money — that she had ear-marked for returning to college — to her ungrateful older half-sister, who is “studying” overseas in the United States; or giving up her own body, so that she can pay for her father’s surgery; or letting virtually everyone treat her like a servant … Eun-Nim just swallows her pride and accepts it as her life.