Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Some people mistakenly describe K-dramas (even the best K-dramas) as soap operas. While daytime shows certainly exist in Korea—typically airing Monday through Friday for about 50 to 200+ episodes—the K-drama umbrella covers a multitude of genres. Read more in my latest article for Teen Vogue.
This charming fish-out-of water K-drama explores timeslips, shamanism, betrayal and, most of all, unconditional love that spans eras.
There is a contingent of people who do not approve of adults hitting children. I am one of those people. But I also recognize that in a fictional setting like this, it can be incredibly cathartic to watch morally reprehensible youngsters getting their comeuppance — especially for real-life victims of school violence whose lives were treated as dispensable by those who were supposed to protect them.
Based on the real-life Hwaseong Serial Killer who brutally murdered 15 South Korean girls and women from 1986-1994, The Scarecrow covers much of the same ground as Bong Joon-ho’s 2003 film Memories of Murder. But this K-drama more than holds its own, adding fictional twists to keep viewers engaged and guessing.
This charming trilogy ends with a happily-ever-after for our heroine Yumi (Kim Go-eun). Seasons 1 and 2 were all about her relationships with Woong (Ahn Bo-hyun) and Ba-bi (played by GOT7’s Jinyoung), who at various times seemed like the perfect men for her.
In one of the most delightfully clever K-dramas of 2026, Yoo Yeon-seok portrays Shin Yi-rang, a smart attorney who no one will hire. Why? Because his now-deceased father had been accused of being a corrupt prosecutor, and no law firm wants to have their company associated with those allegations.
Made in Korea doesn’t flinch in its portrayal of corruption by both the Korean government and its strongest ally, the U.S. military. Director Woo Min-ho presents a Korea where there are no heroes, but rather desperate survivors caught in the crosshairs.
The best K-dramas of 2025 tackle an array of relevant topics that made us cheer, scream, and cry this year. Get ready to binge. My latest for Teen Vogue.
“Kpop Demon Hunters” ruled the world, Blackpink kept getting bigger, and new artists broke rules. My latest for Rolling Stone magazine.
“The Manipulated” is a film-to-series adaptation of the 2017 action film Fabricated City. Both share the same creative (Park Kwang-hyun) and leading man (Ji Chang-wook).
For Rolling Stone’s year-end list of best albums of 2025., I reviewed Hannah Bahng’s “The Misunderstood EP” and Chaeyoung’s “LIL FANTASY vol. 1.”
“As You Stood By” examines domestic abuse and how people are reluctant to help victims — most often because they are afraid of how their actions could be detrimental to their own lives (which is also a subplot in Our Unwritten Seoul).
I was one of the critics asked to review songs for Rolling Stone’s lastest list: 25 years of classic hits from all over the musical map and every corner of the globe.
Bon Appetit, Your Majesty is a delicious mashup of sageuk (or historical dramas), time travel, and mukbang. But basing the fictional king on a real-life despot has been controversial.
“Beyond the Bar” does such a great job of creating complete characters who don’t need a partner to be whole, leaving viewers satisfied with either choice, because we’re confident they will all be OK.
One of the elements I loved the most about this series was watching the friends eat together in every episode. Delicious jiggaes (stews), grilled meat — it was like a legal mukbang!
Together BTS is a pop music force of nature. As solo artists RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook have created an equally amazing catalog. My latest for Rolling Stone magazine.
2025 isn’t over yet, but it’s already been an exciting year for some of the best K-dramas. Though “Squid Game” has come to an end (for now) that doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of Korean dramas to obsess over.
Park Bo-young beautifully captures the nuances of both sisters and the struggles that each deals with daily. “Our Unwritten Seoul” presents everyday choices that may seem too much to bear, but also offers the kind of realistic hope that’s better than a pat, happy ending.
With this third and final season of “Squid Game,” creator Hwang Dong-hyuk ties up loose ends in this blood bath, which kills off almost all our favorite players (and some we hate). Park Sung-hoon and Im Si-wan stand out portraying the best and worst of us.