Skip to main content

1.19 - Conversation with Professor Ernabel Demillo

We’re still on break after wrapping up with Hotel Del Luna. In this episode, Joanna and Jen have a conversation with Professor Professor Ernabel Demillo, Department Chair of the Communication and Media Culture Department at Saint Peter's University and host of the Emmy-award winning "Asian American Life" show on CUNY-TV. Ernabel talks about:


  • Her K Drama journey

  • Why she thinks K Dramas are so addicting

  • Whether and how the popularity of K Dramas and KPop are affecting American perceptions Asian Americans and Asian culture

  • How Asian culture is not monolithic

  • How the colorful outfits in K Dramas make her think of bouquets of flowers

  • The high production value in K Dramas and how filmmakers and actors in Korea take their crafts very seriously

  • How Jokoy is about to release his new movie, “Easter Sunday”

  • The newly-designated Little Manila in Queens

  • The recurring theme of identity in her show Asian American Life, and so much more. 


We laughed nearly the entire episode; come laugh with us! After this episode with Professor Demillo, we will begin Season 2 of K Drama Chat by recapping and analyzing Episode 1 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay. If you haven’t started watching, please start now!


References:


### 

K Drama Chat is a weekly podcast where we take one Korean (K) Drama each season and and recap and analyze each episode. K Drama Chat is available on Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsSpotify and Stitcher.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

11.10 - Podcast Review of Episode 10 of When Life Gives You Tangerines

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 10 of When Life Gives You Tangerines , the hit K Drama on Netflix starring IU as Oh Ae-sun and Park Bo-gum as Yang Gwan-sik as young adults, then Moon So-ri as Oh Ae-sun and Park Hae-joon as Yang Gwan-sik as older adults. We discuss: The featured song during the recap: “Theme of Ae-sun” by Park Sung-il, the musician who also wrote “Theme of Gwan-sik,” “Spring in a Heartbeat,” and “Two Faced Summer” from this OST. The Baeksang Awards wins for this show—Best Drama, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Supporting Actor—and how validating it feels to have picked a gem for Season 11 of our podcast! How this episode focuses on three mothers and their powerful love for their children: Ae-sun, Yeong-ran, and Chung-seop’s mom. The symbolic and cultural significance of white rice, and how Bu Sang-gil uses it as a weapon in his drunken tirade. Oh Seong’s boiling anger against his father and sister, and his tragic learned behavior from witnessin...

12.4 - Podcast Review of Episode 4 of Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 4 of Extraordinary Attorney Woo , the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Park Eun-bin as Woo Young-woo, Kang Tae-oh as Lee Jun-ho, Ha Yoon-kyung as Choi Soo-yeon, Ju Hyung-young as Dong Geu-ra-mi, Kang Ki-young as Jung Myung-seok, and Joo Jong-hyuk as Kwon Min-woo. We discuss: The songs featured during the recap: Tuning Into You by Wonstein and Growing Pains by Roh Young Shim. The emotional flashback of how Woo Young-woo and Dong Geu-ra-mi became best friends after a bullying incident at school. Korean inheritance law, including the now-abolished hojuje system and how remnants of male primogeniture persist, especially in chaebol families. The legal and cultural significance of the dojang (personal seal) used by Dong Dong Sam when signing over his land. The brilliant legal strategy Woo Young-woo employs to invalidate the “gift” of land to Dong Dong Sam’s brothers. The jesa (ancestral rites) ceremony and why Dong Geu-ra-mi’s behavior was cons...

11.14 - Podcast Review of Episode 14 of When Life Gives You Tangerines

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 14 of When Life Gives You Tangerines , the hit K Drama on Netflix starring IU as Oh Ae-sun and Park Bo-gum as Yang Gwan-sik as young adults, then Moon So-ri as Oh Ae-sun and Park Hae-joon as Yang Gwan-sik as older adults. We discuss: The songs featured during the recap: “A Rock that never erodes in the sea of my heart” and “Just be a good son, that’s all,” both by Park Seong-il, whose work captures the sad, wistful tone of the episode. Our guest Kim Soomin from Virginialicious shares her passion for Korean food and the stories behind her food tours. How Eun Myeong’s storyline takes center stage, highlighting the painful dynamics of favoritism, ambition, and parental regret. The cultural and historical context of buncheong stoneware, how Eun Myeong’s life was turned upside by a single buncheon statue. Pawnshops, especially during the IMF crisis in Korea. The heartbreaking reasons Eun Myeong started his business, and his desperate need to be...