The songs featured during the recap: A Warm Heart by Lee So Young, Dangerous People by Park Sang Hee, and Mi Ji Seoul Chapter Begins by Nam Hye Seung and Park Sang Hee. We also discuss composer Lee So Young and her work on several notable OSTs.
Ho Su’s devastating hearing loss, his decision to isolate himself, and why he believes breaking up with Mi Ji is the only way to protect her.
How Mi Ji recognizes Ho Su’s behavior because she once pushed people away in exactly the same way after her own struggles.
Gyeong Gu’s loyal friendship, his tough-love approach to helping Mi Ji, and his advice about first loves.
Mi Ji’s realization that she can never return to the emotional isolation that once defined her life, and her determination to keep moving forward.
The emotional reconciliation between Ho Su and Bun Hong, including the revelation that caring for Ho Su gave her a reason to keep living after tragedy struck her family.
The powerful message that love is not about winning or losing, but about remaining on the same team and facing life’s hardships together.
Ok Hui’s heartbreaking discovery that her mother had always loved and protected her, and how decades of misunderstanding shaped their relationship.
Mi Rae’s decision to leave her prestigious career behind, reject a dream opportunity in the United States, and choose a path that feels true to herself.
Su Yeon finally opening her bedroom door after receiving encouragement from Mi Rae, mirroring Mi Ji’s own journey toward healing.
The reconciliation between Mi Ji and Ho Su and his request that Mi Ji stay with him.
A preview of upcoming K Drama Chat episodes, including a K Drama 101 discussion, and a review of the film Parasite with Ellen.
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 Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pandora.
I find it a bit ridiculous that Hosu make up a fake reason for break up. I can totally get it if they weren’t neighbours, but how long can he keep his condition secret?. But, luckily they didn’t drag that long.
ReplyDeleteI wasn’t too happy about the arc of Lee Chung Gu. I would have preferred it if he remained unapologetic.
He was way more interesting that way.
I liked what Sang Woo told Mi-Ji that her speciality is knocking on the hearts.
I liked the decision to keep Mi Rae in Korea. Her decision to stay farming is not that wild either. I think she found out that she is not bad at it, and it offered her a new venture.
I am still not watching any Kdrama.
What to watch next season?
I suppose what is the aim?
For discussions I think “Our Blues” is amazing, because it offers a lot of topics.
Also, the cast is who is who.
Characters are real.
I also think “You and Everything Else” or “We Are All Trying Here” are excellent choices.
These are series with real people doing some good, and some bad stuff.
But, I appreciate these are not to everyone’s liking.
I think I don’t have a lot of suggestions left on Netflix. (Squid Game S1 came to my mind, but after No Other Choice, and the forthcoming Parasite, we will be more or less covering the themes)
There are lots of series I enjoyed, but I don’t think they are deep dive worthy.
Seven Seas, we are all with you that the "breakup melodrama" has to go. It's ridiculous, especially when our leads are gonna make up anyway.
DeleteI don't think I can watch "You and everything else" for personal reasons, but I am going to push through with "We are all trying here" - promise!
Thank you to you and everyone else for your suggestions! Love this community!
I agree, Seven Seas, Our Blues would be great for a deep dive.
ReplyDeleteI've mentioned my Netflix favourites before (Atypical Family, Rookie Historian, Signal) but I'm happy for Kdramachat to venture into non-Netflix shows, even though I won't access them myself. :)
Doremi,
DeleteIt would be a great pity not having you around considering you are one of the most active commenters.
Other Netflix series: Because This My First Life (I think this has enough fluff to not put people off)
..and of course the other two Park Hae Young series My Mister and My Liberation Notes (I do like We Are All Trying Here more though). I am even happy for Another Miss Oh! although I don't think it is on par with her other later series, and I found the humour in it exceptionally cringe worthy.
We can also do an experimental series "The Sound of Magic" (Only 6 episodes). It is a musical, so a chance for songs related discussion to take more prominent place. Personally, I really liked it, but its overall perception was mixed.
*I Like We Are All Trying Here more than My Liberation Notes, but not more than My Mister. That one was sits comfortably at the top.
DeleteThanks for that, Seven Seas. I do wonder if I'm commenting too much sometimes, so I'm happy to step aside for a while.
DeleteWhen I first went hunting for Kdrama podcasts, I didn't really 'get' the detailed recaps and forensic analysis that made up Kdrama Chat, but now I am totally hooked.
I am looking for a new Kdrama to start, so will check out the musical. (I often wish that I could see full subtitled versions of Korean stage musicals. So much talent. I know Dream High and Crash Landing on You have both been staged. Although maybe the CLOY musical was only in Japan?)
Doremi,
DeleteI don't think there is such a thing as too many comments imo :)
I would imagine we are doing all this so we can talk with others, and see what they think.
If you are into musicals, there is a lot of stuff on YT. Great clips of Les Miserables (both Korean and Japanese).
And, I have recently seen this amazing performance of "We Both Reached For The Gun". I mean the guy playing Billy Flynn holding that high note for SOOO Long!.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCWBWXyUh2Q
Seven Seas - I’m so glad you mentioned “Another Miss Oh”. I just finished this series because I loved My Mister and was curious to watch one of Park Hae-Young’s early works. I read that Park Hae-Young said that she struggled to write comedy. I found myself fast forwarding over the slapstick humor bits, but the serious parts hit hard. Seo Hyun-jin as the FL delivered one of the best performances I’ve seen in a K-Drama and earned her Baeksang for Best Actress.
DeleteJoanna and Sung-Hee, I think My Mister has to be on your rotation at some point. I’m not usually a rewatcher, but I’d rewatch this show with you. So many of us on this forum agree it’s one of the best dramas of any genre every made. I haven’t seen PHY’s My Liberation Notes or We Are All Trying Here, but I’d love to watch them with you.
Other Netflix shows: I’ve mentioned, as have others, Misaeng, Move To Heaven and Under the Queen’s Umbrella, Because This Is My First Life. All amazing.
Another show I’ve loved recently, not necessarily for next season but worth watching:
Be Melodramatic (Netflix): Ellen, I think you’d love this show. It’s very meta. The three female leads who include Chun Woo-hee (FL in Atypical Family) play a K-Drama writer, a documentary film maker and a product placement producer. The male leads include Ahn Jae-hong (Jeong-bong in Reply 1988), Gong Myung (ML in Filing for Love) and Son Suk-Ku (Mr. Gu in My Liberation Notes). They all come together to produce a K-Drama which in another meta reference, gets low ratings at first, but becomes a sleeper hit (Be Melodramatic has an 8.2 on IMDB). The show is quirky, funny and poignant and includes great insights into the inner workings of the K-Drama industry.
Sung-Hee: So glad you’re enjoying Strong Girl Bong-Soon. Park Bo-Young’s tiny desk gets my vote for the best K-Drama prop ever.
TripAndCatch,
DeleteRe: Another Miss Oh!. We seem to have almost identical thoughts.
I also started to FF after a while, because I couldn't take that "humour" anymore.
But, as you said, the serious stuff was really good, and I think you can see the seeds of came later.
I also read that she said that she didn't know what make people laugh, and she asked her mentor for some advice, but what was told she should write what she likes, and feels.
..and voila! we got "My Mister", where she ditched all the silliness, and perfected the seriousness.
My Liberation Notes has little humour, but We Are All Trying Here is almost dark comedy. But, the humour is largely good, although it went a bit too far few times imo.
I think she should use humour in small doses, and like in WAATH veers more towards wit.
I really like Seo Hyun-jin. Give "Black Dog" a chance if you like work place dramas. This is set in school. It also has the excellent Ra Mi-Ran.
I think I might give Be Melodramatic a chance because we seem to have a lot of taste overlap.
As for props, I think the coat that ML wears in We Are All Trying Here has to be my favourite.
Trip and Catch, thanks so much for the personal recommendation! The writing is the thing with me, as you well know. I will watch Be Melodramatic for sure. On the “breaking so not to burden you”trope, it is overused, like the amnesia in Dynamite Kiss, but the writers seem to wrap it back up quick. But it’s time for its retirement!
DeleteGood discussion! I'd vote for My Mister and Misaeng. Another Miss Oh was solid, and I learned something about sound engineers, but not as strong as other Kdramas. WAATH - polarizing drama for me. Very well written and interesting insights into creative people. Great acting and Oh Jung Se's best work since you know what. Kang Mal-Geum had some epic rants and Go Youn Jung had epic takedowns. Han Sun-Hwa was great, a real role not like in Backstreet Rookie. But.... ML got on my nerves so by the end I was watching his scenes at 1.5x speed. Koo Kyo Hwan's performance was excellent but the character was not likable for me.
DeleteOther Netflix shows - I don't think people mention "Agency" but that was a great show. Lee Bo-Young put in a great performance and was a really strong character. I haven't watched Signal or Alchemy of Souls but meant to get to them.
Teach You a Lesson - fun show. Reminds me a bit of Trauma Code. Scary thing is that as far as I know Teach You a Lesson is ripped from the headlines with the layering on of fantasy competence to fix things.
Agree that Because This Is My First Life and My Liberation Notes are great shows. I've already watched both of them twice.
I would argue that likeable characters are not a prerequisite for great art whatever that form might be.
DeleteDon't we have enough of these copy and paste "Green Flags" (I have developed an allergy to the mere word lol) MLs?
By now, I am resigned that greatly written ML are rarity in Kdrama (..and I am sorry, but this drama is included. I hardly remember Hosu. The farm guy is a bit better).
So, to me the ML was great positive and breath of fresh air.
I don’t see what was so amazing about My Mister. I did not enjoy it at all. I guess if kdrama chat reviewed this in the podcast I’d def listen just to see what everyone else so obviously liked and saw in that series. It was pretty flat. The story was disturbing and sad which made it really hard to watch. Cultural malcontent. My Liberation Notes was another one I would struggle to watch again
DeleteI'm very fond of Farm Guy! I can't think of another character like him.
DeleteI love the development of his relationship with Mirae, too.
And I'll take the current trend for 'Green Flag' MLs over the Boys-Over-Flowers-type sadists any time.
Having said that, My Royal Nemesis was a refreshing change in both ML and FL vibes, while remaining an authentic 'romance' rather than something more realistic. A shame they couldn't have done better with the time-travel/body swap aspect of the story.
Hi Anonymous
DeleteMy Mister certainly isn't cheery. :) I loved that I had no idea where it was going, and yet I found the resolution was completely satisfying.
I'll tell you a secret. I don't like Parasite. I know it's objectively good/worthy/outstanding, but it's not the sort of thing I enjoy watching and I wouldn't watch it again. Don't tell Joanna and Sung-Hee. (Will probably listen to the podcast ep anyway!)
Doremi,
DeleteI haven't seen Boys Over Flower, nor I intend to.
Not asking for that type either.
But, my complain about overly ideal male characters doesn't mean I don't like them. I just don't consider them great characters. I am not immune to have warm fuzzy feelings from watching them, but that doesn't mean they are great characters.
Just contrast and compare with MiJi, Mirae, or the Mums. They are still nice overall, but they made so many mistakes, and have flaws of characters.
Why can't male characters also be like that?
How about making them snap, be angry, do something bad as well ?
The Farm guy at least had some doggy working methods lol. He is certainly more interesting than Hosu.
I am not asking to swing to other extreme either.
I firmly believe the reasons are commercial, not creative.
Networks want people to watch, and people lives are already too hard. And since most Kdrama viewers are women, they give them some dream versions of men.
They don't want to give them another versions of their husbands/boyfriends.
The antidote, for me at least, is not violent men who beat women.
I just want men to be written as well as women.
Just well balanced people.
I know what you mean, Seven Seas, and I agree. I just meant that if I have to watch an extreme romantic ML stereotype, I'd rather watch a Green Flag than a narcissistic jerk!
DeleteAt least Hosu was a moody, selfish teenager who failed to appeciate the depth of his stepmother's love for him. That's very real. And one of the few Kdrama male leads with a disability (albeit a relatively invisibe one, don't want to spoil those 'visuals'!) who isn't twisted and evil.
I’ll throw in a nomination for Crash Course In Romance. It’s entertaining and funny and well- written, but more importantly, it addresses the hagwon tutorial system. It goes deep on the impact on the young students, their parents and society as a whole. Their lives are impacted financially and emotionally, the competition distorting their judgement in sometimes unhealthy ways. Here in the US, we have similar struggles, and in both societies, social media plays a role. Lots to discuss.
ReplyDeleteYes, CCIR was great. More mature leads, plenty of fun mixed in with social commentary & obligatory dark tropey stuff and outstanding supporting cast.
DeleteThe first half of this episode was my least favorite of the series -- I find the "We need to break up because I'll only drag you down with my disability/personal issues/illness/whatever" thing to be something that exists as a tv trope more so than in real life (particularly when we all KNOW the leads will be getting back together anyway!). It's just annoying.
ReplyDeleteThe second half -- as soon as we get back to the Moms! -- more than makes up for it. So many loose ends, wonderfully tied in a bow for our enjoyment.
Ho-su, I still love you buddy, but I'm with the adults here -- WTH is the matter with you (and I'm not talking about your hearing loss)??? You're a smart guy, have you never heard of getting a SECOND OPINION? Stop ghosting everyone that cares for you. And everyone, please -- stop lying to each other! Not helping.
I suppose we should give kudos to the show for having the guts to make wheelchair-bound attorney Lee Chung-gu the villain, rather than just another character with a disability who automatically deserves our sympathy and respect. I don't put much weight into his character arch though, and I have no idea why Ho-su thinks he's the choice to carry on his work with Kim Ro-sa -- he's an actual villain, not simply a dispassionate, hard-working lawyer! He THREATENED Kim Ro-sa and then went public with his suspicions to DESTROY HER LIFE! (maybe check with HER -- your client -- and see if she's cool with the main villain in her life now REPRESENTING her?). This makes zero sense, plus, as you both said, a fairly serious and flagrant conflict of interest.
I can't believe the show is almost over -- it's absolutely jumped to the top of my favorite tv dramas. Once again, the podcast only makes it a better experience. Team Bun Hong all the way!
Jeff,
DeleteSame feelings about the break up trope.
A bit like love triangles. This can become interesting if lets say 40% of the time they don't get back together (if the second lead get the girl/boy).
The trope is so common it has a name: 'noble idiocy'. Hosu's is not the dumbest break-up reason out there in romance writerland, that's for sure. Love the metaphors of breaking down doors to get to your loved one in physical/psychological danger.
DeleteLoads of great potential podcast dramas mentioned in this thread already, looking forward to next season.
"Noble Idiocy" is the perfect name for it, Doremi! Too funny.
DeleteI'm newer to k-dramas than many/most here, but "My Mister" is at the top of my "next watch" series, so it would get my vote for the podcast's next show to cover.
Oh man, noble idiocy is just awesome! Thank you!
DeleteDoremi, you are NOT commenting too much. Love your comments. So glad you are now on the "deep recaps and forensic analysis" bandwagon. So happy you're here with us.
Very happy that everyone thinks Ho Su is an idiot for breaking up with Mi Ji. Like I said on the podcast, "c'mon buddy, get it together!"
Jeff, yes, the story arcs of the moms are the BEST! Absolutely the best!
Jeff,
DeleteThe only downside of watching My Mister is that you won't see a better series :)
And to quote Miss Mona Lisa Vito (from My Cousin Vinny) when she was asked by the judge whether her testimony was an opinion or fact, her reply was "IT IS A FACT" haha.
..*better series afterwards
DeleteWow - "noble idiocy" is brilliant! Won't forget it Doremi!
ReplyDeleteGreat show - I'm a little out of sync because I started out with one show a week but a few weeks ago I just binged to the end. Anyway I think Ho Su's dad was right about the making your loved one miserable - he broke up with Bun-Hong and his kid didn't like her. And then Ho-Su breaks up with Mi-Ji making her miserable. When I was watching it I didn't think about "winning/losing" being about each person against each other - maybe naively but I thought of it more broadly. Ho-Su going deaf won't be winning for the couple but the point is to stay together through whatever happens. And I did like how Ro-Sa stepped up and talked to Mi-Ji. Otherwise most of what happened in the show made sense to me, but Ho-Su retaining that much doubt about Bun-Hong and her sincerity over all those years seemed strange. It was just the two of them and they never had a good time? Or he was that distant? Possible I guess but pretty uncomfortable and unfortunate. And I know you talked about Kim Sun-Young in an earlier episode but she is a great actress. Sure awards are overrated but she won APAN best supporting actress for both Crash Landing on You and Backstreet Rookie in the same year. I thought it was nice that she received recognition for Backstreet Rookie because even as a supporting character she was the emotional center of the show. And I think she brings a lot of that here too.
Our Blues is a great recommendation! My Mister has so much to talk about. The Sound of Magic is so mixed and short that it would be entertaining to discuss. Be Melodramatic was quite interesting; I'm not sure if there would be enough to talk about. I would be quite interested in a sageuk like Under the Queen's Umbrella. See You in My 19th Life has a lot going for it and would have a lot to discuss. Joanna and Sung Hee do such a great job discussing the music and costumes! I feel like it is better if it is a drama that has an amazing OST and stellar costumes/settings. Longtime listener. This podcast is great!
ReplyDeleteToo many comments!!!! 😉
ReplyDeleteI’m loving all the recommendations for next season. But if I’ve learned one thing listening and commenting to K Drama Chat, its that suggesting shows is a fool’s errand! Joanna and Sung Hee will be sure to pick something no one has suggested! That being said, I think that since Our Unwritten Seoul was a bit on the dark side, I recommend that they not do another dark, melancholy show like My Mister or Our Blues – which are two of my absolute favorites. My futile suggestion is Castaway Diva. I think one of the great things about this particular suggestion is Joanna and Sung hee have not seen it! And we could get genuine, real time, speculation about what is going to happen! It stars Park Eun bin, so you know its quality. She becomes a literal castaway on an island for several years which interrupts her plan to become a K Pop Idol. And when she is found, all sorts of stuff happens. There is plenty of mystery and suspense. And, of course, it has a great soundtrack! Just my 500 won……
Castaway Diva was my k-drama gateway show -- I loved it! It's somehow both "normal" and completely oddball, and the leads are terrific.
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