About Joanna, Sung Hee and Jen

We're Joanna Pineda, Sung Hee Lee, and Jen McWhorter. We're Asian-American moms who love K Dramas. We love K Dramas so much that we decided to create a podcast to talk about them in great detail and share our love of these amazing show!

Here's a little about Joanna:

I'm mom to two amazing boys
I was born in the Philippines and moved to the US when I was 14.
I went to high school and college in the San Francisco Bay Area and have been living in the DC area since grad school.
My husband and I run Matrix Group International, Inc., an interactive agency based in Arlington, VA.
In addition to K Dramas, I'm passionate about cooking and martial arts. I'm a black belt in TaeKwonDo, and a black belt in HapKiDo.

Here's a little about Sung Hee:

I'm mom to two amazing children, a boy and a girl. One is out of college and the other is just starting college.
I'm a doctor specializing in anesthesiology.
I live in the Providence, RI with my family.
I was born in the US and am learning Korean.
I've been to Korea a couple of times

Here's a little about Jen:

I'm mom to two amazing girls
I enjoy K Dramas, but also love reality tv shows. Real Housewives is my guilty pleasure.
The first K Drama show I watched/binged was "My Lovely Sam Soon" and I became addicted ever since.
I enjoy traveling and I studied abroad in Germany. I hope to visit Korea soon; I still have relatives there.
I love my peloton - Robin is my favorite instructor.

Joanna and Jen were hosts of K Drama Chat in the first two seasons. Life has gotten in the way of podcasting for Jen, so now Joanna and Sung Hee are the regular K Drama Chat hosts.

Comments

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...

K Drama Chat Weekly

Search This Blog