We are joined by kfangurl on an ultimate fan trip episode where we deep dive into a cult classic time slip romance that set new standards in storytelling for all of us. This drama has also been recently remade into the Korean, A Time Called You, which we discussed in episode 161. Tell us your thoughts about either drama in a voice note here: LINKS MENTIONED: Paroma's twitter post on face blurring the fangirl verdict blog TIMESTAMP: 00:01:52 - Introducing Someday or One Day: plot,...

Anisa, Paroma and Anisa's sister Zaynab talk about A Time Called You, remake of hit Taiwanese drama Someday or One Day, how it compares to the original, and the eternal question of the adaptation: why? Catch our spoiler review of Someday or One Day next week! Tell us your thoughts in a voice note here: TIMESTAMP: 0:00 General thoughts on A Time Called You 31:00 SPOILERS for both the original and the remake MORE EPISODES YOU'LL LIKE: Episode 135: Extraordinary Attorney Woo Spoiled...

Welcome to another anniversary Mailbag episode! We asked for your thoughts on dramas, on us, anything at all, and you gave us a lot to talk about! Also, let us know if you liked, loved, or FF'd this episode in a voice note here: LINKS MENTIONED: The Hollywood writers’ strike: Vox explains LA Times article about Netflix's affect on Korea Entertainment Industry Burn it Down excerpt RELATED EPISODES YOU'LL LIKE: The burning sun special, episode 37 On representation, episodes 65 and episode...

We bring you another long yak this months where we talk about two new dramas and final thoughts on three completed ones. Tell us your thoughts in a voice note here: LINKS MENTIONED: The anime Paroma mentioned: How A Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom (on Netflix) TIMESTAMP: (No spoilers = NS) 00:00:40 - My Lovely Liar (NS) 00:21:08 - Behind Your Touch (Ep 1 Spoilers) 00:42:08 - Maturity of social discussion 00:46:06 - See You In My 19th Life (Final Thoughts/NS) 01:08:54 - ... 19th Life...

It's August, and that means it's our 6th anniversary! We're doing a special Mailbag Episode to celebrate, so send us your questions, your stories and your comments by August 19th. You can email us at [email protected], or leave a voice note here: PATRONS: SPECIAL THANK YOU to our beloved patrons for another year of helping us light the lanterns to sail our ship! Join our Patreon here! ❤︎ You can also support us by leaving a review on your podcast app, or sharing the episode with...

Saya and Paroma pick apart Our Blooming Youth and pore over its bests and not-so-best things. Bests include: Park Hyung-shik and Jeon So-nee. Dissatisfactions include: plot lapses, villains with unconvincing motives. Erratum: Saya's first Park Hyung-shik drama was Nine (2013). Tell us your thoughts in a voice note here: TIMESTAMP: 00:01:52 When fandom doesn't feel the way you do 00:07:43 Character development vs. plot 00:14:20 Unwinding the villains 00:23:56 Heir vs. King vs....

We are back with a long yak after a very long while. Settle in as we discuss two new romances and one completed romcom with a side serving of murder! Tell us your thoughts in a voice note here: LINKS MENTIONED: Paroma's video about kdramas badly solving classism [here] Jun-ho and Yoon-ah's 'Senorita' at MBC's music festival [here] TIMESTAMP: 00:00:38 - King The Land (first 6 episode overview) 00:34:21 - See You In My 19th Life (first 7 episode overview) 00:52:45 - Crash Course In Romance...

In this Spoiled Yak, Anisa and Paroma review Dr. Cha and talk about why dramas about a middle-aged woman getting a new lease on life are so enjoyable - and mention some other favorites in this genre. Tell us your thoughts in a voice note here: TIME STAMPS: 00:00:00 Dr. Cha Spoiler Review 01:03:40 A wild Kwon Min-woo appears! (Yes, this is an Extraordinary Attorney Woo reference) 01:14:40 Other dramas in this genre we loved! 01:15:24 Twenty Again 01:19:00 Mystery Queen 01:22:42 SKY...

Bora! Deborah was mostly frustrating yet sometimes joyous to watch. So we do a needlessly long deep dive into why it gripped us so hard. Tell us your thoughts in a voice note here: LINKS MENTIONED: Mattie Kahn's excellent Vox piece on Viktor Frankl [here] (the real source of Bora's "getting pretty" quote) My own short piece on why using such an anecdote without context is harmful [here] TIMESTAMP: 00:01:54 - Yoo In-na made us watch it 00:16:00 - Episode 1 00:26:25 - Yeon Bora 00:33:11 -...

Saya and Paroma went to see BTS's concert film, Yet to Come in Cinemas, which took place in Busan on 23 October 2022 and released in cinemas worldwide in February 2023. We talk about the boys, the music, the fans, and our good and bad experiences at the cinema. Check out the official trailer here. Tell us your thoughts in a voice note here: LINKS MENTIONED: ScreenX trailers: Run BTS version, Dynamite version One of our favourite performances: Mic Drop & Run BTS Stage CAM @ BTS “Yet To...

We finally talk about why Crash Landing on You is SO GOOD. And we discuss Anisa's master's thesis on media portrayals of love across the borders created by partition - and why CLOY's depiction of that yearning is the best we've ever seen. Tell us your thoughts in a voice note here: LINKS: Anisa's thesis, Visualizing the Fractured Nation: Narratives of (Un)belonging in 21st Century Indian and South Korean Media Interview with Park Ji-eun’s co-writer Kwak Moon-wan, a North Korean defector,...

Here's a special sneak preview of something we've been doing on Patreon: The Lone Yak! We take a moment (or a few) to tell you what's on our minds, whether about a drama we've been watching, general K-drama thoughts, or life! This episode contains Saya talking about becoming a new version of yourself in public, Paroma talks about when we defend our faves (and don't) and why, and Anisa reviews the first half of Crash Course in Romance - and talks a little about murder rom-coms. Tell us your...

If you've missed Park Hyung-sik in a sageuk or if you have a fondness for tortured Crown Princes, we have the drama for you. As a pleasant surprise, you also get a capable heroine with her own heroine arc in the story. As Saya puts it, Jeon So-nee might actual be the real protagonist of this show! Tell us your thoughts in a voice note here: MORE EPISODES YOU'LL LIKE: Episode 149: Screenwriting Part 1 Episode 150: Screenwriting Part 2 NEWSLETTER: Join our email list for the monthly...

In Part 2 of our discussion on K-drama screenwriting, we talk about Kim Eun-sook, whether great acting can rescue a bad script, why dramaland has so many serial killers, and much more! Listen to Part 1 HERE. We recorded this episode during a livestream discussion in 2022. If you here us speaking about comments, it's from the attendees of the stream. In Part 2, you can hear some of their voices in the final segment of the show as they jump in to give their own takes on drama writing. Leave us...

There is something special about the way K-dramas are written beyond the formulas and tropes. In this episode we talk about the way dialogue, story acts, and unique writing styles collide to make our favourite dramas. We recorded this episode during a livestream discussion in 2022. If you here us speaking about comments, it's from the attendees of the stream. In Part 2, you can hear some of their voices in the final segment of the show as they jump in to give their own takes on drama...

Understanding deeply that nobody wants a brutal analysis of this candyfloss, I have stuck to talking about two things that I found really interesting: (ONE) how the drama tries to equate the female lead's wariness of men to the male lead's shallow beliefs and hostile reactions to women... and then undermines its own thesis (TWO) how the male leads in romantic k-dramas go through an emotional journey, whereas the female leads go through social ones Leave me your thoughts in a voice note here:...

In Part 3 of our year end yak, friends of the podcast visit to give us a heads up on dramas that have gone unnoticed or underappreciated in 2022. Leave us your thoughts in a voice note here: TIMESTAMP: 01:48 - Our Blues (Frabby and Yunah) 12:12 - Kiss Sixth Sense (Anja) 15:27 - Summer Strike (Just Me) 
17:53 - Bloody Heart (Mimi) 22:00 - Law Cafe (Minal) 24:28 - Love All Play (Minal) 29:11 - Pachinko (Tina) 33:38 - Green Mother’s Club (Abdul) 38:25 - All of Us Are Dead (Cedarbough...

In Part 2 of our annual Year-End Yak, we first give out our personal Goguma Awards, and then we chat about our current relationship with k-dramaland. Part 3 (finale!) coming out next week. Leave us your thoughts in a voice note here: LINKS MENTIONED: Paroma's YouTube Channel TIMESTAMP: # ANISA’S PERSONAL GOGUMAS
 00:01:15 - Lee Min-ki Award For Being Lee Min-ki 00:02:31 - Sight For Sore hearts 00:05:04 - Real, Real, Real House Envy 00:06:55 - Most Unfulfilled Yearning # PAROMA’S PERSONAL...

Anisa, Paroma and guest Frabby chat about the miseries and joys of relationship melodrama The Interest of Love, which gently, brilliantly destroyed us every week—and we loved it all. Expect major spoilers in this one! Tell us your thoughts in a voice note here: LINKS MENTIONED: Read Frabby's wonderful reviews of The Interest of Love. MORE EPISODES YOU'LL LIKE: Episode 137: F4 Thailand and the Boys Over Flowers Extended Universe, where Frabby joined us to talk about the many adaptations of...

In Part 1 of our massive (as usual) Year-End Yak, we talk first about trends in K-drama and our general thoughts on 2022. Then we break down the winners of our Audience Gogumas (some silly, some Very Important). Part 2 Part 3 Tell us your thoughts in a voice note here: TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:57 Trends and general thoughts 00:58:36 4th Annual Goguma Awards! 01:03:11 Craziest Premise/Best Execution 01:03:37 Best First Half/Worst Second Half 01:04:17 Most Iconic Heroine 01:05:11 Best Hero ("You...

Shooting Stars (aka sh**ting stars) starring Lee Sung-kyung and Kim Young-dae was one of the more entertaining dramas of 2022. We liked it a lot, but it also deserved all the thrashing it got online on certain subplots in the story. We talk about all of it in this spoiled yak. Tell us your thoughts on the episode here: LINKS MENTIONED: Paroma's reasons to watch Shooting Stars [Video Link] TIMESTAMP: 00:30:31 - the racism problem 00:38:48 - the workplace harassment scene MORE EPISODES YOU'LL...

Anisa sits down with Paroma to convince her to watch If You Wish Upon Me, an unexpectedly healing drama with a wonderful ensemble cast and moving depictions of grief, redemption and reconciliation. Ji Chang-wook is finally in the kind of role he deserves, Choi Soo-young brings her unique brand of incandescence, Sung Dong-il is giving FULL DAD, and Anisa can't help but be reminded of SNSD's Genie every time she sees the title. Because, this meta was clearly intentional. Tell us your thoughts...

This episode started as a spoilery discussion of Arsenal Military Academy (a 2019 chinese drama set in the early 20th century, starring Bai Lu and Xu Kai), but became a longer conversation on the history of imperialism and china's use of underdog stories to ignite national pride. But it's still a dramas over flowers episode, so expect lots of fangirling and explosive laughter. Send us your thoughts on the episode in a voice note here: LINKS: KOBO PLUS is available in Italy | Canada |...

In this second part of our conversation about celebrity, authenticity and Korean variety, we talk about the miracle of entertainment that is Youth MT, and the lovely, warm experience of watching In the Soop: Friendcation. (And its 2017 ajusshi predecessor, Dragon Club.) Spoiler warning: You may want to catch a few episodes of Youth MT before you listen, because we discuss specific scenes—and also because it is SO GOOD. Tell us your thoughts in a voice note here: LINKS MENTIONED: BTS's Jin...