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...

A beginner friendly discussion of K-pop sensation BTS and how idol groups connect deeply with fans by opening up about their vulnerabilities. Tell us your thoughts in a voice note here: MORE EPISODES YOU'LL LIKE: Episode 138: The Red Sleeve Episode 137: F4 Thailand and the Boys Over Flowers Extended Universe NEWSLETTER: Join our email list for the monthly newsletter with podcast announcements and special episodes! PATRONS: SPECIAL THANK YOU to our beloved patrons for another year of helping...

The Red Sleeve is a story of a woman's wish to belong to herself and the man who couldn't let her go. It's also about a king who couldn't trust his grandson and a crown prince who survived against all odds so he could some day be a good ruler to his people. Mimi from The Talking Cupboard joins Paroma in a very spoilery episode where they wonder at the superior storytelling, the strength of conviction of the creators, and the exceptional performance by the entire cast, but most especially by...

At last Dramas Over Flowers talks about Boys Over Flowers! With our amazing guest Frabby, we discuss the latest adaptation of the memorable Hana Yori Dango, and how it stacks up against the Korean version that is a guilty watch for many. Don't forget to tell us which shows you've decided to pick up! DM on Insta or Twitter! LINKS MENTIONED: Book Recommended: The Unmatchmakers by Jackie Lau The scene in Meteor Garden - !! Trigger warning for sexual assault !! Find Frabby's recaps of F4...

The second part of our extra long discussion of extraordinary attorney woo is here! (Find Part 1 here.) Don't forget to tell us which shows you've decided to pick up! DM on Insta or Twitter! LINKS MENTIONED: Register for the Writers on Writers livestream here. For REPLAY of the live sign up to our newsletter here. MORE EPISODES YOU'LL LIKE: Episode 135: Extraordinary Attorney Woo Spoiled Yak (PART 1) Episode 133: Extraordinary Attorney Woo MID SEASON REVIEW THANK YOU to our beloved patrons...

The first part of our spoiler discussion of Extraordinary Attorney Woo (season 1). We also covered our early impressions of the show on episode 133. Don't forget to tell us which shows you've decided to pick up! DM on Insta or Twitter! LINKS MENTIONED: The interview with writer & director of EAW (translated by Anisa) Park Eun-bin answers 10 questions about EAW (video) Redeemed for the wrong sin: Paroma's post on Kwon Min-woo Interesting recent article Saya came across: ‘A lot fell into...

We loved Lee Min-ki in My Liberation Notes and decided to talk about all his dramas and movies that we sought out over the years cause you can never have enough of this guy. Don't forget to tell us which shows you've decided to pick up! DM on Insta or Twitter! TIMESTAMP: 01:19 - Important announcement 02:46 - All about Lee Min-ki 3 LINK: What Would Dramaland Do? MORE EPISODES YOU'LL LIKE: Episode 133: Discussing first half of Extraordinary Attorney Woo Episode 129: We yak about My...

Our love for Extraordinary Attorney Woo is as deep as our dislike of Kwon Min-woo is high. Anisa and Paroma talk about all that has happened in the first half of this excellent show about a rookie autistic lawyer who learns how the law really works while making new friends, battling workplace discrimination, and entering true adulthood. Don't forget to tell us which shows you've decided to pick up! DM on Insta or Twitter! TIMESTAMP: 00:00 - Non-spoilery discussion 16:46 - SPOILER segment...

Saya, Anisa and Paroma talk about timey-wimey dramas Reset, Again My Life and Legally Romance, with digressions on binging C-dramas, ideal episode lengths (again), and why K-dramas are still doing romance better. Don't forget to tell us what you're watching and what you think we're missing out on! DM on Insta or Twitter! TIMESTAMP: 00:01:05 - We tease a special future episode on Boys Over Flowers! 00:02:38 - Miracle: first impressions and comparisons to K-pop novels 00:10:02 - Time loop...

Stephan Lee talks to us about his books, K-pop Confidential and its sequel K-pop Revolution, which follow a Korean American teenager chasing her dreams as a trainee idol in Seoul. We discuss his writing process for each book, the relationship between art and activism, his personal experience of anti-Asian violence, and his trip to Seoul during his time as an entertainment journalist for Entertainment Weekly, and more.  LINKS: Buy Stephan's wonderful books! Stephan's viral thread about his...

Saya is here for a Wild Yak to convince Paroma to watch 2020 Chinese drama CROSSFIRE, about two young men who meet each other in a game - but are eleven years apart in time. A spoiler-free intro to the show. PS. Saya really, really loved it. We talk about: The Signal conceit The rise of pro-gaming Gaming dramas as an emerging genre in C-dramas The trials of watching dramas in a totally unfamiliar language with horrible subtitles Side discussions on: dealing with addictions, C-drama Sweet...

We bring you a shorter long yak on two dramas we're watching and a lot of discussions on actor micro-expressions, the impermanence of cancel culture for powerful actors, and why we some time pause dramas we love. Don't forget to tell us which shows you've decided to pick up! DM on https://www.instagram.com/dramasoverflowers_/ (Insta) or https://twitter.com/dramasoverflow (Twitter)! [More information about the disgraced actor, Lee Kyung-young, who is guilty of sex with a minor can be found...

It's been almost 2 years, guys. It's definitely time to move on from https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/kimseonho (#KimSeonHo)'s breakout performance in START-UP. But before we do, here's a look back at why https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/hanjipyeong (#HanJiPyeong) captured our hearts, how much of this effect was intentional on the creators' part, and why his fans walked away bitter after that ending. (Also maybe why https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/namjoohyuk (#NamJoohyuk) also got a bad deal...

Saya rewatched Goblin for the dozenth time and pulled Paroma into a discussion of our deep love for a story that also has so many elements we feel conflicted on. Dive in with your SPOILER hats on. Also, don't forget to tell us which shows you've decided to pick up! DM on https://www.instagram.com/dramasoverflowers_/ (Insta) or https://twitter.com/dramasoverflow (Twitter)! Or leave a comment on our blog for this episode! Paroma's Video Essay on Toxic 1000 year old Gumihos:...

Welcome to our first proper Long Yak of 2022! In this one, Anisa and Paroma dig into our widely varying first impressions of Twenty-Five Twenty-One and Forecasting Love and Weather. And Saya makes a good case for why Rookie Cops is a worthier successor of Police University. Don't forget to tell us which shows you've decided to pick up! DM on https://www.instagram.com/dramasoverflowers_/ (Insta) or https://twitter.com/dramasoverflow (Twitter)! Or...

Welcome back to our monthly What's Up in Dramaland. Let's talk about what dramas we're adding to our watchlist this February? Don't forget to tell us which shows you've decided to pick up! DM on https://www.instagram.com/dramasoverflowers_/ (Insta) or https://twitter.com/dramasoverflow (Twitter)! Or leave a comment on our https://dramasoverflowers.net/?p=5011 (blog for this episode)! TIMESTAMP: 00:53 - Forecasting Love and Weather 11:42 - 2521 15:37 - Crazy Love 18:12 - Grid 25:48 -...