By Jae-Ha Kim
KOCOWA
May 11, 2021
In 2019, “Killing Eve” actress Sandra Oh made a profound statement at the 76th Golden Globe Awards, where she won for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama. In her acceptance speech, the Korean Canadian actress (who also is a U.S. citizen) said what would quickly become a popular meme: “It’s an honor just to be Asian.”
It’s undeniable that it hasn’t always been easy to be a minority in the United States, where Asian Americans are still often viewed as perpetual foreigners, regardless of how many generations we have lived in the U.S. This has been especially alarming during the past year and a half during the COVID-19 pandemic. Asians of all ethnicity have felt a sense of helplessness and fear, watching the rash of anti-Asian hate crimes reported almost daily on the news and in viral videos.
But Asian Americans are resilient. We are Americans and May is our month. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a joint resolution recognizing Asian American Heritage Week. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush signed a proclamation extending that week to a month-long celebration, with an updated and more inclusive name: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
May wasn’t picked randomly. It’s a significant month for Asian Americans. On May 7, 1843, the first Japanese immigrant came to the U.S. And on May 10, 1869, the first transcontinental railroad was finished, thanks to the backbreaking work of over 20,000 Chinese workers (who were discriminated against and paid less than the white workers).
In case you’re wondering, the first wave of Korean immigrants began on January 13, 1902. Most of the Koreans arrived by ship to work on the pineapple and sugar plantations in Hawaii.
As a Korean American, I take pride in AAPI Heritage Month — and in sharing my love of Korean entertainment with you all on a regular basis. I can be Asian American and love shows made in Korea. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.
So, with all that said, I’d like to share some of my favorite K-dramas that give me pride in my birth country, which I can enjoy right here in the United States. I hope you find them entertaining, too.
“Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth”
I’ve said this previously, but the romance the scriptwriter tried to shove down our throat (between Park Seo Joon and Go Ara) isn’t what did it for me with this K-drama. What stuck with me wasn’t their tepid relationship, but that of the young men (Seo Joon, V, Park Hyung Sik, Choi Min Ho) who formed a family — which at times was adversarial, but also based on friendship, honor and righteous morals. In other words, I was all about the poet warrior youth’s bromance.
Sorry not sorry to include another Park Seo Joon series. He and Kim Ji-Won play childhood friends who are navigating adulthood together. He was a high school taekwondo champion poised for an Olympic gold medal. She was a confident teenager who dreamed about becoming a famous announcer on television. Their dreams didn’t come true. And like many adults, their lives are filled with a case of what ifs? Slowly, each tackles their fears about how their professional lives have turned out. And they address the repressed romantic feelings they have for each other, because they feel they shouldn’t go there. After all, if their romance fails, their friendship could be endangered.
One of my all-time favorite K-dramas is “The Moon Embracing the Sun,” which stars one of my favorite all-time actors: Kim Soo Hyun. This series has it all: beautiful cinematography, a gripping storyline and, most importantly of all, superb acting by all. Soo Hyun plays the lonely Crown Prince, who falls in love, but isn’t allowed to marry the woman of his choice. He’s not allowed to see his beloved half brother, because the latter was born to a concubine and is viewed as a threat to the throne. The ending was superbly handled, depicting sacrifice, true love and honor.
This series within a manhwa setting touted some of today’s most popular young stars, including SF9‘sRowoon and “SKY Castle” actress Kim Hye-yoon. Hye Yoon figures out that life as she knows it is all a lie and that she — and all her high school friends — are characters in a comic book. Unhappy at being cast as “the friend” to the female lead in the story, she works hard at changing the direction of her fictional life. Why? Because what’s fiction to the comic book writer is still her real world.
One of the things I really enjoy about Korean Dramas is that childhood friendships play a lasting role in so many storylines. Here, some of the most poignant moments occurred during flashbacks, as viewers saw the youngster versions of the male leads (Park Bo Gum, Jung Jin Young, Kwak Dong Yeon) enjoying life before their familial duties made their friendship difficult to maintain. It was a bit of a stretch to think that anyone would look at the female lead, Kim Yoo Jung, and mistake her for a young man, but there you have it.
Lee Jong Suk, Suzy and June Hae In star in this thoroughly enjoyable series that has a dreamy element that’s also a bit nightmarish. The trio begin to see things that will happen in the future while they are, yes, sleeping. And while that sounds like a blessing in disguise, it proves to be a burden trying to prevent things that are destined to happen. SPOILER ALERT: There was also a fourth person who was tied to them who could see things in their sleep. But I didn’t see that one coming. I wonder if you will!
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