Category: Korean Dramas

“Little Women” (작은 아씨들)

Jae-Ha Kim

“Little Women” is a female-led K-drama that’s a loose adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s novel of the same name. And I mean really loose. The central characters share some of the personality traits as the book’s sisters. And a primary theme in both revolves around the class distinctions between the wealthy and the poor. But this Korean version has its own tale to tell. The show doesn’t vilify the rich so much as it presents scenarios where good people are tempted to commit a crime, because they have nothing left to lose.

“Big Mouth” (빅마우스)

Jae-Ha Kim

The “Big Mouth” cast is perfect, especially the lead actors Lee Jong-suk (as a lawyer on a losing streak) and Girls’ Generation’s Im Yoon-ah as his pragmatic wife (who’s a skilled nurse). There was not a moment where I didn’t believe that this couple was besotted with each other. Even when they argued, it was obvious that they cared so very much about each other.

“One Ordinary Day” (어느 날)

Jae-Ha Kim

As Hyun-soo, Kim Soo-hyun is superb in a difficult role where he has to be sympathetic, but also could be a cold-blooded and manipulative killer. His role requires him to cry in a manner that allows viewers to feel his panic and fears. And Kim comes through again superbly, proving he is one of the best actors of his generation.

A Brief History of K-cinema

Jae-Ha Kim

For many Westerners, Korean cinema didn’t enter their consciousness until the unparalleled success of the film “Parasite: in 2019. The gripping film deals with socio-economic discrepancies specific to modern-day South Korea, but the clever and sometimes brutal storyline hit a nerve with filmgoers worldwide. The film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, an Oscar for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and a BAFTA for Best Film Not in the English Language at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

“Narco-Saints” (수리남)

Jae-Ha Kim

Two Korean men move to Suriname in the hopes of making some fast money. Their goal is to buy skate, which Surinamese don’t want, for pennies and resell them in South Korea at an inflated price. But when cocaine is found in one of their shipments, both men are arrested and jailed.

“Seoul Vibe” (서울대작전)

Jae-Ha Kim

“Seoul Vibe” is full of backstabbing, murder and mayhem. Director Moon Hyun-sung does a commendable job at keeping the plot moving, but he knows that the wild car chases are the key to this movie. 

“Extraordinary Attorney Woo” (이상한 변호사 우영우)

Jae-Ha Kim

I loved “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.” The storylines were compelling and the actors did a fine job in bringing their characters to life. Park Eun-bin has been singled out for her extraordinary portrayal of a highly-functioning autistic attorney. But that’s where my conflict lies. As many autistic people have already pointed out, as good as Park was in her role, it is unsettling to watch a non-disabled actor portray a character who is on the spectrum. Most of my friends and acquaintances who have autistic children said they couldn’t force themselves to watch beyond the first episode, because her portrayal felt like a mockery of what they live through.

“Hello, My Twenties!” (청춘시대): Season 1

Jae-Ha Kim

“Hello, My Twenties!” follows the lives of five college roommates ranging in age from 18 to 28. Eun-jae is a meek freshman who’s too shy to ask an upperclassman to return her pen and much too afraid to tell her roommates not to eat all of the homemade preserves her mother sent her off with. Ye-eun is a culinary arts student who’s more interested in her inattentive boyfriend than anything else. Ji-won is an eccentric journalism major (haha!) who says she can see a ghost in their apartment. Yi-na has a series of older, rich boyfriends and doesn’t seem to be studying much of anything other than her shoe collection. And at 28, Jin-myung’s live revolves around working three part-time jobs to pay for her tuition and pay off her family’s bills.

“Emergency Declaration” (비상선언)

Jae-Ha Kim

In the span of time it takes for a plane to fly from Seoul to Honolulu — approximately nine hours — a psychopath boards an airplane at Incheon International Airport and releases a deadly biological pathogen onboard, which results in passengers getting sick and/or dying (and turning on each other). And, oh yeah, scientists on the ground  develop an antigen to combat the virus.