“My Name” (마이 네임)
You know how in most action series, there is that one guy who can fight a team of gangsters, get stabbed and bounce back into action in no time? In “My Name,” that guy is a kickass woman.
Tag: 2021
“D.P.” (디피)
The superb “D.P.” is not an easy series to watch. While not as gory as “Squid Game,” it’s more disturbing in many ways, because it deals with South Korea’s real-life mandatory military duty — which requires every able-bodied Korean man to enlist for approximately two years.
“Hospital Playlist” (슬기로운 의사생활): Season 2
“Hospital Playlist” is a good series, where the core friendship is warm and engaging. The five doctors have the kind of relationship with each other that makes me envious … even though I don’t particularly feel a need for that many close friends in my real life. (haha)
“Squid Game” Is a Social Allegory Informed by Korean History
“Squid Game” is not this year’s “Parasite,” so much as it is a satire in the vein of “A Modest Proposal.” Just as Jonathan Swift pointed out the abject brutality of telling the poor to satiate their hunger by eating healthy, plump babies, Hwang depicts the cruelty of lording a huge sum of money – literally – over desperate people’s heads, knowing that most will die as they lived: penniless.
“Penthouse: War in Life (Season 3)” (펜트하우스)
What started out as a compelling makjang series ended with a bloody mess, where vengeance wasn’t sweet. Rather, it took over the main characters’ lives to the point where they could see nothing else but hate.
“Mine” (마인)
“Mine” is a women-centric K-drama in which the worst actions have been created by men. Their immorality serves as a cause and effect for a chaebol family’s misery.
“Kingdom: Ashin of the North” (킹덤: 아신전)
“Ashin of the North” is screenwriter Kim Eun-Hee’s concession to “Kingdom” fans, who are eagerly awaiting the third season of the popular Netflix series. This stand-alone episode — or film, depending on how you view it — is entertaining, but not nearly of the same caliber of storytelling as the first two seasons of this zombie period piece.
“Racket Boys” (라켓소년단)
“Racket Boys” is a sweet series centering around a teenager, who’s forced to quit baseball when his father moves them from Seoul to the countryside. Disappointed and bitter, Hae-Kang begrudgingly joins the badminton team — which his father coaches — on the condition that if the team wins a medal, his dad will get them Wi-Fi at their house.
“Move to Heaven” (무브 투 헤븐: 나는 유품정리사입니다)
“Move to Heaven” is a beautiful and at times brutal series that tells so many touching stories. One of the most important aspects was in how the series showed respect for the dead, even when the supposed loved ones of the deceased don’t seem to care.
“Beyond Evil” (괴물)
“Beyond Evil” is one weird (in an interesting way) Korean series that centers on the search for a serial killer, who murdered multiple women — including the protagonist’s younger sister. Virtually all the major characters are suspects at one point or another, with damning evidence that has been carefully weaved into the storyline.