Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Set in Jeju-do/제주도, “Welcome to Samdal-ri” explores the relationship between childhood best friends Yong-pil (Chang-wook) and Sam-dal (Shin Hye-sun). From the time she was a child, Sam-dal wanted to escape her small town and make a name for herself as a photographer in Seoul. The two dated for a while, with Yong-pil happy to follow her to the bit city and support her dreams.
Playing undercover police officer Jun-mo — who hopes that his gig will lead to a promotion — Ji Chang-wook is in his element as an eager cop who infiltrates a drug cartel with ties to China and Japan.
Set in a hospice, the point of “If You Wish Upon Me” isn’t that the dying can only leave this world if they have a wish fulfilled. Rather, sometimes they need peace of mind before they’ll allow themselves to go.
Seung-Gyu is an upper middle class bank manager who’s driving his children to school. While the kids bicker in the backseat, he answers a phone he doesn’t recognize. At first, he assumes it’s his wife’s phone and that the caller is trolling. But when the calls don’t stop, he worries about the what ifs. What if the caller isn’t lying? What if a bomb really will explode if he gets out of his car? What if?
Seok-Bong and Joo-Bong are estranged brothers who reunite for their father’s funeral. Neither one remembers having a close relationship with anyone in their family and dread the thought of spending time with them.
Most of the characters in “Lovestruck in the City” would’ve benefited with some therapy to work things through and move on from unhealthy relationships that should’ve been severed early on.
Did you know that it has become customary for Korean celebrities to send each other coffee (or food) trucks to celebrate a friend or colleague’s new project?
Kim Soo-Hyun, Ji Chang-Wook and Lee Joon-Gi are all accomplished actors. Did you know they can also sing?
BTS speak at the United Nations (again!); Shin Min-A talks about female empowerment; and Ji Chang-Wook and Kim Ji-Won will co-star in a new K-Drama!
K-Dramas are a great escape from reality, but even though we know they’re fictional characters, some of them are so likable that we want to be them. At least for a while. Here are some of our faves from “Coffee Prince,” “Healer,” “My Love from the Star” and “While You Were Sleeping.”
If you’re like me, you may feel a tinge of sadness after your favorite K-Drama airs its last episode. One of the ways I deal with this is by checking out other dramas starring some of the actors I fell in love with.
When Yoo Ji-Tae was doing press interviews to promote”Healer,” he said he was confident about signing onto the project when he heard that Park Min-Young was the female lead. Why? Because Park is one of those actresses who has the magic touch when it comes to picking projects that will become hits. He wasn’t wrong. That got us wondering: Who else has the golden touch when it comes to K-Dramas?
Ever since Ji Chang-Wook’s discharge from South Korea’s mandatory military duty on April 27, 2019, fans have been biting their fingernails waiting for his comeback. They won’t have to wait much longer, because the popular actor’s latest series, “Melting Me Softly,” will premiere on South Korean television on September 28.
If you’re like me, watching K-Dramas is a year-round event. But in the summertime when you’re tired of swimming and want reprieve from the sun, there’s nothing better than watching a fun rom-com, Korean-style. So grab a bowl of cup ramyun and some Pepero sticks and get started.
I had no idea this series even existed. It popped up on YouTube when I was looking around for something to watch while I ate my late-night snack. (It was tteok-bokki and japchae, for those who have to know.)
My name isn’t uncommon in Korea. But, as you can imagine, I never had to worry about a classmate sharing my first name after we immigrated to Chicago. On the other hand, whenever my friends and I went to the mall to buy keychains or anything that had a name pre-printed on it, I never found my name listed anywhere along with the Julies and Kevins. Imagine my delight when I started watching Korean Dramas and saw characters who share my name!
“The K2” is billed as an action thriller, but it’s really a story about people who are so thoroughly broken that their sense of morality and justice is skewed to an absurd level.
“Five Fingers” is what I categorize as a “Melrose Place” series, where an evil character treats people like garbage, but viewers are expected to root for them, because they occasionally show signs of humanity. No. Just no!
A smart, 20-episode series that was well cast, it offered intrigue, action, comedy and a bittersweet love story that ends in such a way that the viewer is left assured that the couple stays together forever. This is also one of the rare Korean dramas I’ve seen where the lead characters aren’t involved in a love triangle (though there is a sub-plot where unrequited love between secondary cast members plays a role).
