K Drama Chat

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episodes 1 and 2 of Mr. Sunshine, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Lee Byung-hun as Eugene Choi, Kim Tae-ri as Go Ae-shin, Yoo Yeon-Seok as Goo Dong-mae, Kim Min-jung as Kudo Hina, and Byun Yo-han as Kim Hee-sung.  We learn the story of Eugene Choi, a slave from Joseon who stows away to the United States. Even though he is no longer a slave, he has a hard l...

We’re getting ready for Season 3 where we will recap and analyze Mr. Sunshine, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring  Lee Byung-hun as Eugene Choi, Kim Tae-ri as Go Ae-shin from 2018. Before we dive into Mr. Sunshine, we did a fun episode with Sung Hee’s sister Jeanie. Jeanie shares her K Drama and Korean language journey. Then Joanna, Sung Hee and Jeanie share their Top 3 K Dramas. Actually, we end...

Joanna and Sung Hee introduce the show that K Drama Chat will cover during Season 3 - Mr. Sunshine. Mr. Sunshine is a hit show on Netflix from 2018. The show is about Eugene Choi (Lee Byung-hun), who was born into slavery in Joseon. After escaping to the United States at the time of the 1871 Shinmiyangyo, he becomes a Captain in the US Marine Corps. He gets sent to Joseon by President Roosevelt, u...

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 16, the final episode of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the story is Find the Real, Real Faces by Meun Young. Sang Tae convinces Meun Young to publish her final book, which is about three friends (an emotionless princess, a boxed man, and a masked man) whose faces were stolen by an evil shadow witch. After a long...

Jen is back, yay!  In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 15 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the story is The Tale of the Two Brothers. We think this story is about how Gang Tae, Sang Tae and Meun Young all love each other and they just need to stop bickering, stop wasting time trying to stay apart, and decide to stay together. This episode answers...

Jen is sick, so Sung Hee is filling in. In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 14 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the story is The Hand, The Monkfish. We think this story is autobiographical for Meun Young, whose mom thought she was perfect and protected her and kept her in the cursed castle. We learn that Nurse Park is Meun Young’s mom and turns ou...

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 13 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the story is The Father of the Two Sisters. There are parallel stories here involving an abuser and someone who allowed the abuse to happen. We learn that Meun Young’s dad knew that his wife was cruel to Meun Young, but he tolerated it, only reading a single book to Meun Young...

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 12 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the story is Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Are Gang Tae and Meun Young fated for each other? Are they in an ill-fated relationship? In this episode, Gang Tae and Meun Young get closers. Meun Young is happy to have the brothers in the house and she likes her house ag...

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 11 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the children’s story is The Ugly Duckling. Family comes up a lot in this episode. Jae-soo is upset that Sang Tae doesn’t consider him family, even though he’s been following the brothers around for ten years. Gang Tae wants Sang Tae to be the adult in the family, able to accep...

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 10 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the children’s story is The Girl Who Cried Wolf, based on The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Meun Young says the boy was lonely up on the mountain, which is why he kept crying wolf. When the wolf did come, nobody believed him. Meun Young believes that if even one person had believed him,...

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 9 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the children’s story is King Donkey Ears, the story about the King who had donkey ears and told his hairdresser to keep it a secret. After many years, the hairdresser could no longer hold the secret in, so he shouted to the forest that the king had donkey ears. The show opens w...

Jen is on vacation, so this episode has Joanna and Sung Hee. In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 8 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the children’s story is Beauty and the Beast. Joanna and Sung Hee disagree on the overall theme of this episode: Is it Stockholm Syndrome, where Gang Tae has become enamored of his captor, Meun Young? Or is it a story...

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 7 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the children’s story is The Cheerful Dog. Gang Tae takes care of Meun Young after her nightmare, then takes the day off to spend the day with her. Later, Meun Young’s class at the hospital is canceled and she decides to take Eun-ja’s mink wrap as compensation. When Gang Tae obj...

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 6 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode Gang Tae and Meun Young admit to each other that they knew each other in childhood, Sang Tae moves in with Meun Young and becomes her exclusive illustrator, Gang Tae eventually moves in to the cursed castle as well, we learn more about the incident where Gang Tae and Sang Tae fe...

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 5 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, Gang Tae searches for Meun Young in the pouring rain and finds her. He tries to take her to a motel, but neither has any money, so they end up at Gang Tae’s apartment. Meun Young ends up staying the night, so Gang Tae has to fabricate an excuse to keep Sang Tae and Jae-soo away...

Jen is on vacation, so Sung Hee is filling in. In this episode, we recap and analyze episode 4 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. The children’s story from this episode is Zombie Kid, the boy who couldn’t feel emotion and was only interested in eating. The assemblyman’s son causes havoc at his father’s political rally; he is chastised by his mom and his father tells the hospi...

In this episode, we recap and analyze episode 3 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix from 2020. Meun Young shows up at OK Hospital because she misses Gang Tae. Her father is at the hospital, but she doesn’t seem to care about him. The hospital director asks Meun Young to teach a literature class and Sang Tae to paint a mural at the hospital. Meun Young kidnaps a manic patient at...

In this episode, we recap and analyze episode 2 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix from 2020. Sang Tae attends a book signing by Meun Young and gets in trouble when he touches a kid wearing a dinosaur costume. Gang Tae comes to his rescue and Meun Young intervenes, causing a huge scene when she gets mad at the child’s parents. While waiting for Sang Tae to calm down, Meun Youn...

In this episode, we recap and analyze episode 1 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix from 2020. In this first episode, we get introduced to celebrity children’s book author Koo Meun Young (Seo Yea-ji), compassionate caregiver Moon Gang Tae (Kim Soo Hyun), the talented, autistic Moon Sang Tae (Oh Jung-se), and the long suffering nurse Nam Joo-ri (Park Gyu-young). The characters i...

We’re still on break after wrapping up with Hotel Del Luna. In this episode, Joanna and Jen have a conversation with Professor Professor Ernabel Demillo, Department Chair of the Communication and Media Culture Department at Saint Peter's University and host of the Emmy-award winning "Asian American Life" show on CUNY-TV. Ernabel talks about: Her K Drama journey Why she thinks K Dramas are so addic...

We’re taking a short break between seasons after wrapping up with Hotel Del Luna. In this episode, we have a conversation with a couple of friends: Sung Hee, who was our guest in Episode 6, and cousin Linda, who we have mentioned so many times! Be prepared to laugh with us as we discuss our love of K Dramas! We cover: Our individual K Drama journeys What makes K Dramas so addicting How K Dramas ar...

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 16, the finale, of Hotel Del Luna. In this episode, all of the staff resolve their grudges and move on to the afterlife. Bartender Kim overcomes his shame over being labeled a lewd scholar when Man Wol and Koo Chan Sung convince the author to write a novel about a fictional, but honorable, Kim Si-ik. Guest manager Seo hee learns that the daughter of th...

In this episode, we recap and analyze episode 15 of Hotel Del Luna. While Man Wol was gone, Mago gives Chan Sung a task: go back in time to 200 years ago to pick some moon flowers needed to make the wine that will make someone the next owner of the hotel. Chan Sung meets Man Wol, who asks him to stay and become her 85th human manager, but he declines. When he comes back, Mago tells him that Man Wo...

In this episode, we recap and analyze episode 14 of Hotel Del Luna. Man Wol is convinced that Koo Chan Sung is a reincarnated Chyung Myung. She knows she can’t kill Koo Chan Sung, so she gives the moon ornament to Ji-won to make him stronger, knowing Ji-won will try to kill Koo Chan Sung. Koo Chan Sung battles and tricks Ji-won and is saved by the hotel staff and the grim reaper. As a result, Koo...

In this episode, we recap and analyze episode 13 of Hotel Del Luna. We learn the story of guest manager Seo-hee. 200 years ago, her husband’s family let her baby daughter die, in order to make room for a son to be born. At her death, Seo hee curses the family. When the eldest grandson of the family dies a bachelor and without children, Seo hee is happy. Her happiness is short lived when she finds...