What Should I Watch?

Thank you all for your support. Today is 1 year anniversary of What Should I Watch? , the best Korean drama podcast! Writing, recording, and editing every week is not an easy commitment but YOU gave me the strength to carry on. This week's episode covers about 30 Korean dramas and movies. It's a special list! Also, don't miss two special announcements including a giveaway event. I have truly enjoy...

Blues: Blues songs are lyrical rather than narrative; blues singers are expressing feelings rather than telling stories. The emotion expressed is generally one of sadness or melancholy, often due to problems of love but also oppression and hard times. (Britannica)Life likes to throw us a lot of curveballs. Some joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. This unique drama written by a legendary Korean write...

When you're not strong and I'll be your friend. I'll help you carry on. Please swallow your pride...for no one can fill those of your needs that you won't let show - Bill Withers There are moments in life that words can't describe because what happened is not what matters. While you are watching this Korean drama " My Mister " you will find it hard to describe your feeling or even the drama itself...

We all lie whether it’s to achieve a goal or a white lie. But some people lie more often than others and sometimes it gets out of hand. Like Tom Ripley in Patricia Highsmith’s novels, some even enjoy the thrill of it. In history, there were famous people who turned out to be pathological liars and there are many books and movies about this trait of human being. Korea also had a few public figures...

Korea is generally a very safe country. Kids walk home from school on their own and it is not illegal for parents to let their kids to go hang out on their own. There is no such thing as "dangerous area" although some neighborhoods are less developed than others. The idea of "psychopath" is relatively new and the concept of "serial killing" didn't settle in until the early 2000s. What's important...

Koreans were first introduced to baseball in the late 19th century by an American missionary, Henry Bruen. After a century, baseball became the most popular sport in Korea and its economic effect is estimated to be about 2 billion USD. Baseball is not just a sport. It is a massive business and that's what this week's Korean drama, Hot Stove League , is about. Off the mound, there are hundreds of p...

As Korea celebrates its 78th anniversary of liberation from Japan on August 15, the conversation about the Korean drama, Mr. Sunshine continues from last week. There are many movies about the Nazi camps. The stories are so horrendous that they make us question how evil humans can be; yet that's why the love and humanity that is portrayed in movies shines brighter. It's the victory of the good over...

August 15, 2023 marks the 78th anniversary of Korea's independence day. While the West was dealing with Nazi Germany, many Asian countries, including Korea were suffering from Japan's ambition to take over the world. (remember the American TV show, The Man in the High Castle ?) Korea was colonized by Japan's military government for 35 years and there were many independence movements fighting again...

The experts say that the gig economy is not just a passing trend. And many who have a steady 9 to 6 job still try to make some extra money with a side hustle. It's no exception for underage students. I mean, who doesn't want money? But the high school kids in this Korean drama "Extracurricular" don't wash cars or deliver food. In fact, they don't have to anywhere but on their phone. They also make...

In the iconic Reply series, the kids from the 90s and late 80s rule their neighborhood. But in this new series by the same creator, Shin Won-Ho, the characters are older. And instead of roaming the streets of areas in Seoul, these older characters are busy tending their cellmates or hospital patients. Prison Playbook and Hospital Playlist are not exactly coming of age dramas like the Reply series....

Platform shoes, crop top, scrunchies, miniskirt... these are currently the hip fashion items. But do they sound familiar to you? If so, you probably have lived through the 80s and 90s. Back then, things were not as cool and maybe not as convenient as now but it was good ol' days. It was similar in Korea. The country was not as rich as now but there were some things that Koreans have lost over time...

Princess Ariel returned to the big screen but not everybody liked it. If you're looking to replenish the thirst for a good legend story this summer, this Korean drama may work for you. An old Korean record from the 16th century shows that there were multiple mermaid sighting back then. Suppose it's true, what if one of those mermaids is still alive, and walking among us? Unlike Ariel, this Korean...

Ending Music: Rest in Peace, Comrade by Hyeon In (1950)[TV Shows mentioned in this episode] I'll find you on a beautiful day (aka When the Weather is Fine)(2020), Narco-Saints(2022), Crash Landing on You(2019) BTS just celebrated their 10 year anniversary but some of the members are serving their military duty. Had Korea not been divided or the two Koreas been reunited, South Korea might not have...

I don't know what you did last summer but the world knows what North Korea did in the summer of 1950. June 25 is a special day for Koreans because that's the day the Korean War broke out 73 years ago. After all these years, the little peninsula is technically still at war and the house is divided. And Is the Cold War really over? North Korea is still keeping their arms crossed, Russia seems to wan...

Mötley Crüe sang "You know I'm a dreamer but my heart's of gold. I had to run away high so I wouldn't come home low." And this beautiful song literally speaks for Song Kang's character, Hyun-Soo. Through his hallucination, monsterization, and his effort not to harm his neighbors, we are learning about humanity in this monster filled korean drama, Sweet Home . In fact, we are all potential monsters...

Just when you think you've heard of all kinds of monster stories, here is something new just in time for the summer. These monsters did not come from hell or other planets; they were always there. Inside you. You've been with them most likely since you were born. And that's why this apocalyptic, monster-filled series Sweet Home hits close to home because it makes us look deep down inside of us. Th...

Living with strangers is not an easy thing and roommates can be annoying. But sometimes they become best friends, shoulders to cry on, and the ones you share your secret that your family doesn't even know. The secret to this is communication. And that's just what these four Korean girls did in this weeks' drama, Hello, My Twenties! or Age of Youth on some platforms (Korean: 청춘시대). The four gir...

Cha Cha Cha is a style of dance that’s fun and requires a partner. It'd be the perfect prescription for the modern world that makes a lot of us feel alone. Especially as we went through the Covid pandemic, we felt disconnected from family, friends, and the community. The characters in this week's Korean drama, Hometown Cha Cha Cha live the life we were yearning for back then. The neighbors in this...

Have you ever skipped school? Although some love being in school, we all have at least dreamt of walking out of the classroom where we must follow rules. Imagine you are stuck somewhere for almost two years with stricter rules and almost no individual freedom. Would you want to walk out? Jin and J-hope of BTS were no exception to this seemingly suffocating lifestyle. All Korean men must serve in m...

Jonestown, Branch Davidians, Aum Shinrikyo, NXIVM, Order of the Solar Temple, etc. Although they are not as well known as these infamous cults, there are many cults that are just as evil as these in Korea. The heinous groups in the netflix documentary In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal are only part of it (I highly recommend it if you're interested in cults.) So this week's Korean drama Save Me d...

It's the last installment of the Dream Trilogy. After discussing finding a dream for a middle-aged man and the 20s, here is a very special story that's perfect for the finale: it's a journey of a 70 year old man. He has lived his whole life as a breadwinner for the family and couldn't afford thinking about his dream. But by an unexpected chance, he decides to try out for his dream: a ballerino. Bu...

They say that anyone can achieve their dream with sincerity and effort. But for some, having a dream is a luxury. There are bills to pay and dreaming while sleeping is the only kind of dream they can afford. They say that it's okay because you're young, failure will become a valuable lesson. But being young is not equal to not being hurt. Here are 4 friends. They work hard for 2 things: one, to pa...

An American psychologist, G. Stanley Hall first coined the term "storm and stress" in 1904 describing adolescence. But did he know that this storm and stress occurs again a little later in our life? Here's a man who had an epiphany. He quits his job on an impulse and decides to find what he truly loves to do. The problem is that he's in his early 40s and has a family to support. Some might say he'...

This is as geeky and nerdy as it can be while talking about drugs. We continue chatting from last week about Narcos, Narcos Mexico , and the Korean drama Narco-Saints . But there is so much more! A public health announcement, a little history lesson on one of the world's most popular drinks, some trivia on the actual cartels, and as a bonus, how to best care for your pet after a surgery. Would you...

Lord: a powerful man in medieval Europe, who owned a lot of land and property - Oxford English Dictionary. Many are familiar with Colombia and Mexico's cartels but would you believe it if there was a Korean drug lord? His cartel was based in Suriname, even lesser known country than the Korean drug lord himself. And the word 'drug lord ' is perfect for him because he owned so much of what made Suri...