K-Drama recommendations

[boatyardblues]

A K-drama thread was suggested on the Netflix subtitled gems thread so we can discuss in more depth without swamping the other thread. There are a lot of Korean films & boxsets on Netflix and I’m discovering the quality is variable, so I thought this would be a goid place to swap recommendations (and ‘avoids’). So far, I have hugely enjoyed:

• Something in the Rain
• Mr Sunshine (new episodes still dropping weekly)
• Live

Would also love to hear how closely these dramas represent real life in Korea from anyone who has lived there. Its fascinating learning about another culture.

My method is more like trying a bit of everything on the buffet table before I go back to the tasty stuff for a bigger portion. Ten minutes of Korean Odyssey didn’t float my boat next week, but might grab me another time. I didn’t stick with Black first time, but it completely grabbed me on second dabble.

Last week. I don’t have a time machine.

😭... Forgive me oh wise ones for my amateur kdrama watching habits! 😂😢
Just watched 2 eps of secretary Kim!... I'm intrigued!! 😊

It's really interesting to read this thread, as I'm married to a Korean. I used to live there but not now, still cook a lot of Korean food, speak decentish Korean, go back pretty often etc.

I have to say I watch next to no Korean dramas though, I find them really silly and childish most of the time. I started watching Mr Sunshine when it was on, but apart from the sets and costumes, I found it quite boring. There have been a few political/crime dramas that I enjoyed, but as soon as it veers into comedy/romance, I give it a miss. I can't stand all the wrist grabbing and cheesy contrived scenarios.

I think upthread someone asked how realistic dramas are compared to real life in Korea. Of course, the same as our TV programmes, they're totally exaggerated. No one in the UK acts like they're in Eastenders, but of course there are similarities to real life. People do tend to dress well and make an effort with their appearance, people do tend to be very into being in a couple (yes, couple dressing is very much a real thing), people do eat a lot and bosses do go mental at subordinates (every second week, there is a story about some boss crossing the line, Korea Air have had massive scandals recently). And there is generally a lot of yelling and fighting within families and couples, not mine thank God, but once someone loses their temper, it's next level. Many guys do think that the wrist grab is both acceptable and sexy, also.

It definitely looks very shiny and nice and clean on the outside to some extent, but I don't know any Korean who is actually happy living in Korea. The pressure to be/act/look a certain way is absolutely mad, the definition of success is vanishingly narrow, the level of sexism is crazy etc.

This sounds like I hate Korea and I don't. I actually love many aspects of Korea, it's a beautiful country, gorgeous mountains, beaches, food (obviously), once someone is your friend, they will do anything for you etc. But it's not an easy place to be.

Hisaishi fascinating insight, thank you!

I don't know any Korean who is actually happy living in Korea slightly rains on my shiny happy kdrama parade but also ties in with seadays feedback on Hell Joseon. Do you think this genre of television has developed as a response to that? I'm certainly watching as a form of escapism, though my life is probably pretty cushy in comparison

cheesy contrived scenarios I am beginning to relish these as an art form, and just add them to my kdrama bingo game

But if you have any recommendations for more serious dramas I'd be interested, Stranger is probably the most straight I've watched and is the one that got me in to the whole thing.

I'm certainly watching as a form of escapism, though my life is probably pretty cushy in comparison.

Same for me with the escapism, but I can easily see the underlying social drivers which lead to social elevation/rescue by a chaebol heir being presented as the summit of any right-thinking young woman’s ambitions. The sexism is the flip side of the chivalry coin, and it rears its head in lots of forms. One kdrama I didn’t continue with had an ostensibly well-married young woman being treated like a domestic servant by her wealthy husband’s family. Something in the Rain addressed sexual harrassment at work and intimate partner violence/control. Live was excellent on a whole host of social issues: the awful graduate recruitment fair at the start, where high status university, social connections and military service (I presume men only) favoured male applicants; impact of sexual violence and exploitation on various female characters; failing marriage (resentment at wifework); pervasive fear of loss of social status and fonancial ruin due to compensation culture, coupled with lack of institutional support. I agree the models for success are portrayed very narrowly, so I can see it must be very stressful to negotiate, particularly for less wealthy or connected families. Even the families’ heartbreaking decisions about whether they can afford relatives’ treatment is sobering. I find that I get a lot from what is assumed/taken for granted if I look pass the shiny razzle dazzle. It’s great to have your insights Hisaishi. Welcome & thank you.

True, I forgot about Live, that did show the dark side of struggling to get a job and then the pressures to succeed in that job. It was also different in that it wasn't the cute guy that got the girl, but the hard-working decent bloke. The detective's wife having to look after all the aged parents, run the home and work also had it tough. I get the impression daughters-in-law have a crap time.

I loved Live. It wasn’t always easy viewing, but it had so much heart. The relationships were flawed and realistic. It touched common human experiences like ageing and loss with a real deftness and honesty. I found it a fascinating take on Korean society and family life. If I am honest, it is probably my favourite kdrama.

Addendum: I just googled “couple dressing Korea.” Oh. Em. Gee, as I believe the youngsters say.

bettys I don't think such dramas are exactly a reaction to people's shitty lives/escapism, it's just an extension of the Korean tendency to pretend everything is fine even when it isn't. I think they're kind of like Americans in that way. At the same time, they do tend to think that everyone has it really bad in Korea but without realising that other countries have issues too. I mean, everyone worries about money, family etc, and while there is more social pressure here, a lot of it comes from themselves and they all do it to each other, like they all complain that Koreans are too judgy, then they turn around and judge every little thing.

Daughter in laws can have a shitty, hard life, but I do think that's changing. A lot of women are refusing to get married too these days because they don't want to spend their lives cooking, cleaning and getting yelled at by mad PILs. Personally, my MIL is an angel but I know I'm lucky.

If your family has no connections, you're definitely going to struggle and there's a lot of shame/stigma. I used to have a student whose dad was a builder and she was SO ashamed (this is an adult too, not a young kid). One of my husband's school friends works as a removal man - he actually makes more money than any of my husband's office worker friends, but he will never talk about his job and lies about it when he meets girls. Maybe it's to do with the rapid transformation of Korea - I mean, two generations ago, everyone was dirt poor, and no one wants to go back to that. I hope they'll get over all this stuff in the coming generations.

Who knows. Korea is a country that changes quickly, so you really never know what will happen next tbh, even in the 7 or 8 years that I've lived/been involved in that culture, it's changed massively.

Just don't ever come over expecting everything to be shiny and nice like some drama fans do because when an old fella hawks up a bunch of phlegm on the street or an old woman shoves you out of the way to get on the subway, the illusion is quickly destroyed lol.

boatyard couple dressing is real lol. Sometimes it's just small things (eg matching trainers), sometimes it's a colour scheme (eg black and white) and sometimes it's literally the entire outfit. I find it cringy and yet I still get sucked into it sometimes ha ha. I mean, it's one thing if we wear our matching jumpers, but if we bump into a western friend on the street wearing them...yeah, that's cringe tbh. Koreans wouldn't even think anything of it. Sure, you're a couple, you're couple dressing. Western friends will take the piss for days.

Western friends will take the piss for days

It’s very cheering to have new posters. We should soon have enough for a drunken team-building overnight trip to a lakeside cabin. cf just about every work-based Kdrama ever. I liked the moderate subversiveness of the Something in the Rain, where “old maid” Ji-Na (sp?) hits it off with all of her squeeze’s pretty young female colleagues and has a roaring time in their bunk room, while all the men (overhearing the hubbub) lament the relative lack of fun in their neighbouring room.

I’m in I’ll bring soju, someone else needs to bring vast quantities of meat & lettuce.

Cf Oh My Ghost, Shopping King Louis, What’s up with Secretary Kim

I could bring it in my truck....

I hope that’s not a white truck, Seadays?

Bettys am currently binging on "What's wrong with Secretary Kim" and am loving it!!!!
It's sooooo lovely and cheesy... I've decided it's like watching a Ruchard Curtis Film / Pretty Woman in 16 eps....(minus the traumtic storyline)

I'll bring the Watermelon! (and the Vapour of Life in case anyone feels unwell!)

Ok, so I can either bring:

• major issues and lots of drama, so long as you all promise no-one will lock me in an industrial chiller unit;
• supplies for the Korean BBQ;
• a guitar for the campfire singalong; or
• a cheesy team-building quiz.

Can you please bring Park Seo Joon?

My two best friends are Korean - one lives in Seoul, the other just outside Busan. They are both stunning - properly stunning - and 40, professionals and single. Busan friend is definitely single by choice. She has casual boyfriends from time to time but no interest in marriage whatsoever. She also has the filthiest sense of humour - she’s awesome. She has no intention of ever marrying for exactly the reasons given above - she has no desire to be an unpaid drudge for her in laws. It does seem to be more of a common attitude than it was.
Seoul friend, bless her, desperately wants to be married but has very much been confined to the shelf. She is so amazing but her self esteem is zero. She recently split from her boyfriend who basically told her he wanted a younger model. Twat. In England she would have men fighting over her but in Seoul she’s already an ahjumma. I worry about her a lot.

If anyone is interested in getting a Korean pen friend there’s a language exchange app I use call Tandem. It is primarily for finding people native in a language you want to learn and you both helping each other learn but admittedly a lot of people I find are happy to have a native English-language friend to talk to to help with their own learning - that’s how I started before I realised I wanted to learn the language. I also use Kakaotalk which is the Korean equivalent of WhatsApp but that’s for chatting to your new friends once you’ve made some - you won’t actually meet anyone on there.

Ok, Bulgogi recipe. You will need:

Beef stir fry strips (a pack or two if you’re a greedy mare like me)
Dark soy sauce
Light soy sauce
Sesame oil
Xioxing wine/ shaoxing wine*
Soft brown sugar
Ginger paste
Garlic paste
Cornflour
Instant ramen noodles (I actually find the cheap supermarket own brand far better than pricier one although Maggi brand is excellent and v cheap)

Dipping sauce:
Peanut butter
Sesame oil
Light soy sauce
Soft brown sugar

The shaoxing wine is the hardest to get - it’s worth it though! Waitrose sell a really good one. Tesco sell one that comes in a bottle like a smaller black wine bottle - I don’t recommend!! Never managed to taste it, it smelled like rotting fish and diesel oil. Seriously, I was scared to pour it down the sink in case it rusted my plastic pipes!

At least 30 mins before cooking:

1. Add 2 tbsp of cornflour, 2 tbsp of shaoxing wine, 2 tbsp of soy sauce and 3 tbsp of cold water to a large bowl and stir. Add the beef and stir so they’re marinating. Cover bowl with foil and chill for at least 30 mins.

Once at least 30 mins has passed:

• Add a tbsp of sesame oil to a hot frying pan on a mid-high heat and allow oil to heat until it’s smoking slightly (if you’re nervous you don’t have to get the oil that hot).
• Using tongs carefully add the marinated beef strips to the pan - it will spit and sizzle at first but as you add the rest of the beef it will settle down.
• Fry the beef until it’s no longer pink. You may need to drain off excess water at some point - if you don’t the beef will stew a bit and it won’t be so nice.

While the beef is cooking prepare the sauce:
1 tbsp of sesame oil
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp light soy sauce
Great big dollop of garlic past
Great big dollop of ginger paste

Stir!!

Once the beef is no longer pink add sauce and stir in. Fry on a high heat until the beef is a dark brown and the sauce looks thick.

Serve.

Now, if you want this to be extra good you’ll want to try my ramen with peanut dipping sauce.

While you’re making the sauce, boil a full kettle. Put boiled water into saucepan and pop in two packs of ramen - just the noodles, not the powder! Turn heat on high and cook until they’re loaded mp and noodly (about 3-4 minutes).

Drain all water from the noodles and return to heat. Add a dollop of sesame oil and fry them in the saucepan, stirring so they don’t stick or burn. After a minute or two remove from heat, serve with beef and dipped by sauce.

Make the dipping sauce in a small bowl:

• 1 tbsp soft brown sugar

1 tbsp sesame oil 2 tbsp soy sauce Two or three heaped spoons of smooth peanut butter

Stir until smooth. Bless the gods in thanks for bringing me into your lives.

Bless the gods in thanks for bringing me into your lives.

Oooh lots to catch up on

HeechulOppa Park Seo Joon is mine I tell you mine!! I follow him on Instagram so it's a done deal
Bea see above if you get any ideas after watching Secretary Kim

Disclaimer: I have had wine after a loooong day

HeechulOppa your friends sound amazing! I'm also worried about your friend in Seoul now
Kakaotalk I have heard about in My Secret Terrius - basically beats NIS hands down for information in that!
Bulgogi recipe looks amazing!