While Beanies are scattered across the globe and living in many different climates and seasons right now, the winter blues are still a thing for a lot of us. To...
Nevertheless
Is age just a number? We often talk about age in K-dramas as it relates to romantic relationships, but what if we take a step back and look at...
Parasite
What with Bong Joon-ho's Parasite making Oscar history and all, there's been a lot of talk about subtitles in the press of late. It seems translated words on the...
It's always been interesting to me that K-drama lovers are always very cognizant of their point of entry -- i.e., everyone has asked herself at some point, "How did...
Location and setting are used in powerful ways to help tell stories. Korean dramas in particular often capitalize on foreign settings or location changes to give depth and context. But...
Of the many things that Korean dramas do well, one of my favorites is meta. Half fan service, half navel-gazing statement on the act of creation, meta is an undeniable...
As K-drama devotees, we are all familiar with the necessary evil/drama-funder known as "PPL," or product placement. If you're a non-Korean watcher, you might not realize that each drama...
Okay, I'm excited about this comeback. Writer Yang Hee-seung of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju, Oh My Ghostess, and High School King of Savvy is back with a new drama for...
Strong Woman Do Bong-soon
There’s something about this concept of dramaland catnip that really appeals to me—the tropes or elements of a drama that lure me back in...
We're eternally in catch-up mode for our podcasts, since time tends to move faster than we've been able to make them, but this time we're determined to cover some lost...
Five drama recommendations… for the winter blues
by DB Staff
While Beanies are scattered across the globe and living in many different climates and seasons right now, the winter blues are still a thing for a lot of us. To...
Tags: A Piece of Your Mind, Drama recommendations, featured2, Find Me in Your Memory, Flower Boy Next Door, Pinocchio, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju
From youth romances to mid-life melos: K-drama and storytelling perspectives
by missvictrix
Nevertheless Is age just a number? We often talk about age in K-dramas as it relates to romantic relationships, but what if we take a step back and look at...
Tags: A Couple's World, Cheese in the Trap, Dear My Friends, Extracurricular, Graceful Friends, Mine, Nevertheless, On the Verge of Insanity, On the Way to the Airport, Racket Boys, School 2017, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju, When My Love Blooms
Subtitles: Barrier or gateway?
by missvictrix
Parasite What with Bong Joon-ho's Parasite making Oscar history and all, there's been a lot of talk about subtitles in the press of late. It seems translated words on the...
Tags: Boys Before Flowers, Crash Landing on You, editorial, Legend of the Blue Sea, Man to Man, Parasite, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju
K-drama problems: Tumbling down the rabbit hole
by missvictrix
It's always been interesting to me that K-drama lovers are always very cognizant of their point of entry -- i.e., everyone has asked herself at some point, "How did...
Tags: Boys Before Flowers, City Hunter, editorial, Sassy Go Go, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju
The emotion of the ocean
by missvictrix
Location and setting are used in powerful ways to help tell stories. Korean dramas in particular often capitalize on foreign settings or location changes to give depth and context. But...
Tags: Boys Before Flowers, editorial, Flower Boy Next Door, Lie To Me, Nice Guy, The K2, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju
The magical world of meta
by missvictrix
Of the many things that Korean dramas do well, one of my favorites is meta. Half fan service, half navel-gazing statement on the act of creation, meta is an undeniable...
Tags: editorial, I'm Not a Robot, Let's Eat, Memories of the Alhambra, My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho, Oh My Ghostess, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju, What's Wrong With Secretary Kim, W–Two Worlds, You're Beautiful
PPL: The good, the bad, and the ugly
by missvictrix
As K-drama devotees, we are all familiar with the necessary evil/drama-funder known as "PPL," or product placement. If you're a non-Korean watcher, you might not realize that each drama...
Tags: Boyfriend, Hundred Million Stars From the Sky, Memories of the Alhambra, My ID Is Gangnam Beauty, Tomorrow With You, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju, You From Another Star
Ji Sung, Han Ji-min team up with Weightlifting Fairy writer for tvN
by girlfriday
Okay, I'm excited about this comeback. Writer Yang Hee-seung of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju, Oh My Ghostess, and High School King of Savvy is back with a new drama for...
Tags: Familiar Wife, Han Ji-min, Ji Sung, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju
[Dramaland Catnip] When the hero falls first
by girlfriday
Strong Woman Do Bong-soon There’s something about this concept of dramaland catnip that really appeals to me—the tropes or elements of a drama that lure me back in...
Tags: Answer Me 1997, I Hear Your Voice, Jealousy Incarnate, Plus Nine Boys, Propose, Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim, Strong Woman Do Bong-soon, Theme of the Month, Twenty Again, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju
Dramabeans Podcast #35
by javabeans
We're eternally in catch-up mode for our podcasts, since time tends to move faster than we've been able to make them, but this time we're determined to cover some lost...
Tags: featured, Hwarang, Legend of the Blue Sea, Solomon's Perjury, The Lonely Shining Goblin, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju