Category: Korea

K-Drama Report: Bon Appétit, Your Majesty, Part II

September 26, 2025

In its second act, Bon Appétit, Your Majesty levels up from good to great to excellent at blistering speed, centered around the latest challenge for royal chef Ji-yeong: a competition against legendary Chinese cooks to decide Joseon’s fate with the Ming dynasty. At the start, I worried the show would adopt a “dish of the week” structure, with Ji-yeong making food for King Yi Heon alone until they eventually fell in love. How would they make that interesting each time? Instead, we have this latest contest which animates the entire palace, setting conspiracies into motion and raising the stakes to the level of national consequence. The Ming envoy, Director Yu Kun, walks with the authority of his emperor, turning each exchange with the Joseon king into a careful game of feints and doublespeak. The contest itself occupies two episodes – contained almost entirely to one location – with two additional episodes of build-up. It’s remarkable, and I’ll just say now that I can’t remember the last time a K-drama made me cry like Bon Appétit’s ninth episode, with the contest’s surprising climax. … More K-Drama Report: Bon Appétit, Your Majesty, Part II

K-Drama Report: Bon Appétit, Your Majesty (2025)

September 22, 2025

Finally. You know, Yoona’s an interesting case. I’ve previously discussed how she’s this deific figure in hallyu but often plays the most mundane characters in K-dramas (faring a bit better in film, by all appearances). She takes us behind the scenes of these shows on her YouTube channel and she’s so enthusiastic, and I wish I could be, too. I really do. Unfortunately, it’s gotten to the point where Yoona’s not a selling point anymore. On one hand, she’s drawn to these safe, relatively unchallenging roles, but on the other, I don’t know if I’d be comfortable with her unsafe, thrown into the deep end of Korean movies and TV. Take Lim Ji-yeon, for example, who’s had a five-star career and now everyone knows she’s a brilliant actress, but Christ, does she get her ass kicked. She plays an abused wife in Lies Hidden in My Garden and a runaway slave in The Tale of Lady Ok. Award-nominated performances, but it’s too much for me to handle. The price of being a badass, really. A badass woman, mind you; no price for guys. Oh, I’m so nervous for my sweet baby Shasha in Project Y. I’d much rather watch Yoona in a reality show like Hyori’s Homestay or any old Girls’ Generation content, where we also see her actual, though still guarded, personality. … More K-Drama Report: Bon Appétit, Your Majesty (2025)

Palace-Minded Man | Uprising (2024) Review

September 12, 2025

The 2024 historical epic Uprising is about two things: the Japanese killing Koreans, and Koreans killing Koreans. This is literally the experience in an early sequence of two cross-cut battles, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s samurai advance beyond the Han River in the first invasion of the Imjin War, and the hungry Joseon masses turn on the fleeing King Seonjo (who Wikipedia notes shouldn’t be confused with Sejong the Great). Fans of the recent Shogun will remember Hideyoshi as the taiko whose death incites the feudal struggle for power, briefly embodied as “Nakamura Hidetoshi” by my man Yukijirô Hotaru, of Zeiram (and not actually featured in Uprising). Apparently, this guy was trying to take Korea all the way till his consequential death in 1598. And fans of Netflix’s Kingdom will remember the Imjin War, the historical backdrop to that tragically short-lived zombie masterpiece. Well, rejoice for now, as Uprising shares the same brutal world of beheadings, cannibals, and funny hats – stopping short at zombies, of course, but not before outrageous political corruption. It’s a timely tale of ancient revolution against a cruel aristocracy. … More Palace-Minded Man | Uprising (2024) Review

Thrice | KPop Demon Hunters (2025) Review

July 6, 2025

I have a friend who’s a bit of a troll. She wanted to watch KPop Demon Hunters and wanted more, perhaps, for me to watch it. Her logic was sound: “You like K-pop!” to which I noted I also like movies, and that doesn’t mean I’m rushing out to watch F1 this weekend. Nor for that matter, Elio, live-action Lilo & Stitch, or live-action How to Train Your Dragon – really, guys? Three at the same time? Anyway, my logic here is sounder: those movies are for babies. Of course, I’ve enjoyed movies for babies, especially when I was a baby, as well as movies empty of thought or weight. One doesn’t need to approach a work of art or entertainment in the exact same way each time, and we understand this implicitly, setting different expectations based on genre, content rating, and so on. Still, a lot of the criticisms I have for KPop Demon Hunters can be brushed aside with “It’s a kids’ movie,” leaving me in the impossible situation of having watched a movie I wasn’t meant to watch. … More Thrice | KPop Demon Hunters (2025) Review

K-Drama Report: Queen’s House – Art by Other Means

June 24, 2025

As is mentioned just about anytime we talk about K-dramas here, the taxonomy of Korean television is complicated, inconsistent, infuriating. I’ve seen some people call Squid Game a K-drama, but to my mind, K-dramas are the romance shows – to which there is no further sufficient term. We’ve seen how these are not like the American soap operas of quantity over quality, all weird frame rates and embarrassing storytelling, were anyone paying attention. No, K-dramas sport high production values and command A-list talent. Like IU! Sure, even the best of them can be emotionally manipulative and turn on plot contrivance, but they’re not trash. They’re not disposable, and how dare you insinuate otherwise? Believe me, if they were, I’d be honest about that. Honesty? It’s the only thing I have left. … More K-Drama Report: Queen’s House – Art by Other Means

When Stars Align

June 6, 2025

It happened. Friend, it finally happened. For a while, I’ve been meaning to write at least two blog segments (these posts are supposed to come in threes), one about Irene & Seulgi’s new release Tilt and the other about issues facing international fans of K-pop, so this new development would’ve completed the match-three puzzle and into this world a blog post’d be born. But I’m afraid I can’t do that. This one stands alone. Last July, I’d mentioned that Gyuri of Kara opened a YouTube channel seemingly with the express purpose of one day inviting on her idol Seulgi of Red Velvet. As she’d express how much she’s been a longtime fan, I’d watch Seulgi hang out with countless other idols – including Gyuri’s own groupmate Youngji. What a traitor! I know how hard it is for such in-demand people to coordinate their schedules, but finally, the stars aligned – Seulgi has a new album to promote, and it’s Gyuri’s birthday. … More When Stars Align

The Streak

May 28, 2025

When BTS went on hiatus on account of military service, I will admit to worrying about the future of hallyu. Surely, one day, this fever will break, right? Trends never last. It would help, I think, if some of the key players became household names in, say, America, the way they have in other countries. Understandably, Korean names are more difficult to remember and pronounce than, for example, Japanese names. Back in the day, we had the crossover efforts chronicled on this site — “Gianna” Jun in Blood: The Last Vampire, Lee Byung-hun in GI Joe and Red — and they didn’t really go anywhere. Well, they went back to Korea. Remember Choi Min-sik in Lucy? What do you mean no? Jesus, live-action Blood comes up way too often on this website. … More The Streak

New Sluggie

March 10, 2025

It’s Seulgi Day, which is typically cause for celebration around these parts. Unfortunately, her lead single “Baby, Not Baby” arrives at the conjunction of two emerging threads: one, my own gradual realization that Red Velvet members don’t really make Red Velvet music when pursuing solo work (made clear by Irene, who does), and two, the promotional build-up to Seulgi’s solo album being kind of a bummer. The very album title, Accidentally On Purpose, makes me a little nauseous. … More New Sluggie

Starship of Fools | Mickey 17 (2025) Review

March 8, 2025

It’s been a long winter. If I’m getting into my car these days, it’s to go to the grocery store to continue stocking up on canned goods for the coming economic recession or government collapse or whatever it’s gonna be. Tonight, as I waited for the engine to warm, I asked myself: “Do I really want to see this movie?” It was kind of an obligation, for two reasons. One, I’ve been writing a sci-fi story about clones and needed to know if I should stop, and two, Parasite was so good that I owe Director Bong. I’d also managed to avoid all trailers and plot details – even the cast list, beyond Pattinson – so why spoil that now, though it’s probably why I was feeling so neutral. What was there to excite me but the promise of another Bong Joon-ho movie? He’s been a little hit-or-miss, though I’m not sure if it’s just because I vibe so much with his friend and colleague Park Chan-wook. That man can ruin my night any day of the week, and by comparison, Bong’s sillier, more welcoming sensibilities are less appealing. As a sci-fi movie with a funny premise, Mickey 17 seemed to promise the same thrills of The Host or Okja – undoubtedly with that satirical bite. … More Starship of Fools | Mickey 17 (2025) Review

Not Another ‘Baby Assassins’ Review

January 26, 2025

No, really, though. Recently, I re-subscribed to Hi-Yah! on Amazon to watch Corey Yuen’s She Shoots Straight, off Donovan’s sterling recommendation. Great movie. Classic girl-forward Yuen but before his CGI fixation with So Close and DOA. I was browsing around at what else I could watch to justify the subscription for the month and noticed not only Baby Assassins but Baby Assassins 2. Oh, right! Yes, I’ve been meaning to get into those movies ever since it was only “that movie.” And now, as I discover, there are three? And a TV series? Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that the third film, Baby Assassins: Nice Days, is not yet streaming on Hi-Yah!, nor is the series Baby Assassins: Everyday. They only premiered last year. Had I been in on the ground floor, I would’ve at least been able to watch Everyday on Dailymotion, but now I can’t find anything – and am devastated. … More Not Another ‘Baby Assassins’ Review