PCF K-Drama Fan Thread (2 Viewers)

I love South Korea and was lucky enough to be stationed there twice. If you can arrange it, a must-do is a tour of the DMZ. It was easy to arrange for military members because the bases all do tours and take you to some special places like the Panmunjom Joint Security Area where the negotiations between north and south take place. You can even go into the negotiation building that spans the demarkation line and walk "into North Korea" by walking to the far side of the building, It's very eerie to have North Korean soldiers around watching you and South Korean soldiers guarding you while there. Some tours also take you to go inside tunnels that were discovered from the North burrowing under the DMZ into South Korea and some great viewing areas to look down into the DMZ no-man's land and propaganda villages that the North has created along the border.

Joint Security Area Panmunjom

Go hiking in a South Korean park. Hiking is an enjoyed activity and the parks are all beautiful. I went hiking many times in the mountains around Seoul and it was really sobering to be walking on a trail and come across a manned anti-aircraft gun pointing North. You won't see that in other places but in those mountains north of Seoul.

Go see the Korean War Museum in Seoul.

If you can spare the day or two from your itinerary, go see Jeju Island at the southern tip of the Penninsula.

And if you can add several days to your trip, while you are traveling so far already, why not see some very special places only short flights away from Seoul like Cambodia's Angkor Wat which is an amazing place as special as the Pyramids of Egypt. Also Thailand or Vietnam are great places to spend a couple of days.
Those are great tips, thank you!
 
Korean dramas are hugley popular in the Philippines.
Seoul is awesome to visit. Really enjoyed the Walker Hill casino
I heard the huge mega games are in Korea now, Jeju I think?
My wife is Chinese originally from the Philippines as a lot of Chinese are from the Philippines including my father. She is really into Korean Dramas and has watched a lot of them. After the Hallmark Movies Korean Dramas are right up there as the shows she watches most.
 
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Thank you for turning me on to K Dramas. I especially love " Extraordinary Attorney Woo Young Woo" Kayak, deed, rotator, noon, racecar. Feel in love with autistic Korean Attorney.
 
Thank you for turning me on to K Dramas. I especially love " Extraordinary Attorney Woo Young Woo" Kayak, deed, rotator, noon, racecar. Feel in love with autistic Korean Attorney.
Such a good show. My favorite moment is in episode 11 (the gambling one) where she finally understands a joke. Pure joy. She’s an extraordinary actress.

Have you watched CLOY yet?
 
Such a good show. My favorite moment is in episode 11 (the gambling one) where she finally understands a joke. Pure joy. She’s an extraordinary actress.

Have you watched CLOY yet?
Not yet but if it's half as good as Extraordinary Attorney Woo Young Woo I'm hooked. I'll watch out for episode 11.
 
Not yet but if it's half as good as Extraordinary Attorney Woo Young Woo I'm hooked. I'll watch out for episode 11.
It’s better — different genre, but the chemistry between the leads is unexplainable.
 
After catching up on all my non K-Drama series/shows, I started to think about all the Korean films I’ve watched (that I can remember).

Parasite
Oldboy
The Handmaiden
I Saw the Devil
Burning
Mother
Train to Busan
A Taxi Driver
Minari

And although I’ve heard good things about the original Money Heist while hearing the opposite reaction to the Korean version, I’ve just started episode 1 for the sake of this thread.
 
One thing you notice after watching as many hours of K-dramas as I have is this characteristic guttural sound that is made during conversation that extend or emphasize certain words. I almost listen for it now. Usually overused by the comic relief characters, it seems very specific to the Korean language.

I kept looking around for an explanation of it, and finally found one.

 
One thing you notice after watching as many hours of K-dramas as I have is this characteristic guttural sound that is made during conversation that extend or emphasize certain words. I almost listen for it now. Usually overused by the comic relief characters, it seems very specific to the Korean language.

I kept looking around for an explanation of it, and finally found one.

You nailed it: used for emphasis, but nowadays more for comic relief. I’m guessing when you see it, the sound is greatly exaggerated, like in the linked video.
 
I just finished Twenty Five Twenty One, and I continue to be amazed by how great these shows are.

As you start looking for formulas, you realize there are some common characteristics among the best of them.

Korean dramas offer a near-perfect balance of predictability and originality.

Their story arcs skim a ton of tried and tested tropes: rags to riches, rich boy meets poor girl, rich Chaebol heiress falls for boy from the wrong side of town, children defy their parents’ wishes and strike out on their own.

But, as a Stanford scholar put it,

[they have a Korean twist: Characters are deferential to their elders, sons and daughters are filial. The backdrop is hyper-modern and glitzy. The actors are polished and attractive. They play characters that are charming, vulnerable, and have a healthy dose of self-deprecation. The scripts are full of good humor. Of course, there is often a dark twist: suffocating expectation, crushing poverty, a profound secret that must not get revealed. Korean dramas humanize even the most aloof billionaires and get audiences to care – and usually, all they ask of us is 16 hours of our time.]

I’m just about to start another one. Can’t wait.
 
Just about to finish CLOY. Unreal. So Good! I really liked the main North Korean Villain. He was despicable but I ended up empathizing with him at the time of his death. WoW!
 
Just about to finish CLOY. Unreal. So Good! I really liked the main North Korean Villain. He was despicable but I ended up empathizing with him at the time of his death. WoW!
Isn’t the chemistry between Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin something else? It’s some of the best I’ve ever seen, in any language, in any genre.
 
I don't want to spoil anything but consider Snowdrop and Flower of Evil. I wouldn't say they're going to satiate your Crash Landing on You high, but I think they're both solid!
 
Isn’t the chemistry between Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin something else? It’s some of the best I’ve ever seen, in any language, in any genre.
Oh Man, I really loved them both. What a great love story and they're married in real life. I still get all teared up thinking of it. WOW!!!
 
Anyone here watch The Genius Game? I believe there are 4 seasons. A few people have recommended it to me recently. I believe one of the contestants recently won a WSOP bracelet too.
 
I just watched Bloodhounds. It is 8 episodes. Episodes 1-6 are like a completely different show than episodes 7-8. Weird. But totally worth watching.
 
I watched XO Kitty, the American K-drama on Netflix. I liked it. Very cute, but very typical high school drama among the kids and not quite enough drama with the adults. Will watch season 2 whenever Netflix releases it.
 
This has been mentioned already, but Kingdom was fantastic. Amazing production values and the premise (zombie apocalypse in medieval Korea) was great.
 

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