Let’s Eat

Food in Kdrama: An Obsession?

| kfangurl

Hi everyone!

Today’s post is a throwback sort of deal – surprise? 😁

Basically, not too long ago, JJ emailed me and suggested that I do throwback posts sometimes, to point you guys to older content that exists on the blog, but which you might not have discovered, because there’s just so much of it, now that the blog’s been around for a while.

AND THEN.. while I was auditing the site, checking for various things (like broken links, for one), I came across this post.

Not to toot my own horn, but I read this post, and thought, HEY, this is a pretty great topic, and a pretty good post – which many newer readers might not have come across.

And so, today, I bring you back to 2014 (gosh, has it been 8 years?!?), when I first published this post, where I talk about food as part of Korean culture.

I hope you guys enjoy.

KFG ❤️

Continue reading →

Dear kfangurl: What are some shows featuring relatable female leads?

| kfangurl

MC writes:

What shows have female leads that are relatable? Lately I get tired of watching candy girls with sad life stories yet are so cheery (I mean who would be so cheery if they had such a hard life!?).

I would love to watch shows with relatable female leads who have their good and bad days and grow through the bad days! I’m asking about female leads coz you did something similar for male leads.

Continue reading →

Dear kfangurl: What are your guilty pleasure dramas?

| kfangurl

Shahz writes:

Hey KFG. Hope you are well. An idea for “ask KFG” post was one around what your guilty pleasures are? And opening that same question up to the KFG community. In particular those that you couldn’t explain to a non K drama lover.

So for me three immediately come to mind. The first being “Secret Garden”. Body shifting, toxic couple. Female lead sometimes one note, an annoying mother but even though I watched this ten years after it was shown I still fell for all the iconic lines.

The second ” “You are Beautiful”. Cross dressing nun joins a pop band pretending to be her male twin. The chemistry between the OTP never sizzles but it is oh so sweet and actually what develops is a nurturing relationship despite the communication problems. And Jang Keun-suk is so mesmerising beautiful that you can’t take your eyes off him.

The third is” Don’t dare to dream”. Questionable OTP and questionable decisions and at one point the female lead dates both the ML and the second lead at the same but the sparkling chemistry between the leads makes this a great binge watch.

And an honourable mention for Masters Sun. FL sees ghosts and ML acts as a barrier to those ghosts but uses this power to manipulate the FL into furthering his interests but again the sizzling chemistry between the leads makes the show so bingeable”

Continue reading →

Dear kfangurl: Can you talk about single season vs. multi-season dramas?

| kfangurl

Entropyenator writes:

Hi KFangurl,

Absolutely LOVE your blog and best of luck in your journey to keep writing!

Two questions for you I hope you can help with, though they are sort of related:

1) Why is it so rare for kdramas to get more than 1 season?

2) What qualifies a kdrama to get a second season?

To explain a bit, I just finished Vincenzo (so amazing, SJK, JYB and the rest of the cast were brilliant, even if the logic got…stretched in some bits) but SJK’s interview right after the finale seems to indicate it won’t get a second season despite very very good ratings.

This seems to be the norm for kdramas–save very rare exceptions like Hospital Playlist and Age of Youth/Hello My Twenties. So what gives? Is it a different industry/culture thing? I do admit that I am based in the US, where, as long as a show doesn’t completely flop, getting at least 2-3 seasons is incredibly common.

Looking forward to your answer!

Continue reading →

Dear kfangurl: What are some dramas the man in my life might be willing to watch?

| kfangurl

This post is thanks to MeriJ, who suggested the topic “K-Roms Your BF/Husband Might Be Willing To Watch With You.”

I’ve also come across many drama fans who do sincerely wish that their significant others would share in their passion and watch dramas with them.

And since many of us are spending a lot more time at home these days because of the pandemic, and also because we recently had a great time helping Amethystwaves shortlist dramas to watch with her mom, I thought it’d be a good time to attempt to answer the question:

Dear kfangurl,

What are some dramas that the man in my life might be willing to watch with me?

Continue reading →

Dear kfangurl: What are some dramas I can watch with my mom?

| kfangurl

amethystwaves writes:

Dear Kfangurl,

I’ve been an active reader of yours since I got into K-Dramas, and I just have to say how helpful your reviews are to figure out whether a drama is worth my time or not.

Your humor is very similar to mine, and I just love reading your in-depth explanations about what makes the dramas I love so squee-inducing.

WITH THAT BEING SAID, we have a pressing problem at hand. I am a teenager, and because I am stuck at home with my parents and two brothers, we have been watching a lot of TV.

My mom has expressed interest in watching a K-drama with me, and while I love her to death, I am not super inclined to have her watch me scream over a hot Korean man.

So, my question to you is: How can I enjoy a K-drama with my mom without it being weird? Also, what do you think are some good dramas to watch with the family?

I would love to watch one with her, and she’s not bad about watching kissing scenes and the like with us, but how can i do it without making it awkward?

Anyways, sorry for unloading my familial insecurity onto you. Thank you for always being a reliable source for laughs, insight and good drama recommendations.

Happy watching,

amethystwaves

Continue reading →

Dropped: Radio Romance

| kfangurl

In the spirit of making better use of my drama hours – and making better use of time in general – I’m calling it quits earlier on this show than I would, normally.

Usually, if I can make it past the first episode or two of a show, I like to give it another couple of episodes at least, y’know, to give Show a chance to pull me into its story properly.

Lately, though, my drama hours have been much more limited than before, because I’ve been in the thick of getting ready to move (houses, not countries).

And, I’ve also learned a lesson with the moving; when you have very little space to accommodate all your stuff, you quickly learn to set the bar a lot higher, and become a lot more ruthless about culling stuff.

Turns out it works the exact same way with drama hours; because my drama hours are so much fewer now, I find myself setting the bar a lot higher, and becoming a lot more ruthless about dropping dramas.

Who knew, that moving house would teach me such an important lesson about managing my drama hours, and honing my Dropping Reflex? Heh.

Continue reading →

Flash Review: My Daughter Seo Young

| kfangurl

Y’know, there was a time when I literally wouldn’t have touched this show with a ten-foot pole. Seriously.

Partly, it was because the premise didn’t interest me all that much. Partly, it was also because at 50 episodes, My Daughter Seo Young was a big commitment, and I could think of many much more interesting places to spend those drama hours.

Especially since I wasn’t all that interested in the premise. Mostly, though, it was because I didn’t care too much for Lee Bo Young as an actress (note the use of past tense!), and couldn’t see myself sitting through a long drama where she played the protagonist.

To think that I now have not only finished the entire show (50 whole episodes!), but would recommend it to other drama fans too. Wow, right?

So what made me pick this up again in recent months? Well, I’m gonna hafta say, it’s mostly coz Lee Sang Yoon looks roguishly delish with a shadow of a goatee. 😉

Continue reading →

Flash Review: Bromance [TW Drama]

| kfangurl

Have you ever loved a drama in spite of its multitude of shortcomings? Like, it’s got so many flaws that you can’t help but roll your eyes sometimes (or maybe more like a lot of the time).

And yet, it’s got That One Thing going for it, that’s so awesome that it makes the watch completely cracktastic.

Which is how you end up watching an entire Very Flawed Drama, for the sake of that One Thing?

Yep. Exactly what happened here, you guys. I was literally hooked on Bromance for a good part of its run, so much so that it was the show that I looked forward to the most, each week.

This, when I usually have a ridiculous amount of trouble getting into Taiwanese dramas as a general rule, and therefore typically don’t even bother checking them out anymore.

Woah, right?

Continue reading →

Review: Let’s Eat 2

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

In true sibling fashion, Let’s Eat 2 looks kinda-sorta like the first Let’s Eat, but, like almost all siblings the world over, is really its own beast, with its own distinct personality and character.

The characters took a while to grow on me, but they ultimately proved to be a warm and endearing lot.

And even though the food shots aren’t quite as glorious as the ones in Season 1, Show makes up for it this season, with less intrusive PPL in general, and even better, an improved, more cohesive narrative handle too.

While it may take a while for fans of Season 1 to come around, I eventually found Let’s Eat 2 to be just as warm, endearing and tasty as its predecessor.

Continue reading →