Grace welcomes guest Ryan Estrada, co-author of the critically acclaimed graphic novel Banned Book Club to the show. We discuss Ryan's work and the history and culture of protest in South Korea. We also get a sneak peek behind the scenes of a Kdrama on which Ryan was an extra. And, in the language section, we talk about how easy it is (for some) to learn the Korean alphabet.

Find Ryan online at:
www.ryanestrada.com
@ryanestrada.com on Bluesky
@ryanestradadotcom on Instagram
@ryanestrada on X

Dramas and movies mentioned on this show:
Squid Game (2021)
JSA (2000)
Memories of Murder (2003)
Castaway on the Moon (20099
Break Out (2002)
Youth of May (2021)
Tempest (not yet released)

Sarah, Grace, and guests Megan (from Afternoona Delight podcast) and Kalena (from AD Patreon) chat about the Fallen for Seo In Guk fan meetings in Los Angeles and Washington DC. We discuss Seo In Guk's filmography and fandom, his beautiful live singing, and the hilarious and endearing games and fan service prepared for the event. We also talk about the perks and pitfalls of VIP tickets and the amazing vibes among fan meet attendees.

Show Notes:
Sarah and Megan's deep dive of Death's Game for Afternoona Delight (also available on your favorite podcast platform)
https://www.afternoonadelight.com/podcast/episode/faec72d2/deaths-game-no-filler-all-killer

Seo In Guk's Birth Secret Revelation
https://youtu.be/O9LPrE8i0R0?si=VWiVb7PUV2B64EY-

Seo In Guk Youtube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/@seoinguk8178

Megan - 5 faves watched in the past 6 months

4minutes (Scifi Thai BL)

Gyeongseong creature 2 (Horror)

My Sweet Mobster (Romcom)

No Gain No Love (Romcom)

Blackout (Twisty thriller)

Kalena - 5 examples from fave genres

365 Repeat the year (twisty time travel)

Let me be your knight (Kpop idol)

Shooting stars (satirical look at the entertainment industry)

Life (hospital stories)

Doom at your service (epic/philosophical fantasy romance)

The instagram friend Megan mentions:

@kdramabingo - look for funny hi/bye story

Grace welcomes fellow Korean American, Lisa, as a guest this episode to talk about Park Chan-wook's 2000 film Joint Security Area and compare notes on our personal experiences of Hallyu. We discuss the standing of the film as an early Hallyu success, its moving and humanizing portrayal of soldiers from both sides of the armistice line, the impact of Korea's division on the psyche of its people both at home and abroad, and the tension and longing that characterize relations between each side of the divided peninsula. We also discuss the differences in Korean language usage between North and South Korea in the language section.

Find Lisa on Youtube, posting on the ARMY Auntie channel (@ARMYAuntie777), and @chibifromouterspace on Instagram.

Dramas we reference during the show:
Get Karl
Law School
Divorce Attorney Shin
Hyena
Extraordinary Attorney Woo
Wonderful World
Why Her?
Dinner Mate
My Dearest
25/21
CLOY
Jewel in the Palace
Go Back Couple
Tomorrow
Knight Flower

Films we reference during the show:
Secret Reunion
Lone Star
Memento
Shiri

We are delighed to be joined by Dr Seo Hyojin, who is a gender and labour market sociologist and an international and interdisciplinary scholar. Hyojin currently work as Post-doctoral Researcher for a Horizon Europe project EqualHouse at the Department of Sociology, Tilburg University (NL). She joins us to chat about women in the South Korean workforce and which Korean Dramas portray different elements. We also go on to talk about how much women's inquality in the workplace impact the low birth rate.

We found the discussion fascinating and hope you do too!

Notes for this show:
Dr Hyojin Seo biography
4B Movement Explainer
Korea Times article on parental leave take up
Professor Heejung Chung Twitter

We had so much fun diving deep into one of Grace's top comfort dramas, the 2010 sageuk Sungkyunkwan Scandal. We were excited to have Gavin join us again to discuss the historical backdrop, queer-coded characters, and surprisingly liberal version of Confucianism we find in this "Joseon Coffee Prince." Join us to discuss this gender swap historical drama, in Park Min Young's breakout role. We start with a spoiler free section so you can listen to see if this might be a drama for you!

Note - Sarah mentions JK Rowling upset Taiwanese people over her criticism of a Taiwanese Olympian, Lin Yu Ting, and her eligibilty to compete in Women's sport. However, Sarah referred to her as trans, which is incorrect, as Lin Yu Ting is a cis-gendered woman (which makes it worse!). For more on this story, check out this Focus Taiwan news piece.

If you have not yet listened to the other episodes in our Confucian series, you can find them here:

An Introduction to Confucianism for Asian Drama Fans

And here:

My Dearest Unpacked with a Confucian Lens

For those interested in more from Yoo Ah In, Chicago Typewriter is available to watch free-with-ads on Pluto TV (thank you to our fellow Patreon member who tracked this down!)

We're back with another episode to discuss travelling to Seoul - Sarah was lucky to return for another work trip this summer! This time she had some time to go for some experiences: a hair spa, a facial and some kimchi making. She also tried soy marinated crab and met 2 Korean Instagram influencers! Check out the episode to hear about more things to do in Seoul.

Show Notes:

Hair spa: Sarah went to ParkJun Beauty Lab Cheongdam branch. For more details and to book go to their Instagram page
Massage and Facial: Sarah went to : CheongKwanJang SPA 1899 DONGINBI in Daechi, which she booked via Klook
Kimchi Making: Sarah did this with Jomin, which she booked via AirBnB
Influencers she met:
Tour Guide: @wookeunshin
Cooking Influencer: @_cookim_
Spots mentioned:
Ihwa Mural Village
Seoul City Wall Trail
Cheonggyecheon Stream

We are delighted to be joined this episode by Emma from EmmaB Videos, a fan video editor and fellow Asian drama fangirl. We get to know Emma and her tastes in drama - both Asian and Western - and we speak to her about where she gets her inspiration from for her fab video edits. Check out our show and then enjoy Emma's amazing video edits via her socials below.

Please check out the shownotes below for links to EmmaB's social media pages as well as other content mentioned in the podcast.

Follow EmmaB.Videos on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram

Check out her videos for:
Love Between Fairy & Devil
Lovely Runner
Doom At Your Service
The KDrama Megamix!

Video editors that inspire Emma:
https://www.youtube.com/@hurleybird

https://www.youtube.com/@Shainira

We had so much fun speaking with fellow Patreon member Lindsay about learning Korean. We share our language learning experiences, our favorite resources and strategies for learning, as well as our Korean learning goals and dreams of all the different ways we'll be able to use Korean as we improve. See how well you follow along with our snippets of Korean conversation and relate to the struggles and joy of diving into a new language or brushing up on an old one.

Korean Language Learning Resources:

King Sejong Institute (online and in-person classes)

Talk to Me In Korean (self-teaching books and resources)

Naver Webtoon App (Korean version)

Busuu (self teaching app)

LingoDeer (self teaching app)

Teuida (self teaching app)

iTalki (language exchange/tutor app)

AmazingTalker (language exchange/tutor app)

Essential Korean Podcast

Go Billy (explanations from POV of native English speaker)

How to Study Korean (explanations from POV of native English speaker)

HanBooks.com (source for books written in Korean or translated into Korean)

"Comprehensible input" (search term for beginner resources on YouTube)