In this episode, we talk about how K-dramas became a highly profitable export long before the entry of streaming platforms in the mid 2010s. This is a story of a nation's economic crisis, the creation of a unique opportunity, and a two decade long struggle for air wave supremacy in East Asia. Leave us your thoughts in a voice note here: <Recording Page> LINKS MENTIONED: Korean Dramas Adopt Pre-Produced Format to Mixed Results (article) The Reason SBS Missed Out on "Descendants of the Sun" and "Signal" (article) Romantic blockbusters: the co-commissioning of Korean network-devel ..read more

We are back with a long yak on three dramas we started 2024 with: Doctor Slump, Marry My Husband, and Like Flowers In Sand. This episode was recorded on 11th February. Our feelings on these dramas have stayed the same (with Doctor Slump getting special love for staying so reliably warm till the end). Leave us your thoughts in a voice note here: <Recording Page> LINKS MENTIONED: Support Gaza through the Palestine Children's Relief Fund here. TIMESTAMP: 00:01:50 - Doctor Slump 00:45:57 - Like Flowers In Sand 01:06:15 - Marry My Husband LEAVE US A REVIEW: Apple podcasts | Spotify | Audible ..read more

Awards season is the perfect time for us to share our review of Past Lives, our favorite film of last year. Saya, Anisa and our friend Yunah talk about why this movie's meditations on grief, love, diaspora and selfhood spoke to us so deeply. (We recorded this at the end of last year.) Leave us your thoughts in a voice note here: <Recording Page> TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Overall thoughts 20:39 Spoilers LEAVE US A REVIEW: Apple podcasts | Spotify | Audible! MORE EPISODES YOU'LL LIKE: Episode 89: Our review of Minari, also with Yunah Episode 153: Crash Landing on You and the unbearable sadness of ..read more

The 5th Annual Goguma Awards have landed! Your votes have been tallied and the results range from unexpected to unsurprising, all of which we dissect with glee. Get your tea and biscuits, it's long! Leave us your thoughts in a voice note here: <Recording Page> LINKS MENTIONED: Actor Jin: The Handsome Hotelier TIMESTAMP: 00:00:00 - Introducing the Goguma Awards 00:02:46 - The Classic Gogumas 00:17:47 - Your Top 3 Dramas of 2023 00:25:27 - The Wild Gogumas 01:11:15 - Create Your Own: Listener Awards! 01:49:36 - Patreon Roll Call of Love and Appreciation ? 01:55:08 - Love note to all our li ..read more

The Year-End Yak is here! Or Part 1 anyway, where we talk about what K-dramas did this year, and how we felt about them. Goguma Awards coming in Part 2! Leave us your thoughts in a voice note here: <Recording Page> LINKS MENTIONED: Paroma's excellent 2023 Wrap for Film Companion Paroma's My Demon Halfway Review (Spoilers) K-drama Research Institute's video essay We Need to Talk About Netflix K-dramas Jae-Ha Kim's article Rest in Peace, Lee Sun-kyun TIMESTAMP: 00:04:17 2023 K-drama trends 00:50:07 Saya, Anisa and Paroma's personal year in dramas 01:25:16 Notable podcast moments! 1:37:06 A ..read more

If you missed our callout for votes for the 5th Annual Goguma Awards, or if you simply haven't had a chance to vote yet, we've extended the deadline! Vote here for the dramas you loved and hated, the OTPs that made you swoon, the actors who blew you away with their talent in 2023. See you in the Year-End Yak ..read more

Just Saya popping in to share her thoughts on an assortment of dramas: a mixture of bright and dark, exquisite and questionable, therapeutic and aggravating. In short: My Demon is darkbright and exquisite, Death's Game is just dark, Park's Marriage Contract is bright and aggravating, and Welcome to Samdal-ri is therapeutic, bright, and funnier than it should be. Content warning for discussion of suicide in Death's Game and Welcome to Samdal-ri. Take care and skip if needed by using the timestamps below. Leave us your thoughts in a voice note here: <Recording Page> LINKS MENTIONED: An int ..read more

Perfect Marriage Revenge is a drama that kept all its promises: revenge! marriage! perfect! We revel in how the drama revels in its story, with special props to writer Im Seo-ra for some of the best writing in dramaland this year. SPOILERS EVERYWHERE, BEWARE BEWARE! Feat. beloved and returning guest, Zaynab, who does not want to be found. Leave us your thoughts in a voice note here: <Recording Page> LINKS MENTIONED: Our new youtube channel, Bangtan Over Flowers. LEAVE US A REVIEW: Apple podcasts | Spotify | Audible! MORE EPISODES YOU'LL LIKE: Episode 164: A Long Yak on Castaway Diva, Per ..read more

Saya and Anisa talk about 8(!) dramas, including writer Park Hre-ryun's newest Castaway Diva, gorgeous romance melodrama Call it Love, and the actually perfect Perfect Marriage Revenge. Lots of time travel, revenge and contract relationships in this one, so you know we're both happy campers. Leave us your thoughts in a voice note here: <Recording Page> TIMESTAMPS: 00:01:00 Castaway Diva 00:12:24 Spoilers for Castaway 1-4 00:21:38 Daily Dose of Sunshine 00:31:09 Twinkling Watermelon 00:46:39 Vigilante 00:56:59 Call it Love 01:11:06 Nine: Nine Times Time Travel 01:20:43 A very long Park Hy ..read more

We are joined by kfangurl on an ultimate fan trip episode where we deep dive into a cult classic time slip romance that set new standards in storytelling for all of us. This drama has also been recently remade into the Korean, A Time Called You, which we discussed in episode 161. Tell us your thoughts about either drama in a voice note here: <Recording Page> LINKS MENTIONED: Paroma's twitter post on face blurring <link> the fangirl verdict blog <link> TIMESTAMP: 00:01:52 - Introducing Someday or One Day: plot, characters and cast 00:15:11 - How is Someday or One Day quintesse ..read more