Yes, we know that 2024 is only half over but we seriously doubt another drama will top The Atypical Family. This is an incredibly creative series with complex characters, gorgeous cinematography, amazing performances and the most unique OST we've ever heard. But this drama hasn't gotten the love it deserves from Kdrama fans. We want everyone to hop on board and discover this gem!  

In today's episode Melanie, Vickey and Alisa are joined by Joanne Beveridge (@jmbeveridge on Twitter/X) to dive into exactly what has made Lovely Runner the biggest sleeper Kdrama hit of 2024. Some stats:

After an extended break we're back with our discussion of the underrated BL gem Be My Favorite starring Krist & Gawin/Fluke. Kudos to director Waasuthep Ketpetch for producing one of the best BLs we've ever watched and one of our fave dramas of any genre from 2023.

Our podcast team had a mixed 2022. Some of us felt fed, some of us felt seriously let down by Korean shows this year and some of us fell in love with dramas in countries outside of Korea. 

5:35 My Liberation Notes

10:53 Extraordinary Attorney Woo

22:25 Little Women

24:30 Discussion of dramas with controversial endings (are writers doing this on purpose???)

25:18 2521

30:31 Big Mouth

32:55 Reborn Rich

43:58: Discussion of sageuks

46:48: Under the Queen’s Umbrella 

50:10: Bloody Heart 

56:41: Discussion of legal dramas (there were 20+ legal dramas in 2022!)

57:34 The Law Cafe

59:23 May it Please the Court

1:04:28: Non-Korean dramas: F4 Thailand opened the floodgates and we watched dramas from China, Japan and Taiwan as well.

1:06:48: Bad Buddy (Thailand)

1:07:05: Old Fashion Cupcake (Japan)

1:07:12: Love Between Fairy and Devil (China)

1:13:24: Not Me (Thailand)

1:14:40: We each got a chance to spotlight some favorite dramas we watched in 2022 regardless of whether the drama aired in 2022 

Jo’s Picks: 

1:16:28: Sound of Magic

1:20:34: Alchemy of Souls (and the controversial ending)

1:25:28: Crazy Love

1:29:44: Link: Eat, Love, Kill

 1:34:10: Someday or One Day (Taiwan)

1:37:37: First Love: Hatsukoi (Japan)

1:40:49: Shooting Stars

1:41:00: Yumi’s Cells S2

 1:46:11: Boar Hunt, aka Hunted

1:46:56: The King of Pigs

1:47:53: Summer Strike

1:49:15: Glitch

 1:50:04: Political Fever

1:51:44: Bad and Crazy

Hi folks, in a departure from our usual deep dives, we start out the podcast with a non-spoiler discussion. Spoilers start at 32:45.

You can find RK on Twitter at @roh_tweets.

Here's where to follow us!

Spoiler alert: This episode contains spoilers for scenes from the following dramas: Boys Over Flowers, F4 Thailand, Coffee Prince, My Lovely Sam Soon, Theory of Love, The Heirs, Cheese in the Trap, 2gether, KinnPorsche, Business Proposal, Her Private Life, Bad Buddy, Into the Ring, Semantic Error, Not Me, When the Weather is Fine, Reply 1988, The Smile Has Left Your Eyes and Dali and Cocky Prince.

In this special episode, we dive into portrayals of consent in dramas and how they are (and aren’t) evolving. We’re joined by our good friends RK (known on Twitter as @roh_tweets) and Joanna Beveridge, a writer and producer from Australia who has just produced a k-drama inspired web series called No Ordinary Love (known on Twitter and Instagram as @jmbeveridge).

3:21: We discuss the definition of consent using information from RAINN, an advocacy organization for survivors of sexual violence. Learn more here: https://www.rainn.org/articles/what-is-consent 

4:46: We dive into why it’s important for us to discuss how consent is portrayed in dramas. In short: portrayals of consent influence real life.

8:39: But portrayals of non-consent or ambiguous consent can be emotionally gratifying for women and we discuss why that might be.

16:28: A description of the structure of our episode: we start with portrayals of non-consent and then work our way to non-verbal and verbal consent (note: we were pleasantly surprised by how many examples of good consent we were able to find!)

17:27: Boys Over Flowers, ep. 2: https://youtu.be/jriP7H8zccU

22:03: Coffee Prince, ep. 11: Clip of scene: https://youtu.be/Og8YGgnyL2w. Full scene starts at 57:54: https://www.viki.com/videos/106809v-coffee-prince-episode-11. 

31:48: Theory of Love, Ep. 6, Part 1, 12:22, https://youtu.be/hNHUsihNjKo?t=742 

36:48: Cheese in the Trap, ep. 8, 3:28  https://youtu.be/PLhsgLODLeQ?t=204 

38:55: The Heirs, ep 9: https://youtu.be/q_L0Ti_HY5I  

41:52: 2gether, ep, 9, 5:42  https://youtu.be/PWTgQKlwTJw?t=341 

48:41: If somebody is drunk or drugged to the point of being incapacitated they cannot consent and if someone has sex with a person who is incapacitated that is sexual assault. Unfortunately a lot of people don’t understand this.

iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/kinnporsche-the-series-la-forte-episode-4-fdr5lzz8x8 

Dramacool https://www1.dramacool.ee/kinnporsche-2022-episode-4.html 

1:02:50: Business Proposal: https://www.netflix.com/title/81509440 

1:16:53: Her Private Life, ep. 9 https://youtu.be/66rkZDsXWCE

1:18:04: Bad Buddy, ep.5, 7:35: https://youtu.be/uFEmU3ORlLg?t=459

1:21:18: Into the Ring, ep. 10: https://youtu.be/Yc9iznYO2PY 

1:23:12: My Lovely Sam Soon, ep. 6, 15:28: https://youtu.be/pnLMXwi1-4o?t=928 

1:25:05: Dali and Cocky Prince, ep. 7: https://youtu.be/UJiFQNjGy3c

1:27:33 Brief discussion of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, Ep. 3:  https://youtu.be/Mgd7mdRpCYg

1:28:51 Semantic Error https://www.viki.com/tv/38375c 

1:36:10: Not Me Ep. 9, Part 1 https://youtu.be/Qk6yEbCa5EM?t=60 

1:43:12: When the Weather Is Fine, ep. 11:  https://youtu.be/OiBDB6aSScI

1:44:58: Reply 1988, ep. 11, 3:34, https://youtu.be/mDO2AMM9sxs?t=214 

1:48:42: The Smile Has Left Your Eyes: https://www.viki.com/videos/1138262v  

1:52:10: Dali and Cocky Prince:  Ep 10, 58:29:  https://www.viki.com/videos/1186894v-dali-and-cocky-prince-episode-10 

A year after we recorded our Boys Over Flowers episode, we’re back with our second deep dive on F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers, the latest addition to the Hana Yori Dango universe. We all agree that this show is already a modern classic and is by far the best adaptation of this problematic teen franchise.

If you haven’t already listened to our deep dive on episodes 1-9, you can listen here: https://audioboom.com/posts/8038424-f4-thailand-boys-over-flowers-episodes-1-9 

1:58 Background on the Hana Yori Dango universe

4:42 Episode discussion begins. 

5:47: We discuss the huge challenges that director Patha Thongpan faced while making F4 Thailand, which he shared with fans on social media. They include budget, PPL, covid, and not enough episodes to fully tell the story. Despite any shortfalls in the second half of the narrative, we all love this adaptation and think it’s a modern classic and the best Hana Yori Dango adaptation ever. 

9:35: Katherine makes a bold statement and declares Thailand's F4 entrance scene to be even better than the iconic Korean entrance scene. The rest of us agree!

11:50: Vickey also makes a bold statement and declares the Thailand’s F4 to be the best looking of all the adaptations and Alisa gives and AMEN to that 

13:02: Alisa reads a Francois Truffault quote she tweeted on Great Flawed Films that applies to F4 Thailand being a Great Flawed Drama: 

“I want to define what I mean by a “great flawed film.” It is simply a masterpiece that has aborted, an ambitious project weakened by some errors in the making: a fine screenplay that is “unshootable,” an inadequate cast, a shooting contaminated by hatred or blinded by love, or an inordinate gap between the original intention and the final execution. This notion of “great flawed films” can apply only to the works of a great director—one who has demonstrated that in other circumstances he can achieve perfection. In an overall view of his achievements, a true cinéphile may, on occasion, prefer such a director’s “great flawed film” to one of his acknowledged masterpieces—thereby preferring, for example, A King in New York to The Gold Rush, or The Rules of the Game to Grand Illusion. If one accepts the concept that a perfect execution often conceals the film-maker’s intentions, one must admit that the “great flawed film” may reveal more vividly the picture’s raison d’etre.

“I might also point out that, while the masterpiece does not necessarily arouse the viewer’s emotions, the “great flawed film” frequently does—which accounts for the fact that the latter is more apt to become what the American critics call a “cult film” than is the masterpiece.

“I would add that the “great flawed film” is often harmed by an excess of sincerity. Paradoxically, this sincerity makes it clearer to the aficionados, but more obscure to the general public, which has been conditioned to absorb mixtures that give priority to gimmicks rather than to straightforward confessions.”

15:32: We discuss a photo shared by one of the F4 Thailand writers of a whiteboard where they brainstormed themes for the drama. With a special shoutout to @BeLight_21on Twitter for translating it for English speakers. https://twitter.com/BeLight_21/status/1513346654878928896  

17:47: Melanie mentions that the production had to incorporate 36 different sponsors with specific requirements into the storytelling and how it impacted the drama, especially in the second half as the number of sponsors grew (including the MJ KFC ad, lawd). 

19:11: We discuss how key staff dropped out of the project along the way, including their Director of Photography which is huge because a big part of the appeal of F4 Thailand is the cinematography.

19:38: The production was originally only supposed to have 13 episodes! Patha had to fight for 16. We all agree the drama could’ve easily been 20 episodes but we were lucky to get as many episodes as we got.

20:53: Last screenplay revision was February 9 and the last day of filming was February 14 for airing in April which is bananas. 

23:06: Alisa reads a beautiful quote from Patha regarding how he worked with his actors: 

“We will not let any actor die in the series. Everyone must be good in their own way. And every time we had an extra take and the boys fight until they can do it right, the audience saw it and appreciated it from the heart.”

27:20: We quote our friend Faith from the Accidental Kiss podcast: https://twitter.com/accidental_kiss/status/1513709973137633285 

“Being based on HYD really simultaneously helped and shot this series in the foot. It wouldn’t have gotten as many sponsors and freedom to do what they wanted if it hadn’t been based on this tried and tested cash grab. They also wouldn’t have gotten as big of an audience.  

But having to follow the original plot also cost them a lot of really good character development and growth. Thyme’s character development was handle excellently. They did the impossible: they truly redeemed the male lead in a Hana Yori Dango adaptation😂”

28:14: Vickey says Thyme is the best version of the HYD male lead and we all agree. He’s a complex and sympathetic character and we all wanted better for him. They weren’t being apologists for his character. And it was impressive that they sent the message that his behavior wasn’t okay. Also Bright 😍

31:41: We dive into Episode 11: The Atonement which is one of the most important episodes in the series. 

39:25: We get into what didn’t work for us in the second half of the drama, especially Gorya’s lack of development (we say this with full love for F4 Thailand and knowing all the struggles the production faced to get the drama completed). This includes a quote from friend of the podcast RK who is @roh_tweets on Twitter:

I feel bad that I can't join you, but please to share with your audience my disappointment that F4T (maybe b/c the HYD framework they couldn't escape) was not ultimately Gorya's story. I feel the last couple of episodes let her down a bit, especially considering how well drawn she was in the first several episodes.

45:19: Alisa says she hated episodes 14 and 16 and everyone pretty much agrees with her. That Isuzu product placement 😭

46:54: We read a comment from friend of the podcast JustCallMePam on Discord: 

“Something came to me before I rewatched 16- I’d been saying that I thought the creators  were prioritizing their sociopolitical commentary over the love  story - economic inequality, power dynamics, anti-patriarchal lens-  and they did those things incredibly well. BUT then they hit  14-16 and in February were like oh wait fml we gotta wrap up this teen love story honoring the narrative of the manga, feeding a ravenous fandom and having it make a wee bit of sense. Hmmm. OK GUYS I GOT IT…DANCING!”

49:42: We read a quote from alex @paranoyster_18 on Twitter https://twitter.com/paranoyster_18/status/1515248424467439618 on why Gorya goes to prom in her uniform: 

“To me, it’s the longhand and metaphorical way of showing that Thyme loves Gorya’s authentic and messy self that can never be dulled with any appearance, any beautiful dress or any expensive jewelry” 

51:41: We discuss Roselyn and why her redemption didn’t work for us (but we all loved Cindy’s performance in episode 16).

57:04: We all thought Lita was a great character and applaud Milk for her amazing performance.

58:39: Alisa dives into episode 12, aka the part where sex enters the chat, and how beautifully the show handled sexual desire in teenagers without being gross about it. 

1:03:15: We get into the first kiss and why were were underwhelmed 😭 With a shoutout to @shinesforbright for changing their account name to Thyme is a Bad Kisser but It’s Okay  https://twitter.com/daebakpodcast1/status/1505329867021189120 

1:05:57: We discuss the Kaning and Kavin episode and unfortunately we felt like the payoff wasn’t there (she spent all that time on Bangkok rooftops but she didn't get much in the end).  But Thyme as the hotel owner was realllllly working for Alisa and Vickey.

1:10:50: We celebrate the friendship of the F4 which has a dimension that doesn’t exist in other HYD adaptations and also shoutout how complex and well drawn each character is. Also Ren’s confession to Gorya in episode 15 is 💔😭

1:14:50: We list our favorite episodes. Episode 9: The Incident of 1% and Episode 7: The Four Flowers top everyone’s lists. 

1:17:07: We shoutout Drama Analyst @drama_analyst for her thread diving into F4 Thailand’s portrayal of Thyme’s mental health:   https://twitter.com/drama_analyst/status/1515015365411192834 

1:27:44: We discuss the business side of things: how GMMTV is making a play for the international market and how F4 Thailand helped with that goal. Also why it’s highly unlikely that F4 Thailand will get a movie or additional episodes.

1:40:10: Closing thoughts on F4 Thailand. Spoiler: we all think it’s a modern classic and we are grateful to Patha Thongpan for persevering through adversity to bring it to us. We’re also grateful to the fans who made watching this so memorable.

A year after we recorded our Boys Over Flowers episode, we’re back with a deep dive on F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers, the latest addition to the Hana Yori Dango universe. Even though Melanie, Katherine and Vickey had sworn never to watch another adaptation, Alisa knew from the first episode that F4 Thailand was something special and she managed to pull everyone back in. In today’s episode we’re joined by our good friend RK (known as @roh_tweets on Twitter). 

1:56: Background on the Hana Yori Dango universe and the special relationship our podcast has with this franchise: our Boys Over Flowers episode accounts for more than half the total listens on our podcast (which is nuts).

7:31: Episode discussion begins. We all agree this production is top notch and a big surprise given the quality of Boys Over Flowers and other adaptations.

18:40: Melanie and Vickey discuss key changes to the original story made by F4 Thailand, such as the male lead being drugged and photographed instead of the female lead. Alisa points out that it’s a different type of story because of how the production is coloring in the lines of the plot. 

25:16: Mel says that one of her favorite aspects of watching the show is the fan interactions and dissections of the storytelling that happen after every episode. It’s on another level because of how rich F4 Thailand’s storytelling is  (Alisa agrees).

26:42: We dive into the meaning of the honey badger stuffed animal from episode 6 and why it’s not only hugely important thematically, it’s an example of the symbolism that’s threaded throughout the narrative.

29:38: RK points out that many if not most of the viewers are bringing knowledge of previous adaptations to their viewing of F4 Thailand and that a lot of the reward of watching is in comparing and contrasting with previous versions. It not just what this drama is doing, it’s what it’s doing compared with the other versions that exist. 

34:30: Melanie and Alisa discuss the costuming and how it supports storytelling (Thyme’s half animal print Prada shirts and Kavin’s teddy bear sweater)

36:19: We dive into a long discussion of Thyme, Gorya and the other characters and how they are different (in some cases very different!) from previous iterations. We agree that all of the characters are far more complex than in other versions. 

1:03:43: Vickey says that she doesn’t have second lead syndrome for Ren in this version even though he’s likable because the writing makes it clear that Gorya and Thyme are the correct couple (the rest of us agree).  

1:13:29: Discussion of Lita and how similar she is to Gorya and what the story is trying to do with those parallels.

1:15:59: We talk about sex! As it how it exists in the manga vs. F4 Thailand and whether or not there is any sexual energy/desire between Thyme and Gorya (Alisa spends a lot of time hyperventilating over the episode 5 storage room scene) 

1:22:57: We dive into the incredible storytelling of episode 9, especially the funeral scene and how Lita falls in love with a Thyme that exists because of the influence of Gorya. (the star bandaid!)

1:28:47: Alisa points out that the social critique is foregrounded in this version much more than previous versions (the 1% reference in the episode 9 title comes from Occupy Wall Street). RK points out that class struggle is part of the entire franchise but is much more explicit in this version. We also briefly discuss how awful the Thai king is in real life (google if you want your jaw to drop) and a political critique in a scene with Gorya’s parents. 

1:32:21: We discuss episode 7 and That Scene where Thyme explodes. That was a hugely polarizing scene that generated an enormous social media backlash. We discuss how shocked we were by watching the scene (including those of us who were warned about the scene in advance), the ethics of including the scene, why the director chose to write the scene that way and how upset we were by some of the online conversations generated by the scene (it was a rough week, y’all).

2:01:50: We discuss why Gorya chooses Thyme and the fact she clearly makes a choice as compared with other versions. We also discuss why she breaks it off with him at the end of episode 9 (battling someone vs. navigating the 1% world).

2:03:02: We speculate on what’s coming in future episodes.

2:09:55: We praise the director for respecting the audience of young women enough to make a truly good version of this story. We also acknowledge how much time the director invested in prepping the actors.

2:19:57: Our final thoughts on the production.

As always, there are MAJOR SPOILERS in this episode so if you haven’t seen it yet, go watch it and then come back and listen. 

1:05: We celebrate a big milestone for our little podcast: 10,000 listens! When we started, we never imagined we'd have listeners worldwide in places like India, Malaysia, Turkey, Indonesia, Brazil, Finland, Nigeria, and many more countries. Thank you for listening and for your comments & support!

3:35: Introduction to My Mister/My Ahjussi, including some background on casting controversies before the drama aired because of false rumors that IU and Lee Sun Kyun would have a romantic relationship in the drama.

6:47: We refer to the show as My Ahjussi even though it is called My Mister on Netflix because the word ahjussi has meanings that the word mister can’t convey. Ahjussi means a middle aged man but also carries connotations of someone who is laughable or contemptible. Also, if you can, watch it on Viki.com instead of Netflix. The subtitles are vastly better and provide context for many words and phrases (Fighting!)

10:20: Those first three episodes of My Ahjussi are very dark and a lot of people struggle to get through them (if Alisa hadn’t strong-armed Melanie into watching she would’ve dropped in those early episodes). But it’s worth powering through because once you’re hooked, you’ll be treated to one of the best written, acted, and directed dramas of all time.

16:03: Melanie (and everyone else) got sucked back into the narrative on a rewatch—and that includes crying all over again. She also treasures this drama for keeping you engaged to the very end—especially now that she’s seen a lot of dramas and understands how rare that is.

21:29: We discuss the visual symbolism of the show. For example, both Dong Hoon and Ji An carry heavy bags symbolizing the weight of their emotional burdens. You can see more examples in a Twitter thread created by Alisa: https://twitter.com/BollywoodNewbie/status/1330736450971729920. Katherine also weighs in on the drama’s brilliant sound production and the role that characters listening plays in the narrative.

26:57: Vickey points out that My Ahjussi feels more like a Korean film than a typical Kdrama both in visuals and style of storytelling.

28:30: Melanie talks about Ji An wiretapping the phone and how that plot device gives her character access to Dong Hoon’s life and learns how a good person lives his life—something she’s never experienced before. It also gives us, the viewers, access to the character in a way that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. Alisa points out that it’s a slice of life show but with genre elements that drive the plot forward. 

31:03: We discuss Dong Hoon’s wife and how the drama makes you sympathize with her even though she’s having an affair. Dong Hoon is a very flawed husband. We also talk about how the drama portrays the joys and pain of family and the ways they can both support you and drag you down. 

34:06: Katherine points out a real social problem in Korea, which is older men being forced out of their jobs in their 40s and 50s and ending up in dead end jobs and poverty. This is the backdrop to many of the conflicts in the drama. 

37:31: Melanie launches a long conversation on the nature of the relationship between Ji An and Dong Hoon. They care for each other, they have an affinity of souls, they enjoy being in each other’s company, but there is a lot of ambiguity around how exactly they feel about each other. There’s no overt romance in the drama but do they have romantic feelings for each other?

43:22: What is up with Dong Hoon hitting Ji An hard enough to knock her to the ground? Why did he do that? Was it because he was catching feelings for her and got scared? 

45:29: Melanie points out that the show uses romantic tropes in key scenes of the drama. Alisa adds that people can have romantic feelings for each other without acting on them and that the show wants you to think Dong Hoon and Ji An are soulmates. We get REALLY loud discussing this point 😆. We all agree that we’re glad there wasn’t a romance because it would just be wrong.

50:08: We discuss IU’s uncle fans and her song Uncle and hoooooo boy. How does this inform the drama and its themes as well as the lack or presence of implicit romance between Ji An and Dong Hoon.

52:47: We discuss the open ending and the intent of the writer. We think that it’s deliberately left open so that if you want to believe Ji An and Dong Hoon have a romance after the drama is over you can infer that but if you believe they simply have a mentor-mentee relationship you can infer that as well. Clever writers! 

1:00:17: Alisa brings up the scene where Dong Hoon gets into a fight with the loan shark and how it appears in the episode where a love declaration would happen in a typical drama. “It’s not a moment associated with fatherly feelings.”

1:02:12: Katherine discusses how My Ahjussi has many similarities to saeguks (Korean historical dramas), particularly the plot around the corporate succession battle. The aging king, two warring camps with one side using dirty tricks to win, and the One Good Man, and that’s Dong Hoon.

1:07:15: We discuss how complex and nuanced most of the characters are, even those who are ostensibly villains. For example, the oldest brother who starts out stealing his daughter’s wedding money and ends up paying for Ji An’s grandmother’s funeral.

1:08:42: We discuss bar owner Jeong Hui and her ex-boyfriend, the monk. They aren’t major characters but their story is thematically important to the whole story. This also touches on the themes of Buddhism in the drama, which are very present in the story (but which alas we aren’t qualified to discuss in very much depth).

1:16:22: Each of the supporting characters gets a moment to show off their acting. The leads are amazing but all the way down you have story arcs and a rich tapestry of storytelling and you feel like you know all of these people. Most of the time side characters are disregarded and you don’t feel connected but in My Ahjussi you are invested in all of the supporting characters.

 1:23:58: We have a long conversation about Dong Hoon’s wife and how she was treated in her marriage (not well!). But this just illustrates how all of the characters are complex and flawed, including the male lead. 

1:31:34: We spend some time praising IU for her unique talents. We don’t think any other actor could’ve portrayed Ji An the way she did. 

We are back after a two month break! And we’re celebrating by diving deep into the beloved drama Reply 1988. As always, there are MAJOR SPOILERS in this episode so if you haven’t seen it yet, go watch it and then come back and listen. 

Here’s some recommended viewing and reading if you want to learn more about the events and social changes we discuss in this episode: 

1:36: We discuss the dramas we watched over the summer: 

The Smile Has Left Your Eyes: Vickey, Alisa and Melanie all LOVE this underrated drama

Hometown Cha Cha Cha: Vickey and Melanie are all in on the dimples

When the Camellia Blooms: Everyone was surprised that Alisa, the Drop Queen, loved this, but Kang Ha Neul won her over

Arang and the Magistrate: the other Shin Min A drama! 

Into the Ring and City Hall: Katherine has a thing for small political stories 

DP: features two Reply 1988 actors in a very dark social critique drama

9:23: Start of Reply 1988 discussion. 

10:36: Vickey and Melanie have a fangirl freakout over their new fave, Ryu Jun-yeol.

11:50: The genesis of this episode: we started out wanting to talk about food in dramas and  eventually landed on the social, economic and political history of The Republic of Korea over the past 40 years (really).

14:06: Alisa gives a very brief history lesson that illustrates the scope of the absolutely massive changes that Korea has undergone in a very short period of time. And all of that change is illustrated in one way or another in Reply 1988.

16:30: Melanie discusses the massive movement of population from rural areas to cities and how the parents in Reply 1988 have recreated their rural communities in the alley neighborhood in Seoul. Everyone shares food and resources and looks out for each other’s children. 

19:20: Vickey discusses the enormous appeal of the drama: it made her cry because she grew up in Ghana in a similar community where the aunties were like second moms and all the kids played and ate together. The idea of family, friendship and love lost was deeply appealing to her. Mel and Katherine share similar stories.

25:19:  Mel and Katherine discuss how the Reply 1988 parents were not very literate but their children attended Seoul National University. A huge and poignant change in one generation. Melanie also talks about the writer’s style. She is not someone who is plot driven but instead focuses on the specificity of the characters and their lives and making you wish you could be part of the community. 

28:43: Alisa also grew up in a similar insular community but she doesn’t share nostalgia for that way of life. She understands the appeal of a community of people looking out for you but she was frustrated by the drama’s sentimentality.

32:04: We get into a long discussion of Bo Ra’s political activities and how they are portrayed in the drama. Alisa is frustrated that her political interests are treated as a distraction from school and romance. Vickey points out that it’s valid for ordinary people to want to protect their children and avoid politics. Mel observes that Bo Ra’s protesting is treated as teenage hijinks instead of as something politically momentous. 

40:36: We get into a long discussion of how Deok-seon is treated on the show. Alisa is appalled that the family doesn’t feed her the same food as her siblings: they get a fried egg and the best pieces of chicken while Deok-seon gets beans. She rants about what this says about the value (or lack of value) Deok-seon has in her family. Mel observes that the neighbors (and Taek) notice that Deok-seon doesn’t get the best food and feed her to make up for it.

46:08: We have a long discussion of the Korean economy at that time and how that’s reflected in how the different families live and eat. Also, why did the writer choose to have the lottery family win their money instead of making the money themselves? It may have to do with a perception that capitalism has winners and losers and where you land is arbitrary--a theme you see today in Squid Game and other dramas. 

55:32: SHIP WARS! Mel aka Team Jeong-hwan and Vickey aka Team Taek face off on who Deok-seon should’ve ended up with. Katherine suggests that Deok-seon was originally supposed to end up with Jeong-hwan until Park Bo-gum’s fanbase made the writer change her mind. Vickey insists that Taek was always the end game and Alisa agrees. 

1:08:11: Alisa wishes Deok-seon had pulled a Kelly in 90210 and chosen herself. Everyone else laughs at her.

1:15:24: Melanie gives a warning that if you watch this on Viki.com all of the TV shows and original music is scrubbed from the drama so you will have to seek out...less than legal sites if you want to watch with all of the pop culture references intact.

1:21:05: Katherine brings up a deeply disappointing part of the drama: In Reply 1988,  Jeong-hwan is compared with Michol, a television character from the 80s who wore blackface. The writer chose to include that racist caricature in the drama--and it’s not okay. Unfortunately, blackface continues to be a part of Korean pop culture. We also discuss MBC’s infamous coverage of the 2021 Olympics opening ceremony. 

1:27:41: Alisa asserts that Reply 1988 is regressive in many ways, as exemplified by how the working mother was treated in the drama (her kid runs away from home for two days and she doesn’t notice???). 

1:32:46: Melanie takes a moment to appreciate that the drama gives the parents their own stories and their own struggles and even a romance. 

1:34:36: Vickey says that the show doesn’t so much put on rose colored glasses but is instead more about learning to appreciate a time when the characters found friendship, home and love and connecting with cherished childhood memories. 

1:39:31: Melanie reminds us that the show was a launching pad for so many young actors, including Ryu Jun-yeol in Lost (not to mention he won Hyeri in the end!).