K Drama Chat

We’re getting ready for Season 3 where we will recap and analyze Mr. Sunshine, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring  Lee Byung-hun as Eugene Choi, Kim Tae-ri as Go Ae-shin from 2018.

Before we dive into Mr. Sunshine, we did a fun episode with Sung Hee’s sister Jeanie. Jeanie shares her K Drama and Korean language journey. Then Joanna, Sung Hee and Jeanie share their Top 3 K Dramas. Actually, we end up sharing our Top 5 and cousin Linda (through Joanna) shares her Top 9 K Dramas.

Listeners, we will be recapping and analyzing Episodes 1 nd 2 of Mr. Sunshine next week, so get ready!

Joanna and Sung Hee introduce the show that K Drama Chat will cover during Season 3 - Mr. Sunshine. Mr. Sunshine is a hit show on Netflix from 2018. The show is about Eugene Choi (Lee Byung-hun), who was born into slavery in Joseon. After escaping to the United States at the time of the 1871 Shinmiyangyo, he becomes a Captain in the US Marine Corps. He gets sent to Joseon by President Roosevelt, under the guide of “taking care” of an American allegedly selling secrets to the Japanese. Captain Choi meets and falls in love with Go Ae-shin (Kim Tae-ri), an aristocrat’s granddaughter who refuses to sit quietly, marry, have children and embroider butterflies all day.

Jen is taking a couple of months off from the show so Joanna and Sung Hee are taking this opportunity to recap and review a historical (saeguk) K Drama, which Jen is not a fan of. Before diving into Mr. Sunshine, Joanna and Sung Hee are taking it easy for a couple of weeks. In this episode, they talk about Mr. Sunshine, and the shows they are currently watching.

Listeners, start watching or rewatching Mr. Sunshine now so you’re ready when we start analyzing the first two episodes in a couple of weeks!

References:

• Mr. Sunshine on Netfllix
• Korean History series on YouTube from LoonyTricky
• The 2 Koreas according to Crash Landing On You (CLOY)

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 16, the final episode of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the story is Find the Real, Real Faces by Meun Young. Sang Tae convinces Meun Young to publish her final book, which is about three friends (an emotionless princess, a boxed man, and a masked man) whose faces were stolen by an evil shadow witch. After a long journey and meeting many characters, the friends realize that what the shadow witch had stolen from them was not their real, real faces but their courage to find happiness.

This episode was ultimately about Gang Tae, Sang Tae and Meun Young finding the courage to be happy. Gang Tae learned to be vulnerable, to ask for help, to love and be loved, and to believe that he wasn’t born to take care of Sang Tae because Moon Gang Tae belongs to Moon Gang Tae. Meun Young was able to shed the narrative that she is an empty can, unable to care about others’ feelings. Meun Young came to care about the brothers, rejoin the community, love, be loved, and write again. Sang Tae was able to overcome his trauma, paint over the murderous butterfly and paint his own butterflies, and leave Gang Tae to pursue a career as an illustrator.

This episode also revisited the stories of some of the patients at the hospital, including A-reum and Jung-tae, who are finally together; the assemblyman’s song, Kwon Ki-do, who is studying for the national civil service exam; Pil won, who has a new pair of shoes and the courage to leave the hospital for good; and Eun-ja, who has accepted her daughter’s death and has opened up her own restaurant.

Even the second and third couples look like they’re going to make it. The publisher is opening up his new office in Seongjin City to be closer to Ju-ri, and Jae-soo appears to be getting closer to the art director.

At the end of the episode, Joanna, Jen and Sung Hee reveal the show they are going to recap and analyze in Season 3 of K Drama Chat – Mr. Sunshine! We wanted to do a historical show and decided Mr. Sunshine had a lot to discuss, including Korea during the Japanese occupation, how Japan and the US fought over Korea, the rebellion against the Japanese, the role of women during that period of time, gender identity, and Korean language.

We will have a few in between episodes before we start talking about Mr. Sunshine, so keep listening and start watching Mr. Sunshine!

Jen is back, yay!  In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 15 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the story is The Tale of the Two Brothers. We think this story is about how Gang Tae, Sang Tae and Meun Young all love each other and they just need to stop bickering, stop wasting time trying to stay apart, and decide to stay together.

This episode answers questions about Nurse Park and why she killed the Moon brothers’ mom and how she manipulated Park Ok-ran. Nurse Park tries to hurt Sang Tae, Gang Tae and Meun Young, but Sang Tae hits her over the head with a book. The police finally come and take Meun Young away.

Meun Young tells Gang Tae and Sang Tae to move out of the house because she doesn’t think any of them can get over her mom killing the brothers’ mom. But Sang Tae and Gang Tae are determined to stay. The show comes full circle when Gang Tae’s hand is cut again, and this time, it’s Gang Tae who tells Meun Young that he loves her, but she just walks away.

At the end of the episode, Joanna and Jen talk about the three shows they’re considering for Season 3 of K Drama Chat.

Jen is sick, so Sung Hee is filling in. In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 14 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the story is The Hand, The Monkfish. We think this story is autobiographical for Meun Young, whose mom thought she was perfect and protected her and kept her in the cursed castle.

We learn that Nurse Park is Meun Young’s mom and turns out that she killed the Moon brothers’ mom. It also appears that she killed Meun Young’s dad by pulling the plug on the machines keeping him alive. Meun Young runs away when she learns who her mom is. We learn more about Meun Young’s mom, including her medical background and how she stayed at the hospital for 20 years to watch her husband suffer. At the end of the show, Do Hui Jae convinces Sang Tae to go with her and they end up at the cursed castle, with Sang Tae unconscious or dead.

We talk about how Gang Tae, Sang Tae and Meun Young are processing the fact that Nurse Park is Meun Young’s mom and how they are protecting each other. The publisher and Ju-ri are starting to show their feelings toward each other. We also get an update on some of the patients at the OK Hospital.

At the end of the show, Joanna and Jen discuss the shows they are considering for Season 3 of K Drama Chat.

References:

• Butterfly by BTS
• What is makgeolli?

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 13 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the story is The Father of the Two Sisters. There are parallel stories here involving an abuser and someone who allowed the abuse to happen.

We learn that Meun Young’s dad knew that his wife was cruel to Meun Young, but he tolerated it, only reading a single book to Meun Young. There is also a side story about patient Sun-hae. Sun-hae was abused by her mother and her father stood by and did nothing, despite pleas from Sun-hae. We also learn that Meun Young witnessed her father throw her mother over the staircase and then dump her mother’s body in the lake. Similarly, Sang Tae witnessed the murder of his mother.

Meun Young’s dad dies. Before he died, he confessed that he killed his wife and tried to kill Meun Young because he worried that Meun Young would turn into a monster like his wife. At the end of the episode, we have a huge surprise: Nurse Park is Meun Young’s and the murderer of the Moon brothers’ mom. 

In addition to analyzing this episode, Joanna, Jen and Sung Hee also talk about common and useful phrases to use when traveling in Korea or eating at a Korean restaurant. 

References:

• Korean Braised Quail Eggs
• Shamanism in Korean
• Book Series from It’s Okay to Not Be Okay on Amazon

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 12 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the story is Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Are Gang Tae and Meun Young fated for each other? Are they in an ill-fated relationship?

In this episode, Gang Tae and Meun Young get closers. Meun Young is happy to have the brothers in the house and she likes her house again. She and Sang Tae are working on her new book. But the episode turns dark when Gang Tae finds a family photo in Meun Young’s room. Meun Young’s mother is obscured in the photo, but Gang Tae realizes she is wearing a butterfly pin.

Later, when Sang Tae recounts to Gang Tae and the directory the story of how their mom died, Gang Tae realizes that Meun Young’s mom is very likely their mom’s murderer. He feels like he was just starting to live a normal life and now he just wants to run away. Worse, he found an envelope on Sang Tae’s desk with a butterfly and a note saying, “I’ll come for you soon.”

There are side stories involving a PTSD patient, Ju-ri and the publisher, Jae soo and Sang Tae, and Meun Young’s dad. We also talk about the low birthrate in Korea, the two numbering systems in Korea, and the BTS members going into the military.

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 11 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the children’s story is The Ugly Duckling. Family comes up a lot in this episode. Jae-soo is upset that Sang Tae doesn’t consider him family, even though he’s been following the brothers around for ten years. Gang Tae wants Sang Tae to be the adult in the family, able to accept others, including and especially Meun Young, who he says is the loneliest person he’s ever known.

This episode opens with Park Ok-ran visiting Meun Young and the two of them getting into a confrontation, which leaves Meun Young with a cut on her hand. Gang Tae rushes to the cursed castle and is relieved to find that Meun Young is okay. When he tries to go after Park  Ok-ran, Meun Young gets upset. Gang Tang tries to calm her down, tells her to count to three, then gives her a long, passionate kiss.

Gang Tae tells Meun Young the story of Sang Tae’s traumatic memory, tells her that he must stay by Sang Tae’s side, and she must stay by his side. Meung Young tries talking to Sang Tae, urges him to come home and be her illustrator, threatens him with breach of contract for moving out, and ultimately asks him to be her older brother. In the end, Sang Tae becomes the older brother to both Gang Tae and Meun Young. 

At the end of this episode, a dark figure enters the cursed castle, sits at Meun Young’s dresser in the basement, and looms over the sleeping figures of Meun Young, Gang Tae and Sang Tae. Who is she? What is the butterfly pin that she pulled out of the dresser? Is it related to the butterfly that Sang Tae is so afraid of?

In this episode, we also talk about the Korean family register and the multi-balms that Korean women put on their faces and necks to make themselves look dewey and glow.

Reference:

• How multi balms became Korea's biggest beauty trend in 2022

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 10 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the children’s story is The Girl Who Cried Wolf, based on The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Meun Young says the boy was lonely up on the mountain, which is why he kept crying wolf. When the wolf did come, nobody believed him. Meun Young believes that if even one person had believed him, he would not have died.

The episode opens with Sang Tae announcing to the hospital that Gang Tae wanted him dead and that he pushed him (Sang Tae) into the river. He is eventually given sedatives and put into an isolation room. A devastated Gang Tae pushes Meun Young away, telling her that he has woken from a dream and he should have focused instead on his brother. Sang Tae eventually goes home with Ju-ri’s mom. Whe Gang Tae comes home, he apologizes for lying to Sang Tae, for saying that he wanted him dead, for wishing his brother was normal. Sang Tae comes out of his wardrobe and comforts a sobbing Gang Tae.

Meanwhile, Meun Young threatens Gang Tae, who has rejected him. She goes to Ju-ri’s house, asks Ju-ri’s mom for seaweed soup because it’s her birthday, and then gives the doll Mang Tae back to Sang Tae.

The episode also featured:

• Ju-ri and Meun Young drinking together, and Ju-ri slapping Meun Young in a drunken state
• The publisher and Jae-soo fighting over who is to blame for the debacle between Sang Tang, Gang Tae and Meun Young.
• Meun Young’s dad tried to choke Park Ok-ran, whom he heard singing “Oh my darling Clementine” and reading The Murder of the Witch of the West

At the end of the episode, Park Ok-ran hits a caregiver on the head with a rock and then escapes from the hospital. Gang Tae figures out that she is headed to the cursed castle, so he races to Meun Young. Meun Young answers a knock on the door and finds Park Ok-ran standing on her front step, wishing her a happy birthday.

References:

• How seaweed soup became Korea’s traditional birthday dish
• South Korea’s obsession with fried chicken explained
• 8 restaurants you’ve seen in K Dramas 

In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 9 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the children’s story is King Donkey Ears, the story about the King who had donkey ears and told his hairdresser to keep it a secret. After many years, the hairdresser could no longer hold the secret in, so he shouted to the forest that the king had donkey ears.

The show opens with Gang Tae and Meun Young arguing over going on a trip; they clearly have different ideas for this trip. They ultimately go up to the mountains, visit a spectacular suspension bridge, and spend the night at a guesthouse. They even run into A-reum and Jeoung-Tae, who have run away together, but ultimately decide to separate until they are both recovered enough to be together successfully. Before leaving the guesthouse, Gang Tae gives Meun Young a bouquet of flowers, the flowers he was never able to give her when they were kids.

So much happened in this episode, but the most important scene is when Sang Tae confronts Gang Tae and accuses him of lying because Gang Tae and Meun Young went away together without telling Sang Tae the truth. Sang Tae asks Gang Tae who likes more, him or Meun Young, and then shouts that Gang Tae told their mother every day that he wanted Sang Tae to die, and Gang Tae pushed him into the frozen river and left him to die.

This episode also featured:

• The growing relationship between the publisher and Ju-ri
  Meun Young’s dad saying Meung Young’s just like “that woman,” who was a monster who killed someone and whom he killed.
  The mysterious patient Park Ok-ran taking her book “The Muder of the Witch of the West” from Nurse Park

References:

• Filming locations for It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
• What do chrysanthemums mean?
• What do chrysanthemums means?