This week, Judy and Linda find the darkness in episodes 3 and 4 of “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo” (역도요정 김복주), starring Lee SungKyung and Nam JooHyuk. For a show that's touted as a lighthearted romantic comedy, it surprised us by touching on deeper subjects that affect more than just the main characters.

The theme of this week’s episode is “unrealistic expectations”. The drama portrays the immense pressure placed on athletes to perform in order to please their coaches, parents and the general public. On the other hand, Bokjoo's (Lee SungKyung) weight loss storyline seems to be conforming very much to society's unhealthy obsession with the "perfect body".

Judy and Linda question Dr. Jung’s (aka Dr. Kim JongKook) integrity as a doctor. We feel bad for Shiho (Kyung SooJin), because of all the bullying from her coach and her mom, but at the same time, she is an absolute garbage person for the way she broke up with Joonhyung (Nam JooHyuk), so who cares about her.

 

Some Korean terms:

팔등신: [pal-deung-shin] body proportions where your head is 1/8 of your total height.

치맥: [chi-mek] short for chicken-mekjoo (beer).

찌개: [jji-gae] stew.

 

Jonathan Crombie is the actor who portrayed Gilbert Blythe in the “Anne of Green Gables” mini-series from 1985. You’ll be Gilbert in our hearts forever.

Click here to read more about Shin A-lam, the Korean fencer who had a breakdown at the 2012 London Olympics.

Special thanks to Robert who sent us the mid-show pun.

 

How did you feel when you watched these two episodes? Did you feel angry/sad about Bokjoo's weight loss like we did? Please share your thoughts with us on Facebook and Twitter (@kdramamyeyesout) or by e-mail.

Download this and other episodes and while you're there, write us a review:

Apple Podcasts

Google Play Music

Stitcher

Libsyn RSS

The KDMEO theme music is 'Cute', by Bensound (www.bensound.com), and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivatives 4.0 International.

Audio Credits:

The “knick knack paddy whack” pun is by Colin Mochrie, from season 4, episode 12 of “Whose Line Is It Anyway”.

Will Smith - "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It"