This week Jun and Daniel discuss Korean culture through a recently trending popular K-drama: Lovely Runner (Episode 1). This time slip, romantic comedy drama series bounces between modern day and 2008 Korea. Our hosts watch the first episode and exchange notes of various cultural nuances and differences that stood out to them. What’s interesting about the title that a Korean might note? Is it right that American media titles get transliterated to Korean, whereas Korean media gets translations? What does fish food have to do with drama viewing culture in Korea? What are some cameos by very famous Koreans that go completely over Daniel’s head? What is a misconception Daniel had about sasaeng fans (사생팬) from a previous episode? What are some other common things in Korean fandom culture that Daniel finds shocking? Why is email not used in Korea, like it is in America? How is mental health thought about in Korea? How is the accessibility of Korea for people in wheelchairs, compared to America? Why do Koreans wear umbrellas when it's snowing? What are some similarities and differences between classroom environments in Korea and America? Why do Koreans frequently not communicate in a straightforward fashion? How are conceptions of living situations different?

If you're interested in any of these questions, tune in to hear Daniel and Jun discuss all this and more! Also in this episode, Daniel shares why he enjoyed watching this drama despite it being heavily targeted towards women, Jun nerds out about the architecture of a popular site in Seoul, and Daniel discovers one of Jun’s boomer tendencies.

NOTE: While this is not an episode review per se, as we focus more on cultural aspects depicted in the drama rather than the plot and characters of the drama itself, this episode still may contain spoilers. If you have not watched Lovely Runner Episode 1 and do not want anything spoiled, consider yourself warned!

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This week Jun and Daniel discuss common stereotypes Koreans and Americans might have of each other and to what extent they agree with them. While all stereotypes are neither accurate nor fair, there is no denying they exist and shape our perceptions, interactions, and cultures in meaningful ways. As always, as our hosts engage in light-hearted conversation around a variety of topics, they hope to foster deeper understanding and empathy of each other’s cultures. What is a common misconception Koreans have of Korean Americans, and what fuels it? What is a challenge Korean Americans have that might be foreign for Koreans who have never lived outside of Korea? What is a common frustration that both Koreans and Korean Americans share? Do Americans live in constant fear of getting shot? Are all Koreans good at math? How bad does Korean food smell? How bad do Americans smell? Do Americans really hook-up as much as Western media depicts? Do Koreans still eat dog meat? Are all Koreans good at computer games? Is America perfect?

If you're interested in any of these questions, tune in to hear Daniel and Jun discuss all this and more! Also in this episode, Daniel and Jun bond over similar childhood trauma stemming from their well-intentioned mothers.

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This week Jun and Daniel discuss a topic that is very near and dear to our American host’s heart: Korean dramas, or K-dramas for short. Daniel has been a casual viewer since his early 20s, long before Squid Game put them on the global stage, but his K-drama watching ramped up while in Covid lockdown and hasn’t slowed down since. Like many Westerners, much of his perception and understanding of Korean culture has come from watching K-dramas. How true to life are K-dramas? How do Koreans watch them differently than Americans? What is the classic K-drama template? What is one reason why K-drama plots seem to lack continuity? What are the origins of product placement in K-dramas? What are our hosts’ all-time favorite K-dramas? Why aren’t there multiple seasons to popular K-dramas, at least historically before the Netflixization of them? Is Korea a harder place to live than other countries? Why are the foreign actors in K-dramas always so bad at acting? What can we learn about Korean society from the many K-drama tropes that appear in drama after drama? Which tropes actually reflect reality, and which are equally unbelievable to Korean viewers? What is the perilla leaf controversy (깻잎논쟁) and what does it say about Korea’s level of jealousy and standard boundaries when in a dating relationship? Listen in as our hosts have a truly meandering conversation about everything K-drama related, big and small.

If you're interested in any of these questions, tune in to hear Daniel and Jun discuss all this and more! Also in this episode, Daniel reveals one of his bucket list dreams to accomplish while he is in Korea, while Jun does his best to prevent his cat from getting to the fried chicken.

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This week Jun and Daniel discuss a few of the biggest headlines in Korean news during the month of May 2024: Min Hee Jin’s ongoing legal battle with HYBE, Naver being asked by the Japanese government to give up control of LINE, famous celebrities Psick Univ and Kang Hyung-wook getting canceled, and the Korean government’s attempted ban on overseas direct purchasing. Why does there appear to be such a stark contrast between how Koreans are reacting to Min Hee Jin, compared to non-Koreans? What are some common criticisms that Westerners have of Min Hee Jin, and do they resonate with Koreans? What is LINE, and why is the Japanese government pushing for Naver to give up control over the product they built? Do our hosts agree on the fairness of such a move? How does this compare to the US threatening to ban TikTok unless it’s parent company ByteDance gives up control? Or is it more similar to another decision the Korean government has made regarding a foreign digital service? How are geopolitics playing into this? What exactly is overseas direct purchasing, and why is the Korean government banning it for certain products? What is underlying this decision by the Korean government? What is a customs number, and why is it such a foreign concept for most Americans? What is Psick Univ and what caused their recent backlash? Who is Kang Hyung-wook, and what is the allegation against him? Why is cancel culture in general seemingly much stronger in Korea? 

If you're interested in any of these questions, tune in to hear Daniel and Jun discuss all this and more! Also in this episode, our hosts reveal why they each prefer purchasing their Apple products in the US, as well as having a good laugh about the meaning of the Korean term for childhood friends.

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This week Jun and Daniel discuss Daniel’s recent experience attending an event at his 4-year-old’s preschool– sports day! Sports day (운동회) in Korea is a classic elementary school tradition that would evoke very fond memories to most anyone who grew up there. For Americans, imagine field day, but even bigger, more official, and standardized across all schools. What were the classic events that all Koreans would know? How were children typically divided up? What is humorous about how the score is kept? How competitive is it? How similar was Daniel’s experience to what Jun recalls from his childhood? What was traditionally the most important and memorable part of sports day that Daniel found surprising? How would this work differently had it been done in America? What about sports day is reflective of Korean society at large? And what remnants continue to be seen in modern Korean corporations and Korean American church communities alike?

If you're interested in any of these questions, tune in to hear Daniel and Jun discuss all this and more! Also in this episode, Daniel finally connects the dots with the name of a famous landmark in Seoul, Jun waxes nostalgic and makes Daniel wish he could have grown up in 1990s Daegu (at least for one magical autumn day), and both bond over a surprising shared memory of youth in the US.

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This week Jun and Daniel discuss the housing payment system of jeonse (전세), or key money deposit, that is unique to South Korea amongst all OECD countries. Roughly 50% of renters in Korea are living with a jeonse, and in 2022 the average jeonse price in Seoul was $500,000. For the first few months after moving to Korea, Daniel had to ask almost every Korean person he met about the jeonse system, because of how foreign and unsustainable it seemed. What is a jeonse, and how does it work? What are some other aspects of the Korean real estate ecosystem that work together with jeonse? How do Koreans and Americans think differently about real estate, at a very fundamental level? How do Koreans manage to get such a high deposit amount? What is appealing about this system to Koreans? What are the other options available to renters besides jeonse? What does the day of look like when Koreans move into a jeonse? What role do real estate agents play in Korea? Is there an equivalent to the escrow system that exists in America? What is an important factor in real estate investing that isn’t important in the US? What are the cracks that are beginning to appear in the jeonse system in particular, and the overall Korean real estate ecosystem more broadly?

If you're interested in any of these questions, tune in to hear Daniel and Jun discuss all this and more! Also in this episode, Daniel and Jun discuss where in Seoul they would want to move, if they were to move out of their current city.

Links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeonse

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This week Jun and Daniel have another guest interview with their friend and former co-worker, Alex, who is a frequent visitor to Korea. This time, Alex is visiting Korea to celebrate his daughter’s first birthday. What is something that the cities of Ilsan and Bundang share? What was the first food Alex and his wife sought out upon landing? What are some ways that Koreans are innovative, food-wise? What are some things Alex thought was Korean growing up, but is actually Japanese? What does Alex look forward to while he is in Korea? Why are Koreans hesitant to help strangers in public? What is a fear that Alex has as a visitor, that seems to be more commonly held by Korean Americans than Korean Koreans? Do Koreans have a plan in case of an emergency attack from the North? Where has Korea tried to relocate their capital city to, and why? What are some uncomfortable questions one should be prepared to have when meeting with extended family in Korea? What’s one bit of Korean culture Alex would export to America if he could? What stops him from moving to Korea permanently? How can Koreans tell Korean Americans apart from Korean Koreans?

If you're interested in any of these questions, tune in to hear Daniel, Jun, and Alex discuss all this and more!

Support the show

We hope you enjoy listening to our conversation, and we're so excited to have you following us on this journey!

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This week Jun and Daniel discuss the topic of milestones and celebrations. As Daniel recently passed a significant birthday, our hosts take this opportunity to compare what are the big life events in Korea and America, as well as what is typically done to celebrate. What does your average children’s birthday party look like in Korea, and what is one surprising difference from America? Are birthday parties themselves as big of a deal in Korea as they are in America? What surprised Daniel about how a child’s first birthday (doljanchi) is celebrated in Korea? What is someone’s 60th or 70th birthday called in Korea, and what is typically done to commemorate the milestone? What are the traditional Confucian beliefs about various birthday milestones? How do weddings and the associated events compare across the two countries? What are some other cultural celebrations Daniel got to experience in America, due to its broader diversity? Which country parties harder, and does either country take celebrating too far?

If you're interested in any of these questions, tune in to hear Daniel and Jun discuss all this and more! Also in this episode, Daniel debuts his first ever piece of podcast swag, Jun shares his most memorable birthday party from his childhood, and both share some fun milestones related to the podcast itself.

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We hope you enjoy listening to our conversation, and we're so excited to have you following us on this journey!

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This week Jun and Daniel discuss a couple major trending news headlines in Korea. First, Min Hee-Jin (CEO of ADOR, HYBE’s sub-label for the K-pop girl group NewJeans) held a press conference to address her dispute with HYBE (Korean entertainment company behind BTS and other K-pop groups) which went viral for its authenticity and candor about the industry. Despite neither of our hosts being big K-pop fans, they do their best to break down the story for the audience. Why exactly did the press conference go so viral in Korea? What is some important context about Korean society and culture that can help people understand the country’s reaction to this press conference? What else is going viral as a result of the press conference? How is this all going to conclude? Second, Korea’s beloved soccer team failed to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics. What are the most popular events for Koreans during the Olympics? What is the overlap with the most popular events in America?

If you're interested in any of these questions, tune in to hear Daniel and Jun discuss all this and more! Also in this episode, Daniel shares what he’s most looking forward to watching in the upcoming Olympics, and Jun explains what Koreans mean when they call something “hip hop”.

Support the show

We hope you enjoy listening to our conversation, and we're so excited to have you following us on this journey!

Support us on Patreon:
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This week Jun-nim and Daniel-nim have a conversation around various topics related to titles in Korea and the hierarchy they create. Our hosts discuss what language Koreans use to refer to each other within family, workplace, and general societal relationships, and the expectations that follow. What is something challenging for Jun when translating the English subtitles into Korean? How are the Korean words for uncle, cousin, and other family members related? How can Koreans communicate without knowing each other’s names? What was King Sejong the Great’s real name? What is a professional ‘announcer’? What other profession has recently ascended to the level of being used as an official title, along with lawyer, doctor, and teacher? What are some shocking ways in which teachers will refer to their students? What are the titles related to birth order, and the corresponding stigmas associated with them? 

If you're interested in any of these questions, tune in to hear Daniel and Jun discuss all this and more! Also in this episode, Daniel and Jun bond over their common birth order and how appreciative they both are of it in hindsight.

Support the show

We hope you enjoy listening to our conversation, and we're so excited to have you following us on this journey!

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