What Should I Watch?

Christmas is just around the corner and whether you are religious or not, it is the most wonderful time of the year.

According to the bible, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and notified that she will give birth to a child. What great, happy news to hear.

But not all angels are angelic and some of them only deliver death sentences. At least in this Korean show.

When an Angel appears to tell you that you will die in a few days, you will. And it's not just any death. At the appointed time, the monsters from Hell will find you to brutally attack and burn you to death like burnt charcoal.

So repent, for the New Truth Society will rule the world and Hell is near.

There is no law and order but only fear and death in this new world.

*TV Shows and Movies mentioned in this episode:

-Train to Busan (2016)

-Burning (2018)

Ever wish you could read someone's mind?

Be careful what you wish for.

It's not brain surgery but things get complicated.

You can't unsee what has been seen or unlearn what has been learned.

And...

You can't go back to who you were.

Apple TV presents its first original Korean drama series Dr. Brain, featuring Lee Sun-Kyun from Parasite (2019).

TV Shows and Authors mentioned in this episode:

• When the Camellia Blooms (2019)

• Pachinko (2022)

• Les Thanatonautes by Bernard Werber (1994)

• Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indridason(2007)

What is the relationship between the opera La Traviata, a Korean pop song from 1964, and the drama When the Camellia Blooms?

You can find out in the 10th episode of What Should I Watch?

Grant and I continue our conversation from last week and talk more in depth about the greatest subject of mankind, love.

Thank you for your support and I hope you keep listening until and beyond the 100th episode!

TV shows/Authors mentioned in this episode:

-It's Okay to Not Be Okay

-Extraordinary Attorney Woo

-Reply series

-The Fiery Priest

-Annie Ernaux

-Romain Gary

This week's Korea drama, When the Camellia Blooms is a companion for the lonely.

Because it will share your sadness but also show you what you are missing.

What makes us smile?

What makes us bloom like spring flowers?

Rich, good looking, successful...whether you are all or one of those, it may not complete your life.

Sophocles once said "One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life. That word is love."

And the Beatles sang that all we need is love.

Family, friends, girlfriend and boyfriend, your pet, nature, etc. There are so many we can give love to. We just have so little time.

TV shows and movies mentioned in this episode:

-When the Camellia Blooms (2019)

-Misaeng: Incomplete Life (2014)

-Parasite (2019)

The beginning is the end is the beginning.

Literally.

What if the Korean war never happened and the country was never divided?

What if the Korean royals were never killed and the country is still a monarchy?

Maybe these questions don't interest you but what if...

the love of your life lives in a different dimension and if you travel to this 4th or 5th dimension, then you shorten your life?

What if you can be a different person in a different world?

What if another version of you is currently living in another dimension?

Here's another masterpiece by the master writer who brought you Secret Garden, Descendants of the Sun, and Guardian (aka Goblin)

Not Your Average Priest.

Angry, a little violent, but good looking.

In other words, the good, the bad, and the Handsome.

No, this is not about the famous trio in Sergio Leone's epic film. This is about Father Michael. He is all of these things. All for justice.

He is as shrewd as James Bond and fights like Bruce Lee.

Throw in a few international gang groups, a newbie cop, a jaded prosecutor (ex-international beauty pageant), and you have a perfect recipe for this funny and exciting Korean TV show, The Fiery Priest.

Warning: You might gain a six pack ab from laughing too much.

Unless you've gone crazy, you retire in your mid 40s with no financial plan.

Unless you've gone crazy, you want to start a new career at the age of retirement.

Unless you've gone crazy, you lie to your colleagues and CEO about your achievements.

And unless you've gone crazy, you miss out on this awesome Korean drama.

What would you do after dedicating 22 years of career and you are facing layoff?

And what really goes on inside the HR office? The place we all feel a little icky about?

This week's drama is an accurate portrait of what it's like to work for a Korean tech corporation.

Have you ever wished that your therapist would actually solve your issues?

Or have you ever been forced to atone for the very thing you hate?

Come to the Mystic Pop-up bar where the owner/bartender is dead for 500 years She will do anything to bring justice and happiness to the world although she doesn't like humans.

She and her semi-dead partners will take care of your issues but the pop-up bar won't be there for long because once Wolju(bar owner) helps 100,000 lives, she will be gone in front of the Underworld Queen.

Afterlife deities, the Korean grim reapers, good and evil ghosts, they are all here in this heartwarming spooky comedy, Mystic Pop-Up Bar!

Henry David Thoreau's Walden meets Alphonse Daudet's The Stars.

If a Korean drama could give you a hug especially when life gives you lemons, this is it.

We know what it's like to feel sad and lonely, and even angry.

Rest your mind in a rural country town in the winter of Korea. Sit by the stove and read some books together while these characters heal your soul.

At the peak of her career, a top news anchor's life and career start to fall apart.

An old lover, rival colleagues, distant husband, and some very powerful people all want to take her down.

But the problem is ... she might actually be a very bad person who deserves to fall ... or is she?