"Now we have to fight with our butts!" Judy and Teresa love the rising tension between the main characters in episodes 9-12 of “My Fellow Citizens!” (국민여러분!), a KBS2 drama starring Choi SiWon, Lee YooYoung and Kim MinJung. JungGuk (Choi SiWon), a professional con man, continues to not anticipate the very obvious strategies of other characters. The show's excellent editing shows the three main candidates and their political stance (or lack thereof) in an intriguing way. We also get a hint of anot...
May 15, 2019•56 min
After 5 weeks of hemming and hawing, Judy and Teresa have finally picked "My Fellow Citizens!" (국민여러분!) to cover this spring. This week, we watched episodes 5-8 of this KBS2 drama starring Choi SiWon, Lee YooYoung and Kim MinJung. If you would like to hear about episodes 1-4, please check out KDMEO episodes 130 and 131. We really liked these 4 episodes. The production team is doing an excellent job at zipping things along and intercutting smoothly between jokes and serious moments. There may als...
May 08, 2019•47 min
It's time for Second Impressions! We've selected the following four dramas to see if the second episodes live up to their promise. 6:16 - Kim HyeJa, Han JiMin and Nam JooHyuk continue to tug at our heartstrings in the JTBC drama, "Radiant" (눈이 부시게). If only we weren't so annoyed by the time turner plot holes! Judy is surprisingly more positive about this show than Teresa. 21:10 - "My Fellow Citizens!" (국민여러분!) is a lighthearted KBS2 drama starring Choi SiWon, Lee YooYoung and Kim MinJung. Teresa...
May 01, 2019•58 min
We genuinely enjoyed all three dramas that we selected for springtime first impressions this week. Digressions: 1:05 - "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" Part 2 1:39 - "The Umbrella Academy" 3:21 - "Love, Death & Robots" 8:36 - "Doctor Prisoner" (닥터 프리즈너) is a KBS medical (?) drama, starring Nam GoongMin, Kim ByungChul, Kwon NaRa and Choi WonYoung. The term that comes most to mind about this show is "overwrought". The ER doctor/oncologist/neurosurgeon/OBGYN played by Nam GoongMin is so very go...
Apr 24, 2019•1 hr
Springtime First Impressions continue! This week's theme is "flummoxed". 4:53 - The second season of "Go Go Waikiki" (aka "Welcome to Waikiki" aka 으라차차 와이키키) starts off as a major disappointment. We wish JTBC had given up on the whole enterprise when they realized that they had only Lee YiKyung to work with. Believe us when we say that we really liked his character in the first season, but he has completely crossed over the line into caricature territory. 19:56 - "The Fiery Priest" (열혈사제) is an ...
Apr 17, 2019•56 min
Springtime First Impressions continue! Horsey air kiss! Digressions: 1:15 - "Fargo", the 2014 TV series 3:42 - "Turn: Washington's Spies" 6:44 - "Borderlands 3" news! Hype hype hype! Some Korean terms: 다모: [da-mo] female investigator in ancient Korea; literally "tea lady". One theory of the title's etymology is that these investigators may have been recruited from tea rooms in Koryo dynasty as spies. 해치: [hae-chi] also known as "haetae" (해태); an East Asian mythological animal that was said to be...
Apr 10, 2019•51 min
It's time to check out the kdrama selection of spring 2019! Digressions: 1:34 - "The Girl on the Train" 2:04 - "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra 4:49 - First up is "Legal High" (리갈하이) from JTBC. It's a comedy (?) starring Jin Goo and Seo EunSoo as two lawyers who are conplete opposites, but must work together to win cases. Jin Goo plays a smarmy golddigger, who is completely different from his beloved character from "Descendants of the Sun". 20:45 - "Romance ...
Apr 03, 2019•57 min
Judy and Teresa finally watched the first season of "Kingdom" (킹덤), the first ever Netflix original K-drama, starring Ju JiHoon and Bae DooNa. The first thing that will strike you about "Kingdom" is that it is a beautifully shot drama. The writer (Kim EunHee, who also wrote "Signal") knows exactly why we're watching - old-timey zombies - but also sprinkles enough interpersonal drama to keep us interested. Next week, we start our springtime First Impressions! We'll be talking about "Legal High" (...
Mar 27, 2019•1 hr 15 min
When you're on a rampage for vengeance, maybe don't warn your enemies that you're coming. Judy and Teresa yearn for something more from episodes 29-32 of “Ms Ma, Nemesis” (미스 마), an SBS mystery drama starring Kim YoonJin and Jung WoongIn. The most exciting part of this week was when Ms Ma's (Kim YoonJin) knitting needles came back into action. For someone who has literally nothing to do except for solving cases and plot revenge for over a year, Ms Ma doesn't seem to have any dramatic plans for t...
Mar 20, 2019•43 min
We're back! Judy and Teresa finally get to talk about the bonkers penultimate episodes of “Ms Ma, Nemesis” (미스 마), an SBS mystery drama starring Kim YoonJin and Jung WoongIn. This was a week of switcharoos. There were three (!) cases of body switcharoo as well as a car switcharoo. Believe us when we say that none of these make sense. The drama cobbles together the puzzle of Ms Ma's daughter, but it's so convoluted that no one could possibly come up with the correct solution. You know what, it do...
Mar 13, 2019•51 min
A philosophical question: what constitutes an obstacle? Judy and Robert's heads are spinning at episode 5 of "Memories of the Alhambra" (알함브라 궁전의 추억), a TVN drama starring Park ShinHye and Hyun Bin. Wait, this whole thing has only been two days so far? We still feel no sympathy for Jinwoo (Hyun Bin), who only now realizes that he caused the death of Hyungseok (Park Hoon), aka Dead Automobile. Heejoo (Park ShinHye) continues to be dumbest character. TVN, why couldn't you just embrace the fact tha...
Feb 13, 2019•1 hr 3 min
Less sociopathy and more goofy video game, pleae! Judy and Robert meander in their discussion of episode 4 of "Memories of the Alhambra" (알함브라 궁전의 추억), a TVN drama starring Park ShinHye and Hyun Bin. Judy is so determined to be upset at watching this drama that she starts eating chocolate mid-recording. Meanwhile, Robert is oddly fixated on the idea of people stealing high-tech contact lenses off corpses and shoving them onto their own eyeballs? Please send any questions, comments or suggestions...
Feb 06, 2019•57 min
Girl, you're a millionaire now. Put down the toilet phone! Judy and Robert get tipsy as they ramble about episode 3 of "Memories of the Alhambra" (알함브라 궁전의 추억), a TVN drama starring Park ShinHye and Hyun Bin. We have to give credit where it's due. Could it be that all of the flaws in the video game were actually intended by the screenwriter to hint at an interesting twist in this "magical" game? Of course, the "magic" that Hyun Bin's character keeps talking about seems to be basically money. Dig...
Jan 30, 2019•1 hr 11 min
This week's theme is: "That's not how [insert plot device] works!" Judy and Teresa are befuddled by episodes 21-24 of “Ms Ma, Nemesis” (미스 마), an SBS mystery drama starring Kim YoonJin and Jung WoongIn. Kim YoonJin is doing the lord's work this week, portraying both Ms Ma and also the doppleganger Writer. Judy gets disproportionately upset with a piece of jewelry. Teresa wants Ms Ma to adopt Eyeliner Kid (Choi SeungHoon) to form a Revenge Family. Some Korean terms: 윷놀이: [yoot-nol-ee] a tradition...
Jan 23, 2019•1 hr
Judy and Teresa's heads are spinning from the twists and turns in episodes 17-20 of “Ms Ma, Nemesis” (미스 마), an SBS mystery drama starring Kim YoonJin and Jung WoongIn. The Actress (Yoon HaeYoung) continues to be a self-absorbed idiot, and her easily preventable death at the end of this week means that she can't even be useful to Ms Ma (Kim YoonJin) as a witness for her daughter's case, so thanks for nothing. The Photographer's (Park MinJi) motives are so vague that her story arc doesn't have th...
Jan 16, 2019•49 min
Teresa, come back and save Judy! Join Judy and Robert for this super casual chat in which they struggle to focus on second episode of "Memories of the Alhambra" (알함브라 궁전의 추억), a TVN drama starring Park ShinHye and Hyun Bin. This episode really didn't do anything to make us like Hyun Bin's douchebag CEO character. We were hopeful for Park ShinHye's character for a split second until she went back to grovelling, just because she finds out he's rich. We just wanted more dorky, nonsensical video gam...
Jan 09, 2019•46 min
Happy New Year! Judy is joined by special guest, Robert, to talk about the first episode of "Encounter" (남자친구), yet another TVN winter drama starring Park BoGum and Song HyeKyo. Robert is surprised that this show is also from TVN, seeing as how it's shot and edited exponentially better than "Memories of the Alhambra". Judy is annoyed that the main obstacle to the main characters' romance can be summed up with #RichPeopleProblems. Robert suspects Park BoGum's character of having sinister stalker-...
Jan 02, 2019•1 hr 5 min
Ms Ma is making up for last week's snoozefest by kicking ass! Judy and Teresa are enthralled by episodes 13-16 of “Ms Ma, Nemesis” (미스 마), an SBS mystery drama starring Kim YoonJin and Jung WoongIn. Is Ms Ma's Husband (Song YoungGyu) evil or not? Judy's patience for the Actress' (Yoon HaeYoung) shenanigans is wearing thin. What is up with Officer Bae (Shin Woo)? Is he really a dumbass or is he just pretending? So much information swirling around! We love it. Digressions: 0:38 - Listener E-mails!...
Dec 26, 2018•59 min
Sorry about the quality of Judy's voice track this week. Give us our dinner party murder mystery, dammit! Judy and Teresa were slightly let down by episodes 9-12 of “Ms Ma, Nemesis” (미스 마), an SBS mystery drama starring Kim YoonJin and Jung WoongIn. Teresa is getting suspicious about Ms Ma's husband (Song YoungGyu), who was all sweet supportiveness in previous weeks and now reveals himself as a physically abusive, shady asshole who maybe has hired killers on hand? Judy decides that Mr. Ko (Choi ...
Dec 19, 2018•46 min
Teresa is off this week, so we're taking a break from "Ms Ma, Nemesis". Judy is joined by special guest, Robert, to discuss the first episode of "Memories of the Alhambra" (알함브라 궁전의 추억), a TVN drama starring Park ShinHye and Hyun Bin. Judy wonders if listeners suggested this kdrama, just to listen to some class A ranting. Robert tries to figure out how to make this AR (augmented reality) game actually profitable instead of the technologically impressive dumpster fire it is. Digressions: 1:52 - U...
Dec 12, 2018•58 min
"It started crazy and it ended crazy." Judy and Teresa loved the cheesiness of episodes 5-8 of “Ms Ma, Nemesis” (미스 마), an SBS mystery drama starring Kim YoonJin and Jung WoongIn. To listen to us talk about episodes 1-4 of "Ms Ma, Nemesis", check out KDMEO episodes 109 and 112! Judy is discomfited by the way this drama shows the darker sides of Korea, such as bullying in schools and prejudice against Chinese people of Korean descent. Teresa wonders why the murderer continued to follow through on...
Dec 05, 2018•1 hr 1 min
This week, we covered the second hour of our final 3 choices for fall kdramas. If you missed our previous coverage of these dramas, check out KDMEO episodes 109 and 110. Digressions: 0:59 - "Live" (라이브) is still great 2:18 - Judy tried out "The Last Empress" (황후의 품격) 6:36 - "Assassin's Creed: Odyssey" 8:41 - "Matrimonial Chaos" (최고의 이혼) is from KBS and stars Bae DooNa, Cha TaeHyun, Lee El and Son SukKu. Teresa wants to hate the male lead (Sukmoo played by Cha TaeHyun), but he reveals a teeny tin...
Nov 28, 2018•1 hr 12 min
No theme this week! Next week, we're narrowing down our fall kdrama choices. We will be covering the second hour of "Ms. Ma, Nemesis" (미스마), "Matrimonial Chaos" (최고의 이혼) and "The Player" (플레이어). Digressions: 0:42 - Teresa has been watching "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" 3:17 - Judy's farewell to "Witcher 3" 5:53 - "Live" (라이브) is an excellent frontline cop drama from TVN starring Jung YuMi, Lee KwangSoo, Bae SeongWoo and Bae JongOk. It's actually from March, but whaddya gonna do, we just felt like ...
Nov 21, 2018•1 hr 16 min
This week's theme is "adulting is hard", and also, that all women who are down on their luck have dreams of becoming writers. We think "100 Days My Prince" is a lost dream. When it eventually becomes available somewhere, we will do a special episode on the rest of the episodes. Digressions: 0:29 - Listener e-mail! Here is the link to the Youtube video she sent us. 3:17 - "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" on Netflix 6:24 - "When Time Stopped" (시간이 멈추는 그때) is an unintentionally hilarious series fro...
Nov 14, 2018•1 hr 3 min
This week's theme is crime! This crop of fall dramas were, for the most part, so much better than last week. Still though, whither "100 Days My Prince"? Next week on Part 3, we're watching the first episodes of "Bad Papa" (배드파파), "Matrimonial Chaos" (최고의 이혼), and "When Time Stopped" (시간이 멈추는 그 때). Digressions: 0:55 - "Overcooked 2 - Surf and Turf" and "World of Warcraft" 3:02 - "It's Okay, That's Love" (괜찮아, 사랑이야) 4:27 - Listener E-mail! 6:32 - "Ms. Ma, Nemesis" (미스마) is a drama from SBS, which ...
Nov 07, 2018•1 hr 3 min
We miss "100 Days My Prince" so much. Judy and Teresa tried to distract themselves with these other fall dramas, which are frankly disappointing. Prepare yourself for much ranting. 6:04 - "Heart Surgeons" (흉부외과) is an SBS medical drama starring Go Soo, Uhm KiJoon and Seo JiHye (Sharon from "Black Knight"!). Teresa likes medical dramas, but couldn't really get into this one. Judy finds the two male characters lacking in charisma, but might watch a bit more of it, just to see how Seo JiHye will be...
Oct 31, 2018•1 hr 18 min
Obligatory shoe-buying! Judy and Teresa facepalm their way through episodes 7-8 of “100 Days My Prince” (100일의 낭군님), a TVN drama starring Do KyungSoo (D.O. from EXO) and Nam JiHyun. What's happened that all the villainous characters this week? The Queen (Oh YeonAh) acts like her talisman is super well-hidden, but it turns out to be pretty lame. Lord Park (Ahn Seok-Hwan) is doing some wacky nonsense, like standing next to a target and giving Wondeuk/Crown Prince (Do KyungSoo) a bow and arrow. Lef...
Oct 25, 2018•1 hr 19 min
Quel scandale! Judy and Teresa got tipsy and sassy about episodes 5-6 of “100 Days My Prince” (100일의 낭군님), a TVN drama starring Do KyungSoo (D.O. from EXO) and Nam JiHyun. Teresa is incredulous at Eunuch Yang's (Jo HyunSik) naivete when he's in such a dire situation with the Left State Councillor (Jo SungHa). Judy hopes that the Wondeuk/Crown Prince's (Do KyungSoo) riddle will make sense for non-Korean speakers when Investigator (Kim SeonHo) finally solves it. The most touching scene this week w...
Oct 17, 2018•1 hr 19 min
Madame Etiquette is back! Judy and Teresa are full of conjecture about episodes 3-4 of “100 Days My Prince” (100일의 낭군님), a TVN drama starring Do KyungSoo (D.O. from EXO) and Nam JiHyun. We are not neurologists or psychologists, but is it possible for an amnesiac to recognize the source of fancy fabrics at a glance and yet not remember the basic workings of commerce? We need Wondeuk/Crown Prince (Do KyungSoo) to become more likable immediately. Why does Hongshim (Nam JiHyun) get so emotional when...
Oct 10, 2018•1 hr 22 min
How dare you not have an archery contest after that setup? Judy and Teresa are loving the plot intricacies in episode 2 of “100 Days My Prince” (100일의 낭군님), a TVN drama starring Do KyungSoo (D.O. from EXO) and Nam JiHyun. Judy and Teresa are perturbed by the advances of Investigator Jong Jaeyoon (Kim SunHo) on the moonlit bridge. Just ask any woman if they enjoy being accosted by a cop in the middle of the night and being manhandled for no reason. It's positively charming. Judy enjoys that the f...
Oct 03, 2018•47 min
