[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show The Sound of Your Heart (KBS, 2016), Lee Kwang-su’s versatility as an actor and the underrated queen of K-dramas—Kim Mi-kyung. Grace’s guest is LA-based comedian and writer Wendy Wilkins (@wendyjean on Instagram). Grace and Wendy discuss bad friends, life transitions, self-care, emotional support, brothers, and food. Pepper the dog makes a guest appearance which you can hear through her panting and squeaky toy. Follow @K...
Nov 29, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 48
In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace doesn’t discuss any K-dramas at all. (She will resume next week.) Grace is feeling the breeze in her life because of some winds of change. Her guest is comedian and actor Fred Stoller (@fred_stoller) who was in Dumb & Dumber, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Seinfeld, Rick & Morty, and countless others. Fred is also the writer and producer of the feature film Fred & Vinnie. Grace and Fred talk about his book Maybe We'll Have You Back , and th...
Nov 22, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 47
In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace doesn’t discuss any K-dramas at all. The drama for this week is just from being Korean American. In this episode, Grace talks to video artist, filmmaker, educator, and therapist Helen Hyunkyung Park (@parkhyunkyunghelen on Instagram). Grace and Helen’s relationship dates back to 2009 when they were both Fulbright scholars in Seoul. This episode of K-drama school is meant for recharge, reset, reflection and reassurance. As you listen, remember to be presen...
Nov 15, 2021•1 hr 31 min•Season 1Ep. 46
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show One Spring Night (MBC, 2019), and its critique of patriarchy, domestic abuse, and status/image-obsessed parents who forgo their children’s safety. Grace also mentions how Jung Hae-in and Han Ji-min lack chemistry in One Spring Night as opposed to how well Jung Hae-in meshed with Son Ye-jin in There’s Something in the Rain. Grace’s guest is LA-based comedian Kristal Adams (@thedarkkristal on Instagram and Twitter). Krista...
Nov 08, 2021•1 hr 34 min•Season 1Ep. 45
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show Navillera (tvN, 2021), and dives into its queer theme, existential exploration on pursuing the arts in one's 70s, and being there for one's artistic self. Grace's guest is the very funny LA-based comedian and actor Tim Murray (@tmurray06 on Instagram) who is on HBO's The Other Two and the film Swan Song (2021). Grace and Tim discuss tennis, Oprah, 1990s movies and TV shows, childhood trauma, and Amanda Bynes. Follow @KDr...
Nov 01, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Season 1Ep. 44
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (tvN, 2021). She addresses Kim Seon-ho’s scandal, and how to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of #MeToo to find healing. Grace’s guest is Leah Steuer, PhD Candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who specializes in television audience studies and affect theory. Leah is also Grace’s old friend from back in the UCLA master’s degree days in Los Angeles. They start out by discussing The Many S...
Oct 25, 2021•1 hr 46 min•Season 1Ep. 43
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the campy narrative of the show Till the End of the World (MBC, 1998), and how Ryu Si-won was a 1990s K-drama hottie who met his downfall after getting marred in a domestic abuse scandal. Grace’s guest is the very profound and funny New York-based comedian Misho Shakur (@misho.shakur on Instagram). They talk about trust, fear, tools, love, Jesus, cults, elephants, psychedelics, Syria, trauma, Dumbo , and so much more. Follow @KDr...
Oct 18, 2021•1 hr 42 min•Season 1Ep. 42
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show Squid Game (Netflix, 2021) for the second time. (For her first take on Squid Game , check out episode 39 of K-Drama School podcast.) Grace finds the arguments on Twitter over Squid Game ’s subtitle translations ridiculous given the high subjectivity of language interpretation. She asks why critics are not questioning Netflix’s impossible expectations and demands out of laborers who work under high pressures and strict ti...
Oct 11, 2021•1 hr 47 min•Season 1Ep. 41
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show Autumn in My Heart (KBS, 2000)—the show that launched Song Hye-kyo, Song Seung-hun and Won Bin into international hallyu fame. Grace breaks down the show’s highly camp dramatic theatrics that threw her into a pit of adolescent despair for a full year, how Y2K K-dramas ruined beaches for her, the intense fire of K-drama netizens of South Korea, and the significance of affective attachments between viewers and television c...
Oct 04, 2021•1 hr 42 min•Season 1Ep. 40
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show Squid Game (Netflix, 2021) which is streaming exclusively on Netflix. Grace predicts an Emmy and/or Golden Globe nod for Netflix next year due to Squid Game . She then breaks down Squid Game’s critique and deep analysis of neoliberalism, the show’s sexism (a common problem caused by most male Korean filmmakers), Lee Jung-jae’s stardom, Hwang Dong-hyuk’s sly way of exposing his filmography on the show by inserting Gong Yo...
Sep 27, 2021•1 hr 48 min•Season 1Ep. 39
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show Dear My Friends (tvN, 2016) which is streaming on Netflix in non-South Korean territories. The show features veteran Korean actors including Oscar-winner Youn Yuh-jung, Mother (2009, Bong Joon-ho) actress Kim Hye-ja, Na Moon-hee, Go Doo-shim, Shin Goo and Go Hyun-jung. Grace mourns the death of comedian Norm Macdonald and celebrates having met comedian Bobby Lee at the Comedy Store. Grace talks about the progress she’s m...
Sep 20, 2021•1 hr 42 min•Season 1Ep. 38
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show Record of Youth (tvN, 2020) which is streaming on Netflix in non-South Korean territories. Grace is still on the road. She discusses disorganized comedy festival runners, the US Open Women's Championship game between Leylah Fernandez (19) and Emma Raducanu (18) who broke all odds and expectations, giving women inspiration and hope everywhere. Grace then talks to Berlin-based clown, puppeteer, performance artist, cabaret ...
Sep 13, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 37
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the Netflix-exclusive K-drama DP ( 2021, Netflix). Grace pays tribute to late LA comic Fu. Rest in peace. Grace does a deep-textual analysis of DP, Korean masculinity, militarism, South Korean military’s homophobia/transphobia, what desertion means in the face of dehumanization, corruption, cronyism, bullying, hazing, assault, the perpetual cycles of toxic behaviors, and consequences of standing up for one’s beliefs. Follow @KDra...
Sep 06, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 36
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show Coffee Prince (MBC, 2007) as a queer text for both queer pleasure and queer upset. Grace cites Jack Halberstam's theory on female masculinity and Judith Butler's theory on gender as a performance in reference to Go Eun-chan's tomboyism. Grace’s guest is Dr. Mark Hussey who is a Virginia Woolf scholar and now professor emeritus of Pace University's English department where Grace earned her B.A. Dr. Hussey is the author of...
Aug 30, 2021•1 hr 43 min•Season 1Ep. 35
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show It’s Okay, That’s Love (SBS, 2014). Grace’s guest is Los Angeles-based comedian, writer and actor Conner Shin. Conner is a UCB alum who also writes for the animated show Harley Quinn which is on HBO Max. They discuss learning how to skateboard as an adult, expanding our comfort zone, the meaninglessness of the word “stupid,” how to cope with depression, how to deal with late people, how to deal with people who ignore mes...
Aug 23, 2021•1 hr 43 min•Season 1Ep. 34
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show My Princess (MBC, 2011). Kris Jones, PhD Candidate at the UCLA film school kicks us off with some hilarious answers to Grace’s flashcard questions, which Grace recorded on UCLA campus on her graduation day—June 11, 2021. Grace’s guest is Dr. Bambi Haggins who is a media studies professor at the University of California Irvine and the author of Laughing Mad: The Black Comic Persona in Post-Soul America [ https://www.rutge...
Aug 16, 2021•1 hr 40 min•Season 1Ep. 33
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show Reply 1988 (2015-2016, tvN) and the significance of late 1980s student demonstrations for the democratization of South Korea, the Seoul Summer Olympics, and her love for Lee Dong-hwi. Grace then has a chat with Joe von Hutch (@joevonhutch on Instagram) is a comedian, writer, activist and attorney based in Berlin who co-founded DADDY Media. Joe talks about growing up in New York, going to Berlin for the first time as a te...
Aug 09, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 32
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show Secret Garden (2010, SBS) as a queer text in how it depicts gender fluidity, and compares it to Korean shamanism. Grace also discusses her journey towards fearlessness, bullying in the Korean church, cleaning out house (the mind) of misconceptions and misperceptions of the self through self-compassion exercises. Grace then talks to comedian Kelly Ryan (@thisisKellyRyan on Instagram) about chihuahuas, diets, feminism, Tex...
Aug 02, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 31
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show Miss Korea (2013, MBC), its depiction of the 1997 IMF Crisis, Korean masculinity in “crisis,” Lee Chang-dong’s Peppermint Candy (1999), the film Mulberry (1986) starring Lee Mi-sook, Lee Sun-kyun, and Lee Yeon-hee. Grace then talks Van Jazmin (@vanjazmin on Instagram)—an LA-based visual artist, clown, and filmmaker. His film Hollywood Home Video won Best Documentary Short at the Berlin Underground Film Festival in 2020, ...
Jul 26, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Season 1Ep. 30
[Trigger Warning] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses The Choe Show (FX, 2021) hosted and produced by Korean American artist and former DVDASA podcast host David Choe while processing and working through her life events. Grace then continues her talk with guest co-host Julieta Degese (@dgcjulieta on Instagram) who shares a very vulnerable fact about herself. They go into Grace’s contentious relationship with her sibling, and Julieta talks about grieving her father while balancing ...
Jul 19, 2021•1 hr 50 min•Season 1Ep. 29
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses The Choe Show (FX, 2021) hosted and produced by Korean American artist and former DVDASA podcast host David Choe. Grace invites David Choe to be a guest on her podcast, then dives deep Choe-style and opens up in the most raw way about where her abandonment issues began, molestation, rape by boyfriends, gaslighting from a Korean American church, gaslighting from Korean immigrant parents, why han (한/恨) is contested by Korean studie...
Jul 12, 2021•1 hr 49 min•Season 1Ep. 28
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show All About Eve (2000, MBC), and the theme of orphans, and Kim So-yeon from Penthouse . Grace also talks about feelings that came up after reaching her GoFundMe campaign goal, self-worth, a dream she had recently that taught her a lesson about judgment, leveling up, and her obsession with David Choe and The Choe Show on FX. Grace then talks to LA-based comedian Rachel Abrahams (@rachelbabrahams on Instagram) who drops know...
Jul 05, 2021•2 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 27
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show Master’s Sun (2013, SBS). Grace talks about how So Ji-sub tried to emulate Cha Seung-won’s persona from The Greatest Love (2011, MBC) in his role as Joo Joong-won in Master’s Sun but failed. Grace also processes some lousy news she received her alma mater UCLA; although they said they were going to pay for her postproduction costs ($2,000), they told her last minute that they will not. If you’d like to donate to her docu...
Jun 28, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 26
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show Thank You (2007, MBC). Grace talks about being in Idaho and the sights she's seen then has a chat with comedian and screenwriter Jackie Monahan who is the co-writer of The Foxy Merkins (2013, Madeleine Olnek) which played at Sundance Film Festival in 2014 and the Moscow International Film Festival that same year. The film was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. Jackie’s comedy special “These Lips” is available on ...
Jun 21, 2021•1 hr 38 min•Season 1Ep. 25
[Spoiler Alert] Grace discusses Stairway to Heaven (2003, SBS) and the show’s director Lee Jang-soo’s directorial imprint on the “heaven trilogy” shows he helms. Grace breaks down the meaning of “makjang” drama in the context of televisuality and political economy which affected Y2K socio-cultural habits such as spending and consumption in South Korea. Grace then has a chat with her dear friend and hilarious Berlin-based comedian Christoph Schmid (@topf52 on Instagram) about fatherhood to a todd...
Jun 14, 2021•1 hr 29 min•Season 1Ep. 24
[Spoiler Alert] Grace discusses Fated to Love You (2014, MBC), and the nostalgic intertexts and callbacks the show includes from Jang Hyuk and Jang Nara's careers as singers and actors for nearly two decades as the Jang couple reunites 12 years after their first small-screen appearance together on Successful Story of a Bright Girl (2002, SBS). Grace talks about how she was mistaken for a medical doctor by another comedian in her scene, as well as the doubts her parents had of her abilities which...
Jun 07, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Season 1Ep. 23
[Spoiler Alert] Marisa Llamas (@llamedycentral on Instagram) makes a guest co-host appearance to answer some flashcard questions based on Reply 1997 (2012, tvN). Grace discusses Reply 1997 , and how wrong it is that Netflix and Kocowa remove or replace music cues in certain Korean dramas they distribute. Grace then has a chat with Julyane Lee (@julayneelle on Twitter) who is the author of Not My White Savior . They talk about South Korea's adoption issue, racism from white adoptive parents, Mia ...
May 31, 2021•1 hr 51 min•Season 1Ep. 22
[Spoiler Alert] Tobias Hauser (@hahahouser) makes a guest co-host appearance to answer some flashcard questions based on Hello My Twenties! (2016, JTBC) . Grace discusses Hello My Twenties! and the representation of believable female protagonists, as well as Minari (2020, Lee Issac Chung) and why Brad Pitt should kiss Youn Yuh-jung’s feet in addition to the polarized reception between Korean audiences and Korean American audiences. Grace reflects on her trip to New York, and the return. She tras...
May 24, 2021•2 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 21
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show Live (2018, tvN) and Noh Hee-kyung's impressive career and mother-obsession. Grace is still in New York as she reflects on her life as an artist and intellectual living in the United States where both careers are under-appreciated. Grace then has a chat with screenwriter Shinho Lee (@shinholee77 on Instagram) who co-wrote The Chaser (2008, Na Hong-jin) and teaches at NYU Tisch about the Korean television industry, patria...
May 17, 2021•1 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 20
[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show Personal Taste (2010, MBC) and its LGBTQIA+ theme. Grace continues to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month as well as picture-locking her film while in New York. Grace talks about acknowledging the celebration of mothers on Mother's Day but also being mindful and respectful of those who have contentious relationships or no relationship with their parents who might feel uncomfortable with such holidays. Grace then has a chat wit...
May 10, 2021•1 hr 33 min•Season 1Ep. 19
