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KajoPicks: 8 South Korean dramas to watch for some countryside romance

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Forget about Hallmark, here are eight South Korean dramas to watch for some countryside romance:

1.When the Camellia Blooms (2019)

This drama is a ‘noona’ countryside romance mixed with some murder mystery.

When the Camellia Blooms (2019) follows the story of a single mother Oh Dong-baek (Gong Hyo-jin) who runs a bar called “Camellia” in the fictional town of Ongsan.

She has a 8-year-old son Kang Pil-gu (Kim Kang-hoon). Dong-baek unfortunately always becomes the subject of the town’s gossip just because she is beautiful, runs a bar and a single mother.

The gossip worsens when a younger police officer Hwang Yong-sik (Kang Ha-neul) openly pursues her.

On top of that, the sudden appearance of Dong-baek’s ex-boyfriend and Pil-gu’s biological father Kang Jong-ryul (Kim Ji-seok) adds more whispers among the neighbours.

In the drama, Ongsan has all the essence of rural social life with aunties gossiping about everything under the sun.

Regardless, these are the same aunties who usually the first people offer helps during hard times.

For Dong-baek, the hard time comes when a serial killer sets her as the next target.

The series was filmed mostly in Guryongpo Beach, an area that was used as a fishing village during Japanese colonial times and to this day remains a fishing town.

2.When the Weather is Fine (2020)

KajoPicks: 8 South Korean dramas to watch for some countryside romance

The male character in this drama is living my retirement dream.

Im Eun-seob (Seo Kang-joon) is the owner of a bookshop named “Goodnight Bookstore”.

Every day he wakes up, drink coffee, read a book and write on his blog.

His seemingly mundane life is interrupted when his former classmate and neighbour moves back to town.

Cellist Mok Hae-won (Park Min-young) quits her job in Seoul and goes back to Bookhyun Village.

It was where she briefly lived when she was in high school.

The drama is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Lee Do-woo.

If you are into a slow-paced type of storyline that set against white winter background, this is the drama for you.

3.Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021)

This series is a remake of 2004 romantic comedy Mr Handy, Mr Hong.

It follows the story of Yoon Hye-jin (Shin Min-a) who moves to the seaside village of Gongjin from Seoul after her career as a dentist suffers a setback.

She then decides to establish her own dental clinic in Gongjin.

There, she comes across a peculiar man with an unclear background Hong Du-sik (Kim Seon-ho). The villagers nicknamed him Chief Hong as he always there to help the town folks.

Hye-jin and Du-sik’s countryside romance is a classic tale of enemies to lovers as both of them always bicker in the beginning of the series.

The drama was one of the highest-rated dramas in Korean cable television history and one of Netflix’s most-watched non-English television shows.

4.Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020)

While the female lead in the previous drama is a cellist, the protagonist in Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020) is a pianist who retreats to the countryside for a fresh start.

Goo Ra-ra (Go Ara)’s life suddenly turns from riches to rags when her family business goes bankrupt.

While trying to rebuild her life in the rural area, she comes across Joon Sun-woo (Lee Jae-wook).

Despite their unexpected meeting, Sun-woo is generous and helpful toward Ra-ra. He even pays for her living cost and builds a small place for a piano lesson so that Ra-ra can get back on her feet.

Is he genuinely want to help Ra-ra or is there an unspoken reason behind his generosity?

5.Eccentric! Chef Moon (2020)

This series follows the story of two people who moved to the countryside for two different reasons.

Moon Seung-mo (Eric Mun) is a famous chef and the only heir to an 80-year old traditional Korean pork soup restaurant.

When tragedy strikes and he loses his parents due to a fire, he decides to move to the quiet Seoha Village.

Meanwhile, Yoo Yoo-jin (Go Won-hee) is a popular fashion designer. After losing her memory from an accident, she makes her move to Seoha Village.

Her memory loss also causes a complete change of personality; from her usual glamorous self to acting like an oddball.

So what happen when these two opposite characters meet in a small, quaint village?

6.Summer Strike (2022)

After her boyfriend dumps her, her mother dies an accident. As she goes through one of her worst periods in her life, Lee Yeo-reum (Seol Hyun) decides to quit her job and moves to a small village.

There, everything is new and strange to her.

She also gets to know one of the residents An Dae-beom (Im Si-wan) who works as a librarian.

Overall, it is a slow paced drama without any much conflicts as it focuses more on human emotions and relationships.

The drama is based on a webtoon of the same title by writer Joo Young-hyun.

7.Like Flower in Sand (2023)

This drama is set against the backdrop of the fictional ssireum city of Geosan. Ssireum or Korean wrestling is a traditional national sport of Korea.

The storyline circles around Kim Baek-doo (Jang Dong-yoon) who is a ssireum player considering to retire from the sport.

When his childhood friend/first love Oh Yoo-kyung (Lee Ju-myoung) becomes the management team leader for his ssireum team, everything takes a different in his life.

Like Flowers in Sand is written by Won Yon-jung and directed by Kim Jin-woo. The cast also includes Yun Jong-seok as Min Hyun-wook, Kim Bo-ra as Joo Mi-ran, Lee Jae-joon as Kwak Jin-soo, and Lee Joo-seung as Jo Seok-he.

8.Welcome to Samdal-ri (2023)

Set on Jeju Island, the plot centers on two childhood friends, Cho Yong-pil (Ji Chang-wook) and Cho Sam-dal (Shin Hye-sun).

Following the tragic loss of his mother due to a mistaken weather forecast, Yong-pil resolves to become a weather forecaster to safeguard his hometown’s elderly residents.

However, his steadfast commitment and intolerance for inaccurate information brand him as a stubborn troublemaker.

Meanwhile, Sam-dal moves to Seoul to pursue her aspiration of becoming a successful fashion photographer under the alias Cho Eun-hye.

However, when her career takes a turn to the downfall, she returns to her hometown where she reunites with Yong-pil.

Despite past conflicts that drove them apart, their bond remains as strong as ever, reaffirming their enduring affection for each other.

The drama is directed by Cha Young-hoon who is known for his work Uncontrollably Fond (2016) and When the Camellia Blooms (2019).

You obviously can see the pattern here in these K-dramas (as well as Hallmark’s Christmas movies) with countryside romance.

When bad thing happen in life, retreat to the rural area. There, you will find a hard time adjusting but it is okay. In the end of the day, you will find your prince charming and you will live happily ever after. The end.

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Disney+ Hotstar unveils its thrilling lineup of Korean content for 2024

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After a successful 2023 marked by Korean originals Big Bet and Moving receiving numerous international awards, with Moving emerging as Disney+ Hotstar’s most-watched local original of the year, the streaming platform is set to continue its momentum.

Speaking on Feb 19 during the announcement of the lineup, Carol Choi, Executive Vice President, Original Content Strategy, The Walt Disney Company APAC, said: “The new Korean originals announced today really builds on the positive momentum and success of our APAC content slate last year. We will continue to scale our creative ambition with a curated collection of APAC originals, centered on quality storytelling and top talent, in collaboration with the region’s  most exciting storytellers.”

Here are seven shows you can look forward to from Disney+ Hotstar in 2024:

Blood Free:

Disney+ Hotstar unveils its thrilling lineup of Korean content for 2024

Starring Ju Jihoon (Kingdom) and Han Hyojoo (Moving), Blood Free follows a former bodyguard haunted by the failures of his past. After diving down a rabbit hole of tangled leads, he finds himself recruited to protect the CEO of a controversial lab-grown meat company who is also a survivor of the fateful attack that changed his life.

Unmasked:

Disney+ Hotstar unveils its thrilling lineup of Korean content for 2024

Set in modern-day Seoul, Unmasked follows a crack team of investigative journalists who are fighting for their careers after broadcasting a controversial story. With time running out, the team is given an impossible task if they want to save their jobs – solve a twenty-year-old cold case involving a famous actor who disappeared without a trace. Unmasked stars Kim Hyesoo (Under The Queen’s Umbrella).

The Tyrant:

Disney+ Hotstar unveils its thrilling lineup of Korean content for 2024

The Tyrant follows a U.S. government agent as he tries to recover a deadly new virus stolen from the South Korean government. With everything at stake, this action-packed series sees global intelligence agencies battle against nefarious parties to prevent the virus spreading across the world.

Gangnam B-Side:

A thrilling crime drama, Gangnam B-Side follows a pariah detective pulled back into the game after his daughter’s friend goes missing. The latest in a long line of women to go missing in the Gangnam area of Seoul, the detective will delve back into a world of vice, drugs and corruption to uncover something that threatens to topple some of the city’s wealthiest elite.

The Zone: Survival Mission – Season 3:

The popular Disney+ Korean variety has been renewed for its third season with Kwon Yuri and Yoo Jaesuk returning alongside new hosts – former UFC fighter Kim Donghyun and popular YouTuber Dex. Together, the foursome will get up to more hijinks than ever before as they try to survive an increasingly complex range of challenges.

Uncle Samsik:

Starring Parasite star Song Kangho, and Byun Yohan (Mr. Sunshine), Uncle Samsik is a societal drama set in 1960s Korea that follows an idealistic politician, and a mysterious political fixer called Uncle Samsik who operates in the shadows. Together the pair form an uneasy partnership with the goal of transforming a struggling post-war Korea into a prosperous country where everyone can afford three meals a day.

Light Shop:

Disney+ Hotstar unveils its thrilling lineup of Korean content for 2024

An adaptation of the hit webtoon of the same name, Light Shop follows a group of strangers, each struggling to come to terms with a traumatic event in their past. Going about their daily lives, each individual is mysteriously drawn to a light shop that sits at the end of a seedy alleyway. Guarded by a vigilant shopkeeper, the light shop could hold the key to the strangers’ pasts, presents and futures.

Starring Ju Jihoon (Kingdom), Lee Jungeun (Parasite), Park Boyung (Oh My Ghost), and Bae Seongwoo (Veteran), today’s sizzle gave the first look at this eagerly anticipated new series from Kangfull, the visionary behind 2023’s breakout hit series Moving.

With even more local titles set to be announced in the weeks and months to come, be sure to stay tuned to Disney+ Hotstar for more captivating Korean content.

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5 reasons why K-drama Moving (2023) is worth all the buzz

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When the first episode of Korean drama Moving (2023) was aired on Disney+ in South Korea, it became the biggest premiere ever on the platform based on hours watched in its first week of availability.

Then when it was released globally, it became the most watched series in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan as well as other Southeast Asian countries.

So what is the big deal? It is just about a bunch of teenagers and their parents who have superpowers, American dramas and films have a lot of those…but after watching the first episode, we understand why Variety called the series “the next breakout hit from Asia after Squid Game”.

Here are five reasons why K-drama Moving (2023) is worth all the buzz and why you should watch it:

5 reasons why K-drama Moving (2023) is worth all the buzz

1.The star-studded cast and their brilliant performances

Let us talk about the star-studded cast. First, we have Ryu Seung-ryong. Who is he you might ask? Well, he is the first Korean to star in four movies that have drawn over 10 million viewers each.

Some of his works are the famous tear-jerker Miracle in Cell No.7 (which became at the time the third highest grossing Korean film of all time), The Admiral: Roaring Currents (which is currently the highest-grossing film of all time in South Korea) and Extreme Job (which is currently the second highest-grossing film of all time in that country).

Then, we have Zo In-sung, a heartthrob known for his roles in Something Happened in Bali (2004), That Winter, the Wind Blows (2013) and A Frozen Flower (2008).

This drama marks his first official return to the small screen after his 2014 drama It’s Okay, That’s Love (2014).

Also staring in the drama is Zo’s real-life friend Cha Tae-hyun. Most viewers would remember him from My Sassy Girl (2001), Scandal Makers (2008) and Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds (2017).

Other big names on the list of cast include Han Hyo-joo, Ryoo Seung-bum and Kim Sung-kyun.

Some might said 36-year-old Han is too young to play the role of a mother to a teenager but her performance in the drama will shut the critics up.

When adult actors playing the roles of high school students, it is usually too awkward to watch. Just because they look young, it doesn’t mean they can act young.

However, hats off to Go Youn-jung (age 27) and Lee Jung-ha as well as Kim Do-hoon who are both 25 years-old.

Their performances as teenagers are very convincing.

A special shout out to Lee Jung-ha who completely transformed for his role. He is almost unrecognisable as he reportedly gained 30kg as Kim Bong-suk.

2.It is an adaptation of Kang Full’s work

The series is based on the eponymous webtoon by Kang Full.

He is considered as a ‘first generation’ webtoon artist who has been releasing his works since 2002.

Besides Moving, his other webtoons that have been adapted into screens are Hello, Schoolgirl (2008), Pained (2011), The Neighbour (2012) and Timing (2014).

If you are a fan of Kang’s webtoon, this drama is definitely worth watching.

Plus, the script for the screen adaptation is written by Kang himself.

3.Well-paced storytelling

Despite having no formal training in art and writing, Kang has always been known as a great storyteller.

And you cannot help but acknowledge his natural talent of storytelling as you watch Moving.

The series progresses with each episode tells the background stories of different characters.

Combining with many flashback scenes, viewers can slowly put together of what is going on and where is the story going.

Of course, there are plenty of “Aha!”, “Ooo” and “WTH” moments too.

All in all, the plot progresses with a nice pace with enough suspense that viewers cannot wait for the next episode.

4.Phenomenal action scenes

Action scenes are always fun to watch for those who enjoy them but it is more fun if the action include some supernatural powers.

We warn you; some of the scenes might be too gruesome to watch.

Plus, the way the killing scenes are carried out almost remind you of John Wick or Denzel Washington from The Equalizer.

Overall, the action scenes in Moving are quite original and some would make you hold on to your chair tighter.

5.It is romance, family, conspiracy and coming-of-age stories all wrapped in one

All in all, Moving is more than just an action drama filled with supernatural people like American drama Heroes (2006).

It is a story of romance of two couples who go through many hardships just to be together.

In the same time, it is a story about family where parents would sacrifice everything just for the children.

Speaking of the children, they are like any other teenagers trying to figure out themselves and their future who happened to have superpowers.

Behind it all, there is a conspiracy brewing which will push these characters to their limits.

Directed by Park In-je, Moving is available on Disney+.

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KajoReviews: 3 reasons why Revenant is the horror K-drama to watch in 2023

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Do you know why people love any kind of horror entertainment?

This phenomenon triggers the fight-or-flight response, simultaneously boosting adrenaline, endorphins, and dopamine.

After that, the brain can process surroundings and realise that the whole thing is not a real threat.

This knowledge of personal safety is one of the reasons why horror fans always come back for more.

Speaking of horror entertainment, there is always a good number of horror dramas and movies coming out from South Korea.

It is not the end of the year yet, but here at KajoMag we have found the ultimate horror K-drama to watch in 2023.

Revenant (2023) follows the story of Gu San-yeong (Kim Tae-ri). During the day, she is busy with her part time job and studying to become a civil servant at night.

After the death of her estranged father, San-yeong receives some mysterious objects from her father.

She does not think too much about the items until she is approached by Yeom Hae-sang (Oh Jung-se).

Turns out that Hae-sang is a folklore professor who has the special ability to see ghosts and he can see that San-yeong is being possessed by one.

When Hae-sang confronts San-yeong about it, she – like many normal people do – refuses to believe him.

That is until she notices there are mysterious deaths happening around her.

KajoReviews: 3 reasons why Revenant is the horror K-drama to watch in 2023

If you want to know whether this series is worth watching, here are three reasons why Revenant is the horror K-drama to watch in 2023:

  1. Impressive acting from the cast, especially Kim Tae-ri

Let us start by talking about Kim Tae-ri’s performance as Gu San-yeong who is slowly being overtaken by the demon that is possessing her.

The real Gu San-yeong is like any regular young adult struggling to make ends meet. She has no time for any kind of conflicts and dramas, focusing only on her civil service examination. All she wants is to live a simple life with her mum.

Ever since she becomes possessed, however, conflicts begin to stir in her life that even the police come knocking on her door.

Meanwhile, the possessed Gu San-yeong is well, evil. Along with her demonic laugh and creepy smile, viewers cannot help but impressed by Kim’s take on the character.

Other cast members such as Oh Jung-se and Hong Kyung are also worth mentioning.

Oh has always been a versatile actor and famous for being a scene stealer. Viewers can expect nothing less from this award-winning actor.

While Hong still has plenty of space in his resume, the 27-year-old actor manages to pull his own weight in the drama as he works among his senior colleagues.

  • 2. Engrossing storyline

Another good reason to catch up on Revenant is because of the wonderful brain behind its script-writing.

Kim Eun-hee has several masterpieces under her belt including Phantom (2012), Three Days (2014), Signal (2016) and Jirisan (2021).

Perhaps her most famous work is Kingdom (2019), a period horror series which is also Netflix’s first original Korean drama.

She has built her career delivering scripts with psychological thriller, mystery, horror and suspense genres.

With Revenant, one can say it is Eun-hee’s area of expertise as she navigates viewers through suspenseful storyline, shocking plot twists and a good amount of jump scares in between.

In the drama, the main question circles around San-yeong’s possession.

Who is the ghost that possessed her and why? How can she get rid of it before more people around her die?

  • 3.  Not so cliched jump scares

Sometimes we can judge a good horror show by its jump scares.

A good horror movie or drama has to have a good amount of jump scares; not too many that it gets annoying and not too cliched that the story becomes predictable.

And Revenant delivers just that so be ready to get scared when you least expect it.

Apart from the jump scares, the creepy scenes in this drama are also chilling.

Only 12-episodes long, K-drama fans must not miss it.

Watch the trailer here.

Revenant is available for streaming on Disney+.

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KajoPicks: 12 K-dramas and movies starring Kim Rae-won you should watch

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Known for his deep, baritone voice, Kim Rae-won is one of the most memorable South Korean actors out there.

It is not just his unique voice that sets him apart from most of the other actors, it is his appearance as well.

Perhaps because of his masculine facial features and slightly darker skin tone, Kim usually finds himself taking roles as both opposite sides of the law; a policeman or a criminal.

To top his voice and look, Kim also has the talent and passion for acting to make him a well-rounded performer and one of South Korea’s most sought after actors.

Honestly, it was hard to choose our favourite dramas and movies starring Kim Rae-won since he has so many impressive works under his belt.

But somebody had to make the hard decision, so here are 12 K-dramas and movies you should watch if you are a fan of Kim Rae-won:

1.My Little Bride (2004)

This film is a Korean remake of the 2002 Hong Kong movie My Wife is 18 starring Charlene Choi and Ekin Cheng.

Here, Kim plays the role of a male college student Sang-min who has an arranged marriage between a female high school student Bo-eun (Moon Geun-young).

Both of them are forced to get married due to their grandfathers’ arrangement during the Korean War.

After they got married, they decide to hide their marriage. Things get complicated when Bo-eun pretends to be single and starts to date.

And the whole situation escalates even more when Sang-min becomes an art teacher at Bo-eun’s school.

The movie became a sleeper hit and was the second top-crossing Korean film of 2004.

2.Love Story in Harvard (2004)

If My Little Bride was the film that made us to take notice of Kim Rae-won, the drama of his that really caught our attention was none other than Love Story in Harvard (2004).

In this romantic drama, Kim teams up with future female star of K-dramas Kim Tae-hee.

They both play the roles of Harvard students who find love while studying abroad.

Their career choices lead them to different parts of the world after graduation.

Years pass and the former lovers find each other again in Seoul but this time will they let each other go?

The release of the drama brought a lot of popularity to both of the main leads but specifically to Kim Tae-hee who saw an increase amount of advertisement deals after the series.

3.Sunflower (2006)

In this film, Kim takes up the role of a former gangster named Oh Tae-sik.

After being released from prison, Tae-sik heads back to his hometown to start a new life.

He starts a new job at a garage and in the same time tries his best to leave his criminal past behind.

It has not been easy especially because most of the people still live in fear of his past brutal reputation.

But his past eventually catches up on him when a local politician tries to demolish his adoptive mom’s restaurant in order to build a new mall.

Overall, the movie was a hit when it came out. Kim on the other hand was impressive with his acting in the film especially near the ending.

4.A Thousand Days’ Promises (2011)

What we love about Kim is that he always tries to challenge himself in different types of roles as long as there is any opportunity rises for him.

For this melodrama, he plays the role of a doting husband who never gives up on his wife who is struggling with early on-set Alzheimer’s.

Park Ji-hyung (Kim Rae-won) works as an architect. Despite having a fiancee, he has a secret affair with Lee Seo-yeon (Soo Ae).

Seo-yeon breaks up with him after being diagnosed with early on-set Alzheimer’s.

After finding out the reason of the break up, Ji-hyung dumps his fiancée two days before the wedding to be with Seo-yeon.

Despite the fierce opposition from his parents and Seo-yeon herself, Ji-hyung insists to marry Seo-yeon.

Seo-yeon eventually agrees and the couple begins their marriage life together with hardship.

Even when Seo-yeon’s memories starting to fail her, Ji-hyung’s love for her never falters.

A Thousand Days’ Promises is a great drama to watch when you are feeling lovey dovey with your partner.

5.Punch (2014)

When Park Jung-hwan (Kim Rae-won) is told that he only has six months left to live, it makes him to reexamine his life choices.

As the chief of the anti-corruption investigation team for the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office, he had made a lot of decisions that he is not proud of.

Since he is nearing to his death, Jung-hwan decides to pursue justice regardless of its price.

His main goal is to bring down his own boss Prosecutor General Lee Tae-joon, whose friendly public face masks his corruption.

Kim was nominated for the Top Excellence Award at the APAN Star Awards as well as Best Actor in Television at the Baeksang Arts Awards for his role in this drama.

6.Gangnam Blues (2015)

Kim returns to Set in the 1970s during the height of political corruption in South Korea, this action film stars Kim Rae-won and Lee Min-ho.

Kim returns to play a role he is familiar with; being a gangster.

Childhood friends, Jong-dae (Lee Min-ho) and Yong-ki (Kim Rae-won) struggle to get by, until their shanty homes are demolished by local thugs.

Desperate for cash, they get involved in violent political clashes, and are separated during one of the skirmishes.

Three years later, Jong-dae lives as an adopted son of a former gang leader, Gil-soo (Jung Jin-young) and unknown to him, as a small-time gangster.

Meanwhile, Yong-ki has risen as a made man inside Seoul’s most powerful criminal organization.

To play this role, Kim was asked to shed 15 kilograms for his character, which he did in less than a month.

7.The Doctors (2016)

Kim switches his usual police and prison uniforms for some scrubs in this medical drama.

He plays the role of Hong Ji-hong, a doctor who needs to step back in his career and become a biology teacher.

As a teacher, he plays an ‘extra’ attention to a rebellious student named Yoo Hye-jung (Park Shin-hye).

Both are caught in some dramas and eventually separated.

But 13 years later, the teacher-student pair is now reunited as colleagues as both are now surgeons working in a private hospital.

When it was aired, the drama was a hit which lead to Kim experiencing a surge in his popularity and commercial offers.

8.Prison (2017)

In this movie, Kim takes up the challenge playing someone is from both sides of the law.

He plays the role of a former detective Song Yoo-gun who got sentenced in prison for hit-and-run, destruction of evidence and bribery.

In the prison, he catches the attention of Ik-ho (Han Suk-kyu) who is known as “The King’.

Ik-ho wields his power truly like a king from the prison up to a point that the prisoners can leave the prison at nights to commit the perfect crimes.

The film was a surprise hit and Kim received critical acclaim for his realistic execution of action scenes.

9.Black Knight: The Man Who Guards Me (2017)

If you want to see Kim rocking a historical costume, this is his drama for you.

He plays two different role in this series from two different time period.

First is Lee Myung-so, an aristocrat who falls deeply in love with his housemaid/concubine and the 21st century Moon Soo-ho, a young CEO who is still in love with his first crush.

What Soo-ho does not know is that he is the reincarnation of Lee Myung-so. Since Myung-so did not get to live happily ever after with the love of his life, Soo-ho determines that he would.

It is a romantic drama with a dose of fantasy. While the series did not gathered mainstream success like Kim’s previous works, we still enjoy the overall drama.

10.Long Live The King (2019)

Kim is familiar playing the role of a gangster but this time he is playing a mobster in love.

Mob boss Jang Se-chool (Kim Rae-won) meets lawyer Kang So-hyun at an anti-construction protest and quickly falls in love.

Unfortunately, she thinks of him as a thug. She repeatedly rejects him while telling him to live a decent life.

So-hyun eventually tries to get rid of Se-chool by saying that she can never accept him because her life goal is to become a first lady.

Meanwhile, one of Se-chool’s friends is on death row, and the only way to save him is through a presidential pardon.

When Se-chool ends up rescuing passengers after a bus accident at Mokpo Bridge, he is praised as a hero; he decides to use his newfound fame to run for public office, believing that success will lead him to win So-hyun’s heart and save his friend.

Critics has praised Kim’s performance in this movie as ‘one of his finest works’.

11.L.U.C.A: The Beginning (2021)

After dipping his toes in fantasy drama, Kim challenges himself once again in a science fiction genre.

Ji Oh (Kim Rae-won) is a man with special power and unearthly fighting skill. The only problem is, he has no memory of himself, how he got his power and why he is being pursued by a mysterious group of people.

In search of his memory and looking into those who pursued him, he comes across a mysterious group of scientists at an institution named Human Tech and a secretive biotech project code-named L.U.C.A.

Through his adventure, Ji Oh gains himself one ally Ha Neul-ae-goo-reum (Lee Dae-hee). She is a police detective who has a secret past of her own.

12.The First Responders (2022)

KajoPicks: 12 K-dramas and movies starring Kim Rae-won you should watch
Kim Rae-won going undercover as a prisoner in The First Responder (2022)

Here is another cliche role from Kim Rae-won; acting as a police detective.

The drama circles around the cases that takes place at Taewon Police Station and Taewon Fire Station.

Both buildings happened to be located next to each other and even handle most cases together.

Kim in this criminal procedural drama is Jin Ho-gae, a police detective team inspector in Taewon who was recently transferred from Regional Investigation Unit.

He starts to make friends with firefighter Bong Do-jin (Son Ho-jun) and paramedic Song Seol (Gong Seung-yeon).

Jin Ho-gae has tremulous relationship with his father Jin Cheol-jung (Jo Seung-yeon) who is the prosecutor of the Eastern District Attorney’s Office.

His father never wanted Ho-gae to be a policeman as he wanted him to follow his footsteps to read law.

Ho-gae on the other hand, resents his father who maintains dubious relationships with those who are corrupted especially among the rich and politicians.

The series marks Kim’s first terrestrial television in six years since 2016. His return to the small screen is definitely worth it as he bagged the Top Excellence Award for an Actor in a Miniseries Genre/Fantasy Drama at the SBS Drama Awards 2022.

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5 sad truths about unsolved crime case, the Frog Boys that inspired K-movie Children (2011)

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Children (2011) is a mystery thriller Korean movie which circles around a television producer, a psychology professor and a police detective who are investigating the mysterious disappearance of five boys.

In the movie, five years after the boys’ disappearance, Ji-seung (Park Yong-woo), a young ambitious producer at a Seoul television broadcaster, is sent to Daegu after he is caught fabricating parts of a documentary.

In Daegu, he is determined to get a scoop on the mystery case so that he can proudly return to Seoul.

There, he meets a psychology professor, Woo-hyuk (Ryu Seung-ryong), who, using his psychology theory, points to the parents of one of the missing boys as main suspects.

Ji-seung and Woo-hyuk work together to try to prove that Jong-ho’s father and mother killed the children.

But their attempt clashes with Kyung-shik (Sung Dong-il), a veteran detective from a local police station who is the lead investigator of the case.

Kyung-shik believes that a stranger who is familiar with the village committed the crime, not the parents.

Nonetheless, Ji-seung and Woo-hyuk ransack Jong-ho’s house, digging out the stone floor and emptying the toilet, hoping to find the buried bodies of the children, with scores of village residents, reporters and police officers watching.

But the search ends in vain, and the two are slammed for insulting the parents.

The movie then flashes forward to 2002 when the bones of the five children are found at a hill near the village.

5 sad truths about unsolved crime case, the Frog Boys that inspired K-movie Children (2011)
The movie poster for Children (2011)

About the Frog Boys incident, the truth behind Children (2011)

The film unfortunately is based on a true story.

On March 26, 1991, a group of five boys disappeared while searching for salamander eggs in the outskirts of Daegu, South Korea.

Aged between 9 and 13 years old, the boys were Woo Cheol-won (13), Jo Ho-yeon (12), Kim Yeong-gyu (11) , Park Chan-in (10) and Kim Jong-sik (9).

They were later known as the Frog Boys.

Since the disappearance took place on a public holiday for local elections, the media went crazy over the case.

The then President Rae Tae-woo even ordered a massive manhunt to find the frog boys.

Despite all the media attention and 300,000 force dispatched to look for the boys, they remained missing until 10 years later.

On Sept 26, 2002, a man discovered their bodies on Mount Waryong while searching for acorns.

At first the police believed that they died of hypothermia. There were, however, a number of flaws in that theory.

First of all, the site where they were found was not even 100 meters from the streets. Theoretically, even if it was raining and cold that day, it would have taken them five minutes to run home.

Additionally, if they had died due to natural causes, the bones would have been found on top of the dirt, not buried underneath.

Foul play was immediately suspected after a post mortem showed they had signs of blunt-force trauma.

Meanwhile, the parents of the Frog Boys went through tremendous ordeal since the incident.

Here are five sad truths about the Frog Boys and the parents that they left behind:

5 sad truths about unsolved crime case, the Frog Boys that inspired K-movie Children (2011)
Phone cards with the photos, names, and ages of the Frog Boys used to raise awareness and help find them.

1.Many of the parents of the frog boys quit their jobs to look for their sons.

Before the bodies were found, according to Channel News Asia (CNA), the five fathers quit their jobs, rented a small lorry and kept searching across South Korea.

The lorry had photos of the children pasted on the sides and coated to withstand rain. Written below were the word “please help find our missing children”.

2.There were many false leads about the case.

Reportedly, there were over 500 leads about the case. Unfortunately for now, all of them led to nowhere.

There were basically too many theories and conspiracies on what happened to the children.

On top of that, there were many prank calls which only made things worse. Some fake calls even claimed that it was from a kidnapper.

The worst lead perhaps came from Kim Ga-won, a criminal psychologist who had studied in the United States.

Kim claimed that the children were buried in Jong-sik’s house because his father Kim Cheol-gyu couldn’t remember the first three hours on the day the children went missing.

Since there were not many criminal psychologists in those days, many believed Kim, including the police force. The police even brought in an excavator to dig Jong-sik’s house.

The whole fiasco was filmed by the media as many other public members stood there watching.

Even after the house has ruined, nothing had been found.

This resulted in a group of unhappy people who directed their anger toward Kim. The police had to take him away for his own safety.

3.One of the fathers died before ever finding the truth about his son.

Speaking of Jong-sik’s father, Kim Cheol-gyu passed away due to liver cancer a year before the boys’ remains were found.

Many believed that it was caused by the stress he suffered after his son has disappeared.

CNA also reported that some of the fathers had fallen into addictions such into sleeping pills and alcohol while dealing with their losses.

4.The heartbreaking moment when the parents were asked to identify their sons

According to a news report, the first group of police who arrived at the scene were beyond horrible in their jobs.

They just dug out whatever they could find, organising the long bones and the skulls together instead of separating them as one complete body.

One of the parents told in an interview, “How dare they treat the bones like this by arranging them in piles, then call us to look at them and ask them whether this is our child or not. We couldn’t do anything, so we became angry.”

The police did called for forensic scientist Professor Chae Jong-min from Kyungbook University to the crime scene. Even he was baffled with the crime scene that he arrived to with all the bones piled up together.

5.The parents filed a lawsuit against the police for their failures but the result turned out to be heartbreaking.

Obviously lacking common of sense, it was no surprise why the Korean police was served a lawsuit by the parents.

They were sued for having ‘not done their jobs properly’ such as botching evidence at the crime scene.

Unfortunately, the parents lost not in one but three trials against the police.

In 2021, a memorial stone has been erected at Seonwan Park near Mount Waryong in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the unfortunate incident.

The monument which was named the ‘Frog Boy Commemoration and Child Safety Prayer Monument’, was installed to commemorate all the missing children and to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.

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10 travel bucket list ideas inspired by Korean variety show Running Man

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Now that international travelling is made possible again, are you looking for some unique travel bucket list ideas?

Korean variety show Running Man is a reality-variety show concept that focused on games.

It has been airing since July 11, 2010 making it one of the longest running Korean variety shows.

The show even made it to the list of Business Insider’s 20 TV Shows of 2016.

The current members are Yoo Jae-suk, HaHa, Jee Seok-jin, Kim Jong-kook, Song Ji-hyo, Jeon So-min and Yang Se-chan.

Over the years, the show has invited hundred of guests including Hollywood stars Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Simon Pegg and Ryan Reynolds.

On top of that, Running Man has also filmed in countless number of different locations both in and out of South Korea.

So here are ten travel bucket list ideas inspired by Korean variety show Running Man:

1.Shop at a Floating Market in Thailand

The first country that the Running Man cast visited for filming is Thailand back in 2011.

During that episode, one of their filming spot is the Pattaya Floating Market.

Located in the heart of Pattaya, this market offers delicacies and handicrafts from four different regions of Thailand.

Let say that you are not in Pattaya but in the capital city of Bangkok, you have up to 17 different floating markets to choose from.

This list include Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Amphawa Floating Market, Wat Sai Floating Market and more.

2.Visit the Great Wall of China

After the successful episode in Thailand, the Running Man cast visited another country in the same year, China.

Besides playing a string of games around Beijing city, the cast members also visited the Great Wall of China.

Do you know that some of these walls were built from as early as the 7th century with some of the stretches later joined by the first emperor of China Qin Shi Huang during 220-206?

This historical site is a definitely a must-visit place in any travel bucket lists.

3.Go for the highest commercial bungee jump in the world from Macau Tower

10 travel bucket list ideas inspired by Korean variety show Running Man
Song Ji-hyo bungee jumping from Macao Tower

The episode that the Running Man filmed in Macau is one of the most talked about years down the road all thanks to one legendary scene.

The only female of the group back then, actress Song Ji-hyo was the only cast member who bungee jumped from Macau Tower in the 2013 episode.

With a wide smile on her pretty face while showing as many teeth that she could, Song was seen happily bungee jumped from a platform 233m above the ground point.

Apart from Song, there were many other celebrities who went for the same adventure including Edison Chen, Jack Osbourne, Xie Na and Joe Chen.

Watch the clip here.

4.Skydiving in Dubai

During an episode filmed in Dubai, Kim Jong-kook along with two celebrity guests Jung Il-woo and Lee Da-hae did something that only meant for thrill-seekers out there.

The trio did sky-jumping. After returning to the ground, all of three of them agreed that it is something that you need to do at least once before you die.

With majestic desert landscape, skydiving in Dubai is absolutely an unforgettable experience.

While you are in Dubai, might as well go for the world’s longest urban zipline.

Xline Dubai Marina offers adventurers an experience to ride on a zipline at 170 meters high from the ground, sliding up to 80km/hour for 1 km long.

5.Opt for a paranormal experience at Labyrinth of Fear; Japan’s Most Terrifying Haunted House

How about a dose of paranormal fear added on your travel bucket list?

The Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear (yes, that is the full name) is one of the two haunted attractions in Fuji-Q Highland.

It is a theme park located near the base of Mount Fuji.

The labyrinth holds the record for the world’s first and largest haunted attraction covering a two-storey building with 900m in length.

The attraction is inspired from a legend of a popular hospital where doctors were accused of selling internal organs of their patients. Unsurprisingly, the spirits of the dead victims came back to haunt and avenge their own deaths.

Running Man had done many horror-theme episodes before but this one definitely took the cake.

We were not surprised at all to see Jeon So-min in tears at the end of her scary labyrinth tour.

Watch the clip here.

6.Ride a manual wooden cable car over the crashing waves of Timang Beach at Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Timang Beach in Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta is like any other beaches in Indonesia at first glance.

What makes it different is that there is an island called Panjang Island which is a lobster habitat.

The island is the best place to catch lobster for the local community.

But due to the steep hill that is directly adjacent to the sea, crossing over to the island is not an easy task.

Hence, the locals built a wooden cable car fit only for one person which is driven on a rope connecting the beach to the top of the island.

The 200-meter long ride is not a big deal unless there is a raging sea beneath you and huge waves that keep on crashing on your cable car just like what it did to Lee Kwang-soo and Jeon So-min in the 369th till 371th episode of Running Man.

Watch the clip here

7.Get into the Cage of Death at Darwin, Australia

10 travel bucket list ideas inspired by Korean variety show Running Man
Lee Kwang-soo inside the Cage of Death

During the 378th and 379th episodes of Running Man, Yoo Jae-suk, Ji Suk-jin, Lee Kwang-soo and Jeon So-min went to Darwin, Australia.

There, they had to complete the mission of going into the Cage of Death.

The Cage of Death is a tourist attraction known for being Australia’s only crocodile dive.

This unique experience offers swimmers the chance to get up and close and personal with saltwater crocodile for 15 minutes.

In that short (or long) period of time depending on how you see it, swimmers can stare into the eyes of this famous predator while witnessing the power of his bite force.

Watch the clip here.

8.Take a swing at one of the world’s biggest swing, Nevis Swing

10 travel bucket list ideas inspired by Korean variety show Running Man
Song Ji-hyo and Kim Jong-kook riding the world’s biggest swing upside down.

While half of the team were in Darwin, the rest of the members were in Queenstown, New Zealand.

Flinging people in an arc out over 300 meters, Nevis Swing is undoubtedly catered to adrenaline suckers.

You can choose swing by yourself or tandem with a friend – forwards, backwards or upside down like Song Ji-hyo and Kim Jong-kook did during their trip.

Later, Song revealed in a show that Kim and her had to go on the swing twice because the first time they rode the swing, the camera was not rolling.

Watch the clip here.

9.Visit Switzerland to walk on the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the Alps

During the 540th episode of Running Man, HaHa and actress Kang Han-na were chosen to take up the mission of hiking the world’s longest suspension bridge.

Despite their fear and constant complaints from HaHa, the unlikely duo successfully finished the mission.

The bridge that they crossed is the Charles Kuonen Bridge. It is the world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge, giving walkers the view of 86 meters above the ground at its highest point.

It is a record-breaking 494 meters long connecting Grachen and Zermatt on the Europaweg foot trail.

Located near the village of Randa, the bridge provides views of Matterhorn, Weisshorn and the Bernese Alps in the distance.

10.Wing Walking in England

10 travel bucket list ideas inspired by Korean variety show Running Man
Yoo Jae-suk wing walking in England.

Have you heard of wing walking? Lee Kwang-soo, Yoo Jae-suk and Lee Da-hee had the opportunities to do so during their trip to England.

The experience took them 10-minute flying while being strapped to the top of a plane while flying 500 feet above the ground.

After the episode was aired in 2018, many viewers expressed their concern over the activities raising the question if the production team had went to far.

The then production director assured that wing walking is totally safe and it is a leisure sport that has not seen an accident in 30 years.

Watch the clip here.

So which travel bucket ideas would you pick? Let us know in the comment box.

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KajoPicks: 10 dramas and films starring SNSD Yoona you should watch

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Girls’ Generation or better known as SNSD just celebrated their 15th anniversary this year.

The group is one of the best-selling artists in South Korea as well as one of most popular K-pop group worldwide.

Apart from being K-pop idols, all of the eight members have participated in other line of works such as TV hosts, solo singers, variety show entertainers, musical artists and of course actresses.

Out of four SNSD members (Yoona, Yuri, Sooyoung and Seohyun) who ventured into acting, you have to admit Yoona has the most impressive track record of filmography.

Yoona, whose real name is Im Yoon-ah has been hailed as a top idol-actress in South Korea.

Here are 10 dramas and films starring SNSD Yoona you should watch:

1.You are My Destiny (2008)

For her first leading role in a drama, Yoona plays the role of Jang Sae-byuk. She is a cheerful young orphan who dreams to become an interior designer.

Due to an accident three years ago, Sae-byuk losses her sight and undergoes corneal transplant surgery.

After operation, she tracks down her donor’s family and slowly becomese close with them.

The family in return, slowly is slowly accepting her as part of them.

Overall, the series was a success with viewer rating of up to 41.5%.

Behind this successful drama, Yoona revealed the hardship she went through filming during an episode of talkshow Strong Heart aired on Feb 2, 2013.

She said, “On the first day of filming, I made a mistake with my line, and the director yelled at me angrily. He came up to me and said, ‘I don’t think you are ready for this role.’ He then told to me go home even though we were not done filming that day.”

Yoona shared that she was so upset that she could not help but cry all the way home.

In the show, she stated, “There still were nine months left until the end of drama, and I didn’t know what to do. I lost all confidence. On some days, they had to stop the filming because I couldn’t stop crying.”

Yoona then added, “However, I later learned that he was harsh with me to teach me a valuable lesson. He meant me, a rookie actress, to never lose my focus. After that incident, I received a lot of praises and I was able to grow and learn a lot. ”

The scolding and tears were definitely worth it as Yoona won two ‘Best New Actress’ awards at the 2008 KBS Drama Awards and 45th Baeksang Arts Awards for this drama.

2.Love Rain (2012)

If you are into those melodrama with aesthetic filming style, this is the drama for you.

Directed by Yoon Seok-ho, it tells a love story over two generations with Jang Keun-suk and Yoona playing dual roles.

When Seo In-ha (Jang) and Kim Yoon-hee (Yoona) met as university students in the seventies, it was definitely a love at first sight.

After some times, they finally confessed their feelings toward each other.

Unfortunately, circumstances led both of them to break up and wind up in different paths of life.

Fast forward to 2012, In-ha (Jung Jin-young) is now unhappily married to Baek Hye-jung, one of Yoon-hee’s former best friends.

Secretly, he has never gotten over his first love. Hence when he runs into Yoon-hee (Lee Mi-sook) after so many years, the two reconcile.

On the other hand, In-ha’s son Seo Joon (Jang) is a photographer. One day, he bumps into Yoon-hee’s daughter Jung Ha-na (Yoona) by chance.

They start to bicker at first but eventually starting to fall in love with each other. Unaware that their children are dating each other, In-ha and Yoon-hee announce that they are getting married, which will make Joon and Ha-na step-siblings.

Joon and Ha-na struggle with sacrificing their love for their parents’ long-aborted happiness.

Love Rain was the most expensive Korean drama presold to Japan in 2012.

3.Prime Minister & I (2013)

At the age of 42 years old, Kwon Yul (Lee Beom-soo) is South Korea’s youngest prime minister ever.

He is known for his reputation as an honest man of the utmost integrity.

Apart from that, he is also a widower as his wife died in a car accident seven years ago and raises his three children alone.

Behind closed doors, Yul is actually a struggling father devoid of even the most basic of parenting skills.

Meanwhile, Nam Da-jung (Yoona) is a journalist from Scandal News who resorts to writing for a trashy tabloid to support her ailing father.

When she chases Prime Minister Kwon for a lucrative exposé, she ends up scooping a whole lot more than she bargained for.

The unlikely duo ended up in a contract marriage and later on fell in love with each other.

For this role, Yoona bagged the Excellence Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries at the KBS Drama Awards 2013 and Best Young Actress at Seoul International Youth Film Festival.

4.The K2 (2016)

Yoona’s role in the The K2 (2016) is completely different from her previous works.

Here her role as Go Anna is the illegitimate daughter of presidential candidate Jang Se-joon (Jo Sung-ha).

Due to her illegitimate status, nobody knows Anna’s existence. In order to protect her father’s career, she is exiled to Spain at a convent under the constant surveillance of her stepmother Choi Yoo-jin (Song Yoon-ah).

Anna is also suffering from social phobia and experiences panic attacks from flashing lights.

She eventually becomes a pawn in her stepmom’s plan to control Se-joon’s political career.

Yoo-jin hires Kim Je-ha (Ji Chang-wook) as Anna’s bodyguard who later becomes her love interest.

Overall, The K2 is a thrilling political drama combined with impressive action scenes.

5.The King in Love (2017)

This historical drama is loosely based on Chungseon of Goryeo who was the 26th ruler of the Goryeo Dynasty of Korea.

He was Korea’s first royalty of mixed heritage whose mother was the daughter of Kublai Khan, a Mongolian emperor and the founder of Yuan dynasty in China.

The main character in The King in Love (2017) Wang Won (Im Si-wan) is loosely based on this mixed-race king.

Won has two friends whom he knows since childhood; Wang Rin (Hong Jong-hyun) and San (Yoona).

These three become the closest of friends eventually romantic feelings arise between these three.

Won falls in love with San and would do anything for her.

On the other hand, his childhood friend Wang Rin who also fell in love with San at first sight.

Even though Wang Rin loves San so much, he still hid his affection for her because of his duty to his Crown Prince and because he doesn’t want to hurt his best friend’s feelings.

The drama is based on the novel of the same name by Kim Yi-ryung.

During the press conference to promote the drama, Yoona revealed that she wanted to feel and experience new things with this character which is different from her character in The K2.

“She is brave and bright in the beginning. Later on, her emotions and choices become very deep,” she said.

6.Hush (2020)

One of the reasons Yoona picked up the script for Hush (2020) is the opportunity to act alongside Hwang Jung-min.

In an interview with Forbes, Yoona said that she has done a lot of bright and cheerful acting but never got to play a serious, heavy-toned character like this before.

She added, “The drama itself is also different from what I’ve done in the past, so it was a new challenge for me to showcase a different sides as an actress.”

Based on the 2018 novel Silence Warning by Jung Jin-young, Hush centers around a group of journalists in a newsroom.

Yoona plays the role of Lee Ji-soo, a spirited and bold intern reporter.

Hwang takes the role of Han Joon-hyuk, a senior reporter who has lost his passion for journalism.

7.Confidential Assignment (2017)

Yoona made her film debut in the movie Confidential Assignment (2017).

The story follows a North Korean Officer (Hyun Bin) and a Seoul detective (Yoo Hae-jin) team up to track down a dangerous fugitive.

In the movie, Yoona plays the role of Yoo’s sister in-law Park Min-young.

Confidential Assignment was a hit and one of the most viewed Korean movies in 2017.

Through her first movie, Yoona once again proved that she is more than just K-pop star.

Her role in this action film, the SNSD member was nominated for many awards and eventually brought home the Most Popular Actress at the 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards, Best New Actress at Korean Film Shining Star Awards and more.

In 2022, Yoona reprises her role as Park Min Young in Confidential Assignment 2: International.

As of October 2022, the sequel is the third highest-grossing Korean film of the year.

Watch the trailer here.

KajoPicks: 10 dramas and films starring SNSD Yoona you should watch
Im Yoon-ah in the official still photo of Confidential Assignment 2: International (2022)

8.Exit (2019)

What makes Exit (2019) special for Yoona’s career is the fact that it is her first leading role in a film.

It is a disaster action comedy film written and directed by Lee Sang-geun.

The story follows Yong-nam (Jo Jung-suk), an unemployed man who once one of the best rock climbers in his college years.

He meets his old crush Eui-joo (Yoona) at the Cloud Garden during his mother’s 70th birthday festivities.

Eui-joo who is also a former rock climber is working there.

In order to impress Eui-joo, Yong-nam lies to her claiming that he is now very successful.

Meanwhile, a terrorist group releases a toxic white gas and spreads to its immediate surrounding. This causes pandemonium throughout the city.

During the chaos, Yong-nam and Eui-joo are left on their own to seek higher ground and avoid the rising toxic gas.

They use their rock climbing skills to survive.

Overall, the film was a box office success and South Korea’s third highest-grossing domestic film for 2019.

Again, Yoona won numerous awards for Exit including Popular Star Award at 40th Blue Dragon Film Awards and Best Actress in Movie at the 4th Asia Artist Awards.

Watch the trailer here.

9.Miracle: Letters to the President (2021)

This fictionalised film is based on a true story that took place in a remote area of North Gyeongsang Province in the 1980s.

Tae-yoon (Lee Sung-min) who is an engineer has always dream to set up a train station in his village.

His village has railway tracks but there is no station.

Tae-yoon has a son named Joon-kyeong (Park Jeong-min) who is a high school math prodigy.

Together with his girlfriend Ra-hee (Yoona), his older sister Bo-gyeong (Lee Soo-kyung) and the villagers, Joon-kyeong work to establish the first privately owned small train station.

The movie was selected at the 24th Far East Film Festival where it won the Golden Mulberry Award.

Through this film, Yoona earned her a second Blue Dragon Best Actress nomination as well as her Baeksang Best Actress nomination.

Watch the trailer here.

10.Big Mouth (2022)

KajoPicks: 10 dramas and films starring SNSD Yoona you should watch
Yoona in an official still photo of Big Mouth 2022.

This is one of the most talked about K-drama in 2022. Big Mouth (2022) follows the story of Park Chang-ho (Lee Jong-suk), a third-rate lawyer with a ten percent success rate.

Among his legal colleagues, he is known as ‘Big Mouth’ because he likes to talk big before doing something.

When people started to mistaken him as a ‘Big Mouse’ who is a genius conman, his life is suddenly in danger and gets caught up in a murder case.

Yoona takes up the role of Chang-ho’s wife, Ko Miho who works as a nurse.

She tries to clear up her husband’s name and finds herself get entangled in the conspiracy among the wealthy and powerful people.

Although this is Yoona’s first hard-boiled noir drama, she does not fail to deliver her best performance.

Audience can easily find themselves getting caught up with Mi-ho’s emotions throughout suspenseful plot and her relationship with Chang-ho.

Upcoming Projects

Fans can look forward to two upcoming projects from this idol-actress.

We will see Yoona as a hotelier in a television series that is scheduled to premiere on JTBC in the first half of 2023.

King the Land tells the story of Goo Won (Lee Jun-ho) who is the heir of a luxury hotel conglomerate The King Group.

Her second upcoming project is a rom-com directed by Lee Sang-geun.

Starring alongside Ahn Bo-hyun, the 2 O’Clock Date tells the story of two people who lived in the same building having a date at 2am while everyone else in the block is sleeping.

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Why ‘Into the New World’ by SNSD is an iconic K-pop song

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Before there were TWICE and BLACKPINK, K-pop fans knew Girls’ Generation as the most popular girl group.

The group now consists of eight members; Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona and Seohyun after the departure of Jessica in 2014.

Also known as SNSD, the group is still one of the most popular K-pop groups worldwide. They belong to what fans call the second generation K-pop groups who were active from 2003 till 2011.

This generation of K-pop singers is credited for bringing their music out of South Korea and making waves in China, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.

SNSD’s 2010 song Gee in particular, became the first single by a non-Japanese girl group to enter the top three of the Oricon chart since 1980.

Their 2013 song ‘I Got a Boy’ reached number one on Billboard’s Korea K-pop Hot 100 and the Gaon Digital Chart.

Its music video went on to beat Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus, winning Video of the Year award at the inaugural Youtube Music Awards in 2013.

In 2019, Billboard ranked Girls’ Generation at number on their ‘Top 10 K-pop Girl Groups of the Past Decade’ list.

Then this year in 2022, the ladies will be returning with an album to mark the group’s 15th anniversary.

The album titled Forever 1 was their seventh studio album and released on Aug 8, 2022.

Consisting of 10 tracks, the album includes the lead single ‘Forever 1’.

What makes ‘Forever 1’ a special song for both SNSD and their fans is that it was written by Kenzie.

She is a songwriter who had worked with the group for their songs such as ‘Oh!’ (2010), ‘All Night’ (2017) and ‘Into the New World’ (2007).

‘Into the New World’ is a nostalgic track because it is SNSD’s debut single.

Composed by Kenzie and written by Kim Jeong-bae, the song was meant for another K-pop group M.I.L.K.

M.I.L.K is practically an unheard of K-pop group but two of their members Seo Hyun-jin and Park Hee-von are now popular actresses.

Anyway, the group disbanded in 2003 and the song was kept in the dark until SNSD came along.

The group had their first ever stage performance on Mnet’s School of Rock in July 2007, performing their first single ‘Into the New World’.

Fifteen years since the song first released, the song had became more than just a song which started a girl group’s career.

This K-pop song has become a symbol of unity and hope for the younger generation across Asian countries.

‘Into the New World’ and Ewha Womans University 2016 Protest

Why ‘Into the New World’ by SNSD is an iconic K-pop song

The first time ‘Into the New World’ was reported to be a politically symbolic song was back in 2016 and it all started in an all-female university.

Ewha Womans University is a private women’s university in Seoul founded in 1886 by American missionary Mary F. Scranton.

Today, it is one of the world’s largest female educational institutes and one of the most prestigious universities in South Korea.

In the summer of 2016, the university got caught up with the wider case of South Korean political scandal.

This is due to a former student, Chung Yoo-ra who was admitted under a special rule change thanks to her mother’s connection to South Korean President Park Geun-hye despite not meeting the requirements.

The students held a peaceful protest for days, not only against the corruption behind Chung’s enrolment, but some of the university’s unilateral changes to the degree system.

According to The Korea Herald, the school administration was planning to accept 150 students without college diplomas annually under the new program named Future LiFE (Light up in Future Ewha) starting in 2017.

To that, the students claimed that the school is ‘reproducing the exact hierarchy of elitism’ by insinuating that a degree is paramount proof of practical expertise.

The climax of the protest happened when 1600 police officers were sent to a school building a group of students that reportedly numbered around 200.

While facing the police, CBC News reported, “The students, covering their faces with baseball caps and masks and standing arm in arm, burst into the popular K-pop song ‘Into the New World.’”

Watch the video here.

‘Into the New World’ and the Candlelight Vigil

At the same time, South Korea was going through political turmoil as protesters denounced President Park Geun-hye’s 2016 administration.

From November 2016 till March 2017, a series of protests known as the Candlelight Vigil or Candlelight Demonstration were held to call for the resignation of Park.

As protesters gathered at public squares, K-pop songs including ‘Into the New World’, along with Big Bang’s ‘Bang Bang Bang’ (2015) and Twice’s ‘Cheer Up’ (2016) were played on speakers.

After the news of President Park was impeached broke out in December 2016, demonstrators both young and old were caught on camera dancing to ‘Into the New World’.

Watch the video here.

‘Into the New World’ in protests outside of South Korea

In early 2020, Thai protestors began to demonstrate against the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

The protesters were mostly students and young people who first demanded the dissolution of the Thai Parliament, ending intimidation of the people and the drafting of a new constitution.

At first, the protests were held on academic campuses but were halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Then on July 18, 2020, the protests resumed with a large demonstration organised under the Free Youth Umbrella at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok.

With the younger generation leading these protests, K-pop music was sure had some sort of influence to them.

Hence, it was no surprise when ‘Into the New World’ was played and became the unofficial anthem for the movement.

K-pop fans even took it up notch when they went on donating for these protests.

While most of the money was used to fund legal help for the young protesters, it was also used to buy protective gear such as helmets and goggles for them.

Watch the video here.

‘Into the New World’ and South Korean LGBTQ+ community

Speaking of an anthem song, a South Korean LGBTQ+ community has chosen ‘Into the New World’ as theirs.

NEON MILK is an LGBTQ+ and drag culture collective collaborated with one of Girls’ Generation members, Tiffany Young in a Youtube video in conjunction with Pride Month.

In the 2021 video, Young shared that it is such an honour that the community has chosen ‘Into the New World’ as their anthem every year.

Watch the video here.

It is all in ‘Into the New World’ lyric

To understand why this particular song has become a symbol for reformation and change, we have to go back to the lyrics.

While it is a song that can be addressed to a lover, it is also about embracing the journey ahead of you.

The second verse goes, “Don’t wait for a miracle, there’s a rough road in front of us with obstacles and future that can’t be known, yet I won’t change, I can’t give up.”

The part which resonates the most is perhaps the chorus. “I love you, just like this. The longed end of wandering. I leave behind this world’s unending sadness. Walking the many and unknowable paths, I follow a dim light. It’s something we’ll do together to the end, into the new world.”

The expression of love in the lyrics symbolises that these demonstrations are meant to be peaceful.

Moreover, the lyrics invoke sense of unity and togetherness as these movement fighters came together to call for a change.

While western countries have songs such as John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ (1971) and Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’ (1971) as their Baby Boomer’s protest songs, it is safe to say that here on the other side of the globe Girl’s Generation’s ‘Into the New World’ is the anthem for the new generation.

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3 yummy Asian steamed egg dishes you should try to make at home

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One of the easiest dishes to make at home using the most simple ingredient is none other than steamed eggs.

Due to its gelatin-like texture, many people call it ‘egg custard’.

In Asia, there are three types of steamed egg dishes originating from three different countries namely China, South Korea and Japan.

Although these dishes are prepared pretty much the same way, they are somehow different from one another.

Here are 3 Asian steamed egg dishes you should try to make at home:

1.Chinese steamed eggs

3 yummy Asian steamed egg dishes you should try to make at home
Illustration by Arabaraba

This is the most common type of steamed egg dish because it can be found in any Chinese diaspora communities.

Originally, the dish started humbly using a simple combination of eggs, water, spring onions and salt.

Today, there are so many additional ingredients such as minced meat, shrimp, century egg, mushroom, crab meat, vegetables making the dish the more elaborated compared to its plain origin.

To make the perfect Chinese steamed eggs, the best ratio of water to eggs is said to be 1.5: 1.

Additionally, the water has to be warm.

The egg mixture is then poured into a dish and steamed until fully cooked. Remember to cover the dish when steaming or else it will have water on top of the eggs due to steam.

Here is a simple trick to make the egg custard turn out silky; strain the egg mixture before steaming it. This simple trick will make the texture of the steamed eggs to be smoother.

The common garnish for this dish is chopped spring onion and sometimes sesame oil or light soy sauce drizzled on top of the finished dish.

Read how to make Chinese steamed eggs here, here, here.

2.Gyeran-jjim

3 yummy Asian steamed egg dishes you should try to make at home
Illustration by Arabaraba

‘Gyeran’ means ‘eggs’ in Korean while jjim refers to any steamed dish.

Even by looking at its fluffy appearance, gyeran-jjim looks different from Chinese steamed eggs.

However, the idea and mechanism behind it are still the same.

The difference is when mixing the egg mixture. To make gyeran-jjim, the eggs are sieved and whisked with water until the mixture are completely blended in a cream-like consistency.

For a more savoury taste, kelp or anchovy broth is used in place of water.

To take the dish to another level, additional ingredients such as mushrooms, peas, Korean zucchini and carrots may be added into it.

While Chinese steamed eggs are left untouched when the dish is being steamed, gyeran-jjim requires stirring while it is still in the steamer.

Before serving, garnish it using chopped scallions, gochutgaru (chili flakes) and toasted sesame seeds.

Read how to make gyeran-jjim here, here and here.

3.Chawanmushi

3 yummy Asian steamed egg dishes you should try to make at home
Illustration by Arabaraba

Chawanmushi is made from egg mixture typically flavoured with soy sauce, dashi and miri.

You may also find other ingredients such as shiitake mushroom, ginkgo and shrimp inside your chawanmushi.

Since the name chawanmushi literally translates to ‘tea cup steam’, the dish is usually served in a tea-cup-like container.

This Japanese steamed egg dish is believed to be originated in Kyoto and Osaka during the Kansei period (1789-1801), later spreading to Edo and Nagasaki.

Another version of its origin story stated that it was brought by the foreign merchants who lived in Nagasaki and the dish instantly became a part of Shippoku.

Shippoku is a Japanese culinary style that is heavily influenced by Chinese cuisine.

During the Edo period (1603-1868), Nagasaki was the only place in Japan where foreigners including the Chinese, Dutch and Portuguese) were allowed to reside.

If you have a chance to visit Nagasaki, you must visit a local restaurant called Yossou.

Established in 1866, it has been serving chawanmushi for more than 150 years.

In the meantime, if you are making it at home try the recipe here, here and here.

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