What Asian Dramas Teach Writers About Conflict And Emotion

In this supporter chat, Aimee Robinson and I (Sara—who else, right?) trade the K-dramas and J-dramas we can’t stop watching, then dig into what those shows teach us about plot, pacing, and emotional punch. 

• Morally gray characters
• How layered conflicts keep a thriller and a romance moving  
• Why Divorce Insurance premise is a masterclass in high-concept rom-com setup 
•  What a great opening looks like in Long Vacation and how it plants questions  
• The difference between being nice and being kind and how that powers grumpy-sunshine chemistry 
• How small character actions can create big fallout (example: Do You Like Brahms?)
• Medical and mystery recommendations including Unnatural and Hospital Playlist  
• Time travel, reincarnation, folklore, and monster-of-the-week structure in Tale Of The Nine Tailed  
• Atypical Family for genre-blending time travel and the superhero trope  

💙 Thank you guys for supporting us!  We really appreciate it. And if you have questions, issues, topics you want us to discuss, please let us know. 

Tap the “Text the show” link  and let us know your thoughts and questions. We’d love to hear from you! ⬇️

Links

• Aimee Robinson’s website: https://www.aimeerobinsonromance.com/
• How I Met My Kdrama podcast: https://howimetmykdrama.buzzsprout.com 
• Healer, Competency, and the Bodyguard Trope with Aimee Robinson https://www.buzzsprout.com/2435348/episodes/16967375

🚀 Jami’s Consulting and Workshops: https://www.jamialbright.com/authorworkshops

❤️ Jami’s books https://amzn.to/3wSraA5

🔎 Sara’s books https://www.sararosett.com/bibliography/

📚 Sara’s How to Write a Series book and audiobook: https://www.sararosett.com/how-to-write-a-series/

The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes https://bookshop.org/lists/recommenced-resources-for-writers-from-the-wish-i-d-known-then-podcast

Transcript

Bad And Crazy And Moral Contrast

Sara 0:03

Okay, well, this is a spur of the moment green room chat with Amy Robinson. So I met first met Amy when she came on the podcast, the other podcast that I do called How I Met My K-drama. And we talked about K-dramas and geeked out about, in particular, Healer, which is a very famous OG K-drama that's beloved. So I'll link to that if anyone's interested in going to look for that. We're going to talk a little bit about K-dramas and what we're watching. And then we're going to talk about what we've learned about writing from K-dramas. So what are you watching right now as far as K-dramas go?

SPEAKER_01 0:39

I am currently going down the rabbit hole of there. There's a Korean actor, his name is Lee Dong Wuk, who was in Goblin, is most famous of his work. And if he's in a bunch of stuff, so I'm actually going through some of his backlist right now. So the one that I am watching right now is called Bad and Crazy. And it is like kind of like a Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde kind of thing. It's a it's a thriller, suspense thriller, cop show. That is a terrible way to describe it. But there's a he's a police officer who is not highly educated. He has gotten on the force by like kind of doing what he's told. He's he's a rule follower. Exactly. Yes, yes, yeah. Rule follower, you know, kissing up to people. And then there is a murder that happens, and he kind of gets embroiled in that. But what is interesting about it is there is this other character that pops up and just randomly starts beating the crap out of him. Like just he just shows up into wherever he is. He could be in a sauna, he could be in, you know, like shopping, he could be just investigating something. And he this guy on a motorcycle with a motorcycle helmet just like starts just ramming into him. And I'm not, um I mean, I'm I haven't finished the series and not going to give away the spoiler of who this is, but there is, I don't I mean, I don't think we should. I don't know. Have you seen it on the yeah?

Sara 2:13

No, and I might watch it later, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:16

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's it's interesting in that, like there is definitely that it it takes the idea of a good cop, bad cop to like a different level because this person who just shows up and is randomly violent is actually operating with like the truest, goodest intentions. It's almost like you know how in in romance novels you have the morally gray hero, right? Where he's doing exactly what the heroine wants to do, but man, he is not doing it in a way that is like kosher, you know? Um, it's kind of like that. It's like he's and it comes out of nowhere, and it's a really sharp contrast to the the hero who is like this rule follower, and he thinks like following the rules is making him a good person when actually there's corruption within the force, and following the rules means you're like part of the problem.

Sara 3:23

You're yeah, you're you're upholding these things that are not great. Yes.

Divorce Insurance And Clever Premises

SPEAKER_01 3:26

So then you have this crazy guy who comes in and breaks all the rules, but it in almost like a Robin Hood way, you know? Uh-huh. Yeah. Like I am, I am, I'm coming in and I am I am being loud and crazy. Nobody will see me do what I'm doing. Like I'm not, you know, no one sees me, and but I'm doing it for the right reasons. And it is like that that kind of I I love that idea of that contrast, the good and evil contrast, like even like the the Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde kind of thing, like you know, there's two sides to one person, and the the eviler version is the one that like we're more drawn towards, and like the nice guy finished last thing is true, it's totally true. Um, and it it's fascinating to see like I'm trying so hard not to give spoilers, so I'm really you know keeping this character a secret, but but specifically with like the writing of it and like how like the K-drama handles it, it is it is the violence is so wacky, but it's you're solving there's it the main mystery of who who committed the murder, you know. Okay, yeah. There's like who's the murder you know, who's the murderer, who's the case, like the official case. This is the case of of this, and then there's also this like wack-doo, like who is this guy coming in? And then there's like corruption within the fourth, and the the drama does a really good job. And again, I'm not very far in, I'm maybe like four or five episodes in. Uh it does a really good job of layering on the conflicts so that like you're never you're you think you want to root for one person, but you actually don't, like you want to root for someone else, it's complex, it's so complex. That's a good word to describe, Sarah. It is so complex, and yeah, if you are a fan of the complexity that comes with like that, you know, Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde kind of scenario, it's like the the bad guy's crazy, but he gets it done, you know, like he's doing it. Yeah, you know, the the good guy is on paper, awesome, but he's like you know, white bread. Like it's just so boring. And you know, but say the the drama does a good job of layering the complexity. And before that, uh actually I will say I I'm taking a break from this drama just because of it was a little bit too slow-paced for for where I was in the moment, but it was such a fascinating concept. Oh, do you ever see a concept and you're like, man, I wish I thought of that? It's called the the divorce insurance.

Sara 6:19

Oh, yes. I started that one, but I didn't finish it. But unless I was like, I should like this because of the way of the setup. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

It's so brilliant. It's it's literally the idea of this this guy comes up with this idea. We need an he works for an insurance company. We need a new insurance product to start.

Sara 6:36

We need a new product, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

Yeah. And he's like, okay, why don't we come up with a product where we will insure couples so that if they get divorced, we will cover the expenses that are incurred from divorce, we will cover child support, we will cover marriage counseling, we will cover all these things. And it's like a risk-free way. And the opening scene is fantastic because where is he sell, where are they selling the divorce insurance at a bridal expo? It is amazing.

Sara 7:08

Like, oh, I you know, when you could you could take that idea and spin it into a rom class, you know, so easily.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Perfect. It was, I was screaming at the TV because I I wish I had thought of it. I wish it was so clever. I find that a lot in pain dramas, like especially with the like the romantic comedies and stuff. And this is a that one is a romantic comedy, technically. Yeah. Uh it's like, where'd they get that idea from? Because that's so clever. Like, it is so clever. It's very it is the best uh opening that I've seen in a while. And it's like it is absurd, it is totally absurd because you have this man who knows he is in the lion's den. All right, you are it's like selling meat at a vegan convention, you know, like he's selling it.

Sara 8:00

Doesn't make sense, but it does make sense when you think about it, right?

SPEAKER_01 8:04

It does, and then yeah, it made it made the most sense for the moms and the brothers-in-law, and they were like, hey, we want to purchase this product because our kids are about to get married, and then it's like the conflict between the soon-to-be in-laws. I love that because K dramas are so good about layering on the conflict. There's so many layers, it's it's like like onions, you know. There's it's so like there's like the conflict of hey, this is a really absurd product, but is it though? Is it absurd? I don't know if it's absurd. And why don't we pitch it at the weirdest place that you can imagine? Let's pitch it at a bridal expo full of happy people who are gonna get married. Let's pitch them a product that would, you know, if if their marriage failed.

Sara 8:51

Yeah, and it's I mean, you know that crosses the mind of people who are engaged. What would what would happen? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

So and it's not a prenup. It's not a prenup, it's different from a prenup. Like it's not like, hey, if this fails, here are here's how we're going to divvy up our assets and everything and whatnot. It it was a different type of product. And very clever. It was so clever. And then, like, I I know nothing about insurance. I mean, other than being a policy owner, I don't know how the insurance industry works. And learning how, like, okay, what goes into creating a new insurance product and the evaluation of risk and the role of the actuaries in in that. I love seeing those obscure professions that seem to be obscure, but yeah.

Sara 9:42

Yeah, well, like you just they're not many shows about actuaries, you know. I mean, it's not like, oh, that's a hot topic. Let's make a show about actuary rom com coming here. Yeah, but I feel like that's one thing K-dramas do well. It's similar, I think, to like an amateur sleuth mystery, because a lot of those you're following average person and you're really getting a look at their life. And I would like it when it's like, oh, this is you know, a rare book expert. So you kind of find out about that world, you know, and then you'll find and so I feel like they do that really well in K-dramas. They'll take it's not very, it's the hero and heroines, their jobs are not usually generic, usually they're interesting and they're doing something that you learn a little bit about the world that they're in. So I think that's cool.

SPEAKER_01 10:29

But I was gonna tell you, yeah. No, you're not getting tons of people who own bakeries and coffee shops.

Long Vacation And Killer Openings

Sara 10:34

I mean, you're just some, but they're like all like social media managers or something. That seems to be very common too, like in hallmarkey movies. But so let's see. Oh, you mentioned first episodes, like openings that were so good. I just finished one, it's a Japanese drama, and it's an old one. And I'd seen people talking about it online, and I was like, oh, I can't find it. I'm not gonna be able to watch this. It's on Netflix now, and it's in very low def. It's older, it's from '96. But the opening was so, so good. It's called Long Vacation, and it opens with this woman. She's in the traditional Japanese kimono.

SPEAKER_01 11:13

Uh-huh.

Sara 11:13

And do I need to turn my camera off? Am I glitching?

SPEAKER_01 11:17

No, I was writing down long vacation. Okay, so I can check it out.

unknown 11:20

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Sara 11:21

So she's running just as hard as she can. So she's it's a she's in white, so it's like a wedding thing, and she's running as hard as you can. I thought, oh, runaway bride. It's not a runaway bride. She gets to this apartment building, she runs up the stairs, and she bangs on this door, and this young, younger guy opens the door. She's like, Where is he? And so her groom is this guy's roommate, and he did not show up, and she's tracking him down. And the tension between those two, it's so good. And I mean, it's just like there's sexual tension, there's just questions about what's going to happen. And he, he, you know, of course, is like, I'm just an innocent bystander. I don't really even know this guy. What why are you? And so she's he says, Well, you know, let me go look in his room. And he had left a letter for her. And and so then there's this whole thing where like she wants to read the letter, but then she doesn't, and she's like, You read it. She's like, No, you don't, and just and she's kind of chaotic, she's a chaotic character, but just that opening, I was like, Oh my goodness, I am so hooked into this.

SPEAKER_01 12:26

If you are starting a show with a wedding, you know that it's there's gonna be some drama. Like, you know, it is like you can't start off happy, you can't start off high like that. Yeah, and it's such an interesting place to start. That is so fascinating. I love that.

Nice Versus Kind In Characterization

Sara 12:44

It's so I would say that would be worth any, like, especially if you write rom-com, any it's on Netflix. Just go watch the first 20 minutes and let me know if you can turn it off after that. I will because it was just so good. Yeah, but anyway, so so that's one thing I've learned from rom. And it's funny because some Asian dramas have a really slow start, and you kind of have to get through episode one to really get to the meat of it. But for me, I think when they start well with a bang, I can always find something I can use later. And I think part of it is just the questions that that one opened, like, who is she? Why, why is she going to this apartment and who is he? And what's the backstory behind these characters in this whole situation? That is something that I can pull from that. What else? Oh, yeah. And then you're talking about themes of the bad and crazy, like the good and the evil, and who's good and who's really bad. So another one that did that completely different type of show is called No Gain, No Love, and it's on Amazon Prime. And it's about a woman who she seems to be very calculating. She always seems to be out for what she what's best for her.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Yeah.

Sara 13:57

But then as the show goes along, and then there's the other main character, everyone considers him an angel, and he's just so perfect, and he's so giving, and so does all these things that everybody's like, Oh, you are just wonderful. But then as the show goes on, you're like, Is she that bad? You see her through her actions that she's really got other people's interest at heart, but she just shows it in a different way. And then maybe, maybe he's not as perfect as you think. And so I love it when there's the exploration of these like you're getting below the surface, I guess, is the thing, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:34

That that sounds like it's exploring. Do you ever hear this? Like, there's and I'm I'm gonna screw it up, but like the the there's like the difference between being nice and being kind, and like and and I'm always gonna get it mixed up, but like kindness is deeper than than being nice. Nice is like surface level, like almost like you're polite. Yeah, yeah, being polite, but I'm actually not gonna go out of my my way to help you with your flat tire. Kindness could look like oh, you know, I can't believe you had the the nerve to go get a flat tire in the middle of this intersection while you're pulling out your jack and you're pulling out your spare tire and you're changing it for them, but you're griping about it because it's you know it's like that that like the difference of those two emotions. Right.

Sara 15:20

But the almost like this little the subtext of it is where the the truth is, even though somebody may be really grumpy if they're doing something nice or kind, not nice, right? Doing something kind, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:33

That right there, Sarah, that is like the cornerstone of your grumpy sunshine romances, is the grumpy guy who does all this wonderful stuff for for the heroine, but he's he hasn't smiled in 20 years, you know. Like he is just like grumbling about it. It's like, you know, I can't believe I'm letting her fuss all over me, and I can't believe I'm like holding this, bringing this box into her house for her, and she can't carry it and whatever, but like I don't want her to carry it because I don't want her to get hurt. And you know, it's it's it's the subtext, it's like so juicy, like under there, it's like yum, yum, yum.

Sara 16:13

Well, can you think of anything else that like you've pulled from K-drama that you've applied to your writing life, maybe?

Lingering Shots And Emotional Tension

SPEAKER_01 16:20

I yeah. So I may have spoken with you about this before when we spoke once before, but the the way that K dramas in how they in the production, like in how they're shot, and it might be more like writing-based, they linger on things almost to the point where it's like, okay, we get it, but no, wait, I want to keep watching. I want to keep on they really and it's like it's drawing out the emotion more. Um, you you almost think like like we're in you know, Western dramas where you know every minute is precious in terms of how they can maintain your attention. Yes, Asian dramas, yeah, yeah, snappy or something. Exactly. But man, Asian dramas have zero problem, like fit like lingering for 15 seconds on like holding hands or like the the fingers touching, or and I actually, funny story, I actually put that into my Hanukkah hoax book where the heroine has a K-drama love, like she is love loves K dramas. And there was a scene where the friend is like, like, hold on, like they're eating snacks on the floor of her living room, like, hold on. And she pauses the TV and it's like, look at, you know, that's a solid, like, you know, 10-second hand linger. Like, look at that. Like, let's time it. Get get the phone out, time it, let's time it. Look at the longest lingering there. It's crazy. And then there's the scene, there's another scene where like the Scottish rugby player who's like her fake dating love interest in the book, he comes back, he's like in her, he's waiting for her in her apartment, and she walks in and he has her K drama up on the screen. Like he's secretly watching her stuff, and it's like, no, I wasn't watching it. No, no, no, no, that's good. I don't know. But like, you know, Scottish, so it's like Scott.

Sara 18:13

Insert Scottish acts in here. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

I can't do that. So but I I love it. There's the the emote, I think they they do like they really want to make sure you're picking up on the emotion, the tension. Even like, so I told you I was like watching, I'm going through like Lee Don Wuk's backlist, and that that man is like the king of crying. He cries, he can cry on cue, he cries for like 20 minutes at a time. He is such like a sad boy, and they lean into it. They are like, no, no, no, we have to go closer, we have to really feel this torment, this sadness. Yeah. Yeah.

Sara 18:57

I've talked to somebody recently on the podcast, I don't think it's out yet, but she said, she said, if you like the Matthew McFadden hand flex, and she said, that's what you're gonna get in Pride and Prejudice. You're gonna get that kind of restrained emotion that's under the surface, and they just do that really well.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

They do that's a great way to phrase it. Yeah, I didn't even think of that. That's perfect. And it's something that just hit it.

Sara 19:24

People would be familiar with that don't watch a lot of Asian dramas. But I think one thing I learned early on, I was watching this super quiet, super slow drama, Slice of Life called Do You Like Brahms? And it's got these characters that they're all involved in music somehow. And it's a really slow, slow burn romance. But the secondary characters, the choices they make, I was so I some I was like, I've I feel like I I viscerally hate this person because of what they're doing. Like they were intentionally manipulating things in a very subtle way to make sure these characters didn't get together. And you know, and I'm rooting for the main characters. And to me, that was like, oh wow, you can just take something so small, but it can have such big ramifications. You can take little small actions. Your characters can do things that normally would not be considered, you know, bad or horrible.

SPEAKER_02 20:30

Yeah.

Sara 20:30

But when you see what the impact is, as a viewer, I was like, they're terrible. They're such terrible people. And I was like, I had to take a break. I was like, why don't what's going on here? And I was like, I had to think figure out why I was feeling so like repulsed.

Subtle Manipulation And Viewer Rage

SPEAKER_01 20:49

I have I have definitely been in like terrible moods after some episodes of like a show when I've watched it, and I'm like, my husband's like, Are you okay? I'm like, no, I'm not. Leave me alone. I'm annoyed at a fictional character. Exactly. Like you feel it, you feel it. It is, it is just it, it feels deeper. They yeah. Although I will say, my favorite, like I, you know, as much as I I'm loving Asian dramas, like that's like where I live now. The pit is also phenomenal. Oh, yeah.

Sara 21:24

Jamie has said that so good. Yeah, I need to watch that too.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

And I wasn't even so I was an EMT for uh a lot of years. Eight, eight years, eight years. So I'm like, it's it's all coming back to me, and I'm like, I am I'm there for it, and they really did a great job of of um bringing in the emotion to a point where I have only had similar emotional reactions to K dramas. Like they're mimicking, or not they're not intentional.

Sara 21:56

Well, you yeah, like the same thing.

Medical Drama Picks And Unnatural

SPEAKER_01 21:58

Yes, I'm getting. The feeling that I get from watching K dramas when I'm watching The Pit. And even though the productions are different, the scenes are very different. I actually I'm really interested if you have any suggestions. I kind of want to watch like a K medical drama now.

Sara 22:16

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 22:17

But I don't know if there are I don't know which ones are good. I gotta send me down a rabbit hole.

Sara 22:22

Yeah, I'm not as into the medical ones, but I did watch one. Actually, this is another Japanese drama. It's so good. It's called Unnatural. And it's on Netflix, and it's more like an ensemble cast. And it's like so you've got the drama, there it's a corner. They're a corner. I forgot how it's set up. It's um I didn't know this. Like this is one of those things that you learn, trivia that you learn about. So in Japan, they don't have a whole lot of corners because people don't want to work with dead bodies.

SPEAKER_01 22:53

And it's like it's kind of a culturally against their culture a little bit.

Sara 22:56

Yeah, and they're like, that's a gross profession. Why do we even want to do that? The you know, so there's not many people who will do it. And so therefore, a lot of autopsies don't get done, or especially in areas. And so a lot of things just don't get done. So in the fictional world, they've created this unit that will that people can pay to have an autopsy done to find out what happened to their loved one if the police aren't going to do it or be able to do it. So they're this special unit, they're kind of like police, but they're not. And so they're investigating all these unnatural deaths. It's called unnatural. And so then you've got like the the core group in the office, you got the little office dynamics, then you got the all the medical stuff was very interesting. And it wasn't gross because I guess that's why I don't watch a lot of medical shows. I really don't want to watch surgery.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

Yeah, you have to have the this this yeah, I totally get that. Yeah, yeah.

Sara 23:49

But I've heard um yeah, I've heard hospital playlist is really good too. I haven't watched that one.

SPEAKER_01 23:54

Yes, that's what I've heard. I've heard about it's on my list. I should I'm gonna I wonder if I I also thought I like Shannon, her bon bikes. Uh yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm gonna see if she has anyone's I I like her recommendations, I tend to gel with her recommendations. Yeah, but hostile playlists that's right. I forgot about that.

Time Travel Tropes And Tale Of The Nine Tailed

Sara 24:12

Yeah. Yeah, that's a good one. Yeah. Well, we've gone on for about 30 minutes. Do you have any other tips? Like any like what what's your favorite trope that you watch in K Drama? And what would be one show that you'd recommend if people are interested in that trope?

SPEAKER_01 24:33

Okay, at the I'm gonna stay away from what I've talked about with you in the past, just for the like I'm I'm gonna try to do something a little bit new. Kind of in line with what I was saying earlier with Jamie with paranormal romance and time travel. K-dramas do time travel really well. There's time travel everywhere.

Sara 24:52

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 24:52

So if you are a fan of paranormal romance or time travel romance or that fish out of water kind of vibe, I just finished up watching again another Lee Don Wok show. It's Tale of the Ninetaled, and then there's a season two. There's a season two. Okay. Season two is more heavily focused on time travel where they travel back to 1938, which is cool to see Korea with like the Korea-Japanese conflict going on at that time, because I only have ever seen time periods in West of that time period in like a western eye. So it was very interesting to see from the Eastern perspective what that time period looked like there. But Tale of the Ninetales, if you are a fan of Supernatural, the show, okay, or any like X-Files Monster of the Week kind of show, that monster of the week show, Tale of the Ninetales may be for you because it has it starts off with main character is a Umyo, which is a nine-tailed fox, which is a mythical creature in Korean folklore. He and he has a fated mate who has been reincarnated and he's been waiting for hundreds of years to finally see her reincarnation. And she shows up reincarnated, and he's like, Oh my gosh, what? But then there's like there's that conflict because she's like she works for, I don't know if she works for a newspaper or police or something. I forget what her profession is. She wants nothing to do with him, you know. And then you see these monsters of the week. And every, every so there's this the long, overarching theme of the show is Faded Mates reincarnation. She is coming into this world of supernatural beings that she didn't know existed, and now she realizes she's a part of it. But what's so fascinating, at least for me, because I have an interest in this, every week you are learning a new monster, a new creature from Korean folklore. Things that I never knew. You're not getting your vampires and werewolves and your baba yagas and like all those things, you know, sirens. It's brand this sounds so stupidly western, western-centric. They're brand new to me. I'm unfamiliar with these, yeah, with this folklore. So I have just been like gobbling up I was gonna say, just eating it up. It sounds like I love it, it's so fascinating. Um and and like there's there's a lot of tension because you know, there's there's a there are these different mountain gods, and there's conflict, and there's a brother, the brother is the bad guy, but is he the good guy? But he's the bad guy, but he's the you know, is he he's going through like sad boy hurt hurt younger brother things? Like my older brother, I hate you, I'm gonna kill you, but I really am just trying to kill you because I haven't been loved the way I needed to, kind of stuff. Like sibling stuff, but it's it's if you are at all interested in any of those types of tropes, supernatural, paranormal, faded mates, reincarnation, Koreans do reincarnation really well. It's a it's a big, it's a big plot line, I think, in a lot of times.

Sara 28:04

Yeah, I think so too.

A Typical Family And Closing Links

SPEAKER_01 28:04

Yeah, and then later on, time travel um in the in the second season. And I love the this is one of my favorite characters in Korean dramas, is like the snarky grandma, the snarky Kajima. Yeah, there's like there's one of the characters is she is an immortal, she's like in charge of, she's like the overseer of the river of the dead, you know, like crossing over. And she's just this grumpy old grandma who needs to take glucosamine for her joints and still needs to like, you know, she's she's existing in this, like, I don't want to eat that for lunch. I don't want to do, you know, but she's an immortal creature. Kind of crabby, she's crabby, but like so fun, like straight, dead pan, like yeah, and they because of the culture, you know, they know she's difficult, but they still have to respect her, they show respect, even while she's like, you know, being crabby, being crabby, yeah. Like, you know, I've lived long enough, I can say what I want, yeah, off my porch kind of thing. Yeah, so that that's those that was a good show. Those two, this they were fun, they were fun, not too deep, not too, you know, let kind of fun. Yeah, I I really enjoyed them.

Sara 29:14

I would say I don't write time travel, but I like to watch it, and there is a ton of it in K-drama. And my favorite time travel is A Typical Family. Have you seen that one?

SPEAKER_01 29:25

I haven't. I think that's on my list.

Sara 29:27

Yeah, so that one, it's it's it's one of those where they're blending a whole bunch of different things. It's got the it's a family, they have superpowers, but that's not really the point of the show. It's not like they're like the Avengers or Marvel universe. It's that's kind of like an everyday superpower type thing. Yeah, you know, yeah. So they they have superpowers, so there's that element to it. But a woman comes into their life and just causes it upsets everything. Their lives are not going well. And she comes in and they're like, Oh, she's such a problem. But is she, is she maybe not the problem? And it's all about like I can't really talk about it without spoiling anything. Yeah, I know. But there's there's lots of drama and lots of intrigue about who she is and her backstory. And then, you know, then the time travel element comes in, and the main character, he can travel back in time, but he can't change anything. That's so that's his superpowers. Like he can travel back and he can experience things again, witness, yeah. But he can't do anything, and he finds it extremely frustrating, and he wants to use his power for good, but he can't, he's doesn't know what to do. It just doesn't work out. So it's like his journey, and then you find out she's got an impact on the family. So anyway.

SPEAKER_01 30:45

That sounds really awesome.

Sara 30:46

It is awesome.

SPEAKER_01 30:47

Okay, like mundane superpowers. It's like I can do my taxes in 20 minutes. Like that's boring.

Sara 30:54

I would take that. I would take that. All right. Well, we've gone on for quite a while. So thanks for sticking around a little bit longer and tell everybody where they can find you again in case they listen to this separate from the other episodes.

SPEAKER_01 31:06

Yeah, yeah. Um, my website is Amy Robinson Romance. That is my main base. You can subscribe to my newsletter. I send that out regularly. I hop up on social media when I'm not writing. But the best place to catch me is subscribe to my newsletter on my website.

Sara 31:21

Perfect. Okay. Well, I'll put that link in these show notes. And then if you want to hear Amy's episode, go look for the How I Met My K Drama podcast, and I'll put a link to that too. And we end up talking about a lot of like not just on your episode, but on those episodes, we do talk a lot about structure and all these kind of elements of how they the how they produce such a compelling emotional story. So there's a lot of craft in there, actually, too. But anyway, thanks for being here today. See you everybody. Thank you for having me.

unknown 31:53

Bye.