YA Girls Kdrama Podcast on Favorite Dramas, Tropes, and Ramyeon Scenes

S2 E22 / Maddie, Christina, and Elle from the Ya Girl’s Kdrama Podcast bring the energy and the laughs to this episode!  

❣️ We explore first Kdramas, favorite and iconic couples, as well as the drama they wish more people would watch. 

✏️🍜 Plus we talk about keeping track of dramas and our favorite ramyeon scenes.

✋ Light spoiler warning! Our wide-ranging conversation touches on the following shows–and there’s a lot of them. A few have spoilers. 

Shows mentioned:

• Head over Heels
• Our Unwritten Seoul
• Our Movie
• Law and the City
• First Night With the Duke
• Boys Planet Two/II
• My Girlfriend’s the Man
• Silent 
• Kururi: Who’s in Love with Me?
• Eye Love You
• Marry My Husband: Japan
• The Liar and His Lover
• Start Up
• Something in the Rain
• My Mister
• Move to Heaven
• Hometown Cha Cha Cha 
• Because This is my First Life
• Love Scout
• Run On
• Cheer Up
• Twenty Five Twenty One
• Love Next Door
• The King’s Affection 
• Healer
• Hotel Del Luna
• Namib
• Under the Queen’s Umbrella
• Bad Prosecutor
• Undercover High School
• Lovely Runner
• Reply 1988
• Kpop Demon Hunters
• What’s Wrong with  Secretary Kim

Links:

YA Girls podcast: https://pod.link/1630700998

YA Girls IG: https://www.instagram.com/yagirl_kdramapod/?hl=en

KDrop podcast: https://pod.link/1764429119

KDrop IG: https://www.instagram.com/the.kdrop_kpop_pod/?hl=en

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/Aa9kGxNPx9

⏱️ Timestamps 

[00:00:39] Meet Ya Maddie, Christina, and Elle 

[00:04:43] Currently Watching 

[00:12:32] First Kdramas 

[00:15:52] Favorite Kdramas

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:06

This is the How I Met My K-Drama podcast, and it's all about K-drama origin stories and recommendations. I'm Sarah Rosette, and today Maddie, Christina, and Elle from Y'all Girls Podcast are here with me. How are y'all doing?

SPEAKER_03 0:18

Good. Thanks for having us.

SPEAKER_00 0:22

Thank you so much. Yeah. I'm so excited to talk to y'all. I think this will be a lot of fun. It may get a little out of control with all of us here, but we will get our control easy.

SPEAKER_03 0:31

We're gonna try to we're gonna try to rein it in. Yeah, we're gonna, yeah. We need to we'll be good.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

We'll be good. We'll calm down. We'll calm down.

Meet Ya Maddie, Christina, and Elle 

SPEAKER_00 0:37

No, bring the energy. I think the energy is good. So let's go around and just tell everybody a little bit about yourself, and then we'll get into the questions. So, Maddie, do you want to go first?

SPEAKER_03 0:45

Yeah, what's up? And I can talk a little bit about our podcast too. So I am Maddie. I'm one of the hosts of Yo Girls K-Drama Podcast with Ellen Christina. And I am 29. I live in South Carolina. I have been podcasting about K-dramas for about five years, I think. And I love K-dramas. I love I'm a mixture of liking some sentimental K-dramas, but I really like just fun, tropey ones a lot. And I also love historicals. Um and yeah, our podcast reviews K-dramas, old and new. We post pretty much every week. So if you guys want to listen, you can head over there. So yeah, that's a little bit about me. I'm a cheerleading coach and I come from a big family and I love people. So that's a little bit about me. Okay. Christina, you want to go next?

SPEAKER_02 1:30

Sure. Hi guys, I'm Christina. I am another host for the Girls K-Drama podcast. I live in Southern California. I'm an elementary school teacher. I have two dogs. And if I'm not watching K-dramas or in school or potting or teaching, I'm either reading, traveling, or listening to BTS.

SPEAKER_03 1:57

She's wearing a gin t-shirt, everyone.

SPEAKER_02 1:59

Ladies and gentlemen, I just went to his concert.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

So it was great.

SPEAKER_02 2:04

So yeah. They love to give, they love to hand me for my love for BTS because they love everything K-pop. And I it's I just want to commend you.

SPEAKER_03 2:15

You really toned down your BT21 collection behind you. You only have one cookie plushie.

SPEAKER_02 2:20

I put it on my bookshelf. Okay. I put it on my bookshelf over there. Excuse me. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:24

We all have a K-pop podcast as well, right?

SPEAKER_04 2:27

Yes. Hey, Elle can talk about it. Yes. Hi, I'm Elle. I live in Northern California and I'm a teacher, but summer break, so I'm not talking about that. Um, we are when I'm not podcasting, I love to go to the beach with my dog and play pickleball. That's kind of my life. And I'm obsessed with K-pop. Maddie and I just went to an ATs concert last week and it was so fun. Our K-pop podcast is the K drop. And Maddie, you could say what the Instagram is for that. It's a K-drop underscore K-pop underscore pod. I'm not even looking at my note. Good job. Good job. You did it. It's also in a K-pop dance crew, which I think you should mention. Oh, you're right.

SPEAKER_03 3:08

I didn't say enough about myself. Yeah, I started a K-pop dance crew in my town like a year and a half ago, and it's thriving. And we're currently doing a cover of Twice as Strategy. And I'm Jungyun. So, you know, that's what it is.

SPEAKER_00 3:21

Okay. That was fun just to hear a little bit your background. And it's kind of fun that you're all across the country. And I think you each have different interests in K drama, like you kind of have certain things. So it's a good mix when you listen to the podcast because you get different takes on things and you kind of figure out oh, who your closest matches and follow those recs and stuff. It's lucky.

SPEAKER_03 3:48

But then I'll have some crossovers with both of them a lot more often. Yeah. Um, you two have very different tastes. Yeah, we do.

SPEAKER_02 3:55

And then, yeah, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_03 3:57

For Park So June, you guys apparently agree on Secretary Kim or something. No, we love her private life. Thank you. Yeah, excuse me.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Get it right.

SPEAKER_02 4:06

You get it right.

unknown 4:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Her private life is awesome. Yeah. I think that's so good.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

It's so good. Like our inner fangirl. It's so great. I know. We have it's so funny though, too, because with Elle, there are like my favorite cage uh K dramas, like she hasn't seen or she doesn't like them, but it's the same with some of her top ones. I personally didn't like them. And so, and then, but then we both we both share our love for hometown cha cha cha. Like we love it.

SPEAKER_03 4:31

Which I don't like that much.

SPEAKER_02 4:33

Yeah, she doesn't like Maddie doesn't really like.

Currently Watching 

SPEAKER_00 4:36

Yeah, I think that's good. It's a good mix that kind of blends into what we're currently watching. So, Maddie, you want to tell us what you're watching?

SPEAKER_03 4:43

I'm currently watching only one drama truly, and I'm loving it. It's so good. Head over heels. Yes. I love it. It um while we're recording this, it's has one more week of airing, so the finale will be next week. And I'm loving it. It's on Amazon Prime. It's a um, it's like a fantasy, almost like kind of creepy feel show, but they do fantasy. It's really funny too, though. It's super funny, it's fantasy done really well, and the writing is very clever, so we're loving it.

SPEAKER_04 5:11

It's about and it has like one of the most creative uses of forced proximity tropes. It's phenomenal, it's phenomenal.

SPEAKER_03 5:18

The leads hold hands for like 92% of the scenes, yeah. Because they have to for a reason, for a reason that the plot lends them. It's phenomenal. So, anyways, um, we're loving that one, and then I that's the only K drama like really honestly watching.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

That's okay. You guys watch a lot of K drama there.

SPEAKER_03 5:35

I dropped first night with the Duke. I kind of dropped it, but um, I'm about to start our unwritten soul. I don't know if that's like today or next week. Please, really soon. I'm gonna start it. And I think I'll please, yes, I hope she does.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

I really want her to. I haven't watched that one yet, but it's on my list.

SPEAKER_02 5:49

Oh, you you need to, Sarah. You need to. I'll enjoy it. I think you're gonna really enjoy it. What are you watching, Christina? I am watching our movie. I'm watching Law in the City, and drumroll, please. I'm watching, I'm on episode six of Head Overheels.

SPEAKER_03 6:05

Yay! That's when things start picking up, Christina. One through six is like this show is good, and then it gets going, and then you're like better every episode.

SPEAKER_04 6:15

Every episode. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 6:17

It's so funny though.

SPEAKER_04 6:18

Excellation is seen in the show.

SPEAKER_02 6:21

I think though, with that show though, with the whole shaman and like the fantasy part, I'm indifferent to it, but I'm really liking the couple and what the story is. I'm just I'm big on a good story and how it makes me feel. And so I'm like, if it makes me feel good, I'm like, I'm all, I'm, I'm in. So I'm really enjoying it so far, but I really I finished Unwritten Soul. I loved it. Our movie, I do, I do love an emotional drama. I will say that. She does, she sure is. I do. And so I I'm only on early into our movie. Um, but I know once I it's gonna make me cry. I know it. I already know. And I I'm all for the crying. That's how I am. I love a lot of my favorite dramas are like that. And um Law and the City, I feel like will be good too. It's slow right now, but I'm I'm enjoying it. Okay. What about you, El? What are you watching?

SPEAKER_04 7:10

Um, I mean, head over heels is the best thing on TV, I think, right now. I have one more episode of First Night with a Duke, and I don't feel like any urgency, which is really bad to be on the last episode and not feel any urgency to watch it. So, but it started out so well. It did. It started out so well. I'm gonna finish it, I think. Um, but honestly, like my I it's not technically a K-drama, but it's the most drama on Korean television right now, is Boys Planet 2. So I was gonna say Boys Planet contestants on this K-pop survival show. So, like, it's gonna take up all my time. I'm just saying I'm done with the not a K-drama. That is not a K-drama. Well, on our other podcasts, the K-Drop, we also have this thing, uh thing called Reality Check, where we watch these like reality K-pop shows, and like Boys Planet is like the reality k-pop show. A lot of drama with so much drama.

SPEAKER_00 8:03

Good thing it's summer.

SPEAKER_04 8:04

Yes, exactly. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 8:06

You tell them, Sarah. You you tell them. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 8:09

I was trying to rein myself in. I wasn't gonna think voice planet. I was trying to keep it professional. It's okay.

SPEAKER_04 8:14

I do want to watch that one with Sunha from Astro. What's that show? Uh my girlfriend's the man. One of our listeners told me specifically that I would love it.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

Well, I am not watching Head Over Heels, but it sounds like I need to.

SPEAKER_04 8:25

Yes, it's mandatory mandatory.

SPEAKER_00 8:27

Yeah, I just finished our movie, and I I I it is not the type of show I would normally watch because of the it's not a spoiler to say that she has a terminal illness. Yes, I would not normally watch it, but I gave it a try and I really liked it. I liked it a lot, and there's just so many things about it. It's like one of those you can take into and find all the themes, and yeah, you know, they just did a good job with it, and it was not as sad as I thought it might be.

SPEAKER_02 8:52

Okay, because I when I walk or I when I started it, I was wanting to start it because of the two leads. I didn't know anything about it, so I was already in, and I'm like, oh gosh, okay, wait, okay, but I'm in, so here we go.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

So it's too late once you're in, you're in. Yeah, so I like that, and then um I finished two J dramas. So I've started watching J dramas. I'm really loving them. There's one that I watched called Silent. Have y'all seen any of these? Silent.

SPEAKER_03 9:18

I've never seen a J drama really. Yes, you have. Okay, I watched that one and I didn't watch. Wait, calm down. Did watch I love my UI.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

Yeah, I tried that one too.

SPEAKER_04 9:29

Until on the second to last episode, I loved that drama. I didn't make it. It was like a little drama.

SPEAKER_00 9:36

Yeah, but these have been really interesting. Some these are older ones. I think I know silent's an older one, but it's about a man who loses his hearing and he cuts himself off from all his friends. Then a couple years later, he meets up with them again. It's very emotional and it's all about learning to communicate again and reconnecting. It's very good.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

I feel like I would watch that right now. It was definitely a Christina show. Yeah. That's a show for me. I'm writing it down.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

Yeah. And then um, I just finished another one. It's a newer one. It's a J-Drama called, I think it's pronounced Kururi, Who's in Love with Me? And it's got the amnesia trope, which I used to think that was so dumb, but I actually really love it. This woman wakes up and she doesn't know anything about herself. It's hilarious. She she has her phone, but all her text history has been deleted. And she goes, so she's like, Oh, I'll go to Instagram. She goes to Instagram and all her photos are of food. Okay. And then she goes back to her apartment and it's all very plain and minimalistic. She has no clue about who she was. So it's like her finding out who she was and does she want to be that person again? And then, of course, there's like three guys that are in love with her. So which one really loves and who's really saying the truth? See, that's close.

SPEAKER_03 10:46

That's good. Christina, you can go watch the one about a guy that loses his hearing. I'm gonna watch this one about me too.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

I'll watch both of them, actually. Family totally.

SPEAKER_03 10:55

Which one are you guys? You said it was hilarious. You had me at that.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

It's really funny. Yeah. And then I just binged just the other night, I binged the um Marry My Husband Japan. It's got two episodes left, and it's excellent.

SPEAKER_04 11:06

How does it compare to the Korean one?

SPEAKER_00 11:09

It's similar, but it's not exactly the same because I was like, I'm not here for just a repeat. It's only 10 episodes, and so it's really tight in the storytelling. And I really like the main couple a lot.

SPEAKER_04 11:20

Oh, I mean, it's like they focus on them more because I feel like we liked the villains more than the main couple. We do.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

Yeah, the villains I think were better in the Korean version.

SPEAKER_02 11:29

I wonder if the reveal, because I know there was a big reveal. I'm gonna say there was a big reveal for with BTS in the Korean one.

SPEAKER_03 11:37

She said it, she said it.

SPEAKER_02 11:39

She said it. I did. No, but I'm saying, but that was you guys will agree with me. That that that was excellent. How the reveal was amazing. Yeah, it was amazing. So I'm curious to see how it was for Japan, because if it was, it would be different, obviously.

SPEAKER_00 11:53

Yeah, they've changed that up. And so you know how in the Korean version they find out a little bit before the midpoint that they're both like time traveling. Yeah. So far in this one, it has not been revealed. Like I think she thinks he is, but she's not sure. So it's like they've kind of changed the timing on a lot of things. So it's really interesting. So I'll let you know. She had no idea.

SPEAKER_03 12:17

As the Korean one.

First Kdramas 

SPEAKER_00 12:18

I was gonna say, like the Korean one, didn't we? We will see. Well, that was fun. I love hearing what everybody's watching. So let's go into the questions and we'll get to as many as we can and see where the conversation goes. So, how did y'all get into K-dramas? And what was your first K drama?

SPEAKER_03 12:32

So I have a very unconventional first K drama. It is called The Liar and His Lover. No one's ever seen it. We should cover it on you, girls. Um, it was 2019. I think it was around like maybe October of 2019. My roommate was really into K-dramas, and I just asked what she was watching one day, and she was like, It's a K-drama. And I was like, What is that? So she was like, uh, you know, it's called The Liar and His Lover. And she's like, You might actually like it. So I remember she like showed me how to watch it and she was leaving for the entire evening. And I like sat down to play episode one, and then she came back and I was already like on episode six. And I was like, This show's great. Well, whatever.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

That's how it happened, that's what happens. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:09

And like in hindsight, that's not a very like profound K drama. The liar and his lover, it's like fine, it has joy from Red Velvet as the female lead, and then it has this other guy. Now I can't remember his name, you know, that one guy. Um, as the melee. They're like, don't even kiss in this drama. Like, there's so many things that I'm like, I don't even think that I would like it now. But so then I just kind of started to watch like a stream of really crappy C dramas, like after that, and then I doubled back to more K dramas. And I think it was right around 2020 when um Startup came on live. That was the first one I'd watched live on Netflix week to week. And that's when I really was like locked in. I was like, I love watching these things live week to week, and that's probably why startup to this day is still my favorite. So yeah, that was so end of 2019, early 2020. And yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:58

For me, how it started for me was my mom, this is a weird story, she needed to be homebound and just sit and not move because she had surgery, and so she was trying to watch something on Netflix and she was watching, watching things, and then a K drama came up on her Netflix, and it was spring 2018. And after she watched it, because I would always come and help her, she'd be like, Christina, Christina, you have to watch this show. It was so good. I don't, it's in a different language, it's this and that. And so, and it was something in the rain. So that was my that was my first one, and so then after I watched it, I was hooked. Was that the best drama ever? No, but I have such a soft spot for it because it is my first one, and you know, Jung Hayan and our girl from Crash Landing. I have a soft spot for both of them, but I loved that story and I fell in love with it. And then after that, I watched everything. And then my second drama was My Mr. And so I I just yeah, because that came out also in 2018. But yeah, so that's how I started. So I you I started it watching with my mom. She started first and then I just took over. Like, let's watch them all.

SPEAKER_00 15:09

So but yeah, does she still watch dramas? K dramas? She does, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

She loves them.

SPEAKER_00 15:14

What about you all?

SPEAKER_04 15:15

So during the pandemic, like most people, I got really into BTS, but and then after the pandemic, I was back teaching in person and I asked our my students knew I liked BTS, and they were like, you should watch True Beauty. And so I went to Netflix and I like searched true beauty. It wasn't there, it's on Vicky, right? But it told me to watch startup, so I watched Startup. And so startup was my first K drama, and startup's just so good. Like, of course, startup you're gonna be hooked for life. So that's what happened. That is awesome.

Favorite Kdramas

SPEAKER_00 15:45

So it's so funny that everyone, their story is I watched one and then I was fascinated, and and I had to watch more. Yeah, which K-drama has a special place in your heart and why does it resonate with you?

SPEAKER_03 15:56

Not to say this again, but I wrote Startup. I didn't think we were gonna talk about it this much before this. Um, I did write startup. I I think A, like it kind of hooked me into K dramas, but also when I watched Startup, I was like 24. I think and the drama is all about, I think this is why it's my favorite drama. My the drama is all about trying to find your way in that 20s. Like I think all the characters are like 25, 26 in that drama. And I loved that. Like I just loved the female lead, and I'm a very like ambitious person. You know, clearly, like the drama's about starting businesses, but I I start podcasts, I start dancing, I start things all the time. I enjoy doing things. I have like that kind of brain. So I I just like really now I'm like in a kind of a new stage of life where I'm not as like, what am I doing with my life? You know, but when I watched startup in the first place, that really was where I was at. So that's one that I would watch. I would re-watch episodes, not just for like the romance or the hot guys. It was literally just because like I loved seeing the female lead take her ideas, make them a reality. I would just, I just loved it. I just loved it for that reason.

SPEAKER_02 16:58

So for me, mine that I just have such a special place in my heart for is Move to Heaven. I love Move to Heaven. It's 10 episodes, it's on Netflix, and it is about a father and a son who own a business where when someone is deceased, they clean up the area and they collect their belongings and find something that's meaningful for that family. From the start, it doesn't seem like it would be it would resonate, but it was just a drama that I absolutely love. I mean, it makes me cry. It's so emotional, it's about family and the sun is on the spectrum. You know, my brother's on the spectrum. I have like, and I see a lot of similarities with that, but I just it's one that I always think about. If a drama makes me think about it all the time, I just it's it's per it's perfect to me. And so I just, but that one I always I've seen it, I never re-watch dramas, and I've seen that four times because I love it so much. And yeah, so I've yeah, I've watched it and it's it's quick, but I think because I have such a soft spot for that brother, because he reminds me of my brother, I just it's so special to me. So I love it.

SPEAKER_04 18:11

For me, it's hometown Cha Cha Cha's my absolute favorite K drama um of all time. And it was my first ongoing K-drama. Like, I think I thought all K-dramas were completed until I started one of those. And then I got to like episode like, I don't know, 14 or something. And I'm like, where's the next one? I don't understand. Like, and I didn't get it. And I took me a whole lot of it. It's a rude awakening, right? Yeah, it took me a while to figure it out. But the reason why I think I loved it so much is because it's a K-drama about a small coastal town filled with lovable weirdo townies. And I live in a small coastal town with lovable weirdo townies too, and I just feel like it was like a love letter to my hometown, even though it's not it's a town in Korea, but a fictional town in Korea, you know. Plus, I want my own qi pong. So you know he is perfect.

SPEAKER_00 18:59

When she goes there and he's fixing everything and he's got all the skills, you know, do all this stuff. I was like, man, girl, walk him down. Do you know how valuable it is to have somebody? That is such a good drama. It's to me for me, it went on like some of the episodes went on long, I felt like, but I enjoyed them. I enjoyed the characters and the setting. It was such a good story. What's a uh K-drama trope that you can't resist? It's just like a must-watch, no questions asked.

SPEAKER_03 19:24

I think the girls know my answer for this one, but it's the Nuna Romance. It's I think it's loves it. I wrote down I wrote the Nuna Romance, especially if like she really at one point like just really viewed him as like a little brother. Like, I'm just like, get through you break through that wall, dude. You're a man now. I I don't know what it is. I don't know what like I even like a big age gap. I'm still on board, a 10-year age gap. I'm like, yeah, I don't know why. I don't know why. I don't know why. I don't know why. And then I wrote, to be honest, the broody male lead. I do love that.

SPEAKER_02 20:00

That's her type.

SPEAKER_03 20:01

If the male lead is like non-broody, I'm like, which okay, that's not always the case. Some of my favorite male leads are non-broody, but like sometimes I'm like, I don't know. But if they're broody, I'm like hook, line, and sinker. You're on board because he's gonna he's gonna soften him. He's gonna change, he's gonna get that character change. Yeah, I don't think I need this in my real life, but I like watching on TV, so yeah, I love it.

SPEAKER_02 20:23

For me, it would be I have three. Like, I I was thinking, I'm like, which one? No, they're all friends to lovers, contract relationship, forced cohabitation.

SPEAKER_04 20:33

We love it.

SPEAKER_01 20:34

We loving it on.

SPEAKER_02 20:36

I love those three. I think, yes, I um and it's so funny because some of those, like crash landing, is a forced proximity drama too, and like and then friends to lovers. I see that as like something in the rain because they were friends in the beginning, and then because that was also a Nuna romance, and um, and then a contract relationship, like because this is my first life, like those are just so wonderful. I I can't say no, yeah. Well, I don't think you're alone with that.

SPEAKER_00 21:05

Lots of people that's like they love those. Yeah, we love head over romance too.

SPEAKER_03 21:09

Yeah, I was like, Christina, what about forced to hold hands 24 hours of the day?

SPEAKER_02 21:13

Because that's that's actually a head over here. I'm like, what is going on with this phenomenal?

SPEAKER_03 21:18

Forced to sleep in the same bed because they have to hold hands.

SPEAKER_02 21:20

Oh, I I haven't got there yet, so excuse me. Sorry, thank you for the spoiler. Sorry, you're good.

SPEAKER_04 21:26

Okay, for me, it's reverse gender norms. I uh you love like a female CEO, like I love also like female superhero or like has some sort of reason they have to the female has to save the male, and then like bonus if like the male lead is like the nurturing type and the sensitive one.

SPEAKER_03 21:45

This is your favorite.

SPEAKER_04 21:47

Love scout, everybody. Love scout like I mean honestly, head over heels saves the male, yeah. Um strong woman, you know, lovely runner.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

Yeah, like run on. Have you seen Run on?

SPEAKER_04 21:59

Exactly. Yeah, exactly. She does love running on. She loves that.

SPEAKER_00 22:03

Yeah. Okay. These are great recks. All right. Um, what character lives rent-free in your head? What character or couple? One of those that just stays with you.

SPEAKER_03 22:11

Christina's gonna make fun of my answer. Well, I already know it.

SPEAKER_02 22:15

She knows my oh, Captain, my captain. Um tell them, tell her the drama. Because a lot of people haven't seen that drama.

SPEAKER_03 22:22

Uh I feel like the male lead that lives in my head, Ren Frio is the male lead from Cheerup. He's a cheerleading cat. Always make fun of me. This is a great drama, Maddie. I love this. I literally love this drama. It's like my number of all time. Underated. He is age, it's it's a college drama. And she is like this really spunky, funny, like pretty, um, breaks the rules, kind of like do my own thing, girl. And she meets this like real like stick up his butt cheer captain guy who ends up just being a complete nerd. And he like loves wearing the tacky uniform. He's like, Why don't people like it? And he's like really like doesn't catch up on social cues. And I just love him. I just love his character, adorable. So that's like the cut, that's the character of the melee that I just find very unique and great. And then the couple I think might be the same. Well, I don't know, and it's not the same, that's Christina's, but the 25-21 couple is that is my couple, yo, Keto and Becky Jin, best chemistry on TV.

SPEAKER_02 23:12

Yeah, or done, but they're well, that's the thing.

SPEAKER_03 23:15

Like, do they count? But phenomenal.

SPEAKER_02 23:17

Great for me. So uh some characters that live rent-free is Chief, hometown cha-cha-cha. Yes, yes, um, mud flat man in love next door. Yeah, love love next door was fine. I loved the second male lead in Love Next Door. I was he was just he's my cup of tea. And then I love I loved for female lead, I love parking bin in the king's affection. Yes, she was incredible with everything, the sacrifices, all the things she had to do. I just she was incredible in that role. And then I was gonna say for 2521, the Becky Jin and Nahi Do, but I also will say for me, as like a couple, like a couple, I loved I still crash landing on you, Captain Rhe. And uh yeah, you basically the same classic, it's iconic. I can't always try. I'm like, no, I can't be. I I just love I love them. I love them anyway.

SPEAKER_04 24:12

Uh so I wrote down two couples, and then I realized that they're literally my four favorite K-drama actors, so it makes sense. Markman Young and Healer. Yes, um, and then it's funny you brought up Run On because my like favorite K-drama couple is literally the second couple in Run On. It's uh Kong Tao and Che Su Young in Run On because they like literally fit exactly the trope I love. Like she's the CEO, he's the really sensitive art student. It's great. And Kong Tao and Qi Chang look just not.

SPEAKER_00 24:44

So how cool if they're they've been in dramas together because sometimes you have people that you like and you're like, oh, that'd be so cool if they were together in drama.

SPEAKER_04 24:50

You know, I would love them to be in another K drama together.

SPEAKER_00 24:54

It'd be cool like if they were all in a K drama together. Like what was the mainly that'd be awesome ensemble cast?

SPEAKER_03 25:00

That'd be great.

SPEAKER_00 25:01

Well, do y'all keep track of the dramas you've watched?

SPEAKER_03 25:04

Kind of. I wrote kind of because I'm pretty type B. I'm like type B minus. I wrote I counted 91, but I don't I think I've watched way more than 91. So the answer is kind of. I bet I've watched like the mid 100s, like 150, or I don't know. I I I know I've watched more than 91k dramas, so I don't know. I also drop some. Uh I don't I don't really count the ones I drop, even if I watch like 90% of it. So yeah, my more type A friends keep way better track. Design the podcast with your backlog, basically. So there you go.

SPEAKER_02 25:36

Yeah, that's what it is. I have a spreadsheet. Um, I do see exactly, but I don't think I'm not type A though, I feel like so. In some cases, like I think right now with this, I am, but in some other areas of my life, I'm totally not. But yeah, so I have a K drama like um doc spread Google spreadsheet, and I have a doc spread Google spread spread Google Doc. I don't know, I don't know the correct term. Um Sheets, it's sheets, it's called Sheets. Okay, so sorry. So I have a sheets on Google, it is I do it out of five stars, and so and then I have categories. So five is best of the best, four is still great, three and two is like it's all right, and then I have one for dumpster dive, which is one star. So I do it like that. So after I'm done, I will type it in and put it in my spreadsheet. And I don't have them numbered, like I don't have them one through whatever. If it's a five, it's a five. And it like I don't have one that's better than the other if I rate it a five.

SPEAKER_03 26:40

L. I think I should take a page out of Boys Planet and do all star, two star, one star. Yeah, there you go. There you go. No star is dumpster dying.

SPEAKER_04 26:48

Okay, the second I finish watching a K-drama, it's like my favorite thing to put them on my list of ranking. And so L has a list. I have a list, and then it's been it's also divided into A, B, C, or D, or or I don't give Fs. I just stopped watching them if they're F. So yeah, definitely a teacher because I'm like ranking them in my head by what letter grade I would give them. Yeah, the second I'm done with K-drama, I just put it on my list and I like to think about like where would I put it? Where would I rank it in with all the other K-dramas I've seen?

SPEAKER_00 27:17

Yeah, everybody kind of has either they don't track them at all, or if they do have a system, everybody's system is different. It's just interesting to hear how different people do different things.

SPEAKER_03 27:25

I made a color-coordinated list at one point, but then I keep forgetting to add new ones, and I like have like a random like the Excel sheet stops being color coordinated, and then it's just like a smattering of random cells with like names in it, and I don't know if it's updated. Like, this is where I'm at.

SPEAKER_04 27:41

At one point, we all put our list of our dramas on our Discord. So if you want to that's when I named them on our Discord, yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:50

About five months ago, we have updated lists on there.

SPEAKER_04 27:52

We have like a little channel for each one of us, and so you could go see our list.

SPEAKER_00 27:57

Oh, that's cool. Because in that way, you can go look and get recommendations.

SPEAKER_03 28:00

We should update those guys. Yeah, we need to update those, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:03

Well, what drama do you feel is overlooked and you really wish more people knew about?

SPEAKER_03 28:07

Uh, this one was kind of a fun one to think about. I wrote Hotel de Luna as one of them because it's one of those dramas that like people don't really talk about it. And I re-watched it this year and it made it on my top 10 list. I think it's so phenomenal, top to bottom casting, just the storytelling. I just think it's so good. And I think I think people have seen it and maybe they just don't like it as much as I do. But I'm like, this is a quality K drama. So I was gonna say Hotel de Luna, as far as um a drama from this year, I was gonna say Namib, which I watched earlier this year, and it got no one ever talks about it ever. It's on Vicky, but it's really good, and it's about a um boy trying to make his way in the K-pop industry, but it's not really about K, it's a it's a K-drama, it's not romance, like it's it's about just like other relationships, and I just thought it was phenomenal. And I usually want kind of romance, so kind of slice of life type. It was that, but it was more fast-paced, it was only like seven episodes, so it didn't, it never felt slow, yeah. So, anyways, I would recommend that for one that like literally was completely under the radar, that it's one of my favorite dramas of 2025.

SPEAKER_02 29:17

So for me, I would say under the Queen's Umbrella, I I love that one. I people that have seen it have raved about it, but I feel like since it isn't a tip, it isn't a romance, like a lot of I and I was the same way. I would only watch for I would be like, oh, it has to be a romance, it has to be a romance. Yeah, but that isn't a romance, it's a Joseph um drama and a historical drama, and it is with the lovely Kim He su and she is amazing. She was also in Signal. I love that one too, but I love I watched it at the beginning of this year, and I still think about it. It's a beautiful drama. She's the queen, she has five or four sons, and all the sacrifices and all the things that she does. It just was, in my opinion, was flawless. And I cried, I mean, it was funny, but it was just the message of the story of just family and what you do for all the ones you love. And maybe because I come from a big family and I I resonated from that too. Um, I'm the oldest of four, and I uh I just I really absolutely loved it. And I I and also just seeing the mom, and she reminded me of my mom. I'm close to my mom too, and I just the relationship and how it was, but I love that drama, and I see people that seen it, they love it too, but I wish it got more hype because it's it's beautiful.

SPEAKER_04 30:40

I love how different all of our recs are. I I know what Elle's gonna say.

SPEAKER_02 30:44

I know I think I know what I already know what you're gonna say.

SPEAKER_04 30:47

Well, I think Maddie and I are the only two people who watch this drama. I think you're gonna say bad prosecutor, bad prosecutor, yeah. I actually wrote that down too.

SPEAKER_03 30:54

It's so phenomenal.

SPEAKER_04 30:55

Yeah. Um, bad prosecutor, also not a romance, actually. Um, so it's an action comedy starring DO of Exo. Um, and it is so funny and yet suspenseful, and it had like craziest twists and so fast paced. I was just thoroughly entertained. If you just want something just absolutely be entertaining and like you don't know what's gonna happen next, and then it has like literally the most satisfying ending I've ever had in any K drama I've seen. I think it's literally the most satisfying ending I've ever watched, and I did not see it coming. And um, it's interesting because it reminded me of a K my favorite K drama from this year, which is undercover high school. And then I realized they had the same screenwriter, and they the screenwriters literally only wrote those two K dramas. So anyway, that's my wreck. It's so fun. It's I think it's on Vicky, it's only eight episodes. And if you just want a really, really highly entertaining one, Dio is so great. Yeah, he's it's hilarious, it's so funny. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:53

Well, my list is getting longer and longer and longer. Some of the a lot of these I've seen, but some of them I haven't. And I've seen them, you know, thought, I don't know. I'm not, you know, my bad prosecutor, I'm not really into legal dramas that much.

SPEAKER_04 32:03

It's not whatsoever. He's never in a courtroom, ever. He's like a vigilante. I don't know. Okay, yeah, yeah. Like technically was a cat prosecutor at one that's technically his job. I think it it like has like his past. He's in the courtroom for a very short amount of time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:17

I mean, he's a good thing. I think I loved extraordinary Taiwan. So, like, it just depends, you know.

SPEAKER_04 32:22

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:22

So, but yeah, some of them I'll think maybe not. Yeah. So this is great because I feel like there are certain K dramas that just get recommended over and over and over, getting like their top of mind. And so I like to ask, you know, what's kind of overlaying.

SPEAKER_03 32:34

Great question. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's hard to press play if you've like no never heard a single person talk about the drama. But if even one person is like, I love this drama, I'll be like, Oh, okay. Someone loves maybe try it and see. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:45

So before we wrap up, I want to do something fun. Uh, in the chingu chats that y'all do, you do these themed episodes. So this is an honor of that. We were going to talk about ramen scenes. You always pick the a theme and talk about some of your favorite scenes. So tell me what scenes resonate with you that have ramen in them.

SPEAKER_03 33:05

We do love doing categories of scenes. We just did uh drunk scenes. Wait, is that what we just did? Yeah. Jealousy scenes recently.

SPEAKER_00 33:14

Yeah. Um, a list is always good, right? It's great.

SPEAKER_03 33:17

So I said the one, um, my the one that came to my brain was in Lovely Runner when it's like midway through or so. And such a good scene. You know how ramen is other words, let me come in. You know, I mean, sometimes in K dramas are just eating ramen, but it's also like, let's eat ramen, you know. Yeah. So subtext. Subtext. Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. A little bit of both. Now, I think she was, if I remember correctly, she was like fearing for his like life and safety. So she wanted to stay by his side that night. So she was like, I'm gonna, I'm never gonna leave your side all night. And so, you know, they go to his apartment and I think he does feed her ramen or like some sort of food. I remember that, but they end up like just staying up all night. I'm like, this is a great episode. Um, so that's the one I was thinking of because that's when things got really cooking, I felt like with them.

SPEAKER_01 34:04

Cooking.

SPEAKER_02 34:05

Oh, I didn't mean to make a pun. Oh, for me, I picked from reply 1988. And so for there's a lot of ramen scenes. Yes, there are the show. I mean, it's 20 episodes, and each episode's about almost two hours. So there's just there's a lot.

SPEAKER_03 34:22

You just watch them eat food and yeah, whatever.

SPEAKER_02 34:25

And so when they had the ramen scenes, I loved them because that was the time where everything kind of sits still and it stayed still because there was all the family drama was going on, and you didn't see those characters a lot of the time together because they were talking about their family stuff that was going on. So when the friends or the kids all came together, they would always eat a certain type of ramen, and sometimes it was like plain, sometimes it wasn't, and then they would fight over like the different foods and um different toppings. But I always, when you said that, that was my first one I thought of because just they came together and it was a time for them to just chill and enjoy each other's company. I love it.

SPEAKER_03 35:09

Yeah, what about the um K-pop demon hunters rob ramen scene? That one too.

SPEAKER_04 35:14

If I'm gonna be honest, I have severe dyslexia and I completely misread your question. El thought you were asking her, I thought you were asking her what her favorite type of ramen was. Like, how do I don't get it, but I'm gonna answer and have like tell it detailed answer. Please answer that question. Well, first of all, I have two different answers. One is my favorite, like homemade ramen, and then the other one is my favorite restaurant ramen. And my favorite home running ramen was the one that Christina made me because that makes such ramen.

SPEAKER_01 35:41

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 35:42

It's so cute, such great ramen. She I don't she has like a very detailed way she does it, and it's like it will blow you away. It's so good. And then the other one is there's a like hole in the wall ramen place in Plains, Illinois. Oh ramen, and it is like it has like a line out the door all the time, but it's like looks like a hole in the wall place, and it's got the bed best red miso ramen ever. Like it is so freaking good. So if you're ever in Des Plains, Illinois, it's kind of close to Chicago, get the Chicago ramen. I'm sorry, I've just you know what I completely remember any ramen scenes. That was a good answer on cheer chats either. So I'm like, you know, makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 36:24

That's okay because I put the question in then in and I was like, oh, there's a I thought of one or two scenes, but maybe there's other ones that I you know haven't thought about. So I Googled it. I was like, what about what are some popular scenes? And invariably a lot of the results were like about how to make ramen. So you know, it's like how to make it and why it's popular and everything. So yeah. For me, the one that I thought of was there's a lot of ramen scenes in Crash Landing on You. Yes, and the other one that came up on the list a lot, but the one that I remember the most is the second male and female lead when she asked him if he wants ramen, and he's like, You have to be very careful saying that. Do you remember this? They had that conversation, and it's when he finds out that she likes him, and he's like just blown away that that she might like him. I just thought it was very sweet.

SPEAKER_02 37:14

That's so cute. Oh, I love that one. That's so cute. Yeah, I I forgot about that. That is really good because I know of the leads, they have a ramen scene too. But that is a good one. That's a good one.

SPEAKER_00 37:25

Yeah, and he makes the lead, he makes her homemade ramen, right? He does like homemade noodles, right? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:31

I mean they do it in they did it in North Korea too. So it was just yeah, but yeah, no, it was good. No, but when you said that, um, Sarah, it reminded me of the what is it, the Secretary Kim iconic ramen scene where Park So Jun thinks she's like, You want some ramen? And he then he was like, Yeah, yeah, I'll have some.

SPEAKER_03 37:49

And she actually makes him ramen, like that's where I learned what like that like cultural phrase was, I think. Yeah, probably was Secretary Kim. That was one of my earlier K dramas. And I was like, What? Wait a minute, something, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:03

Urban dictionary, do you have a definition?

SPEAKER_03 38:05

Yeah, yeah, I didn't know.

SPEAKER_00 38:07

Yeah, uh well, um, this has been so much fun. Thank you guys for doing this. And just any links y'all want to share, or we talked about the I'll have a link to the podcast, but anything else?

SPEAKER_03 38:19

We can share on there, like our link to our Instagram, and we also have a link to our Discord chat if we can link that there, because it's really fun and people can talk about with of just a bunch of other people on the internet. Um, dramas currently airing dramas, we have K-pop on there too. So I feel like those would be our links. We can also link our K-pop podcast, the K-Drop, if you guys are into that. And I'm sure some people will be, or you should be. Come on. Yes, yeah, we'll get you into it.

SPEAKER_02 38:43

They do such a great job. You guys are great.

SPEAKER_00 38:46

All right, thanks for being here. And if you enjoyed this episode, please take a few minutes to write or review it wherever you listen to podcasts. That will help K Dron fans find the podcast. And I'll see everybody next time. Bye.

SPEAKER_03 38:57

Bye, K. Thanks for having us.

unknown 38:59

Thank you.