kdramawomensweek – The Obsessive Dilettante

the best kdrama sisterhood

February 7, 2018 odilettanteLeave a comment

Thanks to everyone for responding to my request for your favorite kdrama sismance/lady brotps! Here’s a compilation of all the suggestions:

Legendary Witch family (still has flaws but still awesome), One more happy ending, Reaper/Goblin in Goblin (the only good thing about the drama)

Ra Bong Hee/Seo Joon Oh in Missing 9

The ajummas from Reply 1988

– @aerezia

The ladies in Witch’s Romance (I can’t remember anyone’s names in that drama now), same with Reply 1988 and Perfect Wife. Also Kim Seulgi and Jo Bo Ah’s friendship in Surplus Princess! – @dahliabunches

ahjumma rockband from I Am Legend – @soymilkmocha

The Age of Youth ladies! Sunny and Go Ji Tak from Goblin! The Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo girls! – @sleepypie1212

do families count?the sisters from father is strange the mom and her daughters from can we get marriedthe girls from age of youth all the girls from ex girlfriend club the besties from wild romance (they’re actually my absolute favorite) the girls from let’s eat – @eviesbfdylan

Dal Ja and Seon Joo from Dal Ja’s Spring. – @applepiips

the bokja club ladies xD – @mintful

In Yub and Sa Wol from Maids Hee Jin and Soo Kyung from Queen In Hyun’s Man – @yourwordsareshort

Apart from what has already been mentioned: the beauty pageant coaches (friends turned enemies turned friends again) and the contestants from Miss Korea, the girls from 20th Century Boy And Girl, the policewomen from Lookout. – @okaja

It’s been a while but I remember loving the relationship and communication between the main character and her best friend in She Was Pretty. – @celescole

The ladies from She Was Pretty! Ok Da Jung and Han Young-Mi from Ms. Temper and Nam Jung Gi! – @pantsareneveranoption

the enemies turned friends in protect the boss – @randomlifeofanormalgirl

Protect the Boss!! – @pedagogicalpaprika

Protect the Boss forever. – @itscoolmantotallycool

@randomlifeofanormalgirl YAAAAAAS also @applepiips TOTALLY. I think Coffee Princes main ladies had an awesome development of their relationship (ancient history, I know) and then Okjakgyo Brothers had a really interesting fraught relationship between the mom and Uee’s character. But Marriage Not Dating has to be my fave frenemies relationship arc with mom Shin Bong-Hyang and Joo Jang Mi – @idiosyncreant

Did your favorites make the list? Feel free to add more!

April 4, 2017 odilettanteLeave a comment

Cleaning up and organizing my drafts so the randomness can go in the queue, and I found these, reminding me how terrible I am that I never returned to KWW and finished my posts.

Let this stand as a record that at least I had a plan!

Kdrama Women’s Week: Work Work Work

March 4, 2017 odilettanteLeave a comment

Seo Yoo Kyung (Han Chae Ah) – Marry Him If You Dare/Mi Rae’s Choice

One of my favorite moments in this show is when Yoo Kyung automatically sets out the tableware for for Se Joo. This is a habit borne from the sexist culture of the news room, where the pretty young woman reporter takes on the role of deference to hopefully get the (male, obviously) PDs to approve her projects and let her stories get to air. Flirtatious sexiness and “aegyo” are also tools Yoo Kyung doesn’t hesitate to use, knowing that if she can make the men in power happy, she can get further in her career. That’s just what one does in this sexist culture.

So it’s instinctive to set out the tableware, because that’s just what a girl does, even if it’s only for a VJ (since she’s not aware that Se Joo actually owns the news station at this point). He immediately stops her, telling her that she shouldn’t have to do this. She’s valid as a person who doesn’t need to defer to anyone else, especially any guy, and should instead focus on how amazing and confident she is in front of the camera. That should be the reason she gets more reporting gigs, and not her ability to charm the PDs with her aegyo.

Thankfully, Se Joo decides to make a point of establishing a rule that reporters and PDs are selected based on talent and not on connections or prestige. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Except Yoo Kyung, without such prestige, connections, money, or ability to make herself known beyond her looks, knows that it’s all talk, because the people who get selected in this “fair” interview were already decided. She knows how the world works, and even if she has to sacrifice some of her pride, she’ll do what it takes to get ahead even when all the decks are stacked against her.

Yoo Kyung continues to do the flirtatious and deferential roles she’s used to – and that everyone expects – until one day she finally snaps and, during a work dinner where she’s the only female, stands her ground and refuses to serve the guys. It’s a triumph for her, but it’s also nerve-wracking because she’s the breadwinner for her family, and if she offends the wrong PD, her career could be toast.

When she decides to take a scholarship to study journalism overseas, she refuses Se Joo’s offer to help support her family while she’s away. This is her family, this is her career – she doesn’t want to rely on a man to save her. Even though she’s been in love with him and has had to watch him pursue another woman, she harbors no grudge against him. She just wants to stand on her own two feet, the boss of her own life.

In the end, she becomes an MC of her own talk show, proving that all her efforts and hard work have proved successful. While this show may have been frustrating on so many levels, particularly with the ending, it’s satisfactory to see that Yoo Kyung has fearlessly and ceaselessly strived to excel in her career. In that way, the ending is almost preferable to what we know of the original timeline, since Yoo Kyung’s success feels much more deservedly hard-won than simply falling in love with a chaebol who will then make her the director of a news station. I still have faith that Yoo Kyung will become the big boss one day – but on her terms, because of her talent and intelligence, and not just who happened to be her husband.

Kdrama Women’s Week: 40+

March 3, 2017 odilettanteLeave a comment

Dear My Friends – All of them

As if I could choose from among all these amazing women. I love them all so much.

But I will probably forever have a warm spot in my heart for the “Thelma and Louise” couple, whose friendship lasted through the years, husbands, children, miscarriages, sicknesses, and broken dreams. They are truly #relationshipgoals, and I can hope that I’ll still be as close to my best friend when I’m that age.

Kdrama Women’s Week: Rent’s Due

March 2, 2017 odilettanteLeave a comment

Lee Soo Kyung – Let’s Eat

It was a struggle to think of someone who would fit this category, partially because I love dramas for how unrealistic and escapist they are and very rarely relate to characters in a concrete daily-life sense, and partially because of my self-imposed restriction to not use previously selected characters and therefore the most obvious choice, Webtoon Editor, was off the table.

I finally decided on Lee Soo Kyung, because, for me, a job is just a job that helps pay the bills. Even though I’m pretty happy with my current day job, I’ve also had a few that made me so frustrated with management that I can totally relate to her stash of candy bars and secret bathroom rage-eating.

Also my greatest desire when I get home is to eat something delicious and watch my shows. Yes, I am old and boring. I may not be the foodie that Soo Kyung is, but I definitely have my weird little passions that no one else seems to understand, and no one will prevent me from properly enjoying them.

There’s no great mystery throwing me together with my neighbors, but I’m totally willing to judge them and assume the worst about them. It’s just a pity I don’t have a cute insurance salesman neighbor who will eventually charm me and call me “noona” and secretly share my favorite hobby, or an adorable younger neighbor who thinks of me as an older sister whether I like it or not. To be fair, I do generally have to be dragged into friendships because I’m content with the few close friends I already have, so I can relate to the sensation of someone bulldozing their way into your life whether you like it or not. (Unfortunately, none of them look like Yoon Doo Joon. Alas.)

So while I may not completely relate to Lee Soo Kyung in everything, I do appreciate that she just wants to live her life on her own terms, no matter how simple that life may be. After all, some of life’s greatest joys are savoring a delicious meal with friends – or alone with your favorite pet and tv show.

Kdrama Women’s Week: Least Typecast Fave

March 2, 2017 odilettanteLeave a comment

Im Joo Eun

From a possessed schoolgirl to a fairy turned evil that possesses other people; from a rebellious college student in love with her professor to a down-on-her-luck tutor to rich kids caught in a depressing love triangle; from quirky neighbor who speaks her mind to conniving rich chaebol to actual empress – Im Joo Eun can do it all, and never seems to have the same role twice. My only complaint is that she seems selective about her roles and isn’t on my screen enough.

Hon/Soul (2009):

What’s Up? (2011):

Wild Romance (2012):

Arang and the Magistrate (2012):

Heirs (2013):

Empress Ki (2013-14):

Uncontrollably Fond (2016):

Kdrama Women’s Week: Favorite Matriarch

March 8, 2016 odilettanteLeave a comment

Director Ma – Miss Korea

Yes, I mentioned Miss Korea during last year’s KWW, but let’s just accept the fact that I’m never going to stop talking about this show, especially in matters pertaining to awesome women.

Director Ma is, to me, the epitome of a matriarch. She not only runs her own business, but she runs it incredibly successfully. If you want to become Miss Korea, you’d better hope that Director Ma sees something in you and decides to make you one of her girls (unofficially or not), because she’s the queen maker. Her girls aren’t just her subjects, though – they’re her family, to be protected just as much as they are to led through the painful process of becoming beauty pageant winners.

Short of telling you to watch this drama already, I’m just going to link to some of my favorite Director Ma gifsets and you can see for yourself why a single, unmarried woman was easily my first pick for “matriarch,” a role that one might traditionally assume to be the head of a family (the kind that’s related by blood, and not just sweat, tears, and a unifying goal).

Kdrama Women’s Week: Favorite Token Detective

March 7, 2016 odilettanteLeave a comment

Jung Eun Ji – Flower Grandpa Investigation Unit

Proof why she’s the token female detective:

The title makes it clear what gender we’re concerned about, as if we had any doubt.
Impossible to find official stills of her that aren’t from the press conference (where she’s one of two women).
The only official stills are when she’s with all the other actors.
Listed as a supporting role yet she’s the female who gets the most screen time.
The first dozen or so hits when I searched for the drama’s name and her name were all about the scene that discusses her cup size.
Yes there is a specific scene in this drama where her cup size is a major point.
Her talents as a detective (she’s a super taster! That’s kind of awesome!) are dismissed and she’s relegated to baby-sitting the grandpas.
She’s there to be made fun of but she’s also there to be a love interest, like, wut.

This is a dumb, goofy show with a hidden depth that I happened to enjoy very much, but they could have done so much more with her character.

Kdrama Women’s Week: Most Likely to Escape an Abusive Relationship

March 6, 2016 odilettanteLeave a comment

Cheon Song Yi – You Who Came From The Stars

Song Yi is too amazing to be stuck with some pretty-face space-boy who just pops in and out of her world with no warning. He may be from the stars but she is the star, and alien-boy just won’t cut it by Peter Pan-ing in and out of her life. Song Yi deserves better than that, and while she may have a soft spot for his pretty alien face, she needs a reliable guy that will stay by her side through thick and thin.

Love can transcend space and time – yeah, sure, whatever. Love may be able to, but relationships take work and most of that is just being there. If he only pops in and out for the important events and not the times when she needs someone to go buy her tampons in the middle of the night or rub her feet after a long day of work or give her reassuring kisses when she’s feeling particularly depressed about a film review, then that’s not a healthy relationship.

If you want to make it work, you gotta be able to stick around. Space-boy may make for a good story, but he ain’t marriage material.

Kdrama Women’s Week: LGBTQ Character of Choice

March 5, 2016 odilettanteLeave a comment

Jamie – Liar Game

Even though the show never truly touches on it, there are enough hints that I’m stubbornly declaring it follows the original canon that the Jamie character is transgender. There’s a lot about this show that disappointed me as a fan of the original Japanese drama and the manga, but Jamie definitely was not one of them.