K-Drama School

Welcome to episode 1 of K-Drama School podcast! Meet your host Grace Jung (comedian and PhD candidate in Cinema and Media Studies at UCLA) who is here to school you in Korean dramas every week followed by an interview with a guest comedian or scholar. In this episode, Grace analyzes the hit JTBC show SKY Castle (2018), the Korean school system, suicides, helicopter parenting, Christianity and decoloniality with her sidekick Julieta Degese (@dgcjulieta). Berlin-based Austrian comedian Tobias Hauser (@hahahouser) is the special guest. They discuss original sin, Newton's laws of motion, maple syrup fetish and high kicks by Christina Baranski. Follow @KDramaSchool on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Visit kdramachool.com to learn more. Next week, we discuss Goblin or Guardian: The Lonely and Great God!

No K-drama today. Grace has a heartfelt message to all K-Drama Schoolers. Grace’s new book K-Drama School: A Pop Culture Inquiry into Why We Love Korean Television is available now for pre-order on Amazon. Release date is April 23, 2024: https://shorturl.at/fAFY1. Please visit K-Drama School’s Patreon page to support the show at http://www.patreon.com/kdramaschool. Visit the K-Drama School Store at http://www.kdramaschool/com/store. Follow @KDramaSchool on Instagram, and TikTok. Visit https://www.kdramaschool.com/ to learn more.

[Spoiler Alert] Grace welcomes in the Lunar New Year by setting new intentions, including always making an effort to humanity’s good even in light of the mass shooting in Monterey. Her thoughts are with her Asian American community in SoCal. Grace discusses the show Would You Like a Cup of Coffee? (2021, KakaoTV) written by Huh Young-man, Lee Ho-joon and No Jung-wook. Grace calls this chamber piece a K-drama that feels like “tapas”—small and manageable bites that are easy to digest. Follow @KDramaSchool on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Visit https://www.kdramaschool.com/ to learn more.

[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show My Princess (MBC, 2011). Kris Jones, PhD Candidate at the UCLA film school kicks us off with some hilarious answers to Grace’s flashcard questions, which Grace recorded on UCLA campus on her graduation day—June 11, 2021. Grace’s guest is Dr. Bambi Haggins who is a media studies professor at the University of California Irvine and the author of Laughing Mad: The Black Comic Persona in Post-Soul America [https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/laughing-mad/9780813539850]. They discuss the character development of orphans, Lovecraft Country, Insecure, the pressure of being from a working-class family, intergenerational wealth and privilege, Black joy, white fragility in the face of basic difficulty, “affluenza,” the craft of writing, why Louis CK does not get the n-word pass, Tony Hinchcliff and Gary Gulman using the c-word in reference to Asian American comics, their admiration for comics like Maria Bamford, Margaret Cho, Jackie Kashian, the systemic and structural impediments that marginalized individuals suffer from, the reminder of our individual freedom and self-worth in the face of neoliberal powers that be, and our gratitude for the real influencers who are teachers we remember best. Follow @KDramaSchool on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Visit kdramachool.com to learn more.

Grace added 3 upcoming shows in Los Angeles on her website: https://aechjay.com/2021/08/15/shows-this-week/

[Spoiler Alert] In this episode of K-Drama School, Grace discusses the show Misaeng (2014, tvN), and how it exhibits a poor man’s vision of capitalism, and how Yoon Tae-ho struggled in his early years as an artist. This was recorded on Grace’s birthday, and she talks about how she feels being in her mid-thirties, reflecting on her past and present, and how she feels about herself today. Grace’s guest is LA-based comedian Olivia Hill (@freesampleolivia on Instagram). They discuss comedy and COVID-19, makeup tutorials, content creation, being intentional, singing karoke while tone-deaf, not drinking alcohol, the private funny memories we carry in our own minds, confidence, creating an oracle deck, The Artist’s Way, and the catharsis of taking a friend out to a fancy dinner each month. Follow @KDramaSchool on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Visit kdramachool.com to learn more.