Thank you all for your support. Today is 1 year anniversary of What Should I Watch?, the best Korean drama podcast! Writing, recording, and editing every week is not an easy commitment but YOU gave me the strength to carry on. This week's episode covers about 30 Korean dramas and movies. It's a special list!

Also, don't miss two special announcements including a giveaway event.

I have truly enjoyed connecting with Korean drama fans around the world and hope to continue to do so.

Hopefully the long list from this special episode will give you enough to pick out from while I'm taking a short break to improve the show.

If you have any suggestion or comment, plz feel free to email me at whatshouldiwatch@gmail.com

Thank you again and see you all soon!

Blues: Blues songs are lyrical rather than narrative; blues singers are expressing feelings rather than telling stories. The emotion expressed is generally one of sadness or melancholy, often due to problems of love but also oppression and hard times. (Britannica)Life likes to throw us a lot of curveballs. Some joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. This unique drama written by a legendary Korean writer, Noh Hee-kyung, teaches us that wherever you're going through, it's not the end of the road. Just the fact that you're alive at this moment deserves applause and cheering because life can be a burden sometimes. In this omnibus style drama set in beautiful Jeju island, characters who are aged from 6 to mid 70s show us the full range of emotions. Each story makes us laugh, cry, angry, and smile. But after all 20 episodes you'll feel as if you have learned a great lesson from a wise man, and that's a school of life.

When you're not strong and I'll be your friend. I'll help you carry on.

Please swallow your pride...for no one can fill those of your needs that you won't let show - Bill Withers

There are moments in life that words can't describe because what happened is not what matters. While you are watching this Korean drama "My Mister" you will find it hard to describe your feeling or even the drama itself. There are many websites that the genre or a brief summary of My Mister but those words don't matter. Invest at least 2-3 episodes for your soul and see it, feel it for yourself. In a world that is so selfish, polarizing, and violent, My Mister teaches why we live and how we should live.[TV Shows and Movies Mentioned in This Episode]

Misaeng (2014),Parasite (2019),

The World of the Married (2020),

My Liberation Notes (2022),

Another Miss Oh (2016),

The Glory (2022)

We all lie whether it’s to achieve a goal or a white lie. But some people lie more often than others and sometimes it gets out of hand. Like Tom Ripley in Patricia Highsmith’s novels, some even enjoy the thrill of it. In history, there were famous people who turned out to be pathological liars and there are many books and movies about this trait of human being. Korea also had a few public figures whose life turned out to be all lies. It’s similar to Anna Sorokin, whose story is made into a Netflix show Inventing Anna. The fictional character in this week’s Korean drama is also Anna although that is not her real name. She is despicable yet evokes sympathy. Is it because she is not a psychopath liar or because we secretly wish we could live the life we want by lying and never get caught?

[Movies and TV Shows mentioned in this episode]

Through the darkness(2022),

Island(2022),

Single Rider(2017),

Squid Game (2021),

Mr. Sunshine (2018),

Hospital Playlist (2020),

Prison playbook (2017),

One Spring Night (2019),

The Heirs (2013)

Korea is generally a very safe country. Kids walk home from school on their own and it is not illegal for parents to let their kids to go hang out on their own. There is no such thing as "dangerous area" although some neighborhoods are less developed than others. The idea of "psychopath" is relatively new and the concept of "serial killing" didn't settle in until the early 2000s. What's important is that there was a policeman who predicted the unprecedented type of murder and insisted to create a criminal behavior analysis unit. He and his colleague educate themselves to become Korea's first criminal profiler in the history. And this week's drama is the story of them. Through the Darkness. It's Korean Mindhunter.

[TV Shows and Movies mentioned in this episode] Fiery Priest (2019), Parasite (2019), Juvenile justice (2022), Memories of Murder (2003), Raincoat killer (2021), Old Boy (2003)

Koreans were first introduced to baseball in the late 19th century by an American missionary, Henry Bruen. After a century, baseball became the most popular sport in Korea and its economic effect is estimated to be about 2 billion USD.

Baseball is not just a sport. It is a massive business and that's what this week's Korean drama, Hot Stove League, is about. Off the mound, there are hundreds of people working for the team. There're coaches, trainers, administrative staff, and most importantly the manager and the team owner. The issue is that if the team always loses, the owner would want to sell the team because it's a bad business. But a sport team is not always about winning or losing. For some, it's a childhood memory or a family tradition. For some players, it's the first team that recognized their talent and gave them a chance. That's why the drama, Hot Stove League, is for everyone to enjoy whether you like baseball or an expert of the game. And who wouldn't like eating a wide range of Korean food at a Korean baseball game?

[TV Shows mentioned in this episode]: One Dollar Lawyer(2022), Awaken(2020), Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022), The Uncanny Counter(2020), It’s ok not to be ok(2020), When the Camellia blooms(2019), The Revenant(2023)

As Korea celebrates its 78th anniversary of liberation from Japan on August 15, the conversation about the Korean drama, Mr. Sunshine continues from last week. There are many movies about the Nazi camps. The stories are so horrendous that they make us question how evil humans can be; yet that's why the love and humanity that is portrayed in movies shines brighter. It's the victory of the good over the extreme evil. Mr. Sunshine is the story of the Korean version of Nazi persecution. It's set during the time that Koreans were inhumanely oppressed by the Imperial Japanese. They had their country and all basic human rights stolen from them. But there were people who fought for the country's independence and for their love. And it's the love that this Korean drama makes us reflect on. Available on Netflix. Don't miss out on this epic historical drama!

[TV Show mentioned in this episode] The Slave Hunters (2010)

August 15, 2023 marks the 78th anniversary of Korea's independence day. While the West was dealing with Nazi Germany, many Asian countries, including Korea were suffering from Japan's ambition to take over the world. (remember the American TV show, The Man in the High Castle?) Korea was colonized by Japan's military government for 35 years and there were many independence movements fighting against Japan. But even during the oppressing time, people fell in love and some of them had to painfully sacrifice the love for the greater cause: the independence of Korea, a country with 5000 years of history. This Korean drama, Mr. Sunshine, is an epic historical drama set in the late 19th century-early 20th century when the world was beginning to sink into chaos before First World War.

[Movies and TV Shows mentioned in this episode] : The Guardian aka Goblin (2016)

Descendants of the Sun (2016)

Sweet Home (2020)

Steel Rain (2017)

Confession Couple (2017)

Squid Game (2021)

The Handmaiden (2016)

Oldboy (2003)

Revenant (2023)

Twenty-Five Twenty-One (2022)

Dr. Romantic (2023)