Essays on TV and film — exploring stories, characters, and the choices behind them.
Our Sticky Love is the number two show in the world on Netflix right now, part of a steady run of Korean series climbing the global charts. It is the kind of title that ranking tends to reward: a warm, low-stakes romance you can sink into after a long day. A prosecutor, Go Eun-sae, … Read more
In the early hours of December 21, 2024, the palace burned down. A fire swept through a production facility in Yeoncheon County, South Korea, taking the main set buildings and a warehouse of lighting equipment with it. The set was empty and nobody was hurt. What burned was the home of The East Palace, … Read more
The premise lands like a provocation, which is exactly what it is meant to do. In a near-future Korea where classroom violence has spiraled and teachers have lost all authority, the government creates a new agency: the Educational Rights Protection Bureau. Its inspectors are granted legal permission to use physical force against delinquent students. … Read more
There’s a moment near the end of The WONDERfools where everyone is gathered for Eun Chae-ni’s memorial. She teleported away with a blimp full of dangerous chemicals to save the city, and no one has seen her since. The people who love her have accepted that she’s gone. And then she walks in. I’ve … Read more