What Are We?

A fun drama banter site where like-minded people from different backgrounds all over the world who love Asian dramas, movies, and shows come together in a friendly and respectful manner to banter, discuss, theorize on the different happenings of our favorite actors, series, shows, movies, and music.

Featured Show

TV Show: A Clean Sweep Season 3

Featured Reviews

Persona: Sulli -- Netflix Documentary

Persona: Sulli is a compelling Netflix documentary about Sulli (Choi Jin Ri), who began her career as a child actor in 2005, before...

Daily Dose of Sunshine -- Netflix Drama

Wow, just wow, I am overwhelmed by this drama. What a gem! The story, the acting, the cinematography, the imagery, the colors, the...

Tell Me That You Love Me -- Drama Review

Five minutes in to Tell Me That You Love Me, a Korean series based on the 1995 Japanese TV series Aishiteiru to Itte Kure, starring Jung...

Dr. Romantic Season 2: Series Review

Becoming a doctor is a privilege, not just for the rich and powerful but for all those who desperately need it. Why and how one decides...

Taxi Driver 2: The Important Message in the Second Leg of Revenge Taxi

This second journey of Taxi Driver and our beloved team of Avengers is reprised by the ever so enigmatic Lee Je Hoon as Kim Do Gi, Kim...

Divorce Attorney Shin -- Drama Review

I love Cho Seung Woo as the corky Hwang Shi Mok in the Stranger series. It is the best he has ever done as an actor. Still, I would be...

Call It Love -- Drama Review

I was unprepared for how much I liked this drama, especially since I've been in a somewhat prolonged slump in K-drama, so this was a...

Island Part 2: Episodes 7 & 8: The Past Shapes the Future

It's terrific to have Kim Nam Gil (Van) on my screen again. I hadn't realized how much I missed him until I saw him. It is also good to...

Love to Hate Him -- Series Review: unexpectedly delightfully .

I am a huge Kim Ok Bin fan. The first time I saw her was in The Villainess, and she was brilliant -- a true villainess. And I have since...

Voice 4: Judgment Hour -- Series Review

To think that this season is based on a true event is mind-boggling; that a Dong Bang Min existed in this lifetime is horrific. To...

Sweet Home Season 1 -- Series Review

My favorite characters in this series were Jung Jae Heon (Kim Nam Hee) with his samurai sword, Han Du Sik (Kim Sang-Ho) with his...

The Glory Part One -- revenge is best served cold, indeed: Series Review

The Glory; what a drama; I was not planning on watching this series, as I am not much of a Song Hye Kyo fan. But a trusted friend told me...

Island - Episodes 3 & 4: The Priest, the Savior and the Anti-Hero

Fighting evil with evil in the multiverse of madness is an intriguing concept that works beautifully for Island. Many say there are no...

Island – Episodes 1 & 2: Lustful Demons

Okay, I am a complete sucker for anything Sci-fi and/or fantasy, and those two genres combined in a series featuring Kim Nam Gil in any...

Big Bet - Episode 1 and 2: From Rags to Riches

Watching this series was a no-brainer as nothing keeps my attention like a thrilling action crime series. The series tells the story of...

The Man from Nowhere -- a 2010 Korean Movie Review

The Man From Nowhere stars Won Bin as Cha Tae-Sik in a movie written and directed by Lee Jeong-Beom. The film follows the story of a...

Higashino Keigo Samayou Yaiba -- Series Review

To give an introduction to this, astutely eye-opening six episode drama, Higashino Keigo Samayou Yaiba is adapted from the 2009 Japanese...

May It Please the Court -- Episodes 1 and 2 Review Only: Is Justice Really Blind

I am a huge crime/law/courtroom drama buff, and May It Please the Court does not disappoint in its opening. I decided to watch this drama...

My Liberation Notes -- Episodes 10-16 (final): Life is What We Make It to Be

This drama takes me places I only imagined, and I love it for doing that. Let me just start by saying I love that Gu is a big boss. That...

My Liberation Notes -- Episode 6, 7, 8, 9: Relationships are Hard

Week to week, I live vicariously through this drama. It says and does the things I want to say and do, and I love it. It's fascinating...

Our Blues -- Episodes 3 & 4: Never Judge a Book by It's Cover

I love that Our Blues gives us snippets of our main characters, followed by plenty of individual time and space to get to know them, not...

My Liberation Notes -- Episodes 3 & 4: Free Your Mind, and The Rest Will Follow

Change is hard. We hear that often, so much so that we start to believe it, yet we know that without it, nothing ever gets better....

Tomorrow -- Episodes 5 & 6: The deeper the love, the deeper the pain

Tomorrow gets better, by the week, the fantastical forces, and editing, directing are superbly done. The Lee Soo Hyuk and Yun Ji On fight...

Our Blues -- Episodes 1 & 2: Soul Searching: Finding Oneself

I knew of Our Blues over a year before its release, and was excited by its star-studded line up. How often can one boast they watched a...

My Liberation Notes -- Episodes 1 & 2: Dead-end Life

There is so much to say about My Liberation Notes, starring Lee El (Yeom Ki Jung), Lee Min Ki (Yeom Chang Hee), and Kim Ji Won (Yeom Mi...

Tomorrow -- Episodes 3 & 4: Saving Souls

I read somewhere that the business of saving souls has no ethics, and I found myself agreeing with that statement as I watched Goo Ryun...

Tomorrow -- Episodes 1 & 2: Suicide Is Not a Choice but a Desperate Cry For Help

Tomorrow, the drama is finally here, and it has everything I like. From the beautifully talented Kim Hee Sun to the pleasing Rowoon, to...

Pachinko: A Limited Series -- Episodes 1 - 4: A Generational Saga

I'm finally out of my drama slump. Pachinko is here, and it doesn't disappoint one bit. The different synopsizes I read don't do it much...

Through the Darkness -- Episodes 7-12 (Finale): Through the Darkness Comes Light

I loved that this drama focused on the profiling techniques to identify and help capture vicious criminals, and the heavy weight and...

Juvenile Justice (Drama Review) -- The Effects of Juvenile Delinquency and the Role Society

Per the synopsis of this drama Juvenile Justice follows the story of Shim Eun-Seok (Kim Hye Soo), an elite judge with a cold and distant...

Thirty-Nine -- Episode 1 & 2: Long-time Friends are Family that We Choose -- First Week Review

Within the first five minutes of Thirty-Nine, I was already hooked, not just because it features Son Ye Jin, Jeon Mi Do (how I've missed...

Love and Leashes (Movie Review) -- What is a Pervert?

I loved what this movie addressed, how it addressed, and why it addressed. It is bold and to the point, without being vulgar. More...

Uncle -- Episodes 7 - 16 (finale): Family is Where Life Begins and Love Never Ends

Just as I start to think things couldn't get worse for Ji Hoo and his family, they do -- drastically worse. I know I shouldn't be...

Through the Darkness -- Episodes 5 & 6: Fighting Crime through the Biases

It brought me great satisfaction and relief to know that Soo Hyun's killer suffers in prison, not only because of the prison sentence,...

Through the Darkness -- Episode 3 & 4: Through the Darkness to the Truth

Through darkness comes light, through fear comes love, and through pain comes triumph.” ― Lilly Atlas, Acer. All predators are evil, but...

Live: A More Humane Side of Policing -- Series Review

I've been meaning to write a review of this series for a while, but never got the chance until now. Like every Korean drama I randomly...

Through the Darkness -- Episode 1 & 2: Are Serial Killers Made or Born?

Where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy -- St. Francis of Assisi. Kim Nam Gil as a...

The Silent Sea -- Moral Simplicity: Series Review

When I read The Silent Sea's drama plot, I was intrigued. And then I found out the cast and immediately knew it was a drama worth...

The One and Only -- Episodes 3 & 4: Coping with Death in all its Forms

This drama is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I love how the drama beautifully balances the darkness in it with some fun moments,...

Uncle -- Episodes 3 - 6: Family is where Life Begins and Love Never Ends

I can't stop pondering what would cause some people to think pretending to live a perfect illusion of a life makes them superior to those...

The One and Only -- Episodes 1 & 2: When You Know Death is Coming for You

Everything about The One and Only is emotionally hard to watch, from the terminally ill to the violence and abuse, but most of all the...

Melancholia -- Episodes 11 - 16 (Finale) : Greed, & the Mathematics of Love

It's crazy that even four years later, everybody was still threatened and jealous of a potential relationship between Yoon Soo and Baek...

Uncle -- Episodes 1 & 2: When the Uncle meets the Nephew

When I first heard the British sitcom Uncle was to get a South Korean (S.K.) remake with the same title, I was beyond excited, especially...

Chimera -- Episodes 11--14: Chimera: the past and the present

I like Jae Hwan as a character a lot, and it's why I sometimes find myself frustrated by the choices the writer makes for him. For a...

The King's Affection -- Episodes 19 & 20 (Finale) No Evil Deed Goes Unpunished

I decided to watch this drama firstly because it's a sageuk, and secondly because of Rowoon and Park Eun Bin, and the story at its...

Happiness -- Episodes 9-12 (Finale): There is Human in Humanity

How can one resident building hold so many devious people, from the creepy lawyer to the psychotic killer, and the con artist resident...

Melancholia -- Episodes 9 & 10: Pitless Ambition

I loved teenage Seung Yoo, but adore the adult version of him even more. The way he came flying out of the restaurant to come between...

The King's Affection -- Episodes 17 & 18: Holding on To Grudges

For the first time, I agree with everything Commander Jung did and said this episode. Yes, he may have done it all to protect his family...

Melancholia -- Episodes 7 & 8: Righting the Wrongs of the Past

Neither Noh Jung Ah nor Ye Rin nor her parents can escape Seung Yoo's shadow, even now four years later. It's clearly all over Ye Rin's...

Favorite South Korean Actor

You may be asking yourself who is and what's Jang Hyuk doing on a drama review blog, and the answer is simple he's my favorite S.K. actor, and there was no way I was going to do a blog and not feature him. He was born Jung Yong Joon and is best known for his leading roles in Windstruck, The Slave Hunters, Tree with Deep Roots, Fated to Love You, Voice, and Money Flower. As a child, Jang Hyuk spent most of his life in his birthplace Busan before making his drama debut in the SBS drama Model in 1997. Jang has practiced Jeet Kune Do for more than ten years and is a former professional Taekwondo athlete.

Recent and Upcoming Movies

The Killer: A Child Who Can Die (2022)

Tomb of the River (release 11/2021)

The Swordsman (2020)

Ordinary People (2017)

Empire of Lust (2015)

Recent and Upcoming Drama

Family: The Unbreakable Bond (2023)

Single Red Heart (2022)

Tell Me What You Saw (2020)

My Country: The New Age (2019)

Bad Papa (2018)

Wok of Love (2018)

Money Flower (2017)

Recent and Upcoming Variety Shows

Watcha Up To? (2024 - Guest)

Real or Reel (2024 - Guest)

Express Delivery: Mongolia Edition (2024)

Super Action (2022)

Yacht Expedition: The Beginning (2020)

The Law of the Jungle (2021)

National Bang Bang Cook Cook (2021)

Home: Welcome

Airing and Upcoming Dramas -- 2024

Good Partner

Episodes: 16
Airs: Jul 12, 2024 - ?
Airs On: Friday, Saturday

Black Out

Episodes: 14
Airs: Aug 16, 2024 - Sep 28, 2024
Airs On: Friday, Saturday

Queen Woo

Episodes: 8
Airs: Aug. & September 20224
Original Network: TVING

The Judge from Hell

Episodes: 14
Airs: Sep 21, 2024 - Nov 2, 2024
Airs On: Friday, Saturday

Dear Hyrei

Episodes: 12
Airs: Sep 23, 2024 - Oct 29, 2024
Airs On: Monday, Tuesday

What Comes After Love

Episodes: 6
Airs: Sep 27, 2024 - ?
Airs On: Friday

Parole Examiner Lee

Episodes: 12
Airs: Oct, 2024 - ?
Airs On: Monday, Tuesday

Doubt

Episodes: 10
Airs: Oct 11, 2024 - Nov 9, 2024
Airs On: Friday, Saturday

Upcoming Dramas -- 2024

Interested in developing your own drama list, I suggest MyDramaList.com, an Asian drama/movie fan site, where you can create and organize your own plan-to-watch lists, discuss dramas and movies with other like-minded fans, discover new dramas/movies to watch, and make friends all while having tons of fun.

CONTACT

US

kdramabanter@gmail.com

Silver Spring, MD