Magic Moments

Empress Ki Poster (behance.net) Empress Ki is the most elaborate, gripping, and thrilling series I have watched this year. And at 51 episodes , it is the longest Korean drama series I have ever watched. Even though the number seems daunting and too much, it’s worth it all. If you like period dramas, you won’t want to give this one a miss. It was in 2016 that I first read about Empress Ki, the historical drama that had garnered much praise and accolades from the audience and critics alike. Most Korean dramas are just 16 or 20 episodes long. So 51 seemed never-ending to me then. It wasn’t until 2017 that I decided to at least try the first episode. And I was hooked. But owing to the various circumstances I didn’t continue watching it. It was just last month that I remembered this epic story and watched it to completion within just a few days. Believe it or not, midway through it, I was almost literally pulling my hair out, in anticipation of what would happen next. I wou...

Sassy Go Go (Cheer Up!!) (Source: Soompi.com) Perhaps I am missing school, my own carefree days of yore. As much as I say that they were carefree days, I just know that they were not. We struggled for marks, toiled hard for securing a good rank and position in the class, hated our parents for comparing us with our classmates, and sighed inaudibly when the tuitions and extra classes coincided our play hours. I liked studying. I would study the textbooks, go through the class notes and also solve the test papers bought specifically for 10th board exams. But then I was very insecure too, had a huge inferiority complex, and a painful introversion as big as a mountain. I was good at studying. No, let me rephrase it. I was only good at studying. I didn’t do well in sports or quiz competitions or debates. I had no interest in leadership. I feared being the center of attention. But as far as marks were concerned, I knew I would get decent figures if I put in more number of hours. ...

When I watched the trailer of ‘The Handmaiden’, I had a picture of who is innocent, who is being tricked and the suspicious hints in the storyline. But what I found in the first half of the movie, was totally different from the impression that the trailer had had. A Korean girl from a con artists’ household travels to a rich Japanese home to play Miss Hideko’s personal maid, Tamako, with the mission of making her fall for The Count- another acquaintance who wants to get her inheritance for himself by marrying her. Things go out of the plan when Tamako feels for her missus- pity, love and remorse for the innocent being that she was and wants to prevent The Count from taking advantage of her and hurting her in the process of acquiring her treasures. Tamako herself is in dilemma, as she wants riches to fulfill her own dreams, but wants Hideko to be safe from their ploy. Lady Hideko is delicately beautiful. She was raised as a virtual prisoner by her uncle, the book collec...

  Sungkyunkwan Scandal There are many historical dramas in South Korean cable television, set in Goryeon, Silla, and Josheon era. They bridge the gap between fact and fiction, generally intermingling the two to create a beautiful tale. They are called Sageuks- the Historical KDramas. These are popular as they showcase the life of the past; deal with storylines of royal families, their heritage, the conspiracies, and the fight for the throne; depict beautiful scenes from that era like horse riding, palanquins, the common folks, the countryside, the large weekly market, and love in those times; and use more honorifics in the language, elaborate mannerisms and etiquettes.   1.        The Moon That Embraces the Sun - Adapted from the novel of the same name it deals with shamanism and the Shaman life in Josheon era. It’s the story of a secret poignant and forbidden love story between the king and a female shaman. The king has some kind ...

Source:  Goblin: The Lonely Great God The Korean culture is a mixture of several belief systems like Shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, etc. As per the shaman view, there are supernatural beings who reside with us on earth.  Spirits, ghosts, and goblins inhabit in every inanimate object, thus connecting us with their world without our knowledge. Aliens, angels, vampires and mermaids are not part of Korean folklore. They are more of a western concept that is also being incorporated in Korean dramas these days. Dokkaebi or Korean goblins are legendary creatures from their mythologies. They possess extraordinary powers and abilities but are very much different from ghosts. They are formed not by death but spiritual possession of objects stained with either their own or any other human’s blood. They are depicted in tales as awe-inspiring yet fearsome when provoked. They appear through rain and beautiful tall blue flames. The goblins mostly do not interfere with human live...

The Korean Meal When it comes to food, Korean dramas are foodilicious. They believe is showcasing the oriental dishes of their land, their eating and drinking culture. The characters are mostly foodie, that’s a given in most of the Korean dramas. And the Korean meals have so many dishes covering the entire table with no two plates having the same dish - starting from soup, salads, other appetizers, to main dishes and side dishes to accompany them. Having a meal is a social activity. List us skim through the most popular dishes from this land, as delivered to us through the screen. It’s not at all an exhaustive list, and it covers mostly vegetarian dishes as meat is a bit dangerous area(umm... you get it, right?). Kimchi 1.        Kimchi – This is the first and most important dish that makes Korea. It’s a part and parcel of almost every traditional meal in a Korean household. They cannot imagine a house without its own stock of Kimchi to go with...