Marry old time

Had dinner with Mark and his friends last night, and the conversation was about KDrama recommendations.

Peter and I shared our faves - some of them they've watched, some of them were new. Some of the recommendations were old, some were new.

On my way home, I remembered one of my faves that I wasn't able to recommend.

"Marry my husband" was a KDrama that aired on Prime Video in 2024. It's about marriage and revenge, and a bit of fantasy thrown in.

It's actually quite campy, which adds to its charm. I've re-watched this twice, and still like it.

Time to re-watch it again.

That's Brave

Shin Hae Sun is one of the most versatile and fun to watch actresses in KDrama land.

Whether she's doing a lead or a support role, she really stands out and makes her mark.

She was awesome in "Still 17" and "Mr. Queen," and it showed her ability to shine in dramas and comedies.

But look, she can also do action!

Hope they bring "Brave Citizen" to Netflix soon.

Festival Feels

It's been more than a year since this single dropped, but I'm still so into it.

"Festival" was one of Sandara Park's solo projects. It's a catchy, upbeat, KPop tune which is easy-to-listen to and easy to love. She even references her Filipino roots with her "In or Out" line.

But what makes this even more special is the appearance of Uhm Jung Hwa. 

Yes, Doctor Cha!

"Festival" is just what the doctor ordered.

K-cool

Koreans have a thing for dresses over pants. I've seen many a K-drama where the main characters are rocking this look.

In one of my mall runs, saw this dress at H&M that was perfect for that Korean look. And this is the ensemble.

The lace top and inner blouse are both from H&M, while the jeans are from Lovito.

This dress is definitely O-K!

Oh, Deng!

This is my current cheap thrill.

This Odeng set plus iced tea art Lawson is just P135! It's filling enough to be a meal, but light on the flavour and tummy.

Oh, Lawson. You never fail me.

Come to my Ade

Because our office building is surrounded by Korean stores, I've discovered the joys of their packed drinks.

These drinks are fixtures in convenience stores in Seoul. You buy them, you buy a glass of ice, you pour it and enjoy.

Looks like 7-11 got wind of this because they're now selling ice cups.

So, Korean store + 7-11 =

These drinks - while in tetra packs - taste very natural! This one really tastes like squeezed grapefruit. And this is just one of the many, many, many flavours available.

One down, more to go.

Korea in Japan

Lawson is a Japanese convenience store. But it seems like they're riding the Korean wave.

Observe:

They're now selling Odeng at the Lawson store near our office! It looks like they're trying to get the lucrative market of K-food fans from Korean stores to their convenience store.

Will try these one of these days to see if they're legit.

This is... Korean

Since the song came out in "The Greatest Showman," everybody fell in love with "This is Me."

That includes me.

The song and the MTV are on repeat, and it's something I'd listen to regularly.

Today, I discovered a new reason to enjoy the song even more:

There's a Korean version! And what makes this even cooler is that the singers are actually K-drama stars!

I've spotted the grandma in "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha," the queen's Dad in "Queen for Seven Days," and the Queen's handmaiden and the deposed Queen in "Under the Queen's Umbrella." It's so refreshing to see them at their most natural, and singing to boot!

This is... so cool!

Hyeongjewa Jamae

Since Ate Bullet and I were both "home alone" this weekend, we took it as an opportunity to change up our usual Sunday "eat in at the garage day." 

Instead of eating in, we decided and have dinner outside. It was also an opportunity for me to introduce Ate to one of my go-to Korean restaurants, Jeongwon.

Since both of us watch K-drama, there was a lot of K-onversation revolving that, and life in general. It's been a while since brother and sister went out like this, so this was very welcome.

Eomcheongnan!

K-3rd

Nope, this isn’t about the street. 

It’s about me enjoying 3 Ks in one go.

K#1: Sun Chips Garlic Baguette. Yes, the snack I discovered in Seoul is available at our neighborhood Korean Store.

K#2: Chilsung Cider. No explanation needed here.

K#3: A random KDrama on Netflix.

So, if you ask me how the weekend is going, my answer would be:

K, fine!

Mmm-Bap

No, this isn’t about Hanson’s song. And no, the title isn’t misspelled either.

This is about my newest discovery.

It turns out that the Korean Store at the corner of 20th Avenue also sells prepared food! Which led me to buy Gimbap for dinner. With Chili’s g Cider, to boot!

Mmm, this is good!

Kings of Seoul

A lot of the Korean series that I follow are period pieces. Because of that, i’m familiar with the King’s throne and the screen behind it.

Those 2 are fixtures at the throne room and we often see them in scenes whenever the king makes a big decision.

After seeing it so many times, it was time to experience sitting on the King’s throne!

Tadaa! Mark and I got to sit on this throne replica at the Museum of King Sejong in Seoul.

Now, we’ve officially experienced the Joys of Jeonha!

Snack with a K!

Blame it on the Korean shows I've been watching lately, but there was a sudden craving for Korean snacks that had to be satisfied.

In their movies, Tteok-bokki is one of the go-to snacks of students. You'll often find young characters having a bowl of this traditional rice cake after class. Sometimes, they'd have fish cakes, too. And watching the characters eat them with gusto just makes my tummy grumble.

That's why today, this was my snacks of choice.

Tteok-bokki and fish cakes!

K-ravings satisfied.

Special K

Nope, this isn’t about the Kellog’s Cereal. Admittedly, thoug, i’m a huge fan of that.

This is about the sub-group of D’ Frendz who are K-drama fans. After telling them that i’ve started watching K-dramas on the regular, they’ve gladly welcomed me into their fold.

And Maricar’s Christmas gift definitely made me feel like i’m truly a part of this special group.

It’s a box of Korean goodies!

She told me that I should munch on these the next time I binge-watch a K-drama.

Advice taken, Maricar.

Isn't it romantic?

The first time this song was introduced to me, it was last year when we were doing our commercial for YumYum. Since the story was a cute, fun and wholesome love story, we wanted a soundtrack that was equally cute, fun and wholesome.

As our discussion progressed, the song "Romantic Sunday" was floated as a possible peg. This song is a Korean ditty which is part of the OST of the hit drama "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha."

While the song was indeed catchy and an ear worm. But after the TVC was completed, I didn't think of the song that much.

Last week, Ate Lissa and I were talking about K-dramas, and she mentioned "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" again because it's one of her all-time faves. Out of curiosity, I tried watching an episode on Netflix.

That was a "eureka" moment! Now, it's easy to understand why Ate likes this show a lot. And now, hearing the song in the context of the program, I have a better appreciation of the song.

It really is romantic. (And today is a Sunday, so it all works out.)

Spag-Hot-ti

While rummaging through the kitchen cabinet in search of something to eat for an afternoon snack, I chanced upon this pack of Nongshim Chapagetti.

Maybe it's because of watching "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" and some other Korean movies, but there was a sudden urge to eat a bowl of Korean noodles. So, after snagging the pack and preparing it per packaging instructions, it was time for the Spicy Chapagetti.

Gosh! Spicy it was! Just a few mouthfuls and my forehead was sweaty already. But compared to that Super Spicy Buldak noodle, this was more bearable.

While this hot Korean Spaghetti was good, give me the classic Pinoy-style Spaghetti anytime!

So extraordinary

The Korean Nettflix series, "Extraordinary Attorney Woo", appeals to me because of 2 reasons:

1. The lead character - Attorney Woo - is in the autism spectrum, just like my nephew.

2. She's also a lawyer - something I aspired to be when I was younger.

Aside from these, the stories per episode are engaging, surprising and timely. And true to the Korean genre, they're also unexpected.

Particularly, the twist of Episode 2 caught me unaware, and in a good way. Seeing the character development of the bride just made me smile.

It's rare that I watch a Korean series. But this series wooed me and has me hooked.

K, Fine!

Look what I found in my message box:

The Korean invasion is really spreading far and wide. This is ample proof of that.

Creepy...

I've been reading articles about this breakthrough Korean film entitled "Parasite" as early as December.

They say that it's a very interesting black comedy about family and social classes. An interesting combination, if you ask me.

Then, Bonique and Mona started talking about it during our post-Christmas get-together. They were marveling at the story and how many twists and turns the film had. Which made me even more intrigued.

I've been given a copy on my flash drive and I'm so curious to see it. But they said it'll be shown in theaters again, and it's creeping back up thanks to the Oscar's push.

Maybe I'll hold out until it comes out in theaters.

Oh! Oh! Onigiri!

Look what I found in the nearby Korean store!

It's a legit onigiri! And I'm saying legit because it uses the same unwrapping style that we've come to know in Japan.

But as the Korean lady in the shop reiterated, this is a Korean version of the onigiri. And yes, I was able to taste some differences. Primarily, the rice isn't as sweet, and the tuna filling is sweeter than what they make in Japan.

Well, it's the closest to legit that I've seen in Manila. So, I'm not complaining.