Pre-Lecture K-Drama Suggestions
2023 Flexner lecturer Dr. Mindy Fullilove offers a viewing list for anyone interested in attending her November on-campus lecture series.
About Fullilove's Viewing List
"The delightful genre of K-drama has taken the world by storm. Netflix reports incredible statistics about how many of its worldwide users have seen some Korean television. The reason? Surprising stories, great production values, and trauma-informed perspectives. People often ask me what they should try, and I find that tastes vary enormously (no surprise!). The surest way to find one that pleases you is to browse the trailers or to search the 'top 10' videos on YouTube." – Dr. Mindy Fullilove
Read about the three K-dramas Fullilove will discuss in her Flexner lectures below.
The international phenomenon, Crash Landing on You. Impossible plot: a South Korean heiress paraglides by accident into North Korea and falls into the arms of the handsomest man in the world, who is a captain in the North Korean army. Will she ever get home? Will they ever meet again? Much drama, but no lack of quiet moments when the handsomest man in the world cooks for her...
An underrated show that examines trauma in a deep manner, it is known on Netflix as Rain or Shine, but the Korean title translates – pretty closely – to Just Between Lovers. The singing idol, Junho, is a standout in his role as a young man traumatized by a building collapse. Somehow, the writers found a way to help the survivors turn the corner on a terrible tragedy.
Park Eun-bin, star of the fabulous Extraordinary Attorney Wu, undertakes an equally difficult and quite different role as a young woman masquerading as her lost brother in The King's Affection. Many lives hang in the balance as she struggles to emerge from the lie into a moral life. Is it possible that, through those tribulations, she can also find a way to be with her true love?