Your K-drama content is very educational. Many things you mentioned about cultural practices or traditions I learned from watching Korean dramas. But no matter what is going on in the scene – even if it's just a family dinner - I drool when I see the table spread. That food blogger that you mentioned (Maangchi) is awesome! Happy New Year!
And I agree. K-dramas do such a good job of presenting meals, whether it's a simple bowl of ramyeon or a feast fit for a king! And the actors all eat so heartily that it makes me want to eat along with them. Which can be good and bad. lol
Her meals were simply the best I've ever eaten. Wish I could replicate it, but haven't been able to and most likely will never be able to. Happy new year, Sung!
Happy New Year Jae! Wishing you abundance and good health for 2025!
I love this post. My favorite quote in Fight My Way is when Joo-Man says to his mother and sisters that Seol Hee is a precious daughter to her parents. There is something that is so beautiful hearing the word "precious" and "daughter" in one sentence that hit me hard.
My Korean FIL prepped today! What a lovely surprise! Hope you got to eat lots of deok-guk today.
Joy, happy new year to you, too! I can't remember which series it was, but there's a relevant line where the woman says something similar - that while the chabol patriarch or matriarch may not consider her to to be worthy, she is her parents' precious daughter.
And I love to hear that your FiL helped with the preparations. What a lovely gesture!
Nowadays, there are plenty of businesses that will cater all the food for jesa. And I've heard my mother and her friends talk about how some of the younger generation will put non-traditional jesa food like pizza at the table. lol
My research is on gender and family in China, but I know a bit about Korea from friends (and the news of course). I hope to be able to expand my work there eventually— it seems like such a dynamic place!
(Tone: Sincere) Such beautiful sentiment from you for upholding the tradition! Your heartfelt share is a reminder of how some values passed on from 1 generation to the next are packed with lessons that we can only learn through experience (imho). I admire and respect you for continuing the tradition & am grateful that you share your experience with us readers! Thank you for doing so!
Re: Queen of Tears & Because This Is My First Life- definitely really good examples & I appreciate the wisdom & insight you’ve shared. For me- the dramas that impacted me the most re: topic at hand & the difficulties of being a daughter-in-law was 2020’s Kakaotv 며느라기 (No, Thank You) & 2022’s 며느라기2 (No, Thank You 2). 권율 (Kwon Yool) & 박하선 (Park Ha-Sun) were absolutely marvelous!!
I hope you are having a good time, may this year bring lots of health wealth and success for you. This article of yours was so interesting and fascinating as in fact that there are so many cultures and practices that are followed in the world and us as residents of this world are all bound by kindness and humanity.
I loved how you referenced the k-drama for better understanding. I would love to see you shed more light onto your culture as it is very informative. Thank you so much. ❤️
My childhood best friend is Korean. When I went to visit her in Dec 2017, she made these Northern Korean-style new year’s kimchi dumplings. She said her grandparents were from what is now North Korea & they would eat kimchi dumplings on New Year’s Day. On New Year’s Eve, I watched my friend make the dumpling filling & then wrapping it inside a cheesecloth with a heavy stone set on top, to help drain the liquid from the filling. Once the liquid drained, she made the dumplings. Then she cooked & served the dumplings on New Year’s Day.
Thank you, also, for stating the statistics on South Koreans & religion. My best friend is Buddhist, but growing up in NYC, most of the Koreans we knew were Presbyterians. It was neat to be able to go to a Buddhist temple with my Korean best friend.
Happy New Year to you! And hopefully the cooking isn't *too* onerous.
Thank you for all your great columns and the one you leave the year on is another fantastic one. Because This is My First Life is one of my all-time favorites and one of the reasons why was how not only the gender roles but the relationship roles and expectations (of all the couples, but especially Ji-ho and Se-hee) got completely flipped. (Although for the life of me why Ho-rang wanted Won-seok is beyond comprehension!)
Also, the image of Lee Min-ki in floral leggings and hot pink Playtex gloves as he helps the ajummas with the making of the kimchi in order to repay Ji-ho for her service to his parents is pure comedy gold.
Happy New Year to you and your family. May it be a good one for all of us. It will definitely be INTERESTING! Thank you for all your wonderful insights.
Wishing you and yours a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2025. Thank you for your insightful writing on Korean culture. I learned a great deal from you and am enjoying the journey. Kind regards, Marjolein
I absolutely loved Queen of Tears. Your cultural insights are wonderful and I appreciate you taking the time to explain them. I wondered about the men in that drama doing all the work. Such an interesting twist they took away from the cultural norm. Wishing you a Happy New Year!
Thank you so much, Sarah! I've seen what some of the daughters-in-law in Korea go through if they married into a 'traditional' family and it is mind-numbing. I couldn't do it. Make that, I wouldn't do it.
Happy New Year's Eve! I wish you a happy 2025 as well!
Thank you for posting this! Your ratings explain why I didn’t get through some shows. I took note of a few others (like Moon Embracing the Sun).
Yay, I'm so glad you found it helpful! Happy new year, Jessica!
Your K-drama content is very educational. Many things you mentioned about cultural practices or traditions I learned from watching Korean dramas. But no matter what is going on in the scene – even if it's just a family dinner - I drool when I see the table spread. That food blogger that you mentioned (Maangchi) is awesome! Happy New Year!
Happy new year to you as well!
And I agree. K-dramas do such a good job of presenting meals, whether it's a simple bowl of ramyeon or a feast fit for a king! And the actors all eat so heartily that it makes me want to eat along with them. Which can be good and bad. lol
I got very hungry reading about your mother's cooking marathon, Jae!! Happy New Year! May 2025 be kind to us all...
Her meals were simply the best I've ever eaten. Wish I could replicate it, but haven't been able to and most likely will never be able to. Happy new year, Sung!
Happy New Year Jae! Wishing you abundance and good health for 2025!
I love this post. My favorite quote in Fight My Way is when Joo-Man says to his mother and sisters that Seol Hee is a precious daughter to her parents. There is something that is so beautiful hearing the word "precious" and "daughter" in one sentence that hit me hard.
My Korean FIL prepped today! What a lovely surprise! Hope you got to eat lots of deok-guk today.
Joy, happy new year to you, too! I can't remember which series it was, but there's a relevant line where the woman says something similar - that while the chabol patriarch or matriarch may not consider her to to be worthy, she is her parents' precious daughter.
And I love to hear that your FiL helped with the preparations. What a lovely gesture!
So interesting to hear about different takes on contemporary gender dynamics in Korea through the lens of a single family ritual!
Nowadays, there are plenty of businesses that will cater all the food for jesa. And I've heard my mother and her friends talk about how some of the younger generation will put non-traditional jesa food like pizza at the table. lol
My research is on gender and family in China, but I know a bit about Korea from friends (and the news of course). I hope to be able to expand my work there eventually— it seems like such a dynamic place!
(Tone: Sincere) Such beautiful sentiment from you for upholding the tradition! Your heartfelt share is a reminder of how some values passed on from 1 generation to the next are packed with lessons that we can only learn through experience (imho). I admire and respect you for continuing the tradition & am grateful that you share your experience with us readers! Thank you for doing so!
Re: Queen of Tears & Because This Is My First Life- definitely really good examples & I appreciate the wisdom & insight you’ve shared. For me- the dramas that impacted me the most re: topic at hand & the difficulties of being a daughter-in-law was 2020’s Kakaotv 며느라기 (No, Thank You) & 2022’s 며느라기2 (No, Thank You 2). 권율 (Kwon Yool) & 박하선 (Park Ha-Sun) were absolutely marvelous!!
A lovely 2025 to you & yours!!! 🙏🏼💜🖤✌🏼
Thanks, Scarlett! I haven't seen No, Thank You but have added it to my list.
Happy new year!
Hello Jae-Ha Kim!
I hope you are having a good time, may this year bring lots of health wealth and success for you. This article of yours was so interesting and fascinating as in fact that there are so many cultures and practices that are followed in the world and us as residents of this world are all bound by kindness and humanity.
I loved how you referenced the k-drama for better understanding. I would love to see you shed more light onto your culture as it is very informative. Thank you so much. ❤️
Thanks Fariha! I hope you have a joyous new year!
My childhood best friend is Korean. When I went to visit her in Dec 2017, she made these Northern Korean-style new year’s kimchi dumplings. She said her grandparents were from what is now North Korea & they would eat kimchi dumplings on New Year’s Day. On New Year’s Eve, I watched my friend make the dumpling filling & then wrapping it inside a cheesecloth with a heavy stone set on top, to help drain the liquid from the filling. Once the liquid drained, she made the dumplings. Then she cooked & served the dumplings on New Year’s Day.
Thank you, also, for stating the statistics on South Koreans & religion. My best friend is Buddhist, but growing up in NYC, most of the Koreans we knew were Presbyterians. It was neat to be able to go to a Buddhist temple with my Korean best friend.
Happy New Year to you & your family!
Thank you for sharing your memories, Swan. I'm sure the mandu she made based on her family's memories were delicious. Happy new year!
Happy New Year to you! And hopefully the cooking isn't *too* onerous.
Thank you for all your great columns and the one you leave the year on is another fantastic one. Because This is My First Life is one of my all-time favorites and one of the reasons why was how not only the gender roles but the relationship roles and expectations (of all the couples, but especially Ji-ho and Se-hee) got completely flipped. (Although for the life of me why Ho-rang wanted Won-seok is beyond comprehension!)
Also, the image of Lee Min-ki in floral leggings and hot pink Playtex gloves as he helps the ajummas with the making of the kimchi in order to repay Ji-ho for her service to his parents is pure comedy gold.
The kimchi-making scene was pure gold! lol
Thank you, Barb! Have a wonderful new year!
Happy New Year to you and your family. May it be a good one for all of us. It will definitely be INTERESTING! Thank you for all your wonderful insights.
Interesting is the operative word! Happy 2025 to you and yours, Christina!
Wishing you and yours a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2025. Thank you for your insightful writing on Korean culture. I learned a great deal from you and am enjoying the journey. Kind regards, Marjolein
Wow, thank you Marjolein! Wishing you the best tonight, tomorrow and onwards!
I absolutely loved Queen of Tears. Your cultural insights are wonderful and I appreciate you taking the time to explain them. I wondered about the men in that drama doing all the work. Such an interesting twist they took away from the cultural norm. Wishing you a Happy New Year!
Thank you so much, Sarah! I've seen what some of the daughters-in-law in Korea go through if they married into a 'traditional' family and it is mind-numbing. I couldn't do it. Make that, I wouldn't do it.
Happy New Year's Eve! I wish you a happy 2025 as well!