Have you watched Parasite?
As a K-fan, if you haven’t already been asked this question; you probably will be at some point. The 2019 film directed by Bong Joon-ho smashed its way onto the silver screen and among many other awards, won an amazing 4 Oscars at the 92nd Academy Awards; whilst also becoming the highest grossing South Korean film and the 42nd highest rated film of all time. Naturally this has made it a really popular ‘first- pick’ for newcomers to South Korean entertainment.
Recently multiple studios/networks have confirmed that they have halted production. This has come in the wave of increased Positive COVID-19 cases resurfacing.
Without a doubt, It’s Okay Not To Be Okay has been one of the most awaited dramas of the year. Not only did the drama rake in ratings of 7.3% (Nationwide) and 8.5% on its final episode, (entering the list of highest-rated Korean dramas in cable television at #33), but it also trended worldwide on Twitter during each episode release.
This week in South Africa, we woke up to some pretty good news. On 19th August 2020, news24.com released an article on “5 new channels coming to DSTV“. You can read the full article here. The channel that peaked our interest is the Korean Channel; tvN.
Return: The Promise of That Day is an original South Korean army musical. The musical tells a story of military veteran Seung Ho and his search for the remains of his comrades who died in battle during the Korean War. In addition, the story is also about a friendship that spans through the years and life events, from students graduating to voluntary enlistment.
The musical garnered lots of attention as the cast included high profile KPop stars and actors, some who were in the midst of their mandatory military service. The 2020 cast included Infinite’s Sungyeol, EXO’s Xiumin and Kyungsoo, FT Island’s Lee Hongki, soloist Yoon Jisung, actor Kim Minseok as well as Gugudan’s Sejeong, amongst others.
It has always been a dream to watch a South Korean Musical. Ticket sales opened: Thursday, June 6, 2020 at 2:00 PM for the show that was to run from June 16, 2020 till June 28 , however the best news came in the form of a notification from the VLive App. The musical was to be broadcast via live stream on the VLive App on June 10 2020 at 7pm.
The opening scene to the musical was a video with English subtitles. This took the viewers though the story behind the musical. The content included interviews with family and friends, some who seventy years after the Korean War, are still awaiting news and or the remains of their loved ones. This immediately gives you insight into the story and draws your heart into it. This was also repeated during the intermission, giving you a better understanding of the story.
The musical highlights the Republic of Korea Army’s (ROKA) movement to ensure that the remains and belongings of all of the soldiers lost in the Korean War were returned to their families. This endeavor is ongoing with the search across various Korean War battle sites, including North Korea.
Return: The Promise of That Day alternates between scenes from the present-day Seung Ho and the young Seung Ho. It tells of the young, carefree youths whose lives were irrevocably changed by the war. Seeing his friends die in front of him in battle, as they fight for their country, Seung Ho makes a promise to them to find their remains and get them back to their families.
Years later Seung-ho’s grandson, Hyun-min and his friend Woo-joo take over the mission to discover the Korean War remains through an Army excavation operation.
Kyungsoo was cast as the past Seungho, and shared the role with Yoon Jisung . Xiumin acted as Hyunmin, sharing the role with Lee Hongki , whilst Hyunmin’s friend Woojoo was played by the actor Kim Minseok and Lee Sungyeol.
VLive brought the musical to us and it was truly wonderful. In this day and age the world has become a smaller place and we can reach out and touch each other even though the Covid-19 pandemic is keeping us away from human contact.
© Musical Poster
Vlive App Musical Channel
Here is an insightful article about the “ROKA” movement to retrieve the fallen soldiers remains.
#K_SupportersRSA #KoreanEmbassy_SouthAfrica #KoreanEmbassyRSA #K_Culture #K_Musical
Being a person who loves instant gratification, you can imagine my joy in finding out that Netflix South Africa has Korean shows on it’s site, with English Sub-Titles nogal!!!
With all the hype over the recent C-drama, Meteor Garden 2018, I thought it would be great to do a review of this drama as well as Boys Over Flowers. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!
Title: Are you human too?
Hangul: 너도 인간이니
RR: Neodo Inganini
Year: 2018
Genre: Romance, Sci-Fi
Number of Episodes: 36
KSA Rating: 9/10
IMDb Rating Received: 8.5/10
We previously took you on a walk into the world of Korean Dramas (K-Dramas) and hope that it peaked your interest enough to get you to dip your feet into a whole new world
Continue reading “Reasons Why You Should Take A Ride On A Train To Busan”
Getting into the KPop world opens your range of viewing choices.
Continue reading “Dip your Feet Into the World of Korean Dramas”
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