Kdrama Spinoffs!

Sometimes while I watch Kdramas, I catch myself imagining spinoff television shows based on the characters. Does anyone else do this? Just me? Well, some of my imaginary spinoffs are more desirable than others, but here are a few (mostly joking) spinoffs that have crossed my mind of late:

1. Koreans in Sombreros: The Yeo Jin Story

Lost love! Lost limbs! Frantic wedding day car chases!

C'mon. A Cunning Single Lady/Sly and Single Again prequel featuring Yeo Jin's ill-fated first love would be like a telenovela having babies with a soapy, melo Kdrama. In other words, incredibly trashy, but totally addicting. Can we add in a birth secret for good measure? Sure! Why not dream big?

2. Mastah Chep

I envision this as a cooking reality show where Lee Chun Hee and Gong Hyo Jin each head up teams of competing chefs. The two actors would, of course, take on their previous roles from Dating Agency: Cyrano and Pasta, respectively.

3. Noodles for Young Do

My brother-in-law happened to see bits and pieces of Heirs, and he later asked me, "Why is that Young Do kid so obsessed with noodles? Is that code for going steady?"

Well, in this spinoff, Young Do would throw off the shackles of being a hotel heir and open his own noodle restaurant by the sea. In the process, he would discover inner peace, and, of course, love. A Korean noodle company could fund the project in exchange for delicious product placement. Kim Woo Bin ain't cheap, you know.

4. Barassi's Playhouse!

Why does this dog not have his own children's show? WHY? It's been a while since I learned how to count to ten, but I bet his furry face would have been great motivation.

Oh, and P.S., in this spinoff, Barassi can fly.

5. The Adventures of Geol Oh and Yeorim

This actually isn't a joke. This is a serious ongoing fantasy. Hurry up and get into the army, Yoo Ah In! The sooner you go, the sooner you and Song Joong Ki can be reunited in magnificent glory. 

Who do I have to pay to make this happen? Oh, wait, I'm too poor for that. Which chaebols are available for Coco to marry so that she can bankroll this project? Because I'm usually opposed to selling out my friends, but I might make an exception to see this wonder on the screen.

Kdrama Spinoffs!

Let's Eat! Korean Drama Review

Source

Sometimes, real life intrudes on my K-drama watching/writing schedule. An unexpected trip out of town + catching up on work as a result of going out of town = finally catching up on a few reviews that I've had on the shelf for weeks and weeks. I'll get around to reviewing I Need Romance 3 someday (...maybe), but for today, let's talk Let's Eat. 

This show wasn't even remotely on my radar until multiple readers asked for reviews, so I decided to give it a try. I'm all about underrated, quirky dramas, and Let's Eat had quirkiness in spades, for good and bad.

What It's About: Lee Soo Kyung (Played by Lee Soo Kyung--how convenient for her!) is a divorced woman who lives alone. She loves her adorable dog, Barassi (a play on the Korean pronunciation of Che Guevara), and she really, really loves food. Over the course of the series, she gets to know her neighbors, and everyone eats a ton of food.

At its heart, Let's Eat is a pleasant, fluffy drama that doubles as food porn. And when I say food porn, I mean that very literally. Upon hearing the various eating groans, my husband came into the room more than once to ask "What on earth are you watching?" On the one hand, the Food Network lover in me really enjoyed seeing bowl after bowl of amazing food. On the other hand, some episodes literally featured fifteen full minutes of slow mo eating. That's not an exaggeration.

Then there's the murder side plot. Did I mention that there's murder on this show? No? That's because it's tossed into the story as an afterthought. This is how I imagine the murder plot evolving:

Cable executive: I know that you wanted to do a show about food, but this script already involves 30 minutes of people eating. What are you going to do for the last 10 minutes?
Writer: .....Murder?

The central romance also felt a little haphazard and forced at times. Based on the first ten episodes of the show, they could have gotten away with no romance at all. Then, suddenly, the romance charges ahead with full steam. There were very cute moments, but I just didn't see much chemistry between the leads.

If all of this sounds like I didn't enjoy Let's Eat, that's not the case. When the show focused on the four lead characters and their growing friendships, it worked really well. Goo Dae Young (Yoon Doo Joon) was a tough character to figure out at first, and that's what kept me interested. I get tired of traditional male leads from time to time, and the friendly insurance salesman who wears a tracksuit and leaves all of his clothes at the dry cleaner's was an interesting break from the mold. Doo Joon did really well for an idol-turned-actor.

I didn't fully connect with Lee Soo Kyung's character, but after watching both Emergency Couple and Sly and Single Again, it was nice to see a story about a divorcee that didn't revolve around some long, drawn out backstory. The drama just treats it as a matter-of-fact part of her life.

Barassi clearly takes the cake as the best side character in the entire show, but Kim Hak Moon and Yoon Jin Yi round out the cast nicely. Once again subverting drama stereotypes, Jin Yi might be the sweetest second female lead of all time, and Hak Moon starts with a haughty first lead exterior, only to reveal an adorkable goofy side.

Conclusions
It's an uneven drama, and some of the extended eating scenes are borderline uncomfortable to watch, but if you love food shows and light noona romances, this might be the drama of your dreams! Just don't watch on an empty stomach.

Where to watch Let's Eat:
Viki

Let's Eat! Korean Drama Review