ktown konnection #12 | "Physical: 100" is back, "Queen of Tears" dominates

This week’s Top Global Titles 🌎 “Queen of Tears” rose to #3 on Netflix’s Top non-English titles (March 11-17). Worldwide: it’s at #7 today with “Doctor Slump” at #8; “Marry My Husband” holds steady at #4 on Amazon Prime Video. FlixPatrol

New trailer for “Parasyte: The Grey” The latest from Yeon Sang-ho (“Train to Busan,” “The Bequeathed”) has released a new trailer; the series premieres April 5 on Netflix.

“Physical: 100 Season 2 - Underground” Released this week, the popular reality competition is back for a second season. Forbes

PREMIERES

• March 23 “Hide” (Coupang Play, JTBC) (Viki)

Lee Bo-young (“Agency”) is back in crime thriller “Hide” this weekend.

Wednesday-Thursday Mar 20-21
“The Impossible Heir” (Disney+)

Friday-Saturday Mar 22-23
“Wonderful World” (MBC) (Disney+)

Saturday-Sunday Mar 23-24
“Queen of Tears” (tvN) (Netflix)
“Hide” (Coupang Play, JTBC) (Viki)

Monday-Tuesday Mar 25-26
“Wedding Impossible” (tvN) (Viki)
“The Midnight Studio” (ENA) (Viki)
“Nothing Uncovered" (aka “Grabbed By The Collar”) (KBS2) (Viki)

(*Streaming platforms shown are for U.S. only; distributors vary by country.)

KDRAMA/FILM/TV

“Squid Game” star convicted Actor Oh Yeong-soo was convicted of sexual misconduct. NYT

“Exhuma” tops box office The Korean feature film has dominated the Korean box office for four weeks, and is set to approach 10 million tickets sold. Variety

About “Chicken Nugget” 🍗 The offbeat comedy was all kinds of weird. Everyone - from dramabeans and The Guardian to Forbes and SCMP - thought so.

Latest Kdrama remakes Remakes in the works include “Doctor Cha,” and “The Kidnapping Day.” New titles were also announced at Series Mania, “Lovely Runner” and French-Korean “Lee Jin,” among others. Stay tuned, as I’ll share news when U.S. distribs confirm pickups. Variety

Kdramas at Canneseries next month “Pleasant Outcast” and “Tarot” are set to premiere at the event in April. Based on a webtoon, "Pleasant Outcast” is the prequel to “Concrete Utopia.” The Korea Herald

IP rights hit record high Korea’s intellectual property rights generated a record high of $180M USD. KJD

Another couple goes public ❣️ Actors Han So-hee (“Gyeongseong Creature”) and Ryu Jun-yeol (“Reply 1988”) went public with their relationship; one agency is taking action against any subsequent online malice. Y!

Season 2 for “Flex x Cop” Season 2 is now in the works. NME

SOUTH KOREA NEWS 🇰🇷

Play ball (but with more fanfare) ⚾️ Baseball is having a new heyday of sorts in Korea - spirited fans are having more fun than, well, everyone. NYT

Speaking of which, the season opener in Seoul between the LA Dodgers and San Diego Padres, held on March 20, was initially delayed by a bomb threat.

Presidential aide resigns Presidential secretary Hwang Sang-moo resigned after making thinly veiled threats at a meeting with press last week. His comments referred to a violent 1988 attack on a journalist (and vocal critic of the government). Also: Korea’s legislative elections will be held next month. Reuters

U.S.-Korea relations 🇺🇸🇰🇷 U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Seoul this week for the Summit for Democracy conference. South Korea and the U.S. have been conducting joint military exercises and affirming their ties as allies; North Korea has continued firing missiles into the ocean in a show of military force. TIME

The other Korea’s OTT North Korea now has its own state streaming service; it’s accessible to subscribers around the world. But: it’s technically based in Poland. Radio Free Asia

Med school quota goes forward Amid much protest, Korean government is pursuing its increased medical school admissions quota. The Chosun Daily

Police interpretation 24/7 ☎️ Korea’s police hotline 112 has extended foreign language interpretation hours - to 24/7. Korea.net

Tying the (international) knot 💒 1 in 10 marriages in Korea last year included a non-Korean spouse. The Korea Herald

“Learncation” International students traveling to Korea are engaging in cultural and educational experiences beyond the usual tourist fare. The Korea Times

Self-driving buses on the rise 🚌 Seoul is expanding self-driving buses; targeting international visitors and incorporating reservations via app. The Korea Times

Apples in short supply 🍎 Prices are high and production is down for the fruit, mostly due to climate change. (Somewhere there are unfortunate daughters-in-law sighing in relief.) KED Global

Mom’s Touch—>Tokyo 🍔 Korean burger chain Mom’s Touch is opening its first location in Japan. Its pop-up in Tokyo last fall had over 30,000 visitors. KED Global

Kimbap and corn dogs in an aisle near you 🌭 Daesang has a new Korean Street Food line aimed at Western markets. The Korea Herald

Talk about superstar #squadgoals Actor friends Park Hyung-sik (“Doctor Slump”), Choi Woo-shik (“A Killer Paradox”), and Park Seo-joon (“Gyeongseong Creature”) shared a reaction video for “FRI(END)S,” a new music video released by BTS’ V.

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