ktown konnection #26 | High jinks on "Miss Night and Day," "Jinny's Kitchen 2" premieres

IN THIS ISSUE:

• “Jinny’s Kitchen” returns for season 2 in Iceland

• What’s next in Korean content (genres)

• OTT: Anime and other niche content carve out loyal audiences

• South Korea-Japan air travel hits record levels

• K-beauty partners with Amazon

PREMIERES

• June 28

  • “The Whirlwind” (Netflix)

  • “Jinny’s Kitchen 2” (tvN) (Amazon Prime Video)

This week’s premieres Political thriller “The Whirlwind” cast includes Kim Hee-ae (“Queenmaker”) and Sol Kyung-gu (“The Boys”), who rarely (never) does TV.

In “Jinny’s Kitchen 2,” most of the crew returns in this second installment of the reality series, this time heading to Iceland joined by newcomer Go Min-si (“Sweet Home”). The premiere kicks off with a live press conference tonight (6p PST/9P EST/10am KST).

What I’m Watching: 

• “Hierarchy”: For all its flashy production, catchy theme songs, and shiny PYTs, I wish the acting didn’t fall so flat and that the poor-little-rich-kid tropes weren’t so obvious. The real letdown, though, was the lack of character development.

• “Miss Night and Day”: We start having some real fun in eps 3 and 4; the fiftysomething with office whiz skills of a twentysomething! Her team hits the club! Authentic satoori (dialect)! What’s cringey is the inappropriate sexism and ageism in the workplace (art imitating life/culture?). Regardless, I’m listening for what the writer has to say.

Wednesday-Thursday June 26-27
“My Sweet Mobster” (JTBC) (Viki)

Friday-Saturday June 28-29
“Connection” (SBS) (Viki)
“Bittersweet Hell” (MBC) (Viki)
“My Military Valentine” (Viki)
“The Whirlwind” (Netflix)

Saturday-Sunday June 29-30
“Beauty and Mr. Romantic” (KBS2) (Viki)
“The Midnight Romance in Hagwon” (tvN) (Viki)
“Miss Night and Day” (JTBC) Netflix)

Monday-Tuesday July 1-2
“Dare To Love Me” (KBS2) (Viki)
“Player 2: Master of Swindlers” (tvN) (Viki)

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

KDRAMA/FILM/TV/ETC.

Top Global Titles 🌎 “Hierarchy,” “Miss Night and Day,” “Marry My Husband” (still ranking! at #8). FlixPatrol

Korea’s watching 📺  “Beauty and Mr. Romantic,” “Connection,” “Crash,” “Miss Night and Day” (June 17-23). dramabeans

“Squid Game 2” heads to Italy 🇮🇹 The filmmaker and cast is slated to appear at Lucca Comics & Games Festival on October 31. THR

MTV News website wiped The site was among others owned by Paramount that were suddenly and sweepingly wiped of content. Years of historic coverage, including early Korean music coverage, were completely removed. Variety