ktown konnection #6 | Choi Woo-shik returns in "A Killer Paradox"

Year of the Dragon Happy Lunar New Year, or Seollal. It’s a time for dduk guk (rice cake soup), dumplings, and family gatherings; a time to wish each other health and prosperity. The holiday falls from February 9 - 12 in Korea this year, but apparently 51% of Korean adults just want to take it easy.

It’s also a popular time for fortune telling (more on this in a future piece) and talking Korean zodiac signs. Are you a dragon, horse, or sheep?

BTW One LNY piece I spotted included a list of AAPI gift ideas (Lunar New Year Barbie?!).

This week’s pick Choi Woo-shik returns to the small screen in “A Killer Paradox.” As a college kid who accidentally kills a serial killer? Here for it; I’ve had my eye on his work for awhile.

This week’s Top 10 “Doctor Slump,” “Marry My Husband” are among the top global titles on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video (#7 and #2, respectively).

New Kdrama shopper While Disney+ and Netflix have been aggressively buying Korean content the past few years, Amazon has largely watched the bandwagon of Asian titles roll past. But, a global Korean hit “Marry My Husband” later, and I’d stay tuned for the streamer to snap up content partnership deals and new titles in a big way. The Korea Herald

Now bingeable “Long Time No Sex” was one of the best series I’ve seen in awhile. The cinematography, the acting, and the writing felt authentic and original, and it was just satisfyingly good - the characters were well drawn, tension and pacing were well kept, and the story was both character and plot driven.

AND the twists! We thought we knew the plot and the characters, but oh no we didn’t. (Eps 5 and 6 did not disappoint.)

I only wished it didn’t have to end so soon. Haven’t gotten that feeling from a series in awhile.

FYI If you have a VPN, you can watch filmmaker Jeon Go-woon’s feature film debut, “Microhabitat,” on Netflix Korea, which shares some of the same cast, Esom and Ahn Jae-hong.

PREMIERES

• February 9 “A Killer Paradox” (Netflix)

CURRENTLY STREAMING AND ON-AIR

Wednesday-Thursday Feb 7-8
“A Shop For Killers” (Disney+, Hulu)
“Queen of Divorce” (JTBC) (Viki)

Friday-Saturday Feb 9-10
“Knight Flower” (MBC) (Viki)
“Flex x Cop” (SBS) (Disney+,Hulu)
“A Killer Paradox” (Netflix)

Saturday-Sunday Feb 10-11
“My Happy Ending” (TV Chosun) (Viki)
“Captivating The King” (tvN) (Netflix)
“Doctor Slump” (JTBC) (Netflix)

Monday-Tuesday Feb 12-13
“Love Song For Illusion” (Viki)
“Marry My Husband” (tvN) (Amazon Prime Video)

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

KDRAMA NEWS

Netflix’s upcoming 2024 releases The streamer held a press day last week and teased new Korean films and series, with sequels for “Gyeongseong Creature,” and “Hellbound” among many. It’s a lot to take in, and many titles don’t even have release dates (or even months) yet, so I’ll be highlighting them when they get closer. But if you can’t wait, dramabeans does a good rundown of the new stuff.

“Squid Game 2” cast expansion The Emmy Award-winning series has an even bigger cast, including Lee Jin-wook, Choi Seung-hyun (aka T.O.P.), Kang Ha-neul, Yang Dong-geun, David Lee, Park Gyu-young, and Im Si-wan. Some were previously hinted at in earlier teasers. The show’s creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, returns as writer/director/producer. Variety

STREAMING NEWS

Stateside sports Here in the U.S., studios are in talks to combine their powers for live streaming for sports broadcasts. Okay sure, but feels two thousand and late. THR

What Korea’s watching “Knight Flower,” “Marry My Husband,” “Doctor Slump,” and “Flex x Cop.” dramabeans

IN SOUTH KOREA

That Dior bag A gifted designer bag to South Korea’s First Lady persists across headlines; political officials and their spouses are not allowed to accept a gift worth more than $750. It’s become a major issue during a highly anticipated election year. NYT

Latest Sewol disaster ruling The Seoul High Court upheld a ruling awarding compensation to survivors of the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster that took over 300 lives. KJD

A conscientious objector (can’t also play PUBG) A conscientious objector to Korea’s mandatory military conscription still faces a sentence of 18 months. Legal proceedings included the argument that the defendant plays a violent video game while claiming anti-war and anti-violent beliefs. The Korea Times