I know many viewers want to focus on the romance and ignore the palace politics. But the palace politics drives the plot and it gets less confusing when we can identify the faces. So, I took screenshots as visual aids. To me, the set-up of the palace politics is like a game of chess. We […]
While You Were Sleeping: Rewatch Ep 8 Sat, Sept 13
The thread is open. Episode 8 – 13 September 2025 Episode 9 – 20 September 2025 Episode 10 – 27 September 2025 Episode 11 – 4 October 2025 Episode 12 – 11 October 2025 Episode 13 – 18 October 2025 Episode 14 – 25 October 2025 Episode 15 – 1 November 2025 Episode 16 – […]
Never Forget: 9-11
As a Washingtonian, I’ll never forget this day. I remember calling up husband and telling him to pick up our boys from school and drive to our vacation home, far away from the city. I would follow them when I could. I remember mobilizing. I remember the horror of watching people jump to their deaths […]
In Memoriam: Charlie Kirk
Charlie Kirk (1993-2025) This is personal. I will ensure that the movement he built will continue with my financial support and backing. No one in this country of ours, in this day and age, should fear the loss of his life and limb when standing up for free speech and open dialogue, and when protecting […]
Bon Appetit, Your Majesty: Ep 6 On Tropes and Mangunrok
Once in a while, I feel the urge to “correct” the way some kdrama/cdrama viewers think. I did it a long time ago when I imposed a ban here on my blog on words like “cinematography,” “bromance,” “chemistry,” and “oppa.” Posters often use them, thinking that they’re saying something meaningful, when in reality, they only […]
Bon Appetite, Your Majesty: Ep 5 On Schnitzel, part 2
Part 1 is here: Bon Appetite, Your Majesty: Ep 5 On Snowflakes Schnitzel, part 1 Where were we? Oh! I was about to tell you how I think the “snowflake schnitzel” reveals the theme of the show. If you watched the English-dubbed version on Netflix, you wouldn’t have spotted the “snowflake” reference since it only appeared […]
Bon Appetite, Your Majesty: Ep 5 On Snowflakes Schnitzel, part 1
In this episode, JiYeong cooks a lot of food for King YiHeon but he rejects most of them because he isn’t keen on eating. He seems to have lost his appetite because of state affairs: a. the upcoming diplomatic visit of the Ming envoy, the eunuch Yu Kun He’s supposedly the leader of the “Imperial […]
Legend of the Female General: In Search of Mulan
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat […]
Bon Appetit, Your Majesty: The Chef’s Cuisine
I need a visual reminder. Episode 1. Course Number 1 Gochujang Butter Bibimbap The mixture of two worlds, specifically the French butter (i.e., beurre noisette) and the quintessentially Korean paste (i.e., gochujang), can elevate an ordinary meal to an out-of-this-world experience. Similarly, when a French chef meets a Joseon king, their encounter is literally, out […]
Romantics Anonymous: Save the Date Oct 16
Before Satoh Takeru, there was Oguri Shun. I first saw Mr. Oguri in “Rich Man, Poor Woman” (2012). He plays this eccentric, brash, socially-awkward, computer genius with prosopagnosia, who built a successful start-up and became the darling of the new tech industry. He meets this equally bright college grad (I believe she was a recent […]
While You Were Sleeping: Rewatch Ep 7 Sat, Sept 6
The thread is open. Episode 7 – 6 September 2025 Episode 8 – 13 September 2025 Episode 9 – 20 September 2025 Episode 10 – 27 September 2025 Episode 11 – 4 October 2025 Episode 12 – 11 October 2025 Episode 13 – 18 October 2025 Episode 14 – 25 October 2025 Episode 15 – […]
Bon Appetit, Your Majesty: Ep 4 On Food and Filial Piety
Hmph! I told y’all, didn’t I? 😂 I said from the beginning that food featured in each episode isn’t randomly chosen. They’re meant to be metaphors and/or symbols of the theme of the episode. Any viewer, or poster for that matter, who simply gushes at the “ooooh, wonderful cinematography!” of the dishes and does not […]
Bon Appetit, Your Majesty: Ep 4 My Takes
@agdr03 and @GB, why aren’t you watching this kdrama yet? Join me? Things that baffled me: 1. Was the assassin that shot an arrow at King YiHeon also his court jester? According to Prince JeSeon’s minion, the assassin was hired by Kim YangSon, the older brother of Kim YiSon whose corpse was desecrated during the […]
Bon Appetit, Your Majesty: On Butterflies
In case you missed them, the butterflies were everywhere in Episode 1 and Episode 4. In Episode 1, we first saw the butterfly as a jade pendant hanging from the book Mangunrok. Next, the butterfly became an insignia of sort on King YiHeon’s headband while he was hunting. Then, we saw real butterflies flitting in […]