K Drama Chat Weekly

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 7 of Mr. Queen, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Shin Hye-sun as Kim So-yong, Kim Jyung-hun as King  Cheojong, Seol In-ah as Jo Hwa-jin, Na In-woo as Kim Byeong-in, and Choi Jin-hyuk as Jang Bong-hwan..  We discuss: The songs we discuss in this episode: Other world by Howl and To my one and only you by Xiumin. Why the episode is titled “The Mask” - lots of people in the palace are wearing masks and those masks are starting to come off. How we see the state that Jang Bong-hwan is in, in modern day Seoul. He’s in a vegetative state and Chief of Staff Han tried to kill him. We learn that Jang Bong-hwan is either in modern day Seoul or Joseon, so where is the Queen? The queen is in a corpse state and the royal physician uses acupuncture to treat her. How the king’s feelings toward the queen are changing. He has gone from wanting to kill her, to wanting her to live and wanting to understand her. In the confrontation between the king and Kim Bye...

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 6 of Mr. Queen, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Shin Hye-sun as Kim So-yong, Kim Jung-hyun as King Cheojong, Seol In-ah as Jo Hwa-jin, Na In-woo as Kim Byeong-in, and Choi Jin-hyuk as Jang Bong-hwan.  We discuss: The songs we featured during the recap: No Touch by Howl and Venus by Moon Jong-up. How this episode was aptly named Between Understanding and Misunderstanding; there are so many misunderstandings between nearly everyone in the palace, but especially between the King and the Queen. That things are very complicated for Jang Bong-hwan since jumping into the lake clearly won’t bring him back to modern day Korea. When the King saved the Queen from the lake, something changed. The King now wants the Queen to live and he wants to try to understand her. The King and Queen agree to do No Touch but they have very different understandings of what No Touch means. The Jo family tries to depose the Queen but the King shows a different side of his ...

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 5 of Mr. Queen, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Shin Hye-sun as Kim So-yong, Kim Jung-hyun as King  Cheojong, Seol In-ah as Jo Hwa-jin, Na In-woo as Kim Byeong-in, and Choi Jin-hyuk as Jang Bong-hwan. We discuss: The song we feature during the recap: Puzzle by SoYou and Park Woo-jin The Queen or Jang Bong-hwan’s motive in admitting that she tried to commit suicide How the queen’s actions continually surprise and confuse the King The amazing dancing in the rain scene More of the Queen’s back story, which is quite sad because she was in love with the King, but he didn’t love her back. We also learn that she saw the Grand Dowager Queen and Kim Byeong-in the night she tried to commit suicide. More great cooking by the Queen. All the palace intrigue, including Lord Kim Jwa-geun’s meeting with the scarred eunuch, the Pungyang Jo family’s plot to depose the Queen, the King’s secret activities, and the Kim family’s plot against the Jo family. How Prin...

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 4 of Mr. Queen, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Shin Hye-sun as Kim So-yong, Kim Jung-hyun as King Cheojong, Seol In-ah as Jo Hwa-jin, Na In-woo as Kim Byeong-in, and Choi Jin-hyuk as Jang Bong-hwan. We discuss: Then songs we played during the recap: Conspiracyby Kim Deuk-su  and Lost Memory by Howl.  Last week’s episode was so funny, while this episode is really dark and there are bad guys everywhere.  The Queen has figured out that it was the King who tried to kill her in the alleyway.  The King is still desperately trying to figure out what the Queen knows.  The many plots to frame someone for the Queen falling into the lake.  The Queen accuses the King of going after her because she’s weak; this makes him wonder if the Queen is plotting against him or if she really is someone different.  Jo Hwa-jin goes to Grand Dowager Queen to confess they she pushed the Queen into the lake When the King tries to defend Jo H...

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 3 of Mr. Queen, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Shin Hye-sun as Kim So-yong, Kim Jyung-hun as King  Cheojong, Seol In-ah as Jo Hwa-jin, Na In-woo as Kim Byeong-in, and Choi Jin-hyuk as Jang Bong-hwan. We discuss: The song we feature, The Great Recipe by sEODo.  The awesome puns and double entendres in this show.  The Royal chef calls the queen’s ramen Samyang ramyeon, or literally ‘three fragrance small pot ramen’, but this is also the name of a popular ramen brand in South Korea.  How inviting someone to have ramyeon with you at your place is an invitation to get physical and spend the night.  How the king and queen mistrust each other and this is the central theme of this episode.   All the cooking in this episode and the queen’s antics with her cooking.  How we learn more about the queen’s past, including that she loved King Cheoljong but the king did not love her back.  A new triangle brewing between...