Today I dragged my husband to watch the recently released movie ‘THE ROSE: COME BACK TO ME.' Guess what? He liked it as much as I did! Clockwise from noon there's Dojoon, Hajoon, Woo-sung, & Taegyeom. Yep, more gorgeous Korean men. This just out show is a documentary about how the four members of the group met, started busking in Hongdae, became popular, split apart during COVID, and found each other again to become a world wide sensation. Judy had the foresight to see th

Even Oxford English Dictionary is on the Hallyu wave! I'm sure you all took note that some of the most recent additions to the Oxford English Dictionary are Korean words. Yep, and just think, you first learned those words here at the Gmamas. The list includes: Ramyeon - which all Gmamas know is the Korean version of ramen Jjimjilbang - which are Korean spas (who can forget my trip to one in 2024?) Ajumma - stylish women of quilted vest fame And speaking of dictiona

I bet you thought this would be a post about romance, right? Nope, it’s about baseball, that quintessential American sport. It’s a favorite in Korea as well, and Kdramas have even featured it in some of the dramas I’ve watched. Everyone who calls themselves a Kdrama addict has watched Prison Playbook , starring Park Hae-soo as a superstar baseball player who is unjustly incarcerated and attempts to keep up his baseball skills in prison. It’s a great show. Our latest foray

I’m the cook side of this blog posting duo, right? I know Judy just posted her foray into making gimbap, and I think that’s great. To paraphrase the famous line from Hamilton , “I am not throwing away my shot,” I am not giving up my spot as being the one who knows how to wield a knife. To that end, I just got my knives sharpened at Bernal Cutlery in San Francisco. Yes, it’s a schlep from Davis to S.F., but they really know what they’re doing. Best part was they sharpened

I’m sure you’ve noticed how much product placement there is for Kopiko coffee candy in Kdramas. It’s everywhere, always available for a pick me up in any stressful situation. One gets handed a Kopiko, and suddenly, the world is on its axis again. Did you assume like I did that they are Korean? Well, they aren’t! Kopiko is a brand of candy originally produced in Indonesia. It is owned by a large, multinational company headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, and has been man

It's Pat. This photo is Haeryn. Yes, she’s Korean. No , she is not that into Kdramas. (It’s okay. I forgive her. Don’t forget even my kids don’t read this blog.) I met Haeryn when I went to one of my favorite stores in San Francisco, STUDIOPATRO. Studiopatro is owned by Christina Weber and sells the most gorgeous linens products from napkins to placemats and aprons and tea towels. Check out their website! https://studiopatro.com Shameless as I am, I asked Haeryn to

I’ve already written about Kim Eui-sung, the quintessential bad guy in Kdramas. For those of you who want to reread it, it’s titled MR. DESPICABLE. Now it’s time to add his female counterpart. Her name is Kang Han-na. She’s been cast as the worst ever in three Kdramas I’ve seen, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo , Bon Appetit, Your Majesty , and most recently in Cashero . I have to say it’s so much fun to hate her. Considering the current political situation in this countr

Abang Yoli's Chef/Owner.... Pat has assured me that he is of legal age and not 15. Lucky Barbara and me. I was back in Minneapolis visiting my daughter, and Barbara and I hit Abang Yoli for lunch. I did a blog post on this last year but for those of you who didn’t read it, here is a catch up. Jamie Yoo is the energetic young owner of this stand alone restaurant in Minnetonka, MN. He’s in his mid 30’s, married with a toddler son, and a graduate of the Culinary Institute of

If you’ve been reading our blog, you know Judy and I are going to go to a BTS concert. In light of that, two of my local friends who are also going to the concert (and who want to remain unnamed) and I decided to go to a local " K-POP STARS LIVE SHOW" near where we live. It featured a Kpop cover band that had won a competition in Korea, and we couldn’t believe it was close to home. We thought this would be a good introduction to what an actual BTS concert would be like, a

It's Judy! From an international standard I think Americans are total slobs. As I've mentioned earlier we don't typically shower when we come home from work, we don't typically take our shoes off in our homes, we don't typically have bidets in our bathrooms, and we don't typically brush our teeth at work. Apparently this is unlike much of the world. A recent article newspaper article explained that Koreans are taught in school to brush 3x daily just like Americans were tau

Judy here. After returning from my European trip I resumed my Korean Language Classes last November. In a quiet moment I had the following conversation with my Teacher: Me: When I was in Germany I spoke to two groups of Koreans! Her: What did you say? Me: Well, I introduced myself, told them where I was from, and that I was happy to meet them. Her: In Korean? Me: Of course! Her: After a very long pause......... Did they understand you? <sigh> I believe the Korean word show

Pat here. I cut my Kdrama teeth on Mr. Sunshine . It was the first Korean show I watched, and I was completely smitten with the genre, the plot, the actors, the food, the locations, the clothing, Korean history, yadda yadda yadda. It became a full time obsession that ultimately led to this blog. I’d never heard of Lee Byung-hun before this, but after this initial exposure, I did a deep dive into his career and his life. (Is this the same thing as stalking? You be the jud

It's Pat & I’m in Tucson, staying at Judy’s. It’s been lots of fun. Probably best for her is that I cooked! I’m even leaving her the special, homemade cookies I brought with me. Best for me is that we are editing what we’re writing for this blog across the kitchen table from each other! Our usual process is that we write our own individual posts, then we text each other to check them out, make additions and corrections, redo the post, and finally, Judy schedules them to

It's Judy again! In addition to the Fabulous Kimjang vests that we can all be sporting there are further opportunities for those of us on the cutting edge of style. As I mentioned in an earlier post Ahjummas refer to 'middle aged women' and Halmeoni are 'grandmas.' Well, this particular look straddles both age groups so I'm sure it'll be a hit with most of our followers. To get this look we'll start at the top: Permed hair gets you noticed Sun visor is a must Neckerchi

Pat's Perspective: We, or I guess I should say, JUDY, got tickets to BTS! Fortunately for me, I will get one of the tickets she purchased. Even more fortunate for me is that I was standing right next to her when she got them. It was so much fun and the wildest ride ever to watch her get them in real time. Those of you who know us well, we live over a 1,000 miles apart, but I just happened to be in Tucson when the tickets went on sale. Judy made sure we did our homework

At the 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards, husband/wife couple Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin cleaned up. He won the Best Actor award for Harbin , and she received the Best Actress award for No Other Choice. This is the first time a married couple has won these awards in the same year. Congratulations to both. I hope I have the opportunity to watch both of their performances. Hyun Bin and his wife Son Ye-jin who won lots of awards this year. Together they also won the Popular Sta

It's Judy with a quick update... some of the Gmamas are trying to get tickets for the BTS Comeback Tour scheduled for this year.... 80 concerts across the globe but we are mainly focused on those west of the Mississippi River. Never have I done something so complicated as this. There are multiple steps, multiple websites, multiple decisions, & multiple points of confusion. Not only have I had to learn the in's and out's, but I had to convey the information to 4 other indiv

A miracle happened, and it wasn't even Christmas. As this is our 400th post, it’s going to be a doozy… for us, that is. For our 100th, 200th, and 300th posts, we talked about our fascination with Kdramas, how our tastes have evolved and changed (actually, for Judy this isn’t true. She’s just as besotted with hot Korean men more than ever), how much we have enjoyed this long distance partnership, you know, the usual love fest for what we’re doing. For this our 400th post, we

It's Pat. .. One of my good friends, and even better, a Kdrama aficionado, just told me she binge watched a - get ready for it - A CHINESE DRAMA. (or CDrama as they're known.) Should we jump ship and do it? Weigh in! Well, fellow Gmama, Michele from Down Under, has been suggesting this for over a year. Somehow it feels like an act of betrayal... ~ Judy

Ju dy here. At last ther e is a Korean fashion trend I an embrace! Nope, it's not the underboob look. Nor is it the incredibly short skirts that you have to use a blanket to cover yourself when seated. What is it, you ask? Well, it's the kimjang vest favored by all ahjummas! What is an ahjumma? Well, it technically means middle aged woman but it's kind of morphed into a perjorative since no one wants to accept the fact that they are, in fact, middle-aged. It's kind o