This post originally appeared in January 2023. Since that time I've learned more & more about this custom and it makes perfect sense to me. One of the BEST things about watching Kdramas is learning about cultural differences... it's such fun and we encourage you to start on this journey too! ~ Judy Food Craving... Okay, imagine this. You have been in jail and you are released. Or, you've been on a deserted island & are finally rescued. Or, you've been in a foreign countr

It's Pat this time! Every once in a while I turn my attention away from those gorgeous Korean faces in the Kdramas I’m watching and focus on… are you ready? THE EARS. I know, I know, it’s hard to pull my gaze away from that perfect skin, those exotic eyes, and their luscious lips. Unlike my blog partner - who is still communing with her eighth grade, boy-crazy self - I feel the same about ALL sexes. I’m happy to swoon over men and women. But what has lately mesmerized me

It's Judy with more insightful & useless information... All Kdramas have a Lead Couple. (Or at least most Kdramas have a lead couple.) And they're great...but this blog post is about the Second Couples. I've been struck that the back-up couples are oftentimes as equally strong as th e #1 c ouple and I root for them with the same enthusiasm. Cha Cha: Gong Min-jeong and Kang Hyung-seok For example, In Hometown Cha Cha Cha the Lead Couple (and winner of our favorite dimple

I’ve done two posts about Sung Park and his family’s restaurant KOTHAI in San Francisco. Sadly, the restaurant’s last night of operation was Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2026 and I’m sad about it. I met Sung the first time I ate there. I was showing pics of our trip to Korea to our friends, he told me to put away my phone - in a jesting manner - as he filled our water glasses. That started a lot of fun banter back and forth between us. We ate there as many times as we co

Mark your calendars.... Set your Alarms.... Get ready! For what, you ask? Well, you can be sure that many (if not all) of the Gmamas are going to be getting up at the crack of dawn this Saturday Morning, March 21, 2026. At 4am California time (you figure out where you fit into this yourself) the biggest boy band on the planet, BTS, will be LIVE on Netflix for the First Concert of their Comeback Tour.*** Gwanghwamun Square... some of you will recognize it although we didn't

They’ve held hands, hugged, and, yes, they’ve even kissed TWICE, yet he still calls her ‘President Cha.’ Really? I’m watching Encounter with the serene Song Hye-kyo and the enchanting Park Bo-gum (Bogummy to his most ardent fans.) He’s the peon and she’s the wealthy hotel owner, and he doesn’t hold back pursuing her. Considering his lowly status, his ego and self worth are intact, and he wastes no time in letting her know what he wants. It’s HER (spoiler alert: they get

It's Judy and I have confirmed (again) that I truly am not Korean. Yeah, yeah, yeah ignore the fact that I am 100% larger than all Korean women and that I can only utter about 6 sentences in Korean before becoming completely befuddled.... the real reason has to do with two habits that Korean women seem to possess that I do not. Hair touching looks pretty innocuous here... it'll drive you nuts! Firstly, I do not play with my hair incessently. Nope, I'll occasionally run my

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