Full Circle Moment…for me, that is.

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 judge, but, please don’t judge too harshly.) Anyone who follows his career knows he has American relatives and learned English growing up, that he’s acted in both Korean and American films, that he’s married with two children, oh, and that he’s drop dead gorgeous. For those of you who are enamored of the 30-40 something age group of Korean men, I say give him a shot. There is a lot to say for the mature Korean dude in his 50’s.

Judy and I were lucky enough to hear him speak at a Hallyu conference at Stanford University several years ago, and it was magical for us to see him stride into the room with his team of handlers and proceed to charm the audience with his talk. If you’d been there and hadn’t been hooked before, this would be THE MOMENT!

After Mr. Sunshine, I watched Our Blues, and he was wonderful. The following two shows he did that I just couldn’t stomach were Concrete Utopia and Squid Game. Morally, I couldn’t watch either. Even Judy told me not to bother with Squid Game.

This year he’s in a new Korean film that has gotten lots of press, No Other Choice. It’s not available in the States as far as I know, but he has gotten rave reviews for his performance and was even nominated for a Golden Globe award. Wohoo!

Imagine my disbelief when I opened The New York Times Magazine last Sunday, and the cover story, THE GREAT PERFORMERS ISSUE, featured LBH on a two page spread. All my years of fandom have paid off. I am beyond excited to watch the Golden Globes this year, and hopefully get to see this movie. I’ve read about the plot, and I know it’s going to be a stretch for me to watch, but, hey, anything for my reason for getting hooked on Kdramas!

Good News, Pat! No Other Choice is getting released in the US. It's coming to The Loft, an independent theater in Tucson and I'll definitely be in attendance. And Pat is correct; he is a fabulous actor who is incredibly easy on the eyes.... even if he was a major character in Squid Game; a show that caused me to question the morality of humanity. How ANYONE could find it entertaining is beyond me. ~ Judy

Addendum: The Golden Globes has come and gone, and sadly Lee Byung hun did not take home an award. For me, though, it was thrilling to see him at the tables reserved for the nominees and their guests. And to add icing on the cake, he was featured on LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS this past week! His English is excellent, and he speaks it well enough to make jokes.~Pat