175 episodes

K-Drama School is hosted by comedian, writer and media scholar Grace Jung who analyzes a new Korean TV drama every week and contextualizes it according to its social, cultural and historical significance. Let Grace school you in K-Dramas! Visit kdramaschool.com to learn more. Follow @kdramaschool on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok!

K-Drama School Grace Jung

    • TV & Film
    • 4.5 • 32 Ratings

K-Drama School is hosted by comedian, writer and media scholar Grace Jung who analyzes a new Korean TV drama every week and contextualizes it according to its social, cultural and historical significance. Let Grace school you in K-Dramas! Visit kdramaschool.com to learn more. Follow @kdramaschool on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok!

    K-Drama School – Ep 173: The Sound of Magic and Magical Thinking

    K-Drama School – Ep 173: The Sound of Magic and Magical Thinking

    [Spoiler Alert] Grace has a show at the Hollywood Improv on April 29th to celebrate her book launch and record K-Drama School podcast live with very special returning comedian guests Ruby Bockmeier, Zack Chapaloni and Josh Edelman. Grace discusses the K-drama series The Sound of Magic (Netflix, 2022) starring Ji Chang-wook, Choi Sung-eun and Hwang In-youp. Grace is impressed by the layers of its production background and the performance by the lead actors. Grace is also struggling with depression while at the cusp of her book launch and her renewed foray back into academic institutions. Grace got rejected by In-N-Out Burger, and she’s contributed work to AI industries despite her awareness that this very act will replace service industry jobs which she, in part, relies on today. The absurdity of her predicament is a queer existence. Grace’s new book K-Drama School: A Pop Culture Inquiry into Why We Love Korean Television is available for pre-order with a 20% discount until April 23, 2024! Use code KDRAMA20 at checkout on the Hachette Book Group webpage: ⁠https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/grace-jung/k-drama-school/9780762485727/⁠ Exclusions apply. Please visit K-Drama School’s Patreon page to support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.patreon.com/kdramaschool⁠⁠. Visit the K-Drama School Store at ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.kdramaschool/com/store⁠⁠. Follow @KDramaSchool on Instagram, and TikTok. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.kdramaschool.com/⁠⁠ to learn more.

    • 32 min
    K-Drama School – Ep 172: Welcome to Samdal-ri and Redefining Failure

    K-Drama School – Ep 172: Welcome to Samdal-ri and Redefining Failure

    [Spoiler Alert] Grace discusses the K-drama series Welcome to Samdal-ri (JTBC, 2023-2024) and what failure means in the context of this current economy as well as how the show conceptualizes failure at life. Grace’s new book K-Drama School: A Pop Culture Inquiry into Why We Love Korean Television is available for pre-order with a 20% discount until April 23, 2024! Use code KDRAMA20 at checkout on the Hachette Book Group webpage: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/grace-jung/k-drama-school/9780762485727/ Exclusions apply. Please visit K-Drama School’s Patreon page to support the show at ⁠http://www.patreon.com/kdramaschool⁠. Visit the K-Drama School Store at ⁠http://www.kdramaschool/com/store⁠. Follow @KDramaSchool on Instagram, and TikTok. Visit ⁠https://www.kdramaschool.com/⁠ to learn more.

    • 27 min
    K-Drama School – Ep 171: Be Melodramatic and Spiraling Up

    K-Drama School – Ep 171: Be Melodramatic and Spiraling Up

    [Spoiler Alert] Grace discusses the K-drama series Be Melodramatic (JTBC, 2019) co-written and co-directed by filmmaker Lee Byeong-heon. The show is co-written by Kim Young-young and co-directed by Kim Hye-young. The series stars Han Gong-ju lead actress Chun Woo-hee, Vincenzo’s Jeon Yeo-been and Han Ji-eun alongside Reply 1988 series alum Ahn Jae-hong and Gong Myung. Grace thanks a long-time listener for the show recommendation and praises Be Melodramatic’s story, production and brilliant performances. Grace is also spiraling again but spiraling back up. She’s reading Pat Rodegast/Emmanuel’s books and taking courage during these dark times. Grace also has the physical copies of her book finally! You can also sample the audiobook via Soundcloud now: https://soundcloud.com/hachetteaudio/k-drama-school-by-grace-jung. Grace’s new book K-Drama School: A Pop Culture Inquiry into Why We Love Korean Television is available for pre-order with a 20% discount until April 23, 2024! Use code KDRAMA20 at checkout on the Hachette Book Group webpage: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/grace-jung/k-drama-school/9780762485727/ Exclusions apply. Please visit K-Drama School’s Patreon page to support the show at ⁠http://www.patreon.com/kdramaschool⁠. Visit the K-Drama School Store at ⁠http://www.kdramaschool/com/store⁠. Follow @KDramaSchool on Instagram, and TikTok. Visit ⁠https://www.kdramaschool.com/⁠ to learn more.

    • 21 min
    K-Drama School – Ep 170: Chicken Nugget and Dogs Getting to the Bottom

    K-Drama School – Ep 170: Chicken Nugget and Dogs Getting to the Bottom

    [Spoiler Alert] Grace discusses the K-drama series Chicken Nugget (2024, Netflix) starring Ryu Seong-ryong, Ahn Jae-hong and Kim Yoo-jung with cameo appearances by Jung Ho-yeon and Park Jin-young. Grace comments on filmmaker Lee Byeong-hun’s absurdist style on the show. Grace’s new book K-Drama School: A Pop Culture Inquiry into Why We Love Korean Television is available for pre-order with a 20% discount until April 23, 2024! Use code KDRAMA20 at checkout on the Hachette Book Group webpage: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/grace-jung/k-drama-school/9780762485727/ Exclusions apply. Please visit K-Drama School’s Patreon page to support the show at ⁠http://www.patreon.com/kdramaschool⁠. Visit the K-Drama School Store at ⁠http://www.kdramaschool/com/store⁠. Follow @KDramaSchool on Instagram, and TikTok. Visit ⁠https://www.kdramaschool.com/⁠ to learn more.

    • 21 min
    K-Drama School – Ep 169: You Raise Me Up and Korean Broadcasters Unite

    K-Drama School – Ep 169: You Raise Me Up and Korean Broadcasters Unite

    [Spoiler Alert] Grace discusses the K-drama series You Raise Me Up (2021, Wavve) starring Yoon Shi-yoon and Hani of the K-pop girl group EXID. You Raise Me Up impresses Grace with its brilliant premise, hilarious title, and excellent performers. She also wonders why Yoon Shi-yoon's career didn't flourish as much after winning a Best Actor Award for his role as Kim Tak-gu. Grace’s new book K-Drama School: A Pop Culture Inquiry into Why We Love Korean Television is available for pre-order with a 20% discount until April 23, 2024! Use code KDRAMA20 at checkout on the Hachette Book Group webpage: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/grace-jung/k-drama-school/9780762485727/ Exclusions apply. Please visit K-Drama School’s Patreon page to support the show at ⁠http://www.patreon.com/kdramaschool⁠. Visit the K-Drama School Store at ⁠http://www.kdramaschool/com/store⁠. Follow @KDramaSchool on Instagram, and TikTok. Visit ⁠https://www.kdramaschool.com/⁠ to learn more.

    • 23 min
    K-Drama School – Ep 168: Doctor Slump and South Korean Disillusionment

    K-Drama School – Ep 168: Doctor Slump and South Korean Disillusionment

    [Spoiler Alert] Grace discusses the K-drama series Doctor Slump (2024, JTBC) starring Park Shin-hye and Park Hyung-sik, written by Baek Sun-woo. Grace also notes a pattern of disillusionment among K-drama yuppies that all have a nostalgic longing for the slow life in a rural or agrarian environment with earthy neighbors and lifestyles. Grace’s new book K-Drama School: A Pop Culture Inquiry into Why We Love Korean Television is available for pre-order with a 20% discount until April 23, 2024! Use code KDRAMA20 at checkout on the Hachette Book Group webpage: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/grace-jung/k-drama-school/9780762485727/ Exclusions apply. Please visit K-Drama School’s Patreon page to support the show at ⁠http://www.patreon.com/kdramaschool⁠. Visit the K-Drama School Store at ⁠http://www.kdramaschool/com/store⁠. Follow @KDramaSchool on Instagram, and TikTok. Visit ⁠https://www.kdramaschool.com/⁠ to learn more.

    • 12 min

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5
32 Ratings

32 Ratings

Ahc4959 ,

Great podcast!

I first heard Dr. Grace Jung when she was a guest on the Bechdel Test. Her insightful discussion of the context behind Parasite was so interesting, but I KNEW I had to follow her work after she masterfully addressed the white guilt and “othering” that the BT hosts constantly resorted to while mispronouncing the Korean actors’ names. Here, Dr. J discusses fascinating aspects of K Dramas, and provides context that speaks to both newbies and enthusiasts alike. I feel like I learn so much from these episodes. (And I can’t wait to read the book!)

Edit: as I continue to listen, I especially appreciate the discussion of trauma and mental health. Thank you for giving space to share and explore these topics with us.

QRC noobie ,

great analysis and great explanation

Gives context for shows and explains complex cultural ideas in very simple and understandable ways; great food for thought!

philpang ,

Feels like bait and switch

I downloaded episode 86 expecting to hear a discussion about the show Extraordinary Attorney Woo. Instead there was only 5 minutes dedicated to it at the beginning. The next hour and half I have no idea what that was.

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