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Korea — Growing Mecca for Great Drama
K-pop has placed more skilled singer-dancers and image makers on world stages than anything since old-fashioned variety shows. But look out! Korea isn’t only gaining fame from BTS and BlackPink. Korea has it goin’ on in the screen world, too.
Lock-down has been a prime time for mining entertainment options and perhaps discovering shows that set the imagination tingling and the popcorn popping. Without traveling overseas, new worlds opened up when I stumbled upon Rakuten Viki, a globally accessed streaming service wildly popular for its Asian programs. Through heart-pounding action flicks and riveting tales of ancient times, many have become hooked on Asian dramas, rom-coms, historical series and Hyun Bin.
The uninitiated will find quirky cultural elements sprinkled throughout the films and episodic series (running from 12-50 episodes): grown women jumping up and down waving their hands out of embarrassment, lots of bowing to elders and authority figures, and a little too much drinking for my taste, but the well-acted, well-written plot lines deliver enthralling tales.
In the romance department, Korean dramas change things up, focusing on intimate relationships…