7.1 - Podcast Review of Episodes 1 and 2 of Queen of Tears

Today, we’ll be discussing Episodes 1 and 2 of Queen of Tears, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Kim Ji-won as Hong Hae-in, Kim Soo-hyun as Baek Hyun-woo, Park Sung-hoon as Yoon Eun-Seong, Kwak Dong-Yeon as Hong Soo-cheol, Lee Joo-bin as Cheon Da-Hye. We discuss:The song we featured during the recap, The Reason of my Smiles by BSS.We introduce the characters of this show and stumble over their Korean names.How there appear to be five main leads, which seems to be common in K Dramas.The show is set in the modern day, in Seoul and the village of Yongdu-ri.The central premise of the show, which is that Baek Hyun-woo and Hong Hae-in are locked in a loveless marriage. Hyun-woo wants a divorce but nobody is on his side on this matter. Then Hae-in announces that she has a rare brain tumor and she has three months to live. Hyun-woo sees a way out of this marriage and maybe a chance to inherit some wealth, if he can convince his wife of his love.Whether the couple was actually in love at the time of their marriage, and their motivations for marrying.How Hae-in was initially suspicious of Hyun-woo, but between his actions, his Internet searches and his shooting of the wild boar, she is looking at him differently.How cloud cytoma doesn’t appear to be a real disease.The origins, structure and power of the chaebol conglomerates in South Korea.How this show is a real study on marriage because there are so many different perspectives on marriage, many of them not very positive.How village life is so often romanticized in these K Dramas.Arranged marriages and whether the practice still exists today.How the royal tradition of having sons-in-law prepare the food during jesa appears to be made up by the Hong family in this show.Kim Soo-hyun’s amazing acting and comedic timing in this show.How these first two elements showcase so many K Drama elements, most notably crying, drinking, food, flowers, protesting someone you love at personal cost to yourself, a funeral, and a confession.How Sung Hee had so many favorite lines but Joanna made her pick just two.The many questions we are looking forward to exploring, like: What is the chairman’s girlfriend’s real motivations? What happened to Hae-in’s brother? What happened between Hae-in and David Yoon?We are recapping and analyzing Queen of Tears in real time. Each episode will drop on a Friday and cover the two episodes from the previous weekend, hopefully giving our listeners the insights they need before going into the weekend, when the next two episodes drop.ReferencesWhat to know about the chaebol families that dominate South Korea’s economyCan South Korea’s untouchable chaebols change?An economy of human sacrifice: the practice of sunjang in the ancient state of KoreaThe Reasons of my Smiles by BSS, with Korean and English lyrics