Ep 34: K-Drama — Our Blues | K Culture Deep Dive

Ed and Sora wrap up their K-drama review series with Our Blues (우리들의 Blues), a 2022 ensemble drama set in a fictional Jeju fishing village. The series tackles depression, teenage pregnancy, Down syndrome representation, hyper-competitive parenting, and the suffocating nature of small-town life. Ed watched it twice; Sora quit after Episode 6 because "it was too heavy." The episode opens with Sora sharing that she was rejected by a Haenyeo village cooperative, which turns out to be a fitting transition into the show's themes.

Key Takeaways

• Writer Noh Hee-kyung: Known for warm, healing, family-focused dramas rather than typical romantic comedies. Some Koreans criticize her for being "preachy," but her ensemble slice-of-life style is harder to write and resonates deeply.
• Lee Byong-hun's character: A truck vendor who drives around selling pots, pans, and goods. Short-tempered, kind-hearted, carrying trauma from being the child of a mistress. His sales pitch recordings ("fry pan, fry pan") and his mannequin-modeling of ajumma clothes are comedic highlights.
• Depression storyline (Shin Mina's character): Used imagery of drowning and suffocation. The character attempts suicide by jumping off a jetty; Haenyeos rescue her. Five years ago in Korea, people couldn't openly discuss depression without stigma. Now conversations are more common. Ed admits he used to make fun of depressed people when he was younger. Sora shares she had a period of depression during grad school during the pandemic.
• 기러기 아빠 (Kirogi Appa, "Wild Goose Father"): The phenomenon where fathers work in Korea while mothers and children live abroad (often in the US) for education. The fact that Korean has a specific word for this shows how common it was. Sora's corporate boss was a Kirogi Appa who avoided going home because no one was there.
• Down syndrome representation: An actress with Down syndrome played a character with Down syndrome. Koreans were surprised and impressed. The handsome boat captain (Kim Woo-bin) apologizes for his shocked reaction: "I've never seen anyone with Down syndrome. I never learned what to do. If you feel uncomfortable, I'm sorry." Ed: "Hats off to the producers for being so inclusive."
• Teenage pregnancy: Two high school students, both top of their class (she was #1, he was #2), get pregnant. She wanted to escape to Seoul because "everyone knows each other and it's choking me." The small-town gossip culture: "In small towns, they know how many spoons and chopsticks you have at home."
• Mainlander Haenyeo: A young Haenyeo from the mainland struggles to be accepted by the cooperative. Sora: "Now I am in that process... I know it would be really difficult to get in as an outsider, as someone who is not from Jeju, also not from that village specifically."
• Small-town trade-off: Young people from Seoul move to Jeju for community and connection. But if the connection gets too deep, they pull back. Ed: "If I move to Jeju, I'm gonna purposely keep this 외국인 (foreigner) persona... 'You're in my business? I don't speak Korean now.'"

Next Steps

• K-drama shooting locations: vamosajeju.com/trip (Our Blues was filmed all over the island)
• Got questions? We've got answers!: vamosajeju.com/ask