Buy us a Ko-fi
I know you’re probably like, “How dumb is this girl?! She can’t even spell coffee correctly. And we’re supposed to trust her to teach us Korean?!”
But if you let me explain I promise I can try and get you back on my side…and also get you spelling Ko-fi like this.
I started Korean From Context a little over a year ago and every time we get a little bigger I get excited. I see a bright future, I get larger dreams, I add more goals to what I hope the site can accomplish. But with the growth comes a bunch of stress. I never want to let the people who follow us down but sometimes I simply cant’ put my whole heart into the site due to life around me.
While I have help from Lindsay and Aleda, they also have their own lives to live and jobs to do.
My goal with this site, aside from the main one of helping people learn Korean in a fun new way, is to have it be a full-time gig. That way I can put forth my effort 110% and give you everything I have dreamed up for this site.
I know that is a lofty goal. And with such a lofty goal comes the sad but all too real truth that, this goal would require something. As our favorite bad boy Sul Bin said so simply…돈 (don- money).
And I know as k-pop and k-drama stans, we want to spend our money on albums and merch. So here is a way to help Korean From Context keep helping you and not take too much away from your Korean merch buying money.
Ko-fi is a site where artists (writers, graphic designer, photographers, cosplayers and more!) offer special incentives to people who ‘buy them a cup of coffee’. The ‘coffee’ really helps pay for the continuation of building their craft and keeping their fans happy.
If you have heard of Patreon, Ko-fi, is very similar. However, it is more lenient on the coffee buyer as well as the coffee receiver. You can pay once and never pay again. Or you can pay monthly and can receive some special goodies every month.
Those special goodies from us would include:
Deleted scenes from the novels
Unpublished photographs
Short Scenarios
(We are working on some more stuff as well)
In the future we even hope to do commission pieces of writing. 1-2 page scenarios, just for you and your eyes only (unless you want to share with friends), with whatever plot line and characters you would want and new Korean phrases to keep you learning.
If this sounds like something you would like to be a part of please check out our ko-fi page and maybe buy us a Ko-fi? CLICK HERE
IF YOU READ THIS FAR…The first 5 people to buy us coffee will receive a gift! DM us on instagram (@koreanfromcontext) or on Twitter (@koreanfrmcntxt) with proof. Once verified we will send you a massive k-pop or k-drama thank you 😉
K.B.R. – The YEON Vita7 Energy Peeling Gel
Every beauty regimen needs a starting point. And ours is The YEON Vita7 Energy Peeling Gel. Before we even talk about the actual product, can we talk about the product’s packaging?! It’s a freaking orange! To be more specific, it is the 한라봉 (hanrabong – hallabong orange) grown on the famous 제주도 (jejudoe – Jeju Island) in Korea. When you unscrew the orange you are hit with a rejuvenating scent of citrus. It could be simply our opinion, but it is unlike any other citrus we have smelled before.
Before even wetting your face, you take a scoop of this magic, citrus paste and put a few little dabs on your face. Spread it around your face and you will already feel it start to work. Scrubbing gently, dead skin and oils will start to come off in clumps. Yes, kinda gross, but when you wash it off…OMG the soft feeling of your skin is UNREAL!
We love this product! We have only used one or two of these types of products before and one left our face feeling extremely oily, and the other burned afterwards.
Our rating of this product: 9.4 out of 10! (The only reason it isn’t a perfect 10 is because it can get a little messy with the packaging and the seal not sitting properly.)
Check out The Yeon on Instagram (@theyeon_official) or hit up their website (www.theyeon.net) to get your 한라봉 Vita7 Energy Peeling Gel today!
너의 시선이 머무는 곳에EPI 7-8 (FINAL)
Prepare the tissues people. Not only because these are the last two episodes, but because they are tear jerkers! We don’t even want to write this article. We can’t accept the show is over. But we can’t leave the amazing people who have been watching (and reading) along with us hanging. So here we go. The final review. *deep breaths…try not to sob*
WARNING: THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS! IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS YET, DO NOT READ FURTHER!
7화 – 화해 (hwa hae- reconciliation)
Now last episode we watched, was left off with 강 국 getting back to their shared home to see it had looked to be ransacked and 내 주 was gone. And our boy 강 국 goes on a quest to find out who took the love of his life and where he could possibly be. Since there is a tracker in내 주’s phone, 강 국 rides around the streets of Seoul to find where his man has been taken. Only to find the phone tossed in a garbage site.
When he believes all hope is lost, bully buddy calls asking 강 국 to meet. Adding that it’s about내 주. So you know our boy hops on his bike to find out what exactly bully buddy knows. And does bully buddy know a LOT.
Why? OH because he is the one who ratted out 강 국 and 내 주 kissing to 내 주’s father! (Even though they didn’t actually kiss) BRUH! We were rooting for you! We were all rooting for you! While we are mad that he did it, we get that he was trying to help his father from losing his job, and he seemed to be upset about it. He let 강 국 know that 내 주 was going to be sent to England. Upon hearing this, 강 국 punched bully buddy and drove away. Smart move.
And while all of this is transpiring, 내 주 is in his father’s house, on his knees begging for his father not to harm 강 국. Saying that it wasn’t 강 국’s fault and that he himself was the only one who had feelings more than friendship between them. His father was clearly not believing it and with the callousness of the douchebag CEO he is, insults 내 주 by calling him weak like his mother. 내 주 being a badass, speaks up saying to never speak of his mother like that and that’s when they get notice from the security that 강 국 had arrived.
강 국 arrives at 내 주’s father’s house where security guard after security guard come to attack him and take him down. But he isn’t going to let that shiz happen. He was there for one reason and one reason only. To see the man he loves! BANG! POW! SHAZAM! He takes those mother truckers down with ease. But not without getting some badass future scars of his own.
That’s where we think the episode ends. But then, we see two girls walking an alley to our spirit animal’s restaurant talking about seeing some guy. As they enter, they pause and the camera pans over. Our boy 강 국 with a bright smile and an even brighter yellow sweater is serving food to the many other fawning females. (tbh we would’ve been there in a heartbeat as well)
But wait…what?!?!
OUR FAV SCENE: When 강 국 punches bully buddy. Let’s be real, dude deserved WAY more of a beating for the dumb shiz he pulled. But I am glad 강 국 restrained his anger. He had bigger fish to fry anyway.
Our cutest scene: There wasn’t a cute scene in this episode. This was dramatic as dramatic gets.
Our least fav scene: We once again didn’t have one. Sure, we were mad a bully buddy for what he did but it made for the plot so we get why it needed to happen.
8화 – 내가 널 좋아하니가 (Naega neol juhaneeka – because I like you)
And here is where we get the explanation.
After kicking most of the security guards asses, 강 국 walks into the house to see 내 주 on his knees. The father, who we have already established is the king of douches, continues his reign by thanking 강 국 for his hard work for the last 15 years but that he effed up by kissing his son and doesn’t deserve to even walk on the same ground as him. (Which, let’s make clear, THEY DIDN’T ACTUALLY KISS!)
강 국 agrees to the sentiment. Stating he knew he had nothing more to lose, as he was about to lose his job, the man he loved, and everything he knew, he asks for one thing. 5 minutes to talk with 내 주. Instead of agreeing, his father chooses to let his security guards beat the eff out of him. 내 주 can’t handle seeing it and says to his father he will go to England. He will be a good student and go off to university. In return he asks to spend one more night in his home (aka: where him and 강 국 live together)
The father agrees to this and our boys return home. 내 주 takes care of 강 국 asking why he came with him. To which 강 국 responds similarly to 내 주 in previous episodes by saying ‘do you really not know?’
Upset that dawn is already approaching, meaning the end of their time together, 내 주 asks what did they do to deserve such a short amount of time left. And this is where we held our breath and probably didn’t stop until the end of the episode.
강 국 grabs 내 주 by the hand and walks them to their bedroom. Holy shizbots did we think some 18+ fun times were about to go down. But this is the first well recognized Korean BL drama and they really aren’t about to throw that at us. (Thai BL just started showing tongue) But 강 국 wraps 내 주 in a hug and finally confesses his feelings. THANK YOU, LORD! 내 주 while embracing his lover pulls them down onto the bed.
Can you see why we stopped breathing? Oh, and it continues from there. 내 주 jokingly asks why 강 국 is telling him this as he is set to leave in a few hours. And that he didn’t even get to kiss him when he had the chance. OUR. BOY. 강 국. PULLS내 주 CLOSER! Now, not only are we not breathing, we are kicking the air and squeezing our pillows within an inch of their lives.
But 내 주 shuts it down by saying he isn’t a pervert and isn’t going to kiss a man who’s lip is bleeding. 강 국 wishes내 주 luck in England and asked 내 주 if they would see each other again. Of course 내 주 promises that they will meet again however 강 국 asks for them to not meet again so that they could move on.
Now comes us not breathing while also sobbing. 내 주 packs and tries to leave stealthily all the while hoping and knowing that 강 국 is awake keeping his eyes on him one last time.
And here is where the end of the previous episode makes sense. Three years had passed and 강 국 is off to Japan, which that crushed us, and spirit animal mom is just as crushed as we are. She gives him extra money for his travels and won’t stop hugging him because she is going to miss him.
We also nailed that fact that bully buddy would date ugh girl. It made us giggle. Which btw, they are all friends, and bully buddy actually has been keeping in touch with 내 주, even telling him of 강 국’s plan to go to Japan.
And here comes the scene where we finally breathe, scream, cry and beg for the show not to be over. The end. 강 국 is dressed to the effin nines. Black trench, white sweater, black dress pants, and black patent leather shoes, paired with his well styled hair, is walking with his suitcase past a lake to take his last look at Seoul before he leaves. He sits on a swinging bench, reflecting, choosing to leave Korea so he can forget the man he loves.
And then he hears that man’s voice saying that he had turned off the tracker on his phone. Unsure he is hearing correctly, he looks around to see someone sitting at the swinging bench next to him. As the mystery person stands we see exactly who we know it to be.
강 국 walks up to 내 주 who says it’s their time to runaway together to be happy. Prepare yourself because this is when you might snap your computer in half, punch your TV, or throw your phone, because we were tempted to. 내 주. PLAYS. WITH. 강 국’S. EAR! This man does what he knows will get the reaction he wants. And oh does he get it. 강 국 wraps his hand around the back of 내 주’s neck and pulls him in for a kiss. Followed up by a sexy and very happy smirk, concluded with ANOTHER KISS!
YES! YES! YES! YES! WE GOT A MOTHER EFFING HAPPY ENDING!!! YES WE DID!!
OUR FAV SCENE: Do we really need to say? Come on people?! THE KISS!! It was so sweet. It was extremely tame, which we expected, but was it worth the wait? ABSO-FREAKIN-LUTELY.
Our cutest scene: When 강 국 confesses his feelings and they fall into the bed and have a heart to heart. It was our first ‘FINALLY’ moment of the episode. They knew each other’s true feelings and while they know they shouldn’t have, they wished they could’ve acted on it sooner.
Our least fav scene: None absolutely none. Sure, we hate the father. He is a trash man, but not one bad scene in this episode.
We cannot believe this show is over. We had been waiting months for this series and within four weeks it has come to an end. 장의수 and 한기찬 made our hearts soar to amazing highs with their chemistry. They could make us smile, cry, fall in love, get all giddy inside, and feel our hearts clench, when they came onto the screen together. We are so thankful to the Korean companies that finally decided the BL stories were worth telling. We cannot wait to see more BL dramas hit main stream Korean Dramas, and we cannot wait to see more of the two leading men of this drama who stole our hearts and souls. 감사합니다.
If you want to watch the show yourself and see everything we talked about and more, the show is airing on Viki. Check it out. If you want to chat about the show feel free to reach out to us on Instagram (@koreanfromcontext) or Twitter (@koreanfrmcntxt). We would love to hear if you’ve started/finished the show and what you think!
K.B.R.
Huh? K.B.R.? What in the hecky heck is that? It is in all fairness our lack of creativity for a new name for our newest segment. K.orean B.eauty R.eview.
We all know that Korean beauty products have skyrocketed to popularity in the last few years. From face masks to make-up trends, Korea is currently queen of the beauty scene.
We know that ever since we started watching K-dramas and K-pop music videos one of the things we say the most (apart from “TAKE YOUR SHIRT OFF” and “KISS ALREADY”) is, “Their skin is flawless.”
And so, we began to dive into the insane realm of Korean Beauty. We do mean insane. Some of the people profess a fifteen-step plan to keep their skin bright, tight, and blemish free. While we admire the people who take the time to maintain their skin in such measures we have found, at least for us, long processes are not necessarily the best. Sometimes it’s one simple step that can help change your routine and help your skin flourish and glow.
In this new area of our blog we want to share the products we have found work best for us and why. We hope you’ll enjoy and maybe find something that works for you as well! And if you have something you’re afraid to buy, send it our way and we will try what we can!
너의 시선이 머무는 곳에 EPI 5-6 REVIEW
Friday couldn’t have come sooner this week. We needed a mental vacation from everything in the world that is transpiring. The fact this series is almost over hurts! It has been such a breakthrough for Korean Dramas and we hope to see many more in the future. (We hope they adapt some of those 만화’s we love so much!) Our review of 5 and 6 is going to happen…NOW!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO RUIN THE PLOT BEFORE WATCHING DO NOT READ!
5화- 또 다른 시선 (Ddo daroon sheeseon- another kind of gaze)
Well butter us up and call us a turkey because this is the episode we needed! 내 주 feels guilty for just dipping on 강 국 after he caused 강 국’s date to kind of get ruined. When they arrive home 내 주 sort of confronts the feelings he is having. We say sort of because he eggs 강 국 on to explain why 내 주 acted the way he did. YOU DON’T NEED AN EXPLANATION! You know exactly why you did what you did. It’s this little old feeling called jealousy.
As they fall asleep 내 주 asks 강 국 to hug him like his mother used to, which 강 국 denies initially due to hide his very clear feelings. But 내 주 explains he is sad, and like a good not yet boyfriend, 강 국 gives in and wraps내 주 in his arms. Let us tell you that snuggle looked so comfortable and filled with care that our hearts melted.
Now here is where the episode started seasoning and basting us to get ready for the deep fryer. During their gym class they start to play this game we have seen a lot in high school k-dramas. We don’t the exact name for it (if you do please let us know), but it is very similar to dodgeball here in the US. You throw a ball to get people out, but there are some who keep a person our of harms way. In the usual k-drama trope, it’s a man keeping the girl he likes safe. But since this is a BL Korean drama, we got not only a female getting defended by 강 국, but also out lovely little rich boy 내주 as well.
Too bad 강 국 decides he is going to block the girl from getting hit by the ball and내 주 gets nailed in the head. He is not happy about this and after the gym class is over he looks for solace in a quiet little grassy area of their schools campus. 강 국 finds him to give him a water bottle, but 내 주 has other plans.
And this moment, our dear dear friends, is when we were dropped in the hot vat of oil that over flowed and caused a catastrophic fire. 내 주 wrestles 강 국, pins him down, and stares at him with a very lustful gaze. 강 국 asks if he really wants to ‘do it’ there. To which our boy responds ‘do what exactly?’
We can’t tell if강 국 tries to play dumb for his own sanity or for 내 주’s safety, but either way내 주is not having it and complains about how much he hates 강 국 playing dumb since he believes they are the same. (aka: gay) AND THEN… THIS. BOY. SAYS. ‘Let’s prove it.’
If we thought our souls left our bodies in the previous four episodes, we don’t even know what we would call what happened to us as 내 주 leans down to kiss 강 국. Because trying to contain squeals of joy was impossible. But it was followed up by screams of total heartbreak as the episode ended. Luckily, next episode was prepared to harm us even more.
OUR FAV SCENE: That end scene where내 주 looks to have finally come to terms with his feelings for 강 국 and plans to show him just how much he cares about him. We have been on the 강 국 side of this lovers growth, but in this moment we took a step back and dug the initiative내 주 took. In fact he gave us more ‘top’ vibes than 강 국, who we’ve been assuming would be ‘top.’
Our cutest scene: The cuddle scene. While it was sad, because we felt like 내 주 uses 강 국 as a weird motherly kind of caretaker, the fact is that 강 국 does care, and wants nothing more than to see내 주 safe and taken care of. Seriously when he wraps 내 주 in his arms, we wrapped ourselves up in blankets to try and feel the same type of comfort.
Our least fav scene: Another episode we can’t say there was a scene we didn’t like. This had a lot of character growth and realizations that we were here for. So nothing. Nothing was ‘meh’ about this episode.
6화 – 15년 우정의 마침표 (shibo(15)nyon ujonge machimpyo- the end of a 15 year friendship)
The title of the episode suggests that it could go one of two ways. Positively, meaning that they both accept their feelings, kiss, and live a lovely love filled lovey love. (Yes, we meant to use all those love words.) Or negatively, meaning one confesses and the other pushes them away.
Since this is a BL Korean drama…you can probably assume which way this is going to go. But let’s begin at the start shall we?
Our fav bully buddy makes his appearance looking for his two new besties. And he finds them…oh yes he does. With 내 주 on top of 강 국 going in for a kiss. Walking away, our bully buddy sees the meh girl who is walking in the direction of the two kissing friends. He stops her and they actually have a very witty and endearing conversation. We have a sneaking suspicion that these two could potentially hook up by the end of this series. And we totally ship it. Ugh girl has actually weirdly grown on us. She is really socially awkward but means well. Even if she tried to break up our boys. (By the end of this episode though, she shockingly redeems herself.)
While all that is happening 강 국 pushes내 주 off of him and says that they should get back to class. They walk past ugh girl and bully buddy as if totally unaware of the two.
And then our spirit animal returns. Ugh girl’s mom. And this is when we start to see ugh girl realize that maybe her mom might’ve been right about 강 국 and 내 주’s relationship.
Now this is where sh*t hits the fan and this k-drama hits one of the dramatic romantic k-drama peaks! As 강 국 and 내 주 finish up their massive sparring session (probably to relieve their sexual tension when in actuality just making the tension even stronger) 내 주 drops a bomb to end all bombs.
THIS.MAN.CONFESSES.HIS.LOVE. And not just a simple, “I like you.” NO! This man says how he hated seeing 강 국 with ugh girl, how he wants to spend all day every day with him, how he wants to hug him whenever he is with him, and how he whines whenever he is far away. This man professes like a man should!
And our boy…this mother f*cker…강 국 do you know what he does? He doesn’t shoot the boy down. He fires a damn torpedo at this boys heart and pisses on the ashes. He not only claims that 내 주 is confessing because he thinks 강 국 can fill the void of his mother, he tells him that내 주 can’t live without 강 국, but 강 국 can live without 내 주.
The biggest of BRUH’s fell from our mouths. Sir?!?! What is you doing?!
내 주 is a don’t f*ck with me type of guy and so he tells 강 국 to go and tell his boss (aka: 내 주’s father) that and how unbearable life is with his son and how much he hates working for him. He then explains that he never wants to see him again and that he should just get lost.
강 국 leaves the gym and meets up with ugh girl. And this is where she sort of redeems herself. She makes him a little knitted doll as he apologizes for ignoring her that morning, she explains that it was ok. BUT THEN, this boy is about to confess that he likes 내 주 and she stops him saying that she guessed her mother was right. On top of that she says that she could tell that when he looked at her, he was really looking for someone else. (Brava girl. Brava.)
The episode ends with 강 국 heading back to his shared apartment to find the place looks to have been ransacked and destroyed and내 주 is no where to be seen.
OUR FAV SCENE: 내 주 confessing his feelings for 강 국 was very heartfelt and genuine. Their chemistry really is captivating.
Our cutest scene: Bully buddy hitting on ugh girl was funny and was a great comedic break before the sh*t hit the fan the rest of the episode.
Our least fav scene: 강 국 shooting down 내 주’s confession. Of course we kinda get why he did it. Like he was keeping his feelings hidden so he could stay with 내 주 as his bodyguard. But like he dug out that poor boys heart and threw it into the ocean. It hurt.
If you want to watch the show yourself and see everything we talked about and more, the show is airing on Viki. Check it out. So far we have not been disappointed and neither will you. If you want to chat about the show feel free to reach out to us on Instagram (@koreanfromcontext) or Twitter (@koreanfrmcntxt). We would love to hear if you’ve started the show and what you think!
너의 시선이 머무는 곳에 epi 3-4 review
It’s Friday again! That means another two episodes of 너의 시선이 머무는 곳에 (Where Your Eyes Linger) Why must these episodes be so short?! WHY?! We could watch this show for hours and in total with only four episodes being out, the show only totals about an hour. WE NEED MORE! But for now, we are going to talk about the latest two episodes. 시작 (shijak – let’s go)
No screenshots this episode. Apparently Viki has blocked all forms of screenshots. We get video but legit pictures to add to articles is kinda silly. But ok. Sorry this one won’t be filled with sexy boy goodness. 🙁
WARNING!! SPOILERS ARE HAPPENING FROM HERE ON OUT. DON’T SAY WE DIDN’T WARN YOU!
3화 – 도망치고 십은 순간 (dumangchigo shiboon seongan – ten minutes of one’s peace/escape)
This episode starts off where the second one left. The shower scene. BLESS! Otherwise we would’ve passed out. It continued to be a sweet moment between the two. With 강 국 washing 내 주’s hair, 내 주 repeatedly says it tickles, as well as trying to get 강 국 to wash up with him, he drops a sad bomb of how his hair being washed reminds him of his mother.
They then discuss the fact 강 국 now has a date with that annoying girl. Whether he’s doing it to make 내 주 happy, or to try and hide his feelings, we’re not sure, either way we don’t like the idea of him even looking at a female. (In the show, however in real life, if we weren’t all happily married, Eui Soo call us) 내 주 realizes that 강 국 has never been on a date before and chooses to be his ‘study partner’. (a cliché we tend to love in Korean 만화 that now came to life in a K-drama)
As내 주 acts all cutesy and adorable to see how 강 국 reacts in the situation, 강 국 confused at first, realizes what his friend is trying to do, and gives the sexist little laugh/smirk that had us in a pool on the floor. 내 주 decides 강 국 needs more coaching and they bring in the bully, who has now become the comedic relief of the show. He is cute and funny and plays well off the other two main characters. We support.
내 주 brings up, along with never dating a girl, 강 국 has never kissed a girl. And then he does his ‘bad habit’ asking if 강 국’s heart fluttered. 강 국 doesn’t take that shiz lightly and as he pulls 내 주 towards him, he begs for him to stop torturing him and playing with his feelings.
What a way to end the episode. We desperately wanted their faces to smash against each other in what 내 주 called an 앵그리 키스 (aenguree kissu- angry kiss).
OUR FAV SCENE: The almost kiss scene was just so filled with tension we were bopping up and down wanting so much more. Their chemistry really does fill the screen and our bodies.
Our cutest scene: The breakfast scene. A hot man making breakfast, for another hot man. The flirting, while fake, still made us giggle as we watched 강 국 give that smirk. Yes, we are still not over that smirk.
Our least fav scene: Shockingly, we didn’t have a scene we didn’t like in this episode. (That chick wasn’t in the episode. Lol.) We weren’t a fan of seeing 내 주 kiss a girl and having our poor boy 강 국 watch, but it made for the plot and explanation of an 앵그리 키스 .
4화 – 그림자에게 생긴 자아 – “gureemjaaygay saengginjaa- the ego of a shadow)
And this is where things started to get interesting. The first three episodes where all narrated by 강 국, but this episode changed the game and we heard내 주’s thoughts and feelings. And being from his side we see more of his feelings for 강 국, which we have to admit confuse us. We aren’t totally sure of his feeling for 강 국. While 내 주, flirts and says things that would make anyone think he was trying to make his intentions known, seeing it from his side, we genuinely can say we don’t know if his feelings are genuine or not.
While 내 주 goes to his tutoring session, 강 국 waits patiently to go on his date. What bothers us is when 내 주 says ‘Go. It’s not like I’m going to get stabbed.” To us that seems like an odd thing to say and we have a very bad feeling about that statement for future episodes.
강 국 goes on the date with the blegh girl, and we shockingly liked her this episode. Well more than previously, still not our fav person on the show. But she cracked some jokes that made our 강 국 laugh so we approve. As they’re enjoying their date, 내 주 shows up out of the blue and even she questions what their relationship is. 강 국 explains that they have a master/servant relationship. Which내 주 hears and doesn’t like the sound of.
After the date, 강 국 and 내 주 meet up to get their ride home. 강 국 notices 내 주 doesn’t have his cast on his arm to which 내 주 states nonchalantly that it was fake. 내 주 climbs in the car telling 강 국 he should walk home since their relationship is only a master/servant relationship. What a petty man. We love it.
It ends with his inner thought explaining that his shadow (강 국) shouldn’t have a mind of it’s own. And that made us quake. And then boom. Episode over and we cried wanting more.
OUR FAV SCENE: The fav scene of this episode didn’t have either lead in it, but the bully turned bestie. Him and his crew occupy the leads’ secret spot in the school and are hanging out and are talking about why the lead bully is now close with 강 국 and 내 주. His response? Well he’s handsome. AMAZING! Even he can’t deny the attractiveness.
Our cutest scene: Can’t believe we’re going to say this but 강 국’s date was actually really cute. He was so cutely awkward we wanted to jump in and help him. But he seemed to be able to carry himself and actually ended up having a cute date.
Our least fav scene: We didn’t like hearing 내 주 call 강 국 his shadow. We understand why he said it, as 강 국 follows 내 주 around, but we don’t like the way he said it. It concerns us as to what he’s playing at. Like has he been playing with 강 국 this whole time or does he really care.
If you want to watch the show yourself and see everything we talked about and more, the show is airing on Viki. Check it out. So far we have not been disappointed and neither will you. If you want to chat about the show feel free to reach out to us on Instagram (@koreanfromcontext) or Twitter (@koreanfrmcntxt). We would love to hear if you’ve started the show and what you think!
너의 시선이 머무는 곳에 Episode 1-2 Review
너의 시선이 머무는 곳에 epi 1-2 review
We’ve been dying for this show to come out ever since @blworld1 on Instagram shared it on their story. A Korean BL drama?!?! Like HELLLLOOOOO, we knew we were ready for our two worlds to collide. And now it is finally here so we are going to give our thoughts every week about the two episodes airing that week.
We couldn’t even wait until it was fully subtitled that’s how excited we were! We also found this was a great way for us to practice the skills we learn and try and teach here on the site. We re-watched with subtitles a little while later to confirm what we believed to be said and we were pleasantly surprised that we were able to grasp close to 75-80% of the show. Now let’s get into the good stuff.
WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT! If you don’t want to know before you watch then pause on reading, watch, and then come back to us so we can have a full-on discussion.
1화 (huwa-chapter/episode): 안 좋은 버릇 (an jueun boreut – bad habits)
The first episode had similarities to most shows. Characters were introduced, their roles to the story identified, and what we need to know for us to proceed with the rest of the show was learned. We understood from the trailers that the relationship between 한 내 주 (they call him Han TAE Joo in the romanization but his name tag read내 주) is a wealthy heir to a large company while 강 국 (Kang Gook) is his not so well off bodyguard. What we didn’t know from the trailer was that 내 주 is supposed to keep his identity unknown to the world and 강 국 is there to protect not only the secret but also 내 주.
That doesn’t go so well as in the first two minutes of the show 내 주 get’s into a fight because he keeps stealing this other dude’s girlfriends and then brags to the bully that he is the son of the president of the super big company. To be fair, if three of your girlfriends are seeking comfort somewhere else…take a look at yourself bruh.
As the episode proceeds, we find that 내 주’s father is, to put it bluntly, a dick. Like all rich parents in K-dramas are. He takes out his anger on 강 국 instead of his own son, hinting about ‘a habit’ his son has. Now this bit confused us. What habit is he talking about? Fighting? Girls? Or, does his father assume and/or know his son is gay?
To us 내 주 doesn’t seem to know he’s gay, or at least plays a very naive boy who is unsure where his feelings lie. Like he calls 강 국 “자기야” (jagiya- honey/darling). 강 국 on the other hand seems to wear his sexually frustrated feelings on his sleeve however much he tries to push his feelings aside.
For real if 강 국looked at us the way he looks at 내 주, nsfw things would have already been happening. It is evident from the second he comes on the screen that his feelings for 내 주 are not simply bodyguard and friend.
As 강 국 gives 내 주 first aid in their shared apartment (the rich father put them in a small, ‘average’ liveable space to keep up the mediocre appearance to the rest of the world) they start to rough house making quips and jokes about each other and their fighting techniques. And then that sexual tension that 강 국 so easily portrays comes to hit us head on when 내 주 plays with his earlobe. Rendering 강 국 useless and also hella turned on.
At the end of the episode, the bully who clearly has girl issues comes to apologize and 내 주 chooses to befriend the kid joking it will make it easier to not steal his girlfriends. But then he goes to grab the boys earlobe and 강 국 is not having it.
OUR FAV SCENE: When they go to grab a bite to eat and the woman who owns the shop asked if 강 국 is the attacker and 내 주 is the defense. (Essentially seme/uke top/bottom) Basically this woman is us in 20-30 years and that’s why we loved this scene.
Our cutest scene: When 강 국is taking care of 내 주 and내 주 gets all adorable saying he doesn’t want to go to England (which his father threatened him with) and starts rubbing himself on 강 국 like a little puppy. The actor does give us puppy dog vibes to begin with, so this just solidified his little doggy look.
Our least fav scene: We know this sounds messed up, but any scene with the girl, who we can tell is going to be the strain in the boys’ relationship, is just not for us. She just rubs us the wrong way. I mean she walks into her first scene a legit sneezes loudly not covering her mouth or anything. We outright cringed. Like hello, pandemic? And for real…it’s just basic manners and hygiene. #sorrynotsorry
2 화 : 동등한 관계 (dungdoonghan gwangae – equal partnership/relationship)
Now here is where the story starts to get interesting. And by interesting we do mean the plot thickens, but we also mean the tension builds even more between 강 국 and 내 주. After the incident with 내 주 grabbing the bully’s ear and 강 국 not having it, our two lead boys decide to have a sparring match to prove who really is the better fighter. And now all the fun juicy stuff our ‘hard stan’ BL hearts love takes front stage. 강 국 takes off his shirt to reveal a very sexy back (yeah no abs, we were a crushed but don’t worry we’re on the mend) and 내 주 even compliments his handsome frame. Who wouldn’t?! Boy has a nice backside.
We come to find our that내 주 gave that annoying girl, who honestly we don’t even know if we got her name or not…we don’t care, 강 국’s real phone number! UGH! The nerve of him. 강 국 is not impressed and doesn’t get why 내 주 had to step in and make that move for him. As they begin to spar, (this is where our hearts started to mend) we were trying to hold back our squeals at their heavy breathing, groans, and moans. It was a struggle. And not to mention they seemed to actually have some solid moves.
강 국’s phone keeps blowing up, (GIRL can you get the freakin picture?! He isn’t interested) and while distracted내 주 starts touching 강 국’s bare chest. *Cue the hallelujah chorus on this one* But to cover up the fact he was most likely enjoying the touch, 강 국 puts the hand in a back bend that ends up injuring our rich boy lead’s wrist.
Oh what a shame. NOT! Now our lovely 내 주 needs help doing the most basic of things. “Like what?” you maybe asking yourself. Oh…ya know…cooking…cleaning…showering.
Our bodies hit the floor, our souls were sent to outer space, and then the episode ended, our souls sky rocket back into our bodies, which sat up from the floor and proceed to punch our TV screens for doing us dirty like that.
OUR FAV SCENE: The sparring scene. Do we really need to explain ourselves? Pretty sure we did above.
Our cutest scene: The shower scene. It isn’t a sexual scene at all, like one might think from us freaking out over it. The way 강 국 takes care of 내 주 is sweet. The way he tenderly moves the shampooed hair from 내 주’s ears and softly scrubs at the boys scalp… let’s say our hearts pitter pattered. It was such a soft and gentle moment.
Our least favorite scene: Once again, any scene with this girl just…ugh. Her mother, who is our spirit animal, says to not interfere with the boys relationship. SHE CAN TELL THEY HAVE A RELATIONSHIP, and yet her daughter is like, “nah, they aren’t like that. I’m gonna pursue this dude who gave me a fake number, totally on accident, because he def likes me.” Beesh BYE!
If you want to watch the show yourself and see everything we talked about and more, the show is airing on Viki. Check it out. So far we have not been disappointed and neither will you. If you want to chat about the show feel free to reach out to us on Instagram (@koreanfromcontext) or Twitter (@koreanfrmcntxt). We would love to hear if you’ve started the show and what you think!
SOCIAL DISTANCING CONCERT! KCON-TACT 2020 SUMMER
With every concert for the foreseeable future getting postponed or even cancelled, a lot of fans are feeling the NCD (No Concert Depression) sinking in. And when K-con announced its cancellation of the NYC event, all hope was lost our in eyes here at Korean From Context. Not only just for seeing an unforgettable concert, but seeing our concert buddies, shopping the cool booths, and enjoying k-town with friends who are new to the NYC scene.
But KCON wouldn’t let a cancellation and social distancing stop them from providing fans some sort of concert experience. Pulling inspiration from groups like BTS, NCT, and others, who have been having viral concerts or even just all day binge-thons of their previously filmed tours, KCON came up with a way to take that idea and turn it into something more interactive.
KCON-TACT 2020 SUMMER is going to be a 7-day 24 hour event. Not only will they be streaming past KCON concerts, they will also be sharing new live performances from some of our favorite artists (TBA), behind the scenes videos, meet and greet sessions, influencer led panels, and so much more!
And what makes this event more worthwhile is the fact that a portion of the proceeds will be going to UNESCO’s Learning Never Stops campaign which is helping students around the world continue their education during these COVID times.
Mark your calendars for June 20-26th and get ready to scream “LET’S KCON” from the comfort of your own home.
Korean BL Drama? Finally!
While there have been some Korean BL movies, and there have been a TON of BL 만화, we’ve been dying to see a solid Korean BL series. Sure, there have been some dramas that have tossed a gay couple here or there into the plot line (The Lovers, Love With Flaws, Reply 1997) and we are talking tops one or two K-dramas that were specifically focusing of BL romances. Sadly, most of the major Korean BL stories don’t have happy endings.
But guess what? We finally have it. Yes, we finally have a Korean BL drama coming to our computer screens May 22, and with names we know and are excited to see on screen.
너의시 선이 머무는 곳에 (noweeshee sonee momoonoon gusae – Where your eyes linger) is the story of Tae Joo (played by Han Gi Chan), a young heir to his family’s company, and his body guard Goo Koo (played by Jang Eui Soo), who, while protecting Tae Joo, also becomes his friend and confidant. But that friendship becomes something more. While Goo Koo seems to be more aware of his feelings, they both seem scared to admit what the tension between them really is.
When we heard a Korean BL was coming we knew we were going to be excited. But when we heard a contestant of Produce 101 was going to be one of the leads we knew we had to watch. Now all we can pray for is that this has a happy ending.
We are hoping to cover this drama as it progresses but since it isnt’t released just yet, here are the two trailers they have dropped. This will be available on VIKI May 22nd.
My Tattoo from Jay Shin of Bang Bang Tattoo
I was considering never writing this article. It isn’t so much an article as it is a story time.
The reason I had no intention of writing this was mainly because I knew it would be hard for me to begin and while this is a place for happy fun times, I feel I can open up to you guys on slightly more personal things happening in my life. I mean I shared my wedding photos with you so…big life events, happy or sad, I feel can be told. And since we are in a time where a lot of people are facing hardships much worse than anything I could imagine, I decided to finally share this journey.
This story time popped back into my mind a couple of weeks ago. It was Osiris’s birthday. The first birthday she isn’t here to celebrate. Osiris is my kitty (고양이- goyangee- cat). Or, I should say, was my kitty. I remember the day I got her like it was yesterday…
We drove two hours to a shelter that only had ONE female kitten available for adoption.
My mom very agitated from the drive said, “This kitten better be the one.”
We were escorted into a room full of cats of all ages, shapes, and sizes. The woman pointed at a timid black fluff ball in the corner. The name was Teri at the time. I called her name and her head popped up. Big bright yellow eyes looked around, frightened. The woman handed me a treat to get her to come but she was nervous and didn’t move from her corner. A bunch of the other cats started coming up to me for the treat but it was for Teri. Me being a kid, who didn’t really get how animals handled people walking up to them, walked up to her and sat on the ground in front of her. She didn’t run away. She just stared at me and I at her. I reached my hand out and pet her head. She didn’t swat, or hiss. She closed her eyes and let me continue petting her.
The woman left the room leaving me with my mom and little Teri. I continued to pet her and when she still had no objections I stood up to grab some toys to try and get her to play with me. When I turned back around I saw she had jumped up on the counter to follow me. I laughed as anywhere I moved, she moved.
My mom left the room almost instantly to sign the papers. As I walked to the door to follow, Teri meowed. I turned back telling her I would be back. When I did come back, she was sat by the door waiting. I took her home and called her Osiris.
Osiris and I, 7 or 8 years ago. All my pictures with her as a kitten are legit film. Before the ‘instant’ age. Why am I telling you all of this? What is the point? You’re probably thinking, “I thought this was an article about a tattoo artist?”
Well because Osiris, my little baby kitty, after 16 years of being by my side, sadly got terminally ill and I had to put her down. Going to the vet and finding out she only had a few months to live was probably the worst day of my life. I decided to make her last months the best I could. But I also knew my life wouldn’t be the same once she was gone. I still sometimes think I see her coming down the stairs to greet me or feel her climbing onto the bed and curling up next to me.
I wanted to do something to remember her. To keep her at my side always.
I had been contemplating a new tattoo for a while, and when I found out about Osiris, I knew exactly what I wanted and I knew exactly who I wanted to do it.
Jay Shin of Bang Bang Tattoo.
I had been following Jay for a year or so on Instagram because I fell in love with his fine line work. He is a Korean American tattoo artist and what impressed me the most about his work was how talented he is at animal portraits.
I was sold on him. A day or two after Osiris passed, I emailed the company. I anxiously awaited a reply and when I got one, I was surprised to see I had to have Jay approve working with me. Luckily, he did.
Then I had to wait. Two whole months. Man is in high demand. Lol. And three days after Christmas, my husband and I ventured into NYC (I work in the city, my husband hates going in (he hates crowded places), but I convinced him with food. Lol) to get my Osiris memorial.
On the way there we actually ran into Ted Park shooting a music video and I def fangirled a bit, meanwhile my husband rolled his eyes asking if we could get a move on. We did. And we arrived at a building you wouldn’t even suspect held an amazingly gorgeous monochromatic, multi-level, tattoo studio inside.
Ted Park on the stoop with a group of dudes rapping his heart away. We checked in and waited patiently. Jay Shin walked over to us and I tried to keep my wits about me but then he spoke and I literally couldn’t form words. He walked us down to this luxurious waiting room where he sat next to me to explain his idea for the tattoo.
To be totally honest I was terrified. He had only drawn a rough sketch of her shaping and I wasn’t totally sold, but I trusted him. I had seen his work and Bang Bang doesn’t eff around when it comes to the talent of their artists. So I agreed to the design. He walked away saying he would be adding some final touches and then would be ready.
I laid down on what looked like a massage table, in the oddest position (of course I chose a weird angle to get my tattoo) and he placed the template making sure I was ok with the location, which I gave him the go ahead on and we were off!
I have gotten tattoos before and while there was a slight sting, they were never extremely painful. With fine line it was even less pain. In fact, it felt like he was drawing on me with a ball point pen. No pain whatsoever.
And in the four hours we spent together we talked. We talked about how long he had been a tattoo artist (close to seven years), about how my next tattoo was going to be in hangul (천천히 – chonchonhee – slowly) and why I liked the phrase (it ended up being one of his favorite things to say to his adorable daughter whom he face timed with during one of our breaks), and about travelling to Korea in general. We talked about why I was getting my tattoo and he offered his condolences. He was so sweet, and calm, that he kept me calm as my nerves continued to run rampant waiting to see the final product.
When I heard him say he was finished, I slowly sat up, my hip feeling like that of a ninety-year-old lady, and hobbled a bit to the mirror to see the final product.
the image he used to make Osiris come to life again I knew it would be emotional. I knew seeing my pretty little baby looking at me again would have me choke up. But the tears that started streaming down my face like a damn waterfall was not what I was expecting. I don’t think he was either. If anything, I think he might’ve been worried he did a bad job. My husband had to explain that I was happy, and it looked amazing. To me, it was like Jay Shin had brought her back to life for a second.
yes I was a hot mess after the whole situation. Ignore my face. lol. He took several pictures of the tattoo, and then air dropped it to me so I could have as well. We talked for a little while longer but he had another client coming in so we had to leave. I couldn’t stop bowing and thanking him for the amazing work he did. As we walked out I thought about the amazing experience I had with an amazing artist that I hope to one day see again and when we got home that night, I swear I felt Osiris climb on me as I slept telling me she approved.
