By Joshua Kim

A Lucky Day (운수 좋은 날) is a short story written by Hyun Jin-geon in 1924. Hyun was a pioneer of realism in Korean literature and frequently wrote about life in Korea during the Japanese occupation. He even was imprisoned while working at a newspaper after erasing the Japanese flag from the uniform of Korean marathoner Sohn Kee-chung, who won gold at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympic Games.

A Lucky Day (which can be read here) is set during the Japanese occupation of Korea and follows a rickshaw puller named Kim, who is struggling to make a living for his sick wife, himself, and his baby. On the day the story takes place, Kim is fortunate enough to have an unusually profitable day, earning more money than he typically would. However, his sense of joy is marred by the knowledge that his wife is gravely ill.

Throughout the day, Kim is torn between the excitement of his unexpected earnings and his concern for his wife. He drinks to drown his worries, convincing himself that the money will help his wife recover. Tragically, when he returns home, he discovers that his wife has passed away while he was out working. 

By Sharon Stern

There is so much happening in Dramaland this month that you might want to consider sleeping as optional.  We are spotlighting dramas that are set during Japanese occupation through liberation this month, honoring National Liberation Day.  There are a number of very good movies set in the same time period that we will list as well.  However, the list of new K-dramas coming out in August is incredible (and long) and we will link to a list of those, simply because of space.  Get out the highly caffeinated beverage of your choice and tuck in for excellent viewing, both new and old.

Just because you don’t subscribe to every streaming service, that does not mean you cannot see a drama or movie you are interested in.  Most of the streaming services offer free trials.  Most can be subscribed to for a single month.  Many offer free content.  We are only listing dramas and movies currently accessible in the US via streaming services.

The period of Japanese occupation was extremely difficult for Korea and Koreans, as you well know.  These dramas and movies deal with some traumatic subjects.  The movies listed deal with difficult subjects more directly and intensely than the dramas do, but the dramas have some very powerful scenes as well.  If you have trigger issues, watch the trailers or look for more information on Wikipedia or elsewhere before going all in.  This history is very important for us to know and not forget.

To see a list of Liberation era dramas and movies, find links to actors and trailers, visit our blog post.

To find a list of dramas that have come out in August, visit the link above or click here

By Sharon Stern

There are a large number of dramas of all types dropping this month.  There are several more that will begin in Korea, but don’t have a streaming connection in the U.S. yet.