Why ‘Hyori’s Bed and Breakfast’ is a must-watch
ONE of the shows on Netflix that I keep going back to is Hyori’s Bed and Breakfast or Hyori’s Homestay. As far as Korean shows are concerned, it’s on my Top 10 list. The variety show (a term that encompasses a Korean TV show that’s not a drama) is centered around singer Lee Hyo-ri, a first generation idol, and her husband Lee Sang-soon and their beautiful home in Jeju Island, which they turned into a bed and breakfast for purposes of the show.
The first season opens with the couple tidying their house, wondering if the show will work. The house is like a modern farmhouse built from wood and stone. The house, which has a high ceiling, is situated in a sprawling compound.
“Everything is so open in this house,” Lee Sangsoon tells his wife in the first episode.
Except for the gate and front and back doors, the house has an open layout. There are no bedrooms. There’s a second floor where the couple sleeps. There’s a washroom and shower room without any doors.
Even the closets are open, some of them hidden from view by curtains.
The first floor washroom is also open and so is the one in the studio where Hyo-ri and Sang-soon sleep when the house is full.
The couple has a computer room on the first floor so they turn that, with the help if curtains, into a makeshift room.
Hyo-ri and Sang-soon, a musician and DJ, are semi-retired in Jeju Island. They live a life that’s my retirement goal and this is one of the reasons why I love the show so much.
One more thing that makes the show special for me is that the house seems to be part of the scenery. It does not stand out but looks so natural being there.
I know the show, like most reality shows, are heavily edited to suit the aesthetic and feel sought by the producers and creators but it’s still a feel-good show.
Another thing I love about the show is the guests at the “bed and breakfast” and their stories. My favorites are the three siblings from Season 1 and the engaged couple from Season 2. I love how the man, who doesn’t seem like the romantic type, describes his fiancé like she is the most beautiful person in the universe.
I won’t go further about the guests and how the show runs so anyone who wants to watch it can. If you’re a fan of IU, Yoon-ah of Girls Generation and/or Park Bo-gum, they’re in the show as staff members. To be honest, I love the first season more than the second but both are very relaxing to watch.
There are two seasons of the show on Netflix. I had hoped for a third season but it seems that it’s not possible anymore. Hyo-ri and Sang-soon have sold the house to JTBC after their privacy was invaded by people who continually rang the doorbell and even entered the property.
Meanwhile, the two seasons of Hyori’s Bed and Breakfast are still on Netflix so you can catch it there.
Also, Hyori’s Bed and Breakfast is a good way to see the beauty of nature without going to Jeju Island. Now that we’re not allowed to travel, watching the variety show again brings me to Jeju Island even if I have never been there and will not likely be there anytime soon.
Other shows I’m watching right now on Netflix are Record of Youth, Private Lives, Start-up and Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol. Of the four, the last two seem promising although the first two aren’t too bad. Of course, Record of Youth stars Park Bo-gum in what is his last drama before he enlisted in the military.
Also, this is not a press release from Netflix. These are my thoughts about what I’ve been watching. I have never been the sort to binge watch or spend my hours on Netflix but almost a year into quarantine, watching Korean variety shows and dramas somehow keeps me calm when I am anxious.