San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
California Streamin’: Korean drama series you can watch now.
If you’re searching for some dramas that will turn your brain inside out, aim your streaming device at South Korea.
The incredible variety of stories that have become available to American audiences through streaming services lately often focus on uncanny and wonderful realities living side by side with ours. Some are funny, some are horrifying, but all of them invite viewers to step through the proverbial looking glass of the American experience into a different type of world.
Here are five series that will take you someplace you’ve never been before, in order from least to most mindblowing.
“Kingdom” (2019): Are you looking at that “Game of Thrones” box set you regret buying and thinking about a rewatch? Consider bingewatching “Kingdom” instead. Set in the 16th century after the Imjin War, the country is ravaged by a new plague that resurrects the dead. Crown Prince Lee Chang ( Ju Jihoon) is forced to deal with the zombie invasion, even as his own royal guard begins to question his leadership. First of all, “Train to Busan” and “#Alive” already cemented my opinion that only Korea should be allowed to make zombie movies for a while. Combining their mastery of the subgenre with a high court drama full of sword fights and sorcery takes the series to the next level. It’s instantly engaging and probably the best fantasy horror in 50 years.
The show has not been renewed for a third season yet, but a special episode called “Ashin of the North” is set to premiere in the meantime on Friday, July 23.
Watch it: Available to stream on Netflix.
“Mystic Popup Bar” (2020): Weolju (Hwang Jungeum) was a successful “dream catcher” shaman who ran afoul of the royal family 500 years ago. After hanging herself on a sacred tree, she is sentenced to finding and liberating 100,000 people by invading their dreams to fix their problems. With time running out on her quest, imposed by the afterlife judges, she sets up a magical moving bar in presentday Seoul to attract customers, joining forces with an awkward empath (Yook Sungjae) and a jaded former ghost hunter (Choi Wonyoung).
Part slapstick comedy and part heartwrenching drama, “Mystic Popup Bar” might be the best Korean show ever. Hwang is a joy to watch as a longsuffering servant of humanity. Yook brings heart to the series with his ability to get people to open up to him about their deepest desires just by touching them, making him the avatar of every reluctant good listener on the planet. The dream sequences are hilarious, with Weolju wreaking merry havoc on a variety of creeps and jerks, while also finding bits of humanity to still love.
Watch it: Available to stream on Netflix. “Stranger From Hell” (2019): Also known as “Hell is Other People,” this is one of the scarier Korean dramas out there. Yoon Jong Woo (Siwan) moves to Seoul for work, but because he’s broke, he ends up living in a rundown dormitory called Eden Studios. Slowly, mysterious things start to happen around him.
It’s very hard to talk about “Stranger From Hell” without giving away important plot points. The show does an incredible job of building up each character so that the revelation of their dark secrets is perfectly earned. Siwan turns in an absolutely jawdropping performance that will have the audience secondguessing whether he is a hero or a monster, and the cinematography creates horrible, claustrophobic moments that elicit real dread. It’s a bit of a slow burn at first, but it’s all in the name of building the necessary tension. “Stranger From Hell” requires a lot of patience, but it will pay you back by scaring the pants off of you.
Watch it: Available to stream on Netflix.
“Black” (2017): “Black” breathes new life into the police drama genre thanks to its inventive premise. Han Moogang (Song Seungheon) is a grim reaper who joins the police as part of his quest to track down a former partner. However, he quickly realizes that there is a cold case he might be able to solve in his civilian guise.
This is another series where you have to wait out a slow beginning, but once the twisting plot picks up, the show becomes a beautiful labyrinth to solve. Between the mystic elements of the grim reaper system and the standard police procedural tropes, the series offers a new kind of urban fantasy that can give any American attempt a run for its money. Despite its grim setting, Song has a quick, sarcastic wit that gives the show some lighter, comedic moments. Even if you’re utterly sick of the detective genre, “Black” has something new to offer.
Watch it: Available to stream on Netflix.
“Strong Woman: Do Bong Soon” (2017): Because Netflix shouldn’t get all the love here, check out “Strong Woman: Do Bong Soon” on the Viki streaming platform. Park Bo Young stars as the titular character, a woman whose family has legendary superstrength, as long as they use their powers for good. Despite her gifts, Do hopes to one day live out her dream of being a video game developer. But when the head of a game company witnesses Do using her abilities, he hires her as a personal bodyguard to protect him against hidden enemies.
There’s a big gangster subplot that is somewhat dull, but the real power of the series comes from the adorable puppy love between various characters. Everything is so unrelentingly cute that if it weren’t so welldone, it might make you want to throw up. It’s like a “Sweet Valley High” novel, except one of the characters is the Hulk. This is that wholesome content that you ordered, and you will feel at least 20% sunnier for having watched it.
Watch it: Available to stream on Viki.