Today’s blog post and video is dedicated to Hyun Bin. Recently having been released from military service our beloved dude has not made a drama in years. Personally, I think he’s just waiting for the hype of ‘You Who Came From the Stars’ to die down a bit. Instead of a drama, he decided to [...]

In a couple of recent Korean Dramas, the storyline has the main characters getting a divorce and eventually getting back together. How close is this to actual reality in Korea? The actual data is kind of tricky, because actual divorce vs. people who separate like a divorce but don’t go through the official proceedings differs [...]

We’ve all been there ladies, haven’t we? Dramas sometimes make us emotional. They can totally affect our mood outside dramaland, or at least for me they sometimes can.   I’ll never forget the time when I was watching the Kdrama ‘Innocent Man’. I would curl up to watch it, usually late at night, and each [...]

If you are taking part of your summer break to come to Korea or just want to know a bit more about some of the neighborhoods to hang out in Korea, then I seriously recommend Myeongdong. It’s actually right in the heart of Seoul, and only 2 stops away from Seoul Station (on the light [...]

I admit, I waited for this video. I saw it the first day it came out. I watched it, then waited for Richard to come home from work, and that was part of our dinner conversation. For me, this video is clean humor about the reality that is the problem of overdrinking, being drunk and [...]

So you’re planning a trip to Korea this summer, but you’re not sure what to pack? DO NOT WORRY!!! WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED! ☺ If it’s your first trip to Korea, or Asia, or even overseas, it can be a bit overwhelming. I know how you feel. That was me in 2008, and Richard a [...]

We love Samgyupsal! For those who don’t know, it’s basically thick slabs of bacon. We don’t eat it that often, but when we do we feel like we’re being treated. It’s usually delicious everywhere you go, and it’s typically not that expensive. About two years ago we stumbled upon a restaurant that serves it that [...]

I’m so EXCITES about this new video segment! AAHHHHHHH you guyz I’ve been wanting to do a ‘Favorites’ video for months and now I’ve finally done it! I really REALLY want to know what you guyz think of it! ☺ I’m kind of amazed I actually got to film this one considering how busy I’ve [...]

OMG you guyz! I’m gonna be on TV!!! Television in the U.S. that is. ☺ Tuesday, June 3rd 2014 at 7pm in America I’m going to be on the TV show ‘K-style’ on the channel Mnet America. How cool is that? Mnet America contacted me while my father was visiting funny enough, and asked me [...]

As soon as we saw this question, we knew we wanted to answer it. We filmed this video yesterday, and the question came in probably less than an hour before we were actually filming. THAT ALMOST NEVER HAPPENS!!!!! Usually we’ll mull different questions and topics over for several days before choosing one and filming. But [...]

Hey everyone! Richard here. While Stephanie sits behind me pounding away on her laptop to finish one of her big end of the year assignments for grad school, you’re left with me to write up this blog. Rare indeed, I know. Tell me about it. ☺ But fear not, I do have a fun video [...]

A bunch of the drama videos I make are about the new dramas that are coming out. You know, the ones that you should TOTALLY check out! ..Or maybe not. You know, because it’s new. It’s exciting! It’s popular to want to see the new stuff, the freshest dramas, the newest faces.   And one [...]

By now, for those of you who follow our blog probably know that I like Korean dramas. I think that’s a pretty fair statement. One thing I don’t really talk about a lot is Korean reality shows. I believe I’ve talked about ‘We’ve Got Married’ before. I’ve made references to the Sauna talk show (which [...]

This week’s question is another one on body image, cuz I guess you guyz really want to know about that stuff! Frankly speaking, first thing’s first. Whoever you are, whatever your body shape is, learn to embrace your body! Enough with this fat shaming thin shaming business. I read just today about a new Korean [...]

Korean dramas this month are all about LOVE and REVENGE.. sort of. And frankly, I’m kind of excited about them! There’s only 5 dramas that I know of coming in June, at least by the day we uploaded this video. One of the ones I’m looking most forward to is King of High School Life [...]

Another new Korean drama that came out this month is Triangle! At least from my perspective, it seems more like a drama for guys, or a drama for girls who like to watch guys in dramas. ☺ Main attraction of this Korean drama: Siwon. His smexiness was recently in Reply 1997, and he’s also from [...]

We’ve been getting the question about racism in Korea for a long time. Then, in last week’s video Richard mentioned that he thought Koreans are more concerned about race than they are about size when it comes to foreigners in Korea. This brought an onslaught of requests for us to talk about race and racism [...]

A couple weeks ago I saw Joo Won was cast in the Korean remake of Nodame Cantabile! I immediately tweeted about it. Nodame Cantabile is one of my favorite Japanese stories. I’ve seen the anime, watched the dramas, including all the bonus chapter movies, and have highly recommended it to all my highly musically inclined [...]

You’re All Surrounded was one of the most anticipated dramas for spring this year! Personally, I was anticipating it so much that I talk about it in my New Korean Dramas in both April AND May. I think the biggest reason I was looking forward to it is because it has some really great stars [...]

Spring has fully May-ed its way to Korea (you see what I did there?!?!) and along with it comes the flowers, the need for yellow umbrellas and a whole new crop of dramas. While I must admit, I really loved how this year started of in Korean dramaland, they’re all finished – and though I [...]

South Korea seems to be known for its slender, slim people. At least my father sure seemed to think so when he visited just a few weeks back. And I think to most casual observers this place is pretty much full of thin people. How accurate is this really? We’ve covered delicate issues before on [...]

The North – South Korean DMZ used to be one of the most popular places that travelers to South Korea would visit. Is it today? I have no idea. Seriously I don’t. But my dad helped put it in perspective during his visit here. He told us that, when someone would mention ‘Korea’ or ‘South [...]

Do you know what’s crazy? That my first So Ji Sub drama was actually Master’s Sun. HOW DID I NOT WATCH THIS SMEXY MAN OVER AND OVER IN DRAMAS BEFORE THIS? That’s insanity. Now Gong Hyo Jin on the other hand, I’ve seen her before. I like her work. I especially liked her in Pasta, [...]

One of the hardest decisions we’ve ever had to make about a video was whether or not we were going to talk about the Korean Ferry Boat accident which occurred on April 16th, 2014. Some background first to what our own experience has been like here in Korea. The day before the accident, my father [...]

May is officially here in all of its glory! So far in Korea that means rain and sadness, particularly so as the country mourns and tries to recover from the tragic sinking of the Sewol and the less tragic but still scary subway train collision that happened all of like today.. or yesterday.. wait, what [...]

There’s no way I was going to let my dad come all the way to Korea and not let him get a chance to see and explore beautiful Soraksan National Park. To describe this place properly for people who have never stepped foot in Korea, it’s the nicest National Park going here. It’s a must [...]

What can you get for $30 US in Korea? A super clean hotel room with a comfy bed, a kitchenette and a balcony overlooking the ocean!!! You could say my father got the primo treatment while visiting Korea. Last week we were traveling around Korea with my father while he was here. We took him [...]

I feel like I should have more to say about this one to make it a legitimate blog post.. but I haven’t seen it yet! I do know the premise of the story, because I talked about it in my Top 5 New Kdramas of April. I ranked it number 7 out of the 7 [...]

If you’ve ever been to Busan, then I’m sure you know how beautiful it is there. First off, it’s a place with the most popular beaches in Korea! Also the weather is usually nice, there’s lots of great seafood restaurants, and there’s always something fun to get into. That’s why we decided to take my [...]

Going to the movies for Koreans is like a national pastime for young people. Ask any random teenager or 20-something what they like to do in their spare time and they’ll most likely answer ‘go to the movies’. What is one of the most common places to go on a date? Surprise surprise: it’s the [...]

I’ve been living in Suwon over 5 years, and I’ve NEVER been to this palace!!! Umm.. that’s craziness, ESPECIALLY for someone like me who loves princes and princesses and fantasy and all that. And to add insult to injury, a WHOLE BUNCH of Korean dramas have been filmed here as well. But you know what [...]

When my father came to Korea, I knew one of the first places he had to see was Seoul. He said it himself today in the car: The two things he thinks of when the word Korea is mentioned to him are Seoul, and the DMZ. I know that may be different than what some [...]

Hotel King is one of the more highly anticipated dramas of 2014, and was the one that was suppose to follow up You Who Came From The Stars. It features Lee Da Hye and Lee Dong Wook reuniting for the first time on the small screen since 2005’s ‘My Girl’, which is one of the [...]

Neither of us are transgender, nor have we met anyone here who has openly admitted to us that they are. Also, for fairly obvious reasons, this is not a topic that’s so easy to talk about, especially if you’re talking about Korea. Reason being, there’s just not that much information out there on this subject. [...]

If you could create your PERFECT DRAMA, what would it look like? Would it be a love story? Or would it be a melodrama? Who would be the main characters that make up the love triangle? Or, would it be a square.. or a quadrilateral? What time period would it be set in? Is it [...]

OMG FINALLY!!! I love Empress Ki. It’s the longest drama that I’ve ever seen and considering it’s one of the only historical dramas I’ve seen it’s pretty impressive! It’s actually totally getting me on a Korean history kick and I’ve been researching all about Korean history ever since. Anyways, I really wanted to talk about [...]

I never thought we’d be making a LIKE IT on this subject, but when I was reading through my Tumblr messages the other day, I came across this question and thought ‘You know, maybe it’s time to talk about toilets in this country.’ Toilets are an important thing! And public bathroom situations are different everywhere [...]

PLEASE DON’T GOOOOO!!!!! ANY OF YOU!! For those of you who are new to the Korean drama entertainment world, or the life of Korean guys in general, South Korea has a mandatory 2 year military service requirement for ALL Korean men.   Now, there are exemptions out there, but they are rare (like for example, [...]

I’ve been going into a lot of Korean makeup stores lately and just looking around. While I haven’t always been a big fan of or user of Korean makeup, early on during my time in Korea, I succumbed to the Korean face mask. Maybe it’s because I saw it in so many dramas, including the [...]

First I have to clarify: I finished Inspiring Generation!! When I recorded this video just a few days ago I hadn’t yet seen the last episode. When you watch you’ll see what I mean right away! ☺ I had pretty low expectations going into this one, which is probably partially why I liked it so [...]

If you’ve ever been interested in traveling to visit Korea but haven’t yet bought the airplane ticket or reserved the hotel room, then you might want to check out this video! It’s not easy to travel overseas for some people us. The mystery of leaving what is comfortable, hopping on a plane, traveling what could [...]

The other day was my mom’s birthday, which usually would just be another day for most people. But for me, it marked 5 years that I haven’t been able to call my mom and wish her a happy birthday since her death. Needless to say, I wasn’t in the most positive and lighthearted spirits, let [...]

The other day I was walking through various cosmetic shops because I ran out of the BB cream that I use and I decided to stop into The Face Shop to see what I could find. For those of you who are not so familiar with Korean cosmetics, it’s a makeup, skincare, body and bath [...]

One of those dramas I thought I would watch one episode and never actually watch the rest of it, but went on to finish the ENTIRE DRAMA was I Need Romance 3. To me, it was the stigma about the name was the initial turn off. Who says that? Of course I’m sure most of [...]

Could it be possible that the Korean Drama You Who Came From The Stars was more popular in China than it actually was in Korea? It was so popular in China that it’s been viewed online some 14.5 billion times already. That’s billion with a ‘B’!!! And according to this Buzz Feed article some pretty [...]

I can’t believe I made this video! This HAS TO BE the most girly video I’ve ever made since it’s talking about feminine hygiene products. But it was requested and we had never made anything even close to a video like this. And it’s funny too, because I just watched the video before writing this, [...]

I love trying new snakcs in Korea! Honestly, I’ve been here a bunch of years now, and there are still a WHOLE LOTTA THINGS I haven’t tried yet! Do today I’m trying one of the most popular street foods in Korean – that’s been made into a snack! Dokboki (also spelled like this ) is [...]

We all know You Who Came From The Stars was a smash hit in Kdramaland! But whatever happened to Heirs? Of course it was the #2 fan voted Korean drama of 2013 by you guyz, but somehow it already exists in the shadow of Kim Soo Hyun and alien hype. I wonder if it had [...]

What could be more fun than a Jenga Truth or Dare challenge with Megan aka Chonunmigooksaram on YouTube! Recently I was out shopping for something and came upon I saw a box of Jenga tiles in the store. I thought ‘Wow, I haven’t played this game in a minute. Let me buy that!’ And good [...]

I’ll never forget my first experience in a cell phone shop right after I had arrived to Korea. One of the guys started to help me but the rest of them weren’t occupied with any customers. They were all gathered in the back corner. I watched them all pull out their mirrors and begin to [...]

For those of you who have been watching my videos for a while, you may recognize my friend Seung Hee. One of my oldest friends here, she was the secretary at the college where I used to teach at 4 years ago! I have always thought that she was really pretty and her makeup, while [...]

I’ve been wanting to make a video about Korean food for a long time, but I always keep forgetting about it or it gets put on the backburner.   But recently I’ve started to become interested in a lot of different blog or website posts about the best foods from different countries. In fact just [...]

We are starting a new weekly series everyone! YAYYYYY for new video segments! In brainstorming ideas for new videos, Richard and I both decided that we are just surrounded by too many items in Korea not to share them with you. By now having both lived here over 5 years, so many products that we [...]

I’m still stuck on You Who Came From The Stars, as is evident by this photo from as recent as yesterday eating chicken and beer with the hubz. I’m so happy that this drama came out and that Kim Soo Hyun blew up in popularity! This man has so much going for him. He can [...]

When I first came to Korea, I thought I was gonna see Gong Yoo on the streets! Or, that all Korean guys would look like Gong Yoo and all Korean girls would look like Yoon Eun Hye. That was a bit unrealistic! Fortunately and unfortunately, I’ve only been able to see Gong Yoo on advertisements. [...]

April is always a special month for me. In the northern hemisphere it signifies the beginning of spring. Growing up in the USA, I can’t begin to count the number of times I heard the old adage: April Showers bring May flowers. Well, that may be true, and I will likely be seriously busting out [...]

I love T-shirts! Patterned T-shirts, band t-shirts.. Heck, I love pretty much all cool t-shirts, especially now that I’m a student and I can wear them to class anytime I want! So, I was super excited when we got contacted by Carrie at Robot Luv who wanted me to check out her brand. You guyz, [...]

Kim Soo Hyun is SUCH A CUTIE!!! He’s also the currently the ‘IT’ guy in Korea, and maybe even in all of Asia. If you’re reading this, and you’re a fan of Korean dramas, there is virtually no way by now that you haven’t heard of this guy. He’s out of this world.. literally! Kkk [...]

The Jimjilbang (찜질방), the sauna, the bath house.. it’s known by many names and chances are, if you’ve never grown up with them the whole experience may be a bit intimidating.  After moving to Korea, it took me years to work up the courage to go into one, despite having friends rant and rave about [...]

Stephanie is one of my inspirations, no doubt about it! This is true for so many reasons I probably couldn’t even count them all. For instance, Hallyu Back started when she was still only 25 years old, and since then I’ve watched her work her butt off. Me at 25? I was living in California [...]

Right now I’m still waiting to get more information about new dramas coming out in April. (Stay tuned!) So, while thinking about what to film this week, Richard suggested that I talk about Romantic comedies. Of course I jumped on this because I LOVE ROMANTIC COMEDIES!!! Ahh… It’s one of my favorite genres (if not [...]

Hey guyz! LIVE CHAT #10 is scheduled for Saturday March 8th 2014 at 11pm Korean time!!! I’ve been in South Korea now officially for 5 years and been doing Kdrama, Jdrama and TWdrama reviews for less than 2. Let’s celebrate and hang out together for this exciting occasion! ^^ #dramatalk! TWEET THIS LIVE CHAT! ► [...]

Ever since You Who Came From The Stars started, I’ve been getting requests to give my opinion on it. Now that it’s said and done, those requests believe it or not have actually increased. And.. well….. I’ve watched the entire drama, so I thought ‘Why not’?!?   Since I’ve begun using Tumblr for Hallyu back, [...]

Kissing is an activity like any other: the more you practice the better you become at it, right? That’s what I like to think anyways. ☺ When we first got this question, I thought how am I ever possibly going to answer this one. Because frankly: I’ve never kissed a Korean guy! And, most girls [...]

One thing that tends to come up a lot in conversations about dramas is that a majority of drama watchers are girls. And, a lot of guyz (or non-drama watchers that is) seem to have this wrong opinion that dramas are ALL like soap operas. You know, like the cheezy afternoon soap operas in the [...]

Hey everyone!! Richard here. While taking a walk to Suwon Station to do some small shopping I addressed a set of questions and comments we get A LOT! What are the qualifications to an English teaching job in Korea? What are other jobs besides English teaching that are available in South Korea? What is it [...]

For anyone who is familiar with Korea, you probably have heard of the comic ‘My Korean Husband’. While I myself have never been with a Korean guy, I can still understand and find humor in her comics because of my Korean guy friends. The comics they make are about the cultural differences and quirks that [...]

Hey guyz! Live from Korea LIVE CHAT #9 #dramatalk is scheduled for Sunday Feb. 23rd 2014 at 1pm Korean time!!! For this LIVE CHAT I have a special guest joining me in the Hallyu Back household: Nichola from ‘My Korean Husband’! She’s an Asian Drama fan just like me! This is gonna be so much [...]

This was a controversial one to answer, although I think that we can answer it fairly well. Both of us have lived in multiple countries and have traveled even more, so we do have experience in other places to compare this place to. My instinctive response to the questions: ‘Is it safe in Korea?’ is [...]

It’s Valentine’s Day! Woot! ^^ But it’s also Friday! Woot WOOT! And realizing that we are half way through the month of February makes me all too aware of how quickly March and the new school semester is coming up. But that also means new dramas!   I’m kind of thankful that this month doesn’t [...]

Valentines’ Day is coming up quickly and I’ve noticed that chocolate has practically exploded in the different stores around our home in Korea for the holiday. Korea and Japan have their own unique way of celebrating Valentine’s Day that you may have seen in manga/manhwa, anime and dramas. If you’re not familiar with it, let [...]

Hey everyone! Richard here. When Mr. Popo TV was here in Korea we had the opportunity to shoot two videos with him! The first was a Korean Snack Food Challenge that he and Steph did together. That was a lot of fun! He actually guessed some of his mystery snacks correctly, and got introduced to [...]

If you live here in Korea or come to visit, it’s just not very common to see young pregnant women, especially if they are in high school. Why is this? There are a number of reasons we think might contribute to such low pregnancy rates amongst teenage girls here. This is a topic that is [...]

Hey guyz! LIVE CHAT #8 is scheduled for Sunday Feb. 2nd 2014 at 1pm Korean time!!! A whole lotta new Korean Dramas in 2014 to make a fuss about! Jdramas too! Let’s hang out and CHAT about it! ^^ #dramatalk!

Excited for Kdramas in February! YAY!!! It’s Lunar New Years here in Korea, and everyone is celebrating with their family and loved ones. Personally, because my family (besides Maki and Richard!) are so far away, I’m sitting at home watching dramas, as well as Tweeting, Tumbling and the like. If you follow my Twitter or [...]

When I first started doing Top 5’s for HallyuBack, I started thinking about all of the lists that I could make that people would be interested in. Naturally, ranking my favorite Korean actors was one of the first things that came to mind. These guys with their smoldering good looks, chiseled abs, cheeky grins, shampoo [...]

I didn’t want to do this ‘LIKE IT’. In fact, I really didn’t want to do this LIKE IT because it’s such a controversial topic that affects so many people. But because of that, I knew that we had to cover it. I feel in some ways that my job as a woman, as a [...]

I had the honor of hanging out with one of the coolest Kpop vloggers yesterday: Mr. Popo for MrPopoTV fame on YouTube! When I heard he was coming I had Richard contact him to see if we could possibly meet up. He said yes of course, and we scheduled a special 2 hour LIVE CHAT [...]

If you didn’t know, I recently started daily vlogging Monday – Thursday on the bonus channel for the new year while I’m on vacation.  That means until March you’ve got an inside look into my life, what it’s like to live in Korea and the like.  In turn, I get to try out some concepts [...]

Are men in Korea overly feminine? First and foremost I gotta say I think we are doing a great disservice to men when we say they are dressing feminine.. though I like the question. Traditionally we come from cultures where the roles of men and women were extremely different. Girls wore dresses all the time [...]

LIVE CHAT is on at 2pm Korean time today! YAY!!

LIVE CHAT is on at 2pm Korean time today! YAY!!

It’s 2014!!! And with a new year and a new month you now what that means: New Korean dramas for ALL OF US!!!!!   I gotta say, overall, I’m not as particularly hyped about these dramas as I am about the ones I’m currently watching. But there are some actors that are drawing my attention, [...]

Happy New Year everyone! LIVE CHAT #6 is scheduled for Friday Jan. 3rd, 2014 at 11pm Korean time!!! It’s a new year with tons of potential! Let’s start it off right talking dramas and hanging out! ^^ #dramatalk!

Happy New Years All! I really wanted to get this last video in before the end of 2013, especially because it’s another one all about KISSING! Back home in Pennsylvania we always made it a special day with a shrimp/snow crab leg dinner and sparkling cider (since growing up my parents didn’t drink). We all [...]

About half way thru the year I made a ‘Best Korean Drama Kisses of 2013 so far’ video that was so popular with you guys that I decided to make another Best of 2013 Kdrama Kisses video! And this one is a doozy!   I almost wish I had done it ballot poll style like [...]

It’s time for the holidays! That means perfect drama watching time for almost everyone! ^^ Whether you’re a student who has just finished up right before winter break, or someone who’s busy cooking for holiday parties.. or just trying to avoid your family, this is a great time of year to indulge in some drama [...]

Romance in Korea rings about as positive and heart-thumpingly true as anywhere on the planet! Koreans have some of the most unique and fun holidays any place you check! One day each month out of the year a day is dedicated to a couple’s romance. Okay.. so what if they are manufactured. They still are [...]

We love the holiday season! This is the time of year that, no matter where we are we make sure we take time out to relax, enjoy each other’s company and thank our lucky stars for all that we have in life. It’s true. We really are fortunate when it comes to the lives we [...]

Hey guyz! LIVE CHAT #5 is scheduled for Sunday Dec. 15th, 2013 at 2pm Korean time!!! I am so looking forward t this LIVE CHAT for no other reason than I need a break from the end of the semester onslaught of assignments due! (I actually think I’ll be finishing up papers and presentation prep [...]

I really liked today’s topic. So often Richard and I get the feeling that this world is a place full of dark and evil things. And, to be 100% honest, it is. But it is also filled with wonderfully awesome people like Taylor Loves Squirrels who want to know about random acts of kindness and [...]

This has to be one of the most, if not THE MOST sincere and heartfelt videos I’ve ever been a part of. I’ve always loved cats. Growing up, cats have always been a part of my life. We had two cats run away when I was 3. Then when I was about 5 until the [...]

For this week’s LIKE IT we answer a question I’m sure some of you are dying to know: Are Korean dramas anything at all like real life in Korea? Since this was the type of question that we could get creative with, we decided to shoot some short skits to help illustrate specifically what we [...]

I have a total girl crush on Ha Ji Won. Maybe it’s because she’s totally beautiful or that she can kick-ass like no other girl in Korean dramas. It probably has something to do with the fact that she does her own stunts and that every drama that she’s done since Damo in 2003 has [...]

This topic is obviously one that I consider on a daily basis being a woman living in Korea. When I first came to Korea to live back I 2009, I realized right away what a commodity I was as a blonde, white women working in the Korean education industry because that’s the ideal. The private [...]

Wow guys, we have almost made it through the entire year!!! And with that I’ve got a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT for all you Hallyu Back dramas fans out there: You get to decide on and vote for your favorite dramas of 2013!!!   Here is how it will work: For each of the three (3) ballot [...]

Anyone who is interested in Korea knows that Korea has a unique sense of style. Now that its November and the weather is beginning to turn, it’s getting colder. This of course affects fashion.. unless you’re a fashionable Kpop star in a music video. Somehow they managed to do tank tops, bare mid-drifts and mini [...]

We ate Jim Dak! ( 찜닭 ) This was the scenario: It was last Sat. afternoon and I had invited my friends Seung Hee and Gi Yeon over to the house to film two videos about Korean Dramas and Korean Fashion Police of November. I used to work with Seung Hee at Suwon Science College [...]

Don’t let the title fool you! WE ARE NOT PREGNANT!!! We decided to discuss this topic with each other while the camera was rolling because we get asked this question often. Actually A LOT. It’s not just fans that ask, but family and friends as well. We were home this summer and got asked this [...]