안녕! It’s Ari, your talkative Korean friend and weekend reminder 🎉 Today’s newsletter is about a chicken recipe for your Netflix night, Korean reality dating shows, and how to say “I don’t like ~” in two ways. Let’s start!
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😋 New Netflix Series, Dakgangjeong
Today’s food recommendation is inspired by an upcoming K-Drama Netflix series, Dakgangjeong, the same name with today’s food. The webtoon-based series is about a dad searching for his daughter who somehow and mysteriously got turned into a dakgangjeong, sweet & spicy Korean fried chicken. You read it right 🙃😱 While you’re waiting for the release of the new series, try cooking this chicken for yourself! Dakgangjeong or 닭강정 in Korean (닭 means “chicken”) is similar with yangnyeom chicken, but the former is smaller (bite-sized) and boneless. It tastes sweet, spicy, and crispy. It’ll make a perfect snack for your Netflix night :D
If you’re a vegetarian, replace chicken with tofu. It’ll still be delicious!
👀 Everyone's Watching Reality Dating Shows
What if you get cast on a reality dating show with your ex? 😱 What if it’s not a coincidence, but a casting requirement? EXchange or 환승연애, the hottest reality dating show in South Korea, is about broken-up couples who look for reuniting or a new love. All participants are couples who already broke up and, at first, who is the ex of whom is not revealed. As they live together in a house, they get to know each other. Viewers guess who is the ex of whom while watching the show. After a while, the secret is revealed and it affects the relationships of the participants. And viewers pick a side between “I want them reunited!” and “I want this participant to find a new love!” At the end of the show, participants decide between their ex and a new love.
The second season of EXchange is on air right now and almost everyone on the Korean Internet is talking about it. To the degree that I feel FOMO for not watching The show’s first season was a success too, so similar dating shows were followed. Among them, First Love, Again features a group of singles inviting their first love to stay at a house together with other participants. The former couples spend time together and walk down memory lane, exploring lingering feelings toward each other, while also opening up for potential new romances with other participants in the house, according to The Korea Times.
EXchange and First Love, Again are among many reality dating shows that have been on air for the past recent years. The first big-hit dating show is Heart Signal which started in 2017. It was a normal? reality dating show with singles trying to find a new love while living together at a house. There’s a group of celebrities watching them and guessing who likes whom, which is a similar format with Terrace House on Netflix. The show was a huge success and it lasted till the third season in 2020. Some participants of the show became celebrities. It gave birth to so many other similar shows.
Now reality dating shows are evolving. Recently, His Man, the first-ever reality gay dating show, ended with two couples matched. One upcoming and controversial dating show is Sleeping Only. Actually, there’s no English title yet, its Korean title is 잠만 자는 사이 and it can be translated as two different meanings with “two people who only have sex” and “two people who only sleep together (no sex).” The show is about singles who get to have a date with a stranger from 6 pm to 6 am. Its trailer 👆 shows participants sleep together in a bed 🫣 It’ll start on October 14th on Wavve, a Korean streaming service.
😐 Learn Korean With Ari
Actually, I’m not a big fan of reality dating shows. They make me cringe and I’m not good at handling cringe feelings 🫠 I don’t watch them so I had to ask my friends who love them to write my newsletter. Today’s Korean lesson is inspired by me who don’t really like dating shows. Let’s learn how to say “I don’t like ~” in two ways.
연애 예능 안 좋아해요. I don’t like reality dating shows. (direct & kind of blunt)
연애 예능 별로 안 좋아해요. I don’t really like reality dating shows. (indirect & soft)
Like the above sentences, say a thing or person you don’t like first and then say 안 좋아해요 (I don’t like). It’s simple, right? And when you don’t want to sound direct or blunt, add this magic word, 별로 meaning “really, especially.” Koreans use this word a lot when we want to say “I don’t like ~” in a softer or politer way. This word would be especially useful when you’re talking to a person who really likes something you don’t like;
Assignment (Level 🍰🍰)
Make three Korean sentences telling me whether you like the followings or not: 한국 드라마 (K-Dramas), 비오는 날 (rainy days), and 공포 영화 (horror movies). For example, if you like K-Dramas, you can say 한국 드라마 좋아해요. If you don’t like 한국 드라마, you know what to do 😉 Submit your assignment via voicemail or comments. Due by 4 pm Wednesday, October 12th ET. Your assignment will be shared on the next podcast episode because it deserves to be! 💪
Last thing I want to share is a short recent video showing what it’s like to live near a baseball stadium in Busan, a city of baseball enthusiasts! The Korean Series, the final championship series of the Korean Baseball League is coming soon, so many baseball fans are excited, as you can see from the vid. If you want to know about Korean baseball fan culture, read one of my past writings.
Thanks for reading! If you liked my newsletter, like, share, or leave a tip 👆 to support my work. It motivates me to keep writing and helps me a lot! 🙏 See you next week. 안녕!