#It's a nice watch by itself. My disappointment comes from the expectation of bromance.

[nokhwa]

I'm on ep. 10 rn, and unless what he said to haeryung was actually about gicheol, I just don't think junmo ever cared for gicheol as friend. None of his actions or monologues indicate it.

[im-just-here-for-the-drama]

Gay Characters in Kdramas: The Good, The Bad, and The Mediocre

Gay characters rarely show up in Korean dramas. Though there have been a few characters over the years,  In terms of representation, the characterization and stories of these characters are usually nothing to write home about, but I figured, why not write about it anyway? Here’s my watch and don’t watch list, if you’re looking for gay characters in kdramas.

Warning for spoilers galore!

The Mediocre (these aren’t bad, but they’re not the best either)

Lily Fever (2015)

The Story: Kyung Ju heads to her friends house one day to find her missing passport. She finds Se Rang instead.

Should You Watch?: Sure. This show is quirky and just downright odd. The ending leaves a lot to be desired and the story itself is kind of all over the place, but it’s cute, it’s funny, it’s short, most of it’s nonsense, and the girls have lots of chemistry. It’s only a bonus that Se Rang is a standout character of this show. You’ll probably fall for her yourself by the end of the webseries.

The Lover: Joon Jae and Takuya (2015)

The Story: Different couples live together in an apartment building. The show shows us snippets of their lives. Joon Jae’s life gets turned upside down when he meets his new roommate Takuya.

Should You Watch?: Hmmm...yeah. I started watching this show expecting it would showcase the typical Korean bromance between the guys. The kind where the show makes it seem like the guys might have feelings for each other, but the show just skirts around the topic entirely. In the first few episodes, that’s exactly what happened between Joon Jae and Takuya (with a lot of sex jokes and penis jokes thrown in for good measure. That’s actually what most of the show is). But the show eventually, actually, went there. Joon Jae and Takuya don’t get a whole lot of screen time, but when they do, we get to see some serious feelings thrown in with all the crass humor, and Joon Jae and Takuya do admit to having feelings for one another. The ending could have been a little better, but it was a happy one, so baby steps.

Perseverance Goo Hae Ra: Jang Goon (2015)

The Story: A group of rag tags come together to form a band. Jang Goon joins the band and meets their manager Tae Poong who he’s had a crush on for years.

Should You Watch?: Only if you’re interested in the rest of the show. Jang Goon has a fairly interesting storyline. He has a friend who accepts him after finding out about his crush and he has to rebuild bridges with his father who doesn’t accept him doing music (and Jang Goon’s scared he wont accept his being gay either). But Jang Goon’s storyline is such a small part of the story it wouldn’t be worth it to skip through to only his parts.

Daughters of Club Bilitis (2011)

The Story: A one episode drama detailing the lives of four lesbian couples.

Should You Watch?: I watched this so long ago, I honestly don’t remember a single shred of what happened in it, but I’ll say yes, watch it. Because there are so few lesbians in asian dramas you have to watch the one’s that exist. The entire show is about lesbians, so I  mean, why not?

Reply 1997: Jun Hee (2012)

The Story: The lives of a group of high school students in the year1997. Jun Hee has a crush on his friend Yoon Jae.

Should You Watch?: Yes and no. The Reply Series (Reply 97/94/88) are pretty good dramas after all. They’re great for nostalgia, family, friendship, and the like, but if you’re here solely for the gay? Probably not worth the time. Jun Hee’s a side character. We see him crushing on Yoon Jae and he confesses his feelings to Yoon Jae and another friend, but there’s not too much more than that.

Seonam girls high school investigators: Eps 11-12 (2014)

The Story: High School girls investigate and solve problems in their school. The show is episodic and in these two episodes the girls attempt to help Su Yeon and Eun Bin who have to hide their relationship from their classmates.

Should You Watch?: Yes. I honestly don’t remember much about this one either, but I do remember it being decently done. This show caused a lot of controversy years ago when it aired Korea’s first lesbian kiss ( probably korea’s first same sex kiss period that was a legitimate kiss and not used for laughs). It’s worth checking out to see what caused all the ridiculous uproar.

Wise Prison Life/Prison Playbook: Han Yang (2017)

The Story: Big time baseball player Kim Je Hyuk turns into a crimanal overnight. After he’s convicted, he has to face his new life in prison. He meets some interesting people in prison. Among them is the drug addict Han Yang.

Should You Watch?:  Yes, because the story itself is a really interesting take about a man who goes to prison, meets a lot of different, people, and ultimately makes new friends/family. If you’re just watching for the gay? I’d still have to say yes, despite the fact that Han Yang doesn’t get the happy ending he deserved. Han Yang was one of my favorite characters in this show. I don’t know how he managed it, but I swear Han Yang got funnier as the episodes passed. I was really endeared towards him attempting to kick his drug habit while also trying to salvage his relationship with his ex-boyfriend Ji Won. He had such an interesting story arc, was such an entertaining character, and I didn’t feel like the show ever made fun of him for being gay. This character was just such a joy to watch, I definitely don’t regret watching, even though I wanted more.

Moment at Eighteen: Jung Oh Je  (2019)

The Story: Transfer student Jun Woo has no interest in school life, as he is traumatized from being expelled from bullying. Meanwhile, Soo Bin has been watching Jun Woo all this time. She sees a different side to Jun Woo than the one that other people see. Oh Je, is Jun Woo’s best friend who starts to discover his sexuality.

Should you watch?: Hmmm… sure. Oh Je has a decent side plot. It was interesting to see him figuring out he liked Hwi Young and coming out to his ex girlfriend and his friends. I do wish his story was expanded a little more though. There were several things I would have liked to have seen, like coming out to his family, and I thought they wrapped his story up a little too quickly at the end.

Love with Flaws: Won Suk and Ho Dol (2019)

The Story:  Joo Seo Yeon, is a hot-tempered physical education high school teacher who always wears sneakers, jeans and training uniforms.  The death of her parents helped instill a deep sense of compassion, a generous heart and an outspoken objection for anyone who drinks and drives. Living in a house with three wild and very attractive brothers, she loathes flower boys. Her ideal type is someone who is “not handsome.” Won Suk is one of her handsome older brothers.

Won Suk has closed his heart to relationships and love, but he lives his life as an openly gay man. Ho Dol is closeted and lacks confidence. They meet one night at Won Suk’s bar.

Should you watch?: People have been kind enough to condense Won Suk’s and Ho Dol’s  story into parts on YouTube so yeah, go ahead and check it out.

These two don’t get a whole lot of screen time, but the little they do get is nice. We get to see Won Seok help Ho Dol open up and be more confident with who he is and in turn, Won Seok opens up his heart.

The Bad (you probably shouldn’t waste your time on these ones)

Personal Taste: Director Choi (2010)

The Story: This dramas about a straight guy who pretends to be gay in order to gain access to the blueprints of a woman’s house…or something like that. Director Choi’s specific story revolves around his attempts at courting that guy.

Should You Watch?: Absolutely not. Half of the time the drama equates being a gay man to automatically being feminine, a woman, or not a “real man”. Director Choi is also a good deal older than the male lead and makes several attempts at courting him even though he’s not interested. It kind of came off as the “creepy old gay perv” and that didn’t sit well with me.  I suppose you could skim through the drama to watch Director Choi’s scenes. If sad gay men Is your thing. I just felt bad for the guy most of the time.

Ho Gu’s Love: Kang Chul (2015)

The Story: Ho Gu’s a pushover, a fool, and kind of an idiot. He meets his old classmates and things get a complicated. One day in High School Kang Chul meets Ho Gu’s twin sister and mistakes her for Ho Gu. They spend the day together and she kisses him.  The kiss sparks feelings in Kang Chul. Of course Kang Chul thinks it was Ho Gu who kissed him and years later, when he meets Ho Gu his feelings grow stronger.

Should You Watch?: Yes? Maybe? If you really want to, but mostly…no. With this, I expected that the typical drama set up would happen. Similar to all gender benders, Kang Chul would find out that it wasn’t Ho Gu he kissed. So any feelings he was having for him would immediately get swept under the rug where we could all pretend we never knew his heart fluttered for another man. Imagine my surprise when episode after episode passed and that didn’t happen. We got down to the last few episodes and Kang Chul had admitted to himself that he liked Ho Gu, he came out to his parents, and his coworkers assumed he was gay. The show was actually depicting the struggles of being gay in Korea and it was arguably one of the better storylines for a gay character on Korean t.v., but then the show couldn’t stay strong and they flipped the script. Predictably, Kang Chul finds out it was Ho Gu’s sister he kissed, the show copped out, and lo and behold Kang Chul was straight with no further mentions of any other possible sexuality. Watch it if you’re curious, but be prepared to be extremely disappointed by the end.

Graceful Family: Mo Wan Joon  (2019)

The Story: Blah blah blah, revenge or something- at a point it’s revealed that Mo Wan Joon is a trans woman.

Should you watch?: If you really like revenge melos maybe, but if you’re looking for this show to do something good and offer up some good trans rep? Nope.

Literally nothing about Mo Wan Joon’s story is watchable. I wasn’t even entirely sure the show even knows what being transgender even means. It comes off as more of a plot twist to put the family all in a tizzy more than anything else. They don’t really show much of Wan Joon’s struggle or anything poignant or engaging.

Sweet Munchies: Tae Wan (2020)

The Story: Jin Sung pretends to be a gay chef to film a tv show for money. Tae Hwan, a closeted fashion designer falls for him.

Should you watch?: No. "Everyone loved Personal Taste right? What if we just did that again but with a chef this time?"  This could have been potentially groundbreaking, but by the end of the show the two leads are unlikable and  we just wind up with more sad gay tears. But Lee Hak Joo as Tae Wan? *Chef's kiss*. This man put me through the wringer and he does it so subtly. If you must watch, literally skim through Tae Wan’s parts.

The Good (these are worth the hours of your life you wont get back)

Painter of the Wind (2008)

The Story: Shin Yoon Bok is a talented painter who disguises herself as a boy to search for her father's murderer and meets a master painter who guides her into being a great painter. Kim Hong Do is the man who teaches Yoon Bok how to paint, and they develop a strong friendship of mentor and disciple.

Should You Watch?: Yes. On the surface this sounds pretty straight, but ignore the summary, because yes there’s a loveline between Yoon Bok and her mentor, but the most interesting story here is the loveline between Yoon Bok and a Gisaeng she meets named Jeong Hyang I’ve seen plenty of gender benders, but I’ve never seen one where a woman falls in love with the girl who’s pretending to be a boy. This drama isn’t technically supposed to be gay, but it’s extremely gay when when bisexual Yoon Bok hits on the gisaeng the first time they meet. Yoon Bok finds herself falling in love with the Jeong Hyang too and the love between them comes off as extremely genuine and sincere. I don’t care what that show was trying to tell me, Yoon Bok/Jeong Hyang was the true otp.

Life is Beautiful: Tae Sub and Kyung Soo (2010)

The Story:  A family drama about a blended family. The show focuses heavily on Tae Sub and his boyfriend Kyung Soo

Should You Watch?:  Absolutely. In this drama we actually get to see a same sex couple. There’s not just one gay character or a situation where you have to read between the lines. Tae Sub and Kyung Soo are a gay couple who get to be together and happy and they get screentime! The show focuses on Tae Sub coming out to his family, his family's acceptance/non-acceptance, and Kyungsoo’s family’s non-acceptance as well. We get to see the guys work through their problems together and we get to see how they’re relationship changes and grows. My only complaint about this show is that it aired seven years ago and korea has shown little to no progress in terms of lgbt characters and couples in kdramas since.

Rural Outcasts (2019)

The Story: Sun Hui moves to a small village where she lives her life as Soon Ho until she can make enough money to become her true self. Dong Ja, a feisty 12 year old, breaks into her house one day.

Should you watch? Yes, although, heads up, there’s a cis man playing a trans woman. Found family always makes for a heartwarming story and this one is no different. I loved the bond between Dong Ja and Sun Hui and I loved their mother daughter relationship. Very sweet and heartwarming, but be prepared for some heartbreak too.

[superworksforall]

Just A Girl (Part 2)

Summary: Kara invites Mon-El over for the first time in almost a week since Cadmus stole the registry. (Karamel)

Kara had just landed in her apartment when her she felt her stomach begin to rumble. Normally she would head straight to bed when she was so tired but she didn’t think she could ignore her hunger for another time that day. Moving towards her small kitchen to look for something in the fridge she felt Mon-El tug at her hand, effectively halting her journey.

“Why don’t you go get changed into night wear while I find something for us to eat.”

She doubted in his ability to make anything but if she remembered correctly there had to be something that didn’t need to be prepared. He may have learned quite a bit for only being on Earth for such a short period of time, but she doubted that anyone had taken the time to teach him the ways of human foods and that included herself. With everything going on in the past few weeks she had been too distracted to spend more time with him helping him acclimate to Earthly customs. There was so much that she wanted to show him herself, if only there were enough time in the day. Realizing just how little she had done for him, her chest grew heavier with regret. Here he was trying to be the best superhero and human look-alike possible and she couldn’t even make time for him to show him her world.

She was failing him just as she had failed Kal-El over a decade ago.

With a sad smile on her face she squeezed his hand and gave him a tired smile. It didn’t quite reach her eyes and even she knew that he didn’t believe it but he chose not to push her on it as she slowly backed away from him in search of clothes. Slipping out of her Supergirl attire Kara felt a weight lifted from her shoulders. She had not too long ago told Mon-El that the cape can get heavy and yet he had gladly accepted that fact. Feeling the burden heaviest now she wondered if he was still so willing to be her full time partner. How could she ask him to hold so much responsibility when she could barely stand its crushing weight? How was it fair to him to place this task on him when he wasn’t even really a part of this world yet, not the way she was?

Kara remembered growing up on Earth and how alone she felt. Eliza and Jeremiah had tried everything in their power to make her feel at home but they didn’t know what it felt like to not belong. They didn’t know the emptiness she felt in her chest from having to deny herself and her home. They couldn’t know. They may have known Superman but they didn’t understand what she felt because not even Kal-El could really understand it. She sometimes envied him for that. Sometimes she wished she hadn’t lived a Kryptonian life for as long as she did because she had had the time to learn and love it. It had become a part of her and it hurt like hell to be torn from her, ripped away without any real ties to home. It took years for her to feel like she was a part of something on a planet she never thought she would call her own. But she had still only been a child, adaptable and flexible. Mon-El was a full grown adult when he arrived on Earth. He had only ever known Daxam before this. He was molded by the customs of his home planet, shaped into a set pattern that was ingrained into his being. How could she really expect him to do what took her years to do: fit in?

Wiping away the images of her childhood homes she ran her hands over her face then through her hair as she took a seat on the bed. Why couldn’t Rao have given her a simpler life? One without this pain and heartache. One where she never had to abandon Kara Zor-El. One where she was just a girl; plain and simple like everyone else.

No.

There would be no more tears shed for her lost past. Not when the Earth needed her to be strong. Not when innocent lives were counting on her to keep them safe. She couldn’t afford to lose herself in her losses no matter how many more she would experience.

Kara quickly slipped on an old button up over her sports bra and slipped on a loose pair of pajama shorts. Her hair hang down her back in knotted waves tangled from flying around all day but she couldn’t be bothered to fix it. 

Silently making her way from her bedroom toward the kitchen she stopped by the wall next to the stove, caught by the very sight of her boyfriend. He was at the middle counter with three oranges on the wooden surface. Two were already in sections but what really piqued her interest was how he had managed to peel them. She watched as his fingers dug slightly into the one end of the orange before gently tearing the two halves apart. He then grabbed a single half and bent it in half again so that it tore itself into two more wedges before repeating with the other half. His biceps flexed under the pressure as he tried to be exact without exerting too much force on the orange. His gray t-shirt only accented the muscles further causing Kara to take a moment just to admire him. She may love how he tries to protect her and how he is always there to have her back but she can’t deny that his looks were what first caused her interest.

She pushed aside his looks and made her way behind him where she slipped her arms underneath his and around his waist resting her forehead between his shoulder blades. His body jumped slightly at the initial contact, obviously not expecting her to be so forward. Normally it was Mon-El who initiated contact, seemingly always touching her whether it was a hand on her waist or playing with her fingers. He was always finding excuses to be near her in every situation though she could never really figure out why. But having her arms around him she finally saw the appeal of such simple contact. It brought a sense of peace to her body that she never knew she was missing. It was almost as if by touching him, he took some of the burden off of her back and placed it onto his own reminding her that she didn’t have to do anything alone. He was a comfort that she had been craving for the past week but had denied due to everything going on around her completely disregarding everything that was going on inside her.

“You do realize you are supposed to peel these with a knife, correct?” Though she was teasing him she couldn’t help her delighted smile as he pulled her to his side with his left arm. His gaze was disapproving as he looked between his work and her.

“That seems like an unnecessary trouble to go searching for something else in your kitchen when my hands work just fine.”

It was cute how he found the idea of using a knife so outrageous. She knew that they had knives on Daxam--ones used for eating rather than fighting--but if memory served her correctly they were used for meats more than anything else. Her aunt had once passed a comment about how they would use their hands to eat at any chance they got, although that was accompanied by a range of general insults about his people, too. She smiled at the memory of her aunt, finding it best to remember her by her own memories on Krypton rather than the most recent ones from Earth.

“How did you know that you have to peel oranges anyway?” she asked as she slipped one of the slices into her mouth.

“Winn, actually. I was at the bar the other day working when he came through looking for Lyra,” his eyebrows crinkled as he recalled the event. “For some reason which he refused to confess he had a bag of these so-called oranges with him. He offered me one just to stop me from questioning him further, I think. He was about to show me something when Lyra walked in calling for him so he threw it my way and told me to peel it first.”

The mention of Winn filled Kara with happiness and gratitude. Hearing of his fondness for Lyra made Kara even happier as she realized how much Winn actually liked her. He had been her longest and closest friend and to finally see him with someone who cared for him made her smile. Winn truly deserved the best from this world and it was about time that he got it. She also couldn’t help but be pleased with how fond of him Mon-El seemed to be. It reminded her of how lovable Winn was and how he accepted everyone when others would rather hold on to old opinions. It was only her hope that Lyra didn’t take his trust and generosity for granted.

“I’m glad you two are getting along so nicely. You have your very first bromance going on and it is absolutely adorable.” Her cheeky smile only grew wider as he immediately questioned what a bromance was with a piece of orange still in his mouth. “It’s basically the closest possible platonic relationship between two guys. So the guy equivalent of besties for girls,” she continued as she realized she was still using Earthly phrases. “Best friends who share everything and always have each other’s backs.”

“Well then, sure. Winn is my bestie.”

She couldn’t hold in her laughter anymore. He just sounded so ridiculous trying to adopt such foreign concepts. It was probably the last thing she ever thought she would hear come out of his beautiful mouth. She loved teaching him every odd aspect of the culture here because it reminded her just how different it actually was to Krypton and Daxam. The sister planets may have been vastly different but their language and general saying were very similar.

When she finally recovered from her laughing fit she found Mon-El staring at her with the edges of his mouth turned up slightly. It was a look of complete contentment and before she could comment on it he laid a kiss to her cheek causing them to turn a rosy pink.

Their easy going chat continued until all three oranges were gone and Kara noticed the clock above her microwave. It was nearly 1:00 a.m. and she had to be up and at the DEO by 8:30 the next morning. Mon-El must have noticed her stare because he turned to see what had caused her change in mood.

“We should probably get some sleep.” He sounded just as disappointed as she felt.

Kara had been lost in their conversation and had been able to finally forget about everything that had been going on with Cadmus and the aliens but now she remembered that she would have to return to it in only a few hours. She wanted to return to hearing Mon-El talk about people that came into the bar or things he had seen or heard for the first time. She loved hearing about his reactions to the new planet because she compared it to her own reactions. His interactions with humans seem to be going far smoother than Kara’s first few years much to his pleasure. When she confessed that it took her months to control her strength in front of others he had burst into laughter admitting that it was nice to beat her at something. She didn’t take offense to that because in most regards she did have him beat. As a superhero in fights she was stronger and faster and she always took the lead. She was the one who usually had the plans of attack while Mon-El tended to simply follow her lead. He knew his limitations and didn’t hold Kara’s strengths against her or even envy her for them. He was content to merely help her where he could and she was eternally grateful for that. 

It was a stark difference to how she felt talking about it with James. She often felt that James tried to act better than he actually was as a way to make up for his lack of alien abilities and she feared that he would get himself killed by trying to prove himself.

“I guess sleep is kind of important, huh?”

When neither of them made a move away from the kitchen Kara forced herself to take one of his hands in each of hers and walk backwards into her bedroom. She felt the hesitance rolling off of him as she turned around and tugged him along behind her instead. He most likely didn’t know what she expected from him tonight as her bedroom suggested one thing but the mood suggested another. Deciding to put him at ease she let go of his hands and climbed into her side of the bed under the covers. Making what she wanted clear, Kara pulled down the corner of the blankets on the other side of the bed and patted the exposed mattress with a lazy smile. Something about the way he walked toward her had her wishing that she didn’t have to return to the real world for a little while longer so that she could just spend more time talking to him. There was so much she still didn’t know about him and so much she wanted to ask him if only life didn’t get in the way.

He slipped off his jeans at the edge of the bed before sliding in next to her pulling her body close to his after looking at her for permission. The heat from his body as his arm secured itself around her waist seeped through her body warming every part of her. It felt safe. He cared about her opinion and her comfort and he wanted to make sure that Kara actually wanted him so he was always getting her consent at every turn. No guy had ever done that before. Sure they had made her feel special and cared for but they always wanted to take lead and be in control. It was never equal in their give and take, always wanting to take more when she didn’t offer it. No one she had been involved with had really let her take control of the pace of their relationship and she didn’t mean physically. She meant in the day to day interactions and the ones that seemed the simplest. Like knocking and asking to enter her apartment, especially after knowing she’d had a rough day. Or asking how she was doing even if they weren’t on the best of terms. Or waiting for her to calm down before expecting anything from her. And respecting her feelings without ever holding them against her in any way.

She loved how she felt in that moment. She felt light and free, the feeling she always got while flying. She felt like plain old Kara in that moment. Not an alien, or Supergirl, nor a human impostor. Just Kara. A person with a mind, free will, and valid emotions just like everyone else. She felt extraordinarily ordinary and, for once, fell asleep without any of tomorrow’s burdens.