KDrama to Watch: The Sound of Your Heart (2016

The Sound of Your Heart (2016)

Grade: B-

10 episodes, about 30 minutes each
Viewing Platform: Netflix

Jo Seok is an aged, famous webtoon artist, and he tells the story of how he found his way into the business. At the time he started - set in the present day - he lived at home with his mom, dad and brother. His dad owned an unsuccessful fried chicken shop, supplementing with odd jobs, his brother worked an office job, and his mom ran the household while Jo Seok struggled with creating an appealing webtoon, since he lacked talent and ambition in every other field. (His drawing style is unappealing to most – but these days that isn't always an indication of failure.) Each episode tells two short stories about Jo Seok's life with his family and with his then-girlfriend Ae-bong.

*This is the first Korean sitcom I've watched, and it really did have a variety show type feel to it, as each episode had a different theme or style. One episode had the dad and Jo Seok acting as if they were in the mafia, while another episode looked like a romance between Jo Seok and Ae-bong, for example. A few episodes really had me laughing out loud, just at the plain absurdity of the situations, but the other episodes I didn't appreciate quite as much. I'm not sure if that was cultural or just my taste. Definitely lots of bathroom humor, and more cursing than usual Kdrama shows. It is based off the very popular, longest-running web comic in South Korea, “The Sound of Heart.” It was a very interesting diversion from my normal drama fare. I might watch those few episodes I liked again.*