Ah, 2017. I remember when this little blog was growing and I had all the time in the world to do what I love: fangirling and dissecting kdramas. Then, life happened. More specifically, law school happened. Now those who frequented this site despite my 3 year hiatus might go well damn, you’re rich now. Nope. Not even close, I’m even more in student debt than I was before and this pandemic has affected what small prospects I had for a long-term career in a very saturated market. So I’m back to drown my sorrows in Kdramas! Not that I ever stopped watching dramas these past 3 years (okay, only for the first year, I didn’t have time to breathe that year), but I just didn’t have the time to lay out the analyses I was known for.
But law school (aka hell) is now over and life shows signs of resuming, so I’m finally back with a review of Netflix’s latest foray into Kdramas: Mystic Pop-up Bar.

First off, that is a terrible translation of the Korean title 쌍갑포차 (Ssang-kab-po-cha). The last two syllables 포차 (po-cha) refers to the road-side red tent restaurant seen so often in Kdramas. The first two syllables 쌍갑 (Ssang-kang) are a little more complicated. 쌍 means twins or equal and 갑 has a meaning similar to ‘top’ or boss’, hence ssang-kap-po-cha. A red tent restaurant where all customers are equal and everyone’s a boss (no class/hierarchy here!)
But that’s where all the terribleness ends, because this show is a lot of fun. And I mean FUN. Continue reading “Mystic Pop Up Bar (and where on earth have I been)” →