By Eun Byoul Oh
April is Disability Awareness Month in South Korea, and I write this month’s Editor’s Note with some sort of mission to bring your attention to Korea’s people with disabilities and their persistent fight to create a better world with equality. I hope the KCCNYC community hears their voices and can have insight into Korea with a broader understanding. 투쟁!

Read the verdict that removed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol from power – translated to English in full.

By Sharon Stern
This month we are focusing on disabilities – Some K-dramas that have introduced characters with disabilities have truly not done a wonderful job.  Some have tried, but fall into stereotypes or portray characters with disabilities that perform beyond the level of the majority of people with the disability or, as previously stated, miraculously find a “cure” for their disability.  Here, we explore a few that have done a better job. 

By Hannah Elliott
Amid political and general fatigue, this playlist leans into quiet resilience. These Korean indie tracks—rooted in ambient folk, lo-fi pop, and experimentation—offer space to reflect, but also to reset. It’s escapism and recovery.

By Eun Byoul Oh
We are bringing the news of the newly launching KCCNYC’s  Book Club “Dosan Hakdang” - join us in reading Han Kang’s HUMAN ACTS before our first meeting on May 18. We have also launched a fundraiser for the Gyeongbuk Wildfire Recovery effort in Korea. All donations will be tax deductible, and the funds raised will be sent to Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association.

By Jon Oaks
This month, we take time to honor the resilience, strength, and contributions of individuals living with disabilities. For Korean adoptees with disabilities, this observance also offers a powerful opportunity for visibility and affirmation in a world that often overlooks both adoptee experiences and disability narratives.

By Sharon Stern
This month’s new dramas have a bit of everything going on:  a newly streaming and subbed pretty much GL story, extreme silliness, sageuk, reaper love, dark thriller intrigue, medical shenanigans, Edgar Allan Poe inspired historical settings and a heavenly spring-winter relationship.  It’s seriously enough to make your head spin. Just what drama lovers live for!

By Sharon Stern
Jeju 4.3, also known as the Jeju Uprising and Massacre, known simply as 사 삼 in Korean, took place from March-April of 1948 until May of 1949.  The history is complicated and nuanced, but the result was that at least 10% of the population of Jeju – 30,000-60,000 people – lost their lives.

By Josh Kim
Last month we learned about a myth that revealed where we got the sun, moon, and stars. This month we’ll read another myth that leads to another discovery in space.

By Eun Byoul Oh
In this newsletter, we highlight wonderful women and their works. We shall not forget the voices of women who are protesting right now to secure the nation’s democracy. Although the day of true equality for women in Korea may be yet to come, women will fight for the future generation of women.

By Sharon Stern
Celebrating International Women’s Day reminds us to pause and reflect on the amazing women that have gone before us as well as those that are present in our lives.  Korea has some amazing women who have inspired generations with their heroic stories.  Luckily for us, drama writers have also been inspired to write about some of them.

By Sharon Stern & Crystal Arnette
The March First Movement (also referred to as the Samil Movement – 삼일 – 3-1) involved a number of protests against Japanese colonial rule and for Korean independence and were held both in Korea as well as by the diaspora abroad, beginning on March 1, 1919. 

By Jon Oaks
Each year on March 8, International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate the achievements, resilience, and contributions of women worldwide. For Korean adoptee women, this day carries additional significance, touching on themes of identity, belonging, and self-discovery in a world that often overlooks the complexity of adoptee experiences.

By Josh Kim
March 8th is International Women’s Day, and our story this month centers around how three little girls became the Sun, Moon, and Stars.

By Sharon Stern
This month we have a lot of K-pop idol appearances going on in new K-dramas.  There is a really wide variety of genres and streaming platforms represented, which is refreshing.  And the casts of this month’s dramas are completely star-packed.