Just an Excuse

Kim Rieun: On Just an Excuse, a series on YouTube channel DdeunDdeun, host Yoo Jae-suk invites guests on at random, not according to a rigid broadcast schedule. In the episode “New Year holidays are just an excuse,” Lee Dong Wook, who accepted Yoo’s invitation over the phone immediately, greets Yoo as he explains that Yoo has been the number one TV entertainer for 11 years running according to Gallup Korea. Just an Excuse is a humble look at a man whose reputation precedes him. There are no designated hosts or guests, no rules and no intention behind the episodes, just guests who are close with Yoo and their excuses to get together, like taking a walk, having a picnic, rejuvenating themselves and celebrating the New Year holidays. Their conversation, which seems to have overlooked the purpose of the broadcast, creates an unexpected laugh. Like Lee Kwang-soo, who was The way they lose themselves in conversation suggests they forget they’re even filming a show, making for unexpected laughs, like when Lee Kwangsoo is talking with Yoo and Jee Seokjin on a picnic mat at Montmartre Park in Seoul and Lee eats a (unopened but obviously trampled on) chocolate bar that he thinks is a prop set up by the show’s crew. The show also gives viewers a peek into Yoo’s off-screen personal life, the real lives of other TV entertainers who say their appearance fee is the camaraderie and the true relationships between them—things that even reality shows tend to obscure. Just an Excuse is framed as an honest, intimate talk show, like listening in on a group of friends chattering away. Yoo spends some time talking about other shows he’s worked on as well, including variety shows and sketch comedies. Unlike most YouTube videos, episodes of Just an Excuse run 30 to 60 minutes long, but all the fun makes it feel like it’s over as soon as it starts. Even in a day and age when books like People Who Watch Movies on Fast Forward make the bestseller list and the popularity of short-form media like YouTube Shorts and TikTok represent a real threat toward traditional media, it seems the essence of what makes something fun remains the same. Yoo even succinctly shows the power he wields with the freedom YouTube offers entertainers: “Whether we’re in a crisis or not, every week we’re just doing our best”—the perfect summary of Yoo Jae-suk today.

Someday or One Day

Im Sooyeon (CINE21 reporter): There are countless timelines in the Someday or One Day universe. We now have a movie that exists on a totally different timeline from the TV drama, resulting in a completely independent story. What if Wang Quan Sheng hadn’t died in a plane crash, or Chen Yun Ru hadn’t asked someone to kill her? Like the series of the same name, where time is manipulated in an attempt to prevent a tragedy before it ever happened, the main characters in the movie try and prevent someone from dying by going back in time as “Last Dance” by Wu Bai plays. It’s not an easy film to follow since the plot, which has more twists and turns than the drama itself, has to all wrap up in just two hours. Still, the reason Someday or One Day has found so many fans compared to the typical first-love romance story is present as ever in the movie version, as is the emotional core of the narrative about understanding and cherishing others’ feelings. The movie also has the advantage of following its own timeline and therefore allowing audiences unfamiliar with the original novels or TV series to fully enjoy the film with only a basic understanding of the time-traveling trope.

Parable of the Sower (Octavia E. Butler)

Kim Gyeoul (writer): Can the world really get any worse? It’s not easy to keep a positive outlook lately, what with a worsening economy, deepening tensions and continuing climate change. If worst comes to worst, and I’m still alive—if I’m forced to leave my home and my family and live in the violent streets …As if bringing such anxieties to life, Parable of the Sower was selected as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year shortly after it was published back in 1993. Now, a full 30 years later, the novel is rising again as a timely read. In a not-so-distant future, the US government has collapsed and the streets are flooded with people desperate and in poverty, drug addicts keen to set fires, people on the brink of starvation rifling through the possessions of the dead as animals begin to eat human flesh. The protagonist, Lauren, continues to live a good life inside a gated community, but she’s uncertain about what the future holds. Inflicted with “hyper-empathy” but living in a hopeless world, she longs for something new and better. Where will Lauren go? Who will live and who will die? The excitement of the novel and the reflection of our own reality makes it a hard book to put down.

“Flowers” (Miley Cyrus)

Randy Suh (music writer): The talk of the pop music scene in January was “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus and its hot-shot debut. It’s a disco song with a slightly sour look towards summer fantasy. Cyrus is a former Disney Channel star but her image is one of raw truth, not something artificial. Maybe it’s partly an influence from her famously nude “Wrecking Ball” music video back in 2014 but I think it’s more likely her husky vocals and the way they sound just like the twang of a country guitar. She uses that voice to sing about her life following marriage and divorce in “Flowers.” It’s also notable how her lyrics form a sort of companion piece to “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars. It’s also believed that the song is about memories involving Cyrus’ ex-husband Liam Hemsworth. Gone are the former child star’s easygoing, southern-accented “Party in the USA” days, and so too has she moved on from her “Wrecking Ball” phase. She’s an adult now, and she sings of the bittersweet side of life. Once the voice of a generation of teenage girls in the late 2000s, she’s now slowly entering her 30s and leading the same group along with her as they get to know more about their lives together. And her song makes me want to follow along behind her, dancing all the way.