Month: June 2020

Like many of you, my family and I have been watching way more TV than is good for us during this lockdown. In my case it was the two seasons of The Punisher on Netflix (really bummed out that it got cancelled). I cannot recommend this show too much…if you have a strong stomach and can appreciate violence…:)

For my wife it has been a whole host of Korean television shows (and movies), some of which I thought were pretty good…others, not so much. The latest happens to be one of the former, Hyori’s Bed and Breakfast.

A reality show based around South Korean celebrity couple Lee Hyori and Lee Sang-soon, that involves them opening up their home on Jeju island to guests who stay for free and interact with them, as well as with their “hired staff“. In season one this turns out to be IU, a successful K-pop star, who during the show goes by her given name of Lee Ji-eun.

Interestingly enough, their house isn’t all that big, nor is it really set-up to be a B&B…and yet it still works. It’s crowded, chaotic, and yet somehow manages to succeed…even when they have to rent a camper to handle the over-flow. Every single guest is a mystery for the star couple and their help because the show’s management team keeps it secret. They only know that they are receiving new guests when they get a call from them after they land at the airport.

They have a large number of pets that they have rescued or who have chosen to move in on their own, and they too are part of the magic that makes this show work (although one of the cats definitely needs to be put on a diet).

Neither the house, nor Hyori or Sang-soon, turn out to be what you would expect from highly successful entertainers. The house is modest, and the married couple seem to live in sweats and her ever-present house-coats. They are funny, constantly giving each other a hard time, but you can tell that they love each other deeply. Unfortunately for them, they are so approachable and open that they end up making real connections with their guests and this makes saying good-bye harder than it should be. I spent each episode thinking “I would pay to spend a week with these guys“, and that’s not something I say about many people.

There are currently two seasons of this on Netflix, but unfortunately a season three has been put on indefinite hiatus due to fans abusing the fact that the world now knows where Hyori lives. Constant interruptions by people rudely arriving unannounced at the gate and ringing the bell so they could talk to the celebrities, in spite of repeated pleas to stop, forced them to sell their house and move away. This pisses me off, a person has the right to expect privacy when requested, and the fact that their “fans” chose to ignore this says more about them than it does Hyori and Sang-soon. Hopefully this can be resolved in some way that will allow further episodes.

I’m not much of a reality TV fan, but I make an exception for this program. The cast are funny, down-to-earth, and people you can genuinely like. Do yourself a favor and watch it (despite the somewhat inconsistent subtitling).