As I write this, a war is killing hundreds of children. Families are broken, people are missing, and nothing was what it was a few days back. I read the news, which is so new and disturbing I have not yet reached the point of numbness, the automatic protective measure of a thinking brain. Politics is on the stage, while the people get trampled.

I have lately been watching a historical Korean drama, The King’s Affection. If you want to watch it, be warned that this essay will contain spoilers. It is a drama of gender politics, in which a man fully declares his love for another man, suggesting that love simply is love, and is not reliant on heterosexual trope. It is also about the very different values placed on a woman’s worth in society, as well as the strict caste system that subjugates those who have no wealth or status. I binged through the first twelve episodes of this twenty-part serial, until I reached the very horrific plot twist in which a character who has finally been able to taste freedom for the first time, if not happiness, is forced to once again become indentured to the political manipulation of the kingdom.

I have already cried my way through these twelve episodes, as well as laughed, but I am wondering whether I will continue this drama. True to form,I googled the ending this very night. I will continue watch it, most likely, swayed by the beauty of the actors, and because on the whole, I like to complete things.

Why am I writing about this, other than it is my latest obsession? I think we escape life in many ways, seeking distraction from time, the way hours divide our days. My day is defined by when I drink coffee, snd when I have dinner. Both lets my body relax in the knowledge of the routine, the expected. Lunch is never so forgiving—usually a scramble in the day.

Watching these serials with subtitles lets me absorb the audio thrill of another language, and some food culture. I become enchanted as well.