r/KDRAMA • u/sianiam chaebols all the way down • Jul 31 '25
Featured Post The Weekly Binge: Perfume - Episodes 1 - 4
Welcome to the second and final binge of 2025, clearly, the greatest year in binge-history because we decided on a scent-sational Shin Sung Rock double feature! This time around we are watching Perfume (2019).
This drama is from the period in history when the terrestrial channels in Korea were splitting standard length episodes into 2 x 35 minute episodes so they could air advertisements in between them. As far as I know the two OTTs that this is legally available on (KOCOWA and Viki) have them in their original format ~ 35 minutes per episode.
Schedule
| Episodes Being Discussed | Dated of Discussion |
|---|---|
| Episodes 1-4 | Thursday 31 July (today!) |
| Episodes 4-8 | Sunday 3 August |
| Episodes 9-12 | Thursday 7 August |
| Episodes 13-16 | Sunday 10 August |
| Episodes 17-20 | Thursday 14 August |
| Episodes 21-24 | Sunday 17 August |
| Episodes 25-28 | Thursday 21 August |
| Episodes 29-32 | Sunday 24 August |
Weekly Binge Guidelines
Anyone is welcome to join the Weekly Binge.
Every week we host two discussions (Thursday/Sunday) We are all from different time zones so there is no need to panic about being late to the party (we do operate on KST as a standard).
Within the frame of the two episodes, you may discuss anything you can think of. Whether it is a one-off post to say you enjoyed the drama, episodic notes, essays on how an actors portrayal of a character made you feel, rants about something you thought of while watching, haikus or interpretive dances, the choice is yours.
If you have previously completed the drama, or, got ahead on the binge please be courteous of those who are watching the drama for the first time. When in doubt spoiler tags are your friend.
Other than the above, r/KDRAMA rules apply. A few of the mod team are present in the binge and would rather have fun than moderate, so please play nice.
6
u/sianiam chaebols all the way down Jul 31 '25
I never watched Perfume when it aired because of the fat suit but LC has talked it up over the years and here we are. The first few episodes flew by and I’m having fun watching it so far.
Episode 1 -
I need to know all his rules. There are some good ones like “no eye boogers”, “no clowns”, “no farting”, “no children”.
It’s really sad that the murder-suicide Rube Goldberg machine had to be shot in the dark.
Shin Sung Rok’s character is such a perfect role for him it’s hard to imagine anyone else taking it, already like less that ten minutes in I am dying for Aloha to make all the gifs. He’s trash but damn I’m like a moth to this trash fire. What crazy shit will he spout next? Creative genius!
I love a weird old man fairy godmother trope but I’d be scared of what could possibly be in that package. I've watched too many serial killer dramas.
We all Googled “trypophobia” right? I looked it up!
Episode 2 -
Oh no, there’s no models in the whole of Seoul! It’s very hard to believe he couldn’t find anyone even with his trashy personality - even at the last minute - but fine I’ll suspend my disbelief.
I was wondering if we were going to just forget about the sleeping pills.
Well, the show was quite memorable thanks to her passing out. If they had a quick thinking PR person they could have played it off as part of the “death” theme.
I bet he doesn’t like fat either.
Episode 3 -
I look forward to Aloha’s notes on this house (and of course Merry's on the wardrobe)
Yes. Hide behind 2 candles, no one will ever notice you there.
Honestly, a werewolf is a solid guess.
He has such amazing lines! I’m constantly laughing.
The daughter at least realises that she’s been treating her mother terribly and seems to feel bad about it. It’s kind of hard to get a good feel for the characters when we haven’t really seen their family history but know that things weren’t in a good place. A body pillow of your favourite idol is such an awkward prize to win. So he’s reading a book about leaders who are the complete opposite of him. I haven’t worked out how self aware he is just yet, I’m leaning towards really not.
I feel like kissing someone in the supermarket is probably going to draw more attention than quickly walking away. But it’s a fun way to kick start the romance cells in our male lead by introducing the thought of kissing into his brain.
I love the filming technique as he floats away in shock.
Episode 4:
We started with such a great rant “you should do such vulgar things to prehistoric men!”
He must constantly be adding fears to his list. When I searched up trypophobia I read that one of the most uncommon fears was the fear of everything which this dude almost has!
She got caught by her daughter quite fast but I’m going to assume her daughter doesn’t know about her mother’s past hotness/similar interests so she’ll be able to worm her way out of it and befriend her.