10 Things You Missed In Prime Video’s ‘Nice To Not Meet You’ (Eps 3-6)

In tvN’s ongoing romcom K-drama Nice to Not Meet You, actress Lim Ji-yeon (The Killing Vote, The Glory) plays Wi Jeong-sin, a star political reporter who gets “demoted” to the entertainment desk after investigating a high-profile corruption scandal. In her role she constantly butts heads with Lim Hyeon-jun, a middle-aged actor who’s become the nation’s favorite TV detective but yearns to take on other types of roles. Hyeon-jun is portrayed by none other than veteran A-lister Lee Jung-jae who—similar to his character Hyeon-jun—had also wanted to show a “completely different” side of himself after starring in such a serious role in Squid Game.

Personally, I started watching this series partly because I’m a huge fan of the two lead actors and also because as an entertainment journalist, I was curious to see how a K-drama would portray the world of Korean entertainment journalism. There’s a lot to be said about how the series depicts entertainment reporters and how they’re often perceived in Korea (more on that below).

If you’ve been keeping up with the series so far, below are some details you may or may not have missed in Episodes 3 – 6. And don’t forget to check out my previous list of Easter eggs for the first two episodes:

Forbes‘Nice To Not Meet You’: 11 Things You Might Have Missed In The K-DramaBy Regina Kim

Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead!

Episode 3 of Nice to Not Meet You

1. Here where Hyeon-jun is seen talking with his ex Se-na at a bar, Se-na actually calls him “oppa” (오빠), which is traditionally a Korean term used by women to refer to their older brother but has also come to be used as a term of affection for close male friends and romantic partners who are older than them. In response, Hyeon-jun tells her, “Don’t call me oppa” (though the subtitles simply say, “Don’t talk like that.”).

2. When Jeong-sin is in the hospital recovering from her appendectomy, her younger brother Hong-sin (Jin Ho-eun) tries to convince her to go on a blind date, saying she needs to escape her “SSB status” before she gets older. Here, “SSB” stands for “single since birth,” or motae-solo (모태솔로) in Korean, which is a portmanteau of the Korean word for “mother’s womb” (모태) and the loanword “solo” (솔로). Hong-sin uses the commonly abbreviated form of the term, “mo-sol” (모솔).

3. In Korean, CEO Hwang doesn’t actually say “respectfully” but instead addresses Jeong-sin by using the honorific form of her job title, gija-nim (기자님). When addressing someone, Koreans will sometimes add the honorific ending nim (님) to the person’s name or job title to show respect. In this case, Mr. Hwang calls Jeong-sin gija-nim, a combination of the Korean term for “reporter” (gija, 기자) + nim.

That’s why Hyeon-jun incredulously responds, “Nim?! Nim?! Did you just add ‘nim’ while addressing her?”

4. The song that Jeong-sin is singing here, which Hyeon-jun references moments later, is the 2008 hit ballad “Like A Child” (아이처럼) by the legendary Korean singer-songwriter Kim Dong-ryul. “Like A Child” is one of the tracks on the album that Se-na gives Hyeon-jun, and it’s also heard playing in the background as Se-na leaves the hospital.

Written, composed and performed by Kim, the song also features additional vocals by Alex Chu (from the Korean electropop band Clazziquai) and describes a love so overwhelming that it leaves one with a childish sense of joy, gratitude and vulnerability. Known in Korea for his deep, sonorous voice, Kim was in a couple of notable Korean duos, including Exhibition (beloved for hits like “A Tale of Memory” and “A Will”) and Carnival (perhaps best known for the 1997 classic “A Goose’s Dream”), and remains active today.

5. Fans of the iconic K-drama Goblin (a.k.a. Guardian: The Lonely and Great God) will recognize these lines from the memorable scene in which Gong Yoo’s character Kim Shin (i.e., the “goblin”) confesses his love for Eun-tak (played by Kim Go-eun) by essentially saying that every day he spent with her, regardless of the weather, was extraordinary.

6. If you’re wondering what sort of tool Jeong-sin’s brother is using on his neck, it’s a face and neck roller. Many Koreans and non-Koreans alike use one to improve skin elasticity and blood circulation and to reduce puffiness, swelling and the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Plus, it’s a great way to relieve stress and give yourself a facial massage!

Here’s a tutorial on how to use one:

Episode 4 of Nice to Not Meet You

7. Hostess bars, or “room salons” as they’re usually called in Korean, are upscale bars with private rooms where male clients pay attractive female hostesses for their company, which consists of drinking, conversation, singing karaoke and, in some cases, can lead to more. Because of their unsavory reputation, room salons—and the hostesses who work there—are generally frowned upon in Korean society, which is probably why Jeong-sin seems offended when Hyeon-jun mistakes her for a room salon hostess.

For a more detailed description of room salons, check out this great explainer by writer Jinwoo Park:

Episode 5 of Nice to Not Meet You

8. One of Hyeon-jun’s blind dates asks him what his MBTI personality type is. Over the past several years, it’s become quite common for Korean millennials and Gen Zers to ask each other about their MBTI type when they first meet.

The MBTI (Myers–Briggs Type Indicator) personality test was first introduced to Korea in the 1990s and became super popular there starting around 2020. In Korea, sharing your MBTI type is somewhat akin to Westerners sharing their horoscope signs—as a quick way for others (and themselves) to make sense of their personality.

9. “Onion” is a reference to Karrot [known in Korea as danggeun (당근), which means “carrot”], an actual Korean online marketplace where people can buy and sell secondhand goods. The platform also features job postings and real estate listings and can be more or less likened to a Korean version of Craigslist.

Episode 6 of Nice to Not Meet You

10. In a ploy to convince Se-na to contact her, Jeong-sin publishes articles about her with sensationalist headlines and questionable content.

In a later scene, Hyeon-jun accuses Jeong-sin of digging up dirt on people and exposing their private lives. She begins to respond that it’s her job to do so, but Hyeon-jun abruptly cuts her off.

Viewers might have noticed this by now, but in Korea, journalism as a profession still isn’t highly respected by many people (with the exception of news anchors and perhaps cultural critics), and out of all the different types of journalists, entertainment journalists are often regarded as the lowest of the low.

Generally speaking, journalism standards are not as developed in Korea as in the West, so breaches of journalistic ethics like plagiarism and payola (where entertainment agencies or other entities pay journalists for favorable coverage) are far more common. (Though it’s worth mentioning that these things still happen in the West too, even among some top-tier media outlets. I know this first-hand because some of my articles have been previously plagiarized by several well-known Western magazines and news sites, and I’ve heard of some U.S. outlets secretly engaging in payola as well.)

On top of these general perceptions in Korea around journalism, entertainment journalists are often associated with publishing superficial, clickbait articles and dealing in celebrity gossip—as Nice to Not Meet You shows in detail. That said, entertainment journalists who lean more heavily into writing substantial, thoughtful pieces do exist in Korea (obviously). This has led some Koreans to make a distinction between the two “types” of journalists by using the English loanword “journalist” to refer to the latter and reserving the Korean term gija for what Westerners might think of as tabloid reporters. However, many Koreans still use the word gija as an umbrella term to refer to most types of journalists, so journalists shouldn’t necessarily be offended if they’re called gija.

Nice to Not Meet You is currently streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes released every Monday and Tuesday.