If you want to be “universal” ? Be specific. You don’t have to be gay. You don’t have to be Korean. Paul’s awkward convo with Troy at the restaurant alone, is just a single datapoint of how deeply human this podcast is. Beautiful production & performances. The writing is real.

Someone get the tissues please

Where is season two!?

Wow! Truly such a special project. This will easily be the gold standard I look for when exploring this medium.

Genuinely I am not the same person after this series. It introduced me to my favorite album+song of all time (Haenim, Kim Jung Mi’s Now), the characters still stick with me after a few years (particularly Ester Moon’s character), and it masterfully tells a compelling story in only six episodes, but also makes it feel like that’s all it needed. If you’re on a long, lonely trip, have work to buckle down on, or you just want a podcast that sticks with you, give Moonface a listen.

Listened to this in 2019 and I’m still here in 2021 trying to find a podcast that is as immersive and interesting as this one.

Such a beautiful podcast by James Kim. Great story about queerness, race and Korean culture, immigration, family, and the importance of place. Loved the score, music, and relationship between Paul and Gina; it reminded me of how much my mom loves me! Will there be a season 2???

this was the best podcast i’ve ever listened to. i am forever changed.

What an incredible story. Absolutely loved every minute.

This podcast is the first I ever religiously followed and heard. Its like my chore podcast. Everytime I am grocery shopping, cleaning I listen to it..I like how Eric is able to make people feel comfortable. He is well versed enough to not cross boundaries but also makes sure that people have a comfortable place to talk and have fun.❤️

Just heard about this yesterday while listening to Anna Sale talk with Walter Thompson Hernandez, and he gave this podcast a great nod. So glad I listened and imagined along with the storyline. Music is cool too, as is the sound of life/living in and around Downey. I’ve never been there, but ow I want to see it. Anyway, kudos and I hope there’s more.

Thank you for this! It’s beautiful! Amazing music.

This show sounds so much like real life. I really hope more fiction podcasts work in this direction. We need more stories like this.

I laughed and cried. Absolutely loved this podcast

My only complaint is that it felt too short. I wish I could have heard more about Paul and not just a couple of weeks of his life. Still 5 stars though. Great acting, music, and sound design.

this story was beautiful and painful and felt so real. i listened to the entire thing in one sitting at 3am. thank you so much to everyone who worked on this or believed in it- we need more stories like this. i need more stories like this.

incredible storyline, i couldn’t stop thinking about it even after i finished listened to it. a work of art.

I started this at 10 am and finished at 3 pm the same day THATS HOW GOOD THIS SERIES IS!! Fell in love with it from the first episode and bawled my eyes out the entirety of the last episode. Rich in culture, family dynamics, first generation immigrants and so much more. Part of me is heartbroken there is only 6 episodes but the other part of me is glad I even got to experience it.

Beautiful podcast. One will get a great flavor of culture, acceptance and self awareness.

I loved this so much!!! a heart warming story highlighting coming out, immigration family dynamics, and friendship. I need more content like this in my life. ❤️❤️❤️

I loved every part of this, from the characters to the sounds. A very emotional, heart felt story that I would recommended to everyone!

The sound design and story in this podcast is excellent. Riveting themes surrounding the relationship between mother and son. I love how they put in Korean language references and didn't always feel the need to translate, understanding that the reader can pick on the meaning through context. Perhaps a few too many obscure podcast/Terry Gross references, but I enjoyed this story on the whole!

5/5

So glad Code Switch sent me over here, what an absolutely phenomenal show! Sound design, story, voice actors, it’s just awesome. Yes, there are parts that are NSFW so be prepared to listen with headphones. James Kim

What a phenomenal job the creators did!

This was so powerful and was very creative in the way the story unfolded I hope there will be more from this author

Having a Korean immigrant for a parent and also living next to Downey, there was so much to relate to. Going in I didn’t know how relatable it would be, but whether it’s the LA Riverbed or Nakdong river, the story about harmonizing identities and responsibility towards one’s family and ones’s self is truly beautiful. Thanks for sharing this story!

I really enjoyed listening to this story, the scoring/ music was great. The storyline was also sweet and relatable. I’m not from Downey, but I think the feeling of not loving your hometown, but then coming to love it over time is relatable. I recommend it

James Kim and team, you all deserve an applause. Not sure why it took me so long to listen to this—BUT—I AM SO HAPPY THAT I FINALLY DID!! Not sure how anyone could give this less than 4 stars! This was absolutely beautiful and beautifully raw; what an amazing story, beautiful voice acting, lovely concept, truly all of it was just superb. It hit all of the right notes. Nice job to the team that did the mixing. Sound was excellent throughout. I could connect with this story so well on several levels. Especially when Paul was trying to learn Korean and felt inept. I’m not Korean but I went through smothering similar as a child trying to learn Akan and again as a teenager; I never quite mastered it so I understand how not being able to speak your own language makes you feel disconnected from your culture enough for you to say “you don’t care” when in reality, you really do care. You just don’t like being the outsider of your own family/culture.

Downey, CA...story about a Korean American guy and his relationship with friends and especially his mom. It’s a story about trying to love your parents, feeling guilty, trying to come to terms with who you are, growing up, accepting your friends, cultural pride, etc. I felt like I knew these people personally.

A wonderfully produced story with impeccable sound design and editing. Each episode builds a more poignant and beautiful story. By the final episode I didn’t want it to end.

This podcast might not be for everyone but it’s tender and earnest. More please!

The characters come alive, the sound-scaping is beautiful, the emotions are raw. This story also gave me a glimpse into someone else's world and I could see the ways in which we are the same and different. Really well-done; thank you for making this!

Excellent storytelling. Loved the characters, dialogue, music, and that there are multiple dimensions and threads and NO explanatory commas and things of that sort.

Was listening to Code Switch when they did an episode about this series. I love it enough to tell my friends about it

I stumbled upon this randomly, and it’s so good! The story is intriguing and it goes over modern issues, so it’s not a podcast you should pass by and the character development is deep and meaningful.

I wanted to like this podcast, but for me it went too far. I only got through the first two episodes. They were as close to a porn podcast as you can get. I’m guessing the reveal to his mother is emotional and heart wrenching but I am not going to invest the time. It’s to vulgar for my taste. Sorry. I also don’t like reality tv, Donald Trump or the Kardashians. Vulgarity seems to be pretty acceptable today, but I’ll pass.

Want MORE! Also being an offspring of Korean immigrants, I feel more about this character and his mom. WELL DONE! Highly recommend! So glad I stumbled into this podcast.

One of the most unique podcast I’ve ever heard. But also reminded me of classic radio like “The Archers” and other old story line stuff. Interesting the whole way through. I’m cis and not Korean but a son of immigrants and there was so so much I could relate too. So worth the listen.

First off, be aware it's definitely NSFW. With that out of the way... The way I describe this show to friends is the podcast version of that movie you heard about winning an award at some indie film festival. This show explores so much. The devastating feeling of being a young person without a 9 to 5 with benefits, of being a second generation immigrant, of being a queer man in a culture you're not sure will accept you, of having a passion that doesn't pay the bills. The raw emotion of the story is hard to look away from. The love and tension of family, of friends, it all draws you in and breaks your heart. And it's funny! This show captures the feeling of being stuck between things in a way that is beautiful and hurts. It's honestly, truly beautiful.

I really enjoyed this. After scrolling past it a few times I’m so glad I took a listen. Great job!

Sensitive and lovely.

It’s been 25 years since I’ve been in that amorphous post college space, but this podcast portrays that challenging time with sensitivity and real humor. I felt so seen as a black woman through Shayla and her mother- fine acting and real dialogue! And the friendships with Shayla and Danny- it shouldn’t be revolutionary to hear a multi ethnic friend group realistically portrayed in 2019, but it is! And finally Paul and his mother- so well done, not only bc I learn about Korean culture but also because Paul the writer leaves space for moments and lines spoken in Korean that aren’t explained and that allow me to wonder and respect what is not for me. And the final episode! My heart! His mother’s life and love was almost too much for me in it’s heartbreak and hope. The way this series sounds should be goals for everyone. The soundtrack is perfect and the soundscapes so real I had to pause to see if someone was walking around my house at times. Congratulations and thank you for sharing!

Great story, I related a lot. The sound and music is amazing.

Not really like anything I’ve ever heard before but I was hooked from the first ep!! Binged the whole thing in one morning, I need more!!!

Really enjoying this podcast. How refreshing. Lost art form of storytelling!

Loved Paul’s story. Enjoyable, moving, and heartfelt. Thank you.

This was my first time listening to a fiction podcast. It was a great and emotional story that I could not stop the tears from rolling down. I really resonated with the storylines. The sound design was also so incredible that I could vividly picture all of the scenes in my head. I hope there will be a season 2. Thank you James Kim!

Thank you for bringing this story to my ears! Absolutely perfect.

I heard an interview with the creator on the radio and thought I’d check it out. Each episode got me deeper and deeper involved with the characters. At the end I was binge listening. It’s an amazing podcast. Thank you for making it.