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K-DRAMA54

The Appeal of K-Drama
Stars like Bae Yong-joon and Lee Young-ae personify the Korean drama frenzy

that is now spreading beyond the Asia-Pacific region, but a closer look into the

phenomenon shows that it has been about more than just pretty faces. In fact, it

could be argued that the shows have made the stars, not the other way around.

Granted, getting Bae could be all it takes to sell a soap opera to audiences in

Japan, China, and other Asian countries, where Hallyu has been a decade-long

fever. The growing reception enjoyed by the dramas in other regions like North

America, Europe, and the Middle East, however, indicates a universal appeal that

transcends different cultural boundaries.

The underlying story behind the worldwide ripple effect generated by Korean

dramas is that they have provided what amounts to safe, middle-of-the-road

entertainment, while mixing in enough sugary, romantic plots and social mobility

angles to keep viewers emotionally invested. Many loyal foreign fans of Korean

soap operas talk about their affection for “Korean-style” romances and fuzzy, feel-

good stories, and most of their comments on online message boards seem to be

about storylines and writing rather than actors and actresses.

Why K-Drama?

02
Chapter

Why K-Drama?55

2014.
What Happens to
My Family?

K-DRAMA56

Family-Based Confucian Values
Many Korean dramas deal with the country’s traditional values in familial

relationships, which strikes a chord with Asian viewers who share the cultural

affinity and makes them reliable family entertainment in other parts of the world.

Fan Hong, a professor at Tsinghua University’s School of Journalism and

Communication, believes that Korean dramas have the power to appeal to

global audiences because jeong—a Korean term for human affection—is usually

a central theme. “Korean dramas deal with everyday life and familiar subjects,

and thus many Chinese people favor Korean dramas for their human codes,”

she explained at a 2005 seminar. “In particular, their main themes are mostly

friendship, family values, and love, which are universal feelings that appeal to a

wide audience. This factor can provide an important connection with people in

other parts of the world as well as China.”

Hong also pointed out that the storytelling of Korean dramas conveys a

uniquely “Korean spirit,” blending

traditional values of Confucianism

w i t h We s t e r n m at e r i a l i s m a n d

individualism, which registers with

the modern audience. Older viewers

can relate to the traditional values

emphasized in the dramas—family

relationships, respect for parents, and

love between siblings—which remain

common virtues in Asian cultures

despite rapid social changes and an

influx of Western individualism over

the past century.

Why K-Drama?57

Less Provocative, More Universal
In addition to having central themes of love, family life, and friendship, Korean

dramas are less sexual and violent than the products coming from Hollywood.

This allows them to reach a wider age range and achieve a borderless appeal that

resonates in more conservative parts of the world such as the Middle East.

Interestingly, the ability to tell a love story without using sexualized images

appears to be an important reason that Korean dramas are winning over more

American viewers. Although Korean television dramas are diverse in genre,

romance remains king, as evidenced by the global popularity of Winter Sonata,

Autumn in My Heart, and Stairway to Heaven. The main purpose of romantic

dramas, in Korea or elsewhere, is to leave viewers feeling warm and happy.

The successful Korean dramas, including the ones mentioned above, have

avoided being too banal and obvious with creative writing, providing intriguing

characters and just enough twists and turns to keep viewers guessing.

2003-2004.
Stairway to Heaven

K-DRAMA58

Simple Stories with Emotional Power
Korean dramas rarely follow the “season” formats that are the norm for American

shows, where networks decide whether or not to renew a series for another year

or over a specific time period based on their ratings and revenue. The Korean

shows are usually designed to last a specific number of episodes, which makes the

narratives more compact and dedicated to a central theme. This contrasts with

American shows, where writers are given more freedom to experiment with the

storyline due to the flexible duration of the series.

This goes some way in explaining why Korean plots are often more

emotionally charged than in the dramas of the West, relying more on dramatizing

evolving relationships or conflicts between sensitive individuals than on simply

creating and connecting incidents. Viewers from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

frequently say that their local soap operas aren’t as dramatic or emotionally

sensitive as Korean ones.

No drama better represents

this Korean trait than Winter

S o n a t a , w h i c h t o u c h e d o f f

nothing short of a sensation in

Japan upon its NHK debut in

2004. The show depicts a young

woman and her amnesiac lover

against the backdrop of snow-

covered forests and lakes; it is

mechanically contrived to tell a

beautiful, tragic tale and wet a few

handkerchiefs. Bae Yong-joon,

as the man who can’t remember

© KBS

Why K-Drama?59

his girlfriend, maintains a sense of melancholy and sadness—and, of course,

is all sorts of handsome and gentle. It would have been rare for an American

drama to pursue such a storyline without mixing in a steamy scene or two, but

Winter Sonata managed to do just fine. And Bae’s character seemed to represent

everything Japanese women wanted in men (minus the car accident and memory

loss part).

The Winter Sonata effect is clearly reflected in an Asahi Shimbun article

published on July 2011. The piece stated that “Japanese women now adore men

who are gentle and show less aggression in relationships, a type described as

‘herbivorous,’ as opposed to ‘carnivorous’ men.”

The detailed, often intense depiction of emotional ebb and flow gives Korean

dramas an edginess that is not attributable to sensationalism. This gives them a

cross-national appeal as cultural exports, allowing their positioning as alternatives

to bolder shows from the US, Europe, and Japan. Particularly for viewers in

Asia and the Middle East, the Korean culture and sentiments reflected in Hallyu

dramas seem to come across as more accessible and acceptable than what is seen

in shows made in Hollywood, many of which are awkward for families to watch

together. For such viewers, the lives shown in Korean dramas are for the most

part plausible and something to be emulated, which can’t be said for shows like

Gossip Girl. Almost every Korean drama, moreover, revolves around characters

working their way up from the bottom, which contributes to the shows’ global

popularity because, well, everyone roots for the underdogs.

In many Asian cities, Korean dramas seem to be influencing lifestyles and

consumer behavior, which speaks to their cultural appeal. Many Korean drama

fans spend to share the fashion choices of the stylish fictional characters and crave

the city life they live.

K-DRAMA60

Korean Han Intensifies Drama
Another unique characteristic of Korean dramas is the underlying cultural

trait Koreans refer to as han. This could be described as a collective sentiment

of sorrow, regret, resentment, and, often, yearning for vengeance. This may be

a difficult concept for non-Koreans to understand, as the strong emotions are

accompanied by a sense of passivity, fueled by fatalism. Some scholars have

theorized that han, which is considered a universal element of the Korean

experience, evolved from the country’s historical suffering, including oppressive

Japanese colonial rule and the devastation of the Korean War.

It appears that the complexity of han isn’t keeping foreign viewers from

embracing Korean popular culture, as the sentiment has been critical in adding

emotional depth to global hits like Winter Sonata, Jewel in the Palace, and Autumn

in My Heart. For example, Jewel in the Palace reflects the vicissitudes experienced

by a female protagonist who overcomes all kinds of odds and discrimination as a

woman in a strictly hierarchical society during the Joseon era. The heroine lives

with such han, but she uses it as a driving force in taking her life to a new level. The

story is reflective of minorities who have been historically marginalized, creating an

emotional outlet through dramatic devices and connecting the story with the deep

emotions experienced by the characters. These emotional outbursts motivated by

han draw more sympathy and hope for overcoming adversity and making dreams

come true, not only among Korean audiences but foreign ones as well.

Government Support
It would be difficult to deny that the Korean drama boom has been assisted by

efforts from the South Korean government to build and sustain the wave. The

market for Korean popular culture has grown rapidly since the country adopted

a more open stance on cultural imports in the 1990s. Now, the country is looking

Why K-Drama?61

to exploit the era of globalization with “soft power,” converting its pop culture

products into export items and promoting a youthful and dynamic image of the

country.

The Korean drama boom has gained much of its momentum through

government support. The Korean culture industry has grown dramatically since

the 1990s, a decade that saw

an influx of different culture

along with a policy of greater

openness by the government.

Korean dramas also received

indirect government support

t h r o u g h d e v e l o p m e nt o f

p o p u l a r c u l t u r e i n t h e

past. Today, however, the

government is pushing ahead

with more aggressive policies

to boost the ongoing Hallyu

boom through a variety of

channels, including support for short dramas and amendments to laws related to

the quality of the drama production environment.

Meanwhile, governmental institutions like the Korean Culture and

Information Service and the Korea Foundation are introducing Korean culture in

Central and South American countries where it is relatively unknown. The Korea

Foundation supports the airing of Korean soap operas free of charge; as a result,

Autumn in My Heart and Winter Sonata were dubbed into Spanish for broadcast

in eleven countries, including Mexico, while Jewel in the Palace was shown in

eight Central and South American countries, including Peru.

2000.
Autumn in My Heart

© KBS

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