Introduction - Descendants of the Sun – ASIA 367
Sex Sells! But So Does No Sex: A Look into Romance In Korea DramasIntroductionThe transnational success of Hallyu has been more than just a temporary phenomenon. Demand for Korean culture has been high ever since it found success abroad. While Hallyu consists of many media products, one of its biggest components is undoubtedly Korean TV dramas. Although its success beyond Korea has been brought about by many factors, the way love relationships are portrayed in Korean dramas can be argued as its biggest strength. This paper will argue that the idealistic image it creates, coupled with audiences’ resonance with the characters and the conservative development of love relationships drive demand for Korean TV dramas.1 Korean TV dramas create idealistic images of love relationships1.1 High standards of beautyPart of the many reasons why Korean dramas can generate high demands on a transnational scale is due to its ability to create the ideal person an audience would want to be or have in his/her love relationship. Actors and Actresses who are casted as main characters in a typical Korean TV drama series usually possess exceptional physical attributes. While the male characters are usually tall, good looking and well defined, female leads are usually beautiful and have well maintained skin. Combined with their great acting skills, these actors can transform the characters they are playing into charismatic and desirable figures that their audiences wish to imitate. Since the rise in popularity of Korean dramas abroad, it has been found that a growing phenomenon of young audiences in Asia are trying to replicate the looks of various drama idols (Kim 2005: 194). For example, in 2011, the success of Korean TV drama Boys Over Flowers, directed by Jeon Ki-sang, started a hairstyle trend known as the “Goo Jun Pyo” hairstyle. Fans began to replicate the look of the character Goo Jun Pyo by spotting hairstyles that are similar to his. The actor, Lee Min-ho, who played Goo Jun Pyo, also became a fashion icon through blog discussions. The desire for fans to replicate the styles of these drama celebrities translates into demand for clothing and apparels that followed Korean fashion trends. As seen from online fashion magazines that dedicate entire articles to fashion styles shown in dramas, a consumers’ sense of dress code can be heavily influenced by drama shows. Arguably, this phenomenon creates an environment that facilitates the growing consumption of Korean dramas in Asia. The premise for a large demand in Korea-styled fashion trends can be said to be based on the looks of the drama celebrities themselves. Had the characters in dramas not look desirable, the urge for drama fans to replicate those fashion styles would not have been big. Undoubtedly, the physical appearance of the actors/actresses play a large part in shaping the desirable image of a character in TV shows. Although lead roles in TV shows are generally given to actors who have great facial features naturally, the use of plastic surgery further improves the actor’s looks. By removing any flaws of the person’s outward appearance, the perfect look can be artificially created through various surgeries. These celebrities whom have undergone such operations are often known as “plastic beauties” as their looks are enhanced. Because it is unrealistic for a person to look perfect naturally, “plastic beauties” tend to stand out from other celebrities for their desirable looks. It has been found in researches that even though these celebrities achieved their looks through artificial means, audiences of Korean dramas in Asia acknowledge them to be much more beautiful than the celebrities in their own countries (Kim 2005: 193). As a result, these celebrities become much more likely to replace existing local beauty standards to become the ideal image of what a good-looking person is.The fact that the idealistic images of a celebrities’ looks can be somewhat replicated makes drama characters more identifiable among fans. As mentioned above, non-celebrities can dress and style their hair to imitate celebrities of their choice. Furthermore, the growing availability of plastic surgeries both within and outside Korea provides easy channels for non-celebrities to look the same way as their favourite stars. It has been found that because celebrities are “the models of consumption for everyone in a consumer society”, the use of plastic surgery influences non-celebrities to do the same (Chae 2012: 54). As such, the increasing ability for non-celebrities to imitate celebrities can arguably increase the fans’ identification with drama characters as it becomes easier for fans to imagine themselves in the position of a character in the show.1.2 Capturing the demand for modern love mythsAlthough Korean dramas vary widely in genres, love relationships are generally emphasized regardless of the series’ plot. For example, although Descendants of the Sun addresses issues that involve nationalism and other topics in its show, a strong romantic storyline is still observed in the show. The frequent incorporation of romance arguably aims to create “the experience of the most unrealistic love myths of Asian fans today (Kim 2005: 193)”. Much of every episode’s screen time is devoted to the development of the male and female leads’ relationship through witty comments and actions. Although this can be illustrated by examples throughout the drama Descendants of the Sun, evidence is drawn from episode five for discussion. At the start of the episode, Yu Si-jin used an excuse of wine tasting to kiss Kang Mo-yeon abruptly, catching her off guard. Later in the same episode, he references back to that action when he tried to confess his love for her:Yu Si-jin: “About the time I kissed you without your consent.”Kang Mo-yeon: “I told you not to bring that up until …”Yu Si-jin: “What should I do? Should I apologize or should I confess?”This form of dialogue is frequently used in the show to appeal to female audiences’ desire for quotes that symbolizes a man’s love and affection towards a woman. His bold confession was delivered confidently and respectfully, mindful that his prior actions may have upset her. This creates a sweet and conservative romance scene that mimics a fairy tale like story. Arguably, this type of romantic interaction in Korean dramas resembles a modern version of a fairy tale story that is high in demand amongst female audiences. Evidence for this can be drawn from the analysis of Winter Sonata’s success in Japan, where researchers find that the “symbolism of pure love as opposed to explicit portrayal of affection” (Hanaki et al 2007: 286) depicted in the show were responsible for its outburst in demand. It is therefore reasonable to believe that Korean dramas’ focus on simple yet fulfilling love stories creates a large demand for its product amongst the female population.To reinforce the idea of the most desirable love myth in dramas, characters in the drama are often designed to possess mostly positive and noble characteristics. By limiting the amount of problematic personality traits, lead characters in the shows are made to resemble the “perfect” man. In Descendants of the Sun, lead characters Seo Dae-yeong and Yu Si-jin are made as such. Not only do they work in a highly respectable occupation, both are shown to reflect only desirable qualities. These include being dependable, thoughtful, well-mannered, etc. Throughout the series, both Seo Dae-yeong and Yu Si-jin were forced to resolve the difficulties in their relationships as a result of their circumstances. Yet, both were shown to handle the situation in the most gentlemanly way possible. Even though Seo Dae-yeong and his girlfriend, Yoon Myeong-joo, had an argument that led to a breakup, it was for reasons that would make him a more desirable boyfriend. By eliminating personality flaws present in any realistic person, dramas are able to build up the “love myth” that generates demands.Although dramas generally avoid the inclusion of undesirable characteristics of a person, some dramas do incorporate these elements into shaping the lead character. Yet, in these dramas, there are specific reasons for the portrayal of character flaws. In some cases, it could be part of the plot development to “fix” the person to become someone worthy of being a modern “knight in shinning armor”. In other cases, behaviors that resemble undesirable characteristics may be due to good intentions from the person. An example can be observed in the drama air in 2011, City Hunter, directed by Jin Hyuk. The storyline of the show follows a young man, Lee Yoon-seong, who was trained to take revenge on corrupted government officials while discovering the truth behind his mission. In the show, he ignored his father’s instructions of not falling in love and falls in love with a girl named Kim Na-na. The two began to development feelings for each other and as a result, Kim Na-na’s safety became threatened. To protect her, Lee Yoon-seong intentionally acted coldly towards Kim Na-na to distance himself from her. While the actions he did to achieve that goal makes him look like a despicable person, viewers could understand that his intentions were noble. Thus, Lee Yoon-seong was still seen as a brave hero in the eyes of drama fans. The creation of a love myth then allows drama producers to capture this demand from female audiences that translates into large fan bases for the show.1.3 Interconnection between different Korean media platformsInterestingly, romantic quotes and scenes in dramas that left deep impressions on its viewers are observed to become marketing tools for further promotion of their respective shows. As the use of internet has been suggested to be important platforms for drama celebrities to reach out to an international audience (Lee 2014: 47), iconic drama quotes and scenes are often seen to be incorporated into those variety show segments. Very often, variety show hosts make references to famous lines used in dramas that are popular, increasing the exposure of the drama and reinforcing the romantic aspect of the show. Although these references are not restricted to romantic quotes, they are often parodied by variety show hosts for comedic purposes. In a popular variety show Running Man, aired on SBS since 2010, many episodes are dedicated to fit the romantic theme of popular dramas that were currently being aired on drama channels. For instance, episode 297 of the show was named: “After the Sun”, a reference to the drama Descendants of the Sun. In that episode, actors who appeared in the show, Jin Goo and Kim Ji-won, were invited on to the show to participate in a series of games. While the entire episode was loosely tied to the episode’s theme, a segment of the show was specifically designed to promote iconic romance scenes from the drama. In that portion of the show, the game required the guests and hosts to re-enact famous romantic scenes with a twist from the drama to earn time to complete their mission. The use of these iconic scenes and lines as a drama’s selling point is evidence of its ability to sell a show. Since the success of Winter Sonata, the trend of using romance to appeal to drama audiences has been observed to be effective. This can be seen from the success of newer dramas like Descendants of the Sun. Arguably, Korean dramas’ emphasis on its romantic developments is responsible for its success on a transnational scale.1.4 Expectations vs realityThe creation of “love myths” in dramas, though appealing, remains as an unrealistic representation of love relationships. Created by exaggerating the romantic aspects of a relationship and chemistry between partners, these drama relationships should only exist as a form of entertainment. However, even though it is not a true representation of what a good love relationship in reality is, not all audiences may be able to make that distinction. Researches have found that: while older viewers tend to be able to differentiate reality from show, younger viewers can mistakenly expect otherwise (Johnson and Holmes 2009: 352-353). As a result, these viewers may be drawn to believe that their relationships should function the same way as TV shows portray them to be. Although raising one’s expectations of how their partners should act or look according to fictional characters may not necessarily be wrong (some positive characteristics of a person can be worth modelling after), it often creates a gap between one’s expectations and reality of love relationships. This gap has been credited by researchers to be responsible for disappointments and a sense of being unsatisfied in relationships amongst the viewers who do not differentiate between drama relationships and reality (Johnson and Holmes 2009: 368). Yet, despite having the possibility of blurring the lines between fiction and reality, Korean dramas also provide an “escape” from the disappointments faced in reality. Evidence can be observed in Japan where scholars have suggested that Korean male stars provide Japanese female viewers with fantasies drastically different from what they experience in the Japanese society (Nagayama 2016: 6). By providing viewers with a fantasy that resolves the displeasures they face, dramas are able to create a demand for more of the same. For example, in Winter Sonata, Japanese fans were obsessed with the character Jun-sang because of his ideal male characteristics that fans felt was absent in modern Japanese society (Hanaki et al 2007). Since dramas fan now look to Jun-sang as their standard of a desirable man, the lack of Japanese men who posses the same attributes as him will likely disappoint Jun-sang’s fan. As a result, she will arguably be more likely to return to watching dramas for characters similar to Jun-sang. Since these dramas provide the solution to the problem created by the drama, consumers arguably buy into the cycle of demanding more drama products as they are exposed to more of the same.2 Resonance2.1 NostalgiaTo many of the foreign viewers, the conservative approaches in Korean dramas represent a simpler time that is lost in modern society and therefore makes the shows appealing. By evoking nostalgia, these dramas can cause foreign audiences to “productively induce a self-reflexive thinking” that is associated with consumption levels of drama (Iwabuchi 2013: 48). As mentioned in an earlier section, lead drama characters often possess positive characteristics and qualities that are deemed as noble and attractive but lost in modern societies. For instance, many Japanese viewers of Winter Sonata found the show to be reminiscent of Japanese shows in the 1960s and 1970s, when their desire to be treated kindly was satisfied (Hanaki et al 2007: 288). In contrast, because Japanese men today are seen to be more self centered, Japanese women see Korean dramas as an alternative masculinity to those Japanese men (Nagayama 2016: 6). Furthermore, additional research has credited the success of Winter Sonata in Japan to it being an alternative to modern Japanese dramas that are largely focused on themes such as: “violence, crime, pornography, incest and robot etc.” (Kim et al 2007: 1341-1342). As a result, the popularity of Korean dramas increased among women who desire for a change in gender relations in Japan. As Japanese women who are loyal consumers of Korean media products often do not hesitate to spend large amounts of money on Hallyu products (Oh and Lee 2014:297), the success of Winter Sonata can arguably increase Japanese consumption of Korean dramas.2.2 Resonance with moral values of charactersIt has been suggested that viewers’ emotional connection with a drama character is heavily influenced by the person’s moral evaluation of the character. The same research explains that one will first form affective disposition towards a character based on their morality, thus determining that character’s likeability. Then, if the affective disposition is positive, greater empathy is developed for the character and thus, a higher sense of connection with that character is formed (Chuang and Lee 2013:596). Furthermore, researchers found in their study that a person’s moral judgement play an important role in determining his level of satisfaction gained from watching a show (Raney and Bryant 2002: 412). As a result, Disposition theory can suggest that one’s enjoyment of a show is affected by how similar his moral values are with the show’s protagonist. Applied to the consumption of Korean dramas, the theory would suggest that audiences who are able to identify characters as morally good people would in turn become more attached to him and experience a higher level of enjoyment of the show. This can be seen again in the example of Winter Sonata, where older women in Japan find that the male protagonist possesses positive characteristics like “kindness, grace, morality, calmness and intelligence” (Hanaki et al 2007: 287). Respondents to that research then expressed their affections for the character for his looks and values. In Descendants of the Sun, the protagonist Yu Si-jin is seen to be forced to make moral judgements from time to time. Forced to choose between doing the right thing as opposed to military orders, Yu Si-jin chose to act based on what he thought would be the morally right thing to do. According to the Disposition Theory, audiences who saw his actions as being morally just would sympathise with him more. Evident from online forums and comment sections, fans reacted positively to his decisions and have expressed their liking of the drama while watching the show. As the development of likeable affective disposition towards a character can lead to development of greater empathy for that character, it can be argued that affective disposition increases one’s enjoyment of a show. Thus, increasing the popularity of that show.3 Conservative nature of love relationshipsRomantic relationships in Korean dramas are generally developed in a conservative manner, focusing on interactions that symbolizes love without any sexual connotations. This serves as a fresher alternative to shows that involve explicit sexual contents. For example, the focus on depictions of “pure love” in Winter Sonata provides a stark contrast to Hollywood productions like Sex and the City, which heavily utilizes sexual themes. Although each has its form of appeal, the lack of suggestive themes arguably attracts audiences from traditional backgrounds that are reluctant to embrace dramas with more liberal content. This approach also allows the show to cater to a wider range of audience as its family friendly content appeals to viewers from all age groups in any setting. Research has suggested that because Korean TV dramas “touch the right chord of Asian sentiments, such as family values … they were welcomed by many Asian viewers who share similar cultural values” (Jung 2009:75). Arguably, the conservative approach implies that parents are more likely to allow their children to watch the shows as it does not serve as a bad example to follow. For instance, in the drama City Hunter, when the male and female protagonist ended up staying together in the same apartment, she demands that they sign a contract forbidding physical contact or suffer a heavy fine. This scene not only makes use of conservative values to create a comedic environment, it can also resonate well with societies like Korea that still considers sex as an openly taboo subject. Thus, the conservative theme of Korean dramas can be considered as a factor for its successes both within and outside Korea.ConclusionAlthough different shows utilize different approaches to reach their desired target audiences, romanticism is seen to be able to propel Korean dramas onto an international stage and achieve successful results in various countries. Despite having cited specific examples from popular dramas like Winter Sonata, Descendants of the Sun and City Hunter, the trends discussed in this paper can be observed across the different drama genres. While different audiences in different regions of the world find different reasons for liking Korean dramas, the conservative yet romantic aspect of these dramas can be argued to be a general factor that created its huge demand. BibliographyAinslie, Mary. “K-dramas Across Thailand: Constructions of Koreanness and Thainessby Contemporary Thai consumers.” The Asia-Pacific Journal 14, no. 7 (2016): 1-13.Chae, Jiyoung. ““Yes! I Had Cosmetic Surgery”: Celebrities’ Cosmetic Surgery Confessions in the Media and Their Impact on Korean Female College Students’ Perceptions.” Proceedings of the 68th New York State Communication Association 2010, no. 4 (2012): 53-70.Chuang, Lisa, and Hye Eun Lee. “Korean wave: Enjoyment Factors of Korean Dramas in the U.S.” International Journal of Intercultural Relations 37 (2013): 594-604.Hanaki, Toru, Arvind Singhal, Min Wha Han, Do Kyun Kim, and Ketan Chitnis. “Hanryu Sweeps East Asia: How Winter Sonata is Gripping Japan.” The International Communication Gazette 69, no. 3 (2007): 281-294.Johnson, Kimberly, and Bjarne M. Holmes. “Contradictory Messages: A Content Analysis of Hollywood-Produced Romantic Comedy Feature Films.” Communication Quaterly 57, no. 3 (2009): 352-373.Jung, Eun-Young. “Transnational Korea: A Critical Assessment of the Korean Wave in Asia and the United States.” Southeast Review of Asian Studies 31 (2009): 69-80.Kim, Hyun Mee. “Korean TV Dramas in Taiwan: With an Emphasis on the Localization Process.” Korea Journal 45, no. 4 (2005): 183-205.Kim, Samuel Seongseop, Jerome Agrusa, Heesung Lee, and Kaye Chon. “Effects of Korean Television Dramas on the Flow of Japanese Tourists.” Tourism Management 28 (2007) 1340-1353.Lee, Hui Min. “K-Films, K-Dramas, K-Pop, Next Up … K-Variety?” Princeton Journal of East Asian Studies 6 (2014): 46-58.Iwabuchi, Koichi. “Korean Wave and inter-Asian referencing.” In The Korean Wave: Korean Media Go Global, edited by Youna Kim, 43-57. New York: Routledge, 2013.Nagayama, Chikako. “Women’s Desire, Heterosexual Norms and Transnational Feminism: Kitahara Minori’s Good-bye Hallyu.” The Asia-Pacific Journal 14, no. 7 (2016): 1-13.Oh, Ingyu, and Choong-Mook Lee. “A League of Their Own: Female Supporters of Hallyu and Korea-Japan Relations.” Pacific Focus 29, no. 2 (2014): 284-302.Raney, Arthur, and Jennings Bryant. “Moral Judgement and Crime Drama: An Integrated Theory of Enjoyment” Journal of Communication 52 (2002): 402-415. ................
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