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SMNTY <3s K-Dramas · Stuff Mom Never Told You

0:05
Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Samantha. Welcome to Stephane. Ever
0:07
Speaker 1: told your prediction of iHeartRadio? I say, all, Annie, yes,
0:24
Speaker 1: I like that from the beginning. That's so I just
0:26
Speaker 1: said a lot of your Korean son seyall. And you
0:30
Speaker 1: know what, I decided we had to begin that way
0:33
Speaker 1: to confuse you a b because today's episode it's something
0:38
Speaker 1: that we've been talking about doing for a long time. Yes,
0:40
Speaker 1: it's been a long time coming. We're talking about K dramas.
0:44
Speaker 1: And you know, one thing we have to do is
0:47
Speaker 1: we need to get back Marissa, who we've had on
0:49
Speaker 1: the show before. Shout out hey, Marissa, because I know
0:53
Speaker 1: she probably knows this more than I do. For sure,
0:55
Speaker 1: even with the research because her and her mother apparently
0:59
Speaker 1: really have a boy her mother, especially when it comes
1:01
Speaker 1: to KA dramas, and we kind of wanted to take
1:04
Speaker 1: a look and take a trip about why, especially with
1:08
Speaker 1: like the US or non Korean people were really digging
1:12
Speaker 1: K dramas right now, And yeah, we're gonna do it.
1:14
Speaker 1: You're ready to do this, okay? And I will tell
1:17
Speaker 1: you all. I'd gave Annie some homework for this episode.
1:21
Speaker 1: I think I kept changing though I got so excited
1:24
Speaker 1: I was like, here's this list. No, do this list, No,
1:26
Speaker 1: do this list. That is part of my journey as well,
1:29
Speaker 1: in trying to kind of get comfortable with my Korean heritage,
1:33
Speaker 1: which I have for so long have tried to ignore
1:36
Speaker 1: or run away from. So if you hear me fumbling
1:39
Speaker 1: in this episode, which you may not because Christina, our
1:41
Speaker 1: super producer, Christina is amazing and editing, but if you
1:46
Speaker 1: do hear it, yeah, this is a lot like when
1:48
Speaker 1: I talk about Korean issues or topics, I can't really
1:52
Speaker 1: anxious about it. So I'm gonna kind of put that
1:54
Speaker 1: at the top. But this should be a more fun
1:58
Speaker 1: question mark episode because when I do topics, you never
2:02
Speaker 1: know how wild turn out, do we anyway? Um, and
2:07
Speaker 1: by the way, we probably will choose a K drama
2:09
Speaker 1: or at least a K movie for a future of
2:11
Speaker 1: feminist movie episode, But for now, we're just going to
2:14
Speaker 1: talk about why there are so many who hearts. I'm
2:19
Speaker 1: doing it, I'm doing it, I'm doing I'm doing this.
2:21
Speaker 1: There we go. That's the heart, the heart h K drama.
2:26
Speaker 1: We're talking about K drama. We do mention kapap, but
2:29
Speaker 1: we're not talking about that specifically. So what are we
2:34
Speaker 1: talking about exactly? And yes, before you come at us,
2:37
Speaker 1: because I know there's a lot of people who are
2:39
Speaker 1: really passionate about this topic. We are talking more along
2:43
Speaker 1: the lines of the K wave, and let's explain that
2:46
Speaker 1: in a minute in general or a more focus on
2:49
Speaker 1: K dramas. So when we're talking about the love of
2:51
Speaker 1: Korean culture, we might be saying this interchangeably and not
2:56
Speaker 1: a little bit out of context. So if we do,
2:58
Speaker 1: don't yell at us. No, don't yell at us. So
3:02
Speaker 1: let's do a quick definition. KAY dramas or Korean dramas
3:06
Speaker 1: are typically quote limited scripted series arranging from sixteen to
3:09
Speaker 1: twenty four episodes, and this is according to the Hollywood Insider,
3:13
Speaker 1: and they oftentimes are an hour long or if you're
3:17
Speaker 1: watching One Light, The Guardian or The Goblin, which was
3:19
Speaker 1: like the number four of all time Korean dramas, is
3:22
Speaker 1: an hour and fifteen minutes per heartbreaking episode. And did
3:26
Speaker 1: I bench that this week? Yes? I did. Did I
3:29
Speaker 1: stop horribly at the end of it? Yes? I did.
3:31
Speaker 1: Did my dog jump off the couch watching me in
3:35
Speaker 1: horror and judgment while I was crying because of this ending?
3:39
Speaker 1: Maybe we're not going to talk about that anyway. I
3:43
Speaker 1: think that maybe sounded like a yes to me, But
3:46
Speaker 1: all right. The Hollywood Insider goes on with this description
3:52
Speaker 1: for KAY dramas. Quote, KAY dramas have the premise of
3:56
Speaker 1: your everyday soap, opera and telenovella, but South Korean dramas
4:00
Speaker 1: always entails something different. Some shows contain romance, comedy, horror,
4:04
Speaker 1: sci fi, and historical themes. Most of the time they
4:07
Speaker 1: encompass a mix of those genres. Their storylines are oftentimes
4:10
Speaker 1: intricate while also engaging. Although each drama has different genres,
4:15
Speaker 1: they all obtain a sense of innocence and emotional depth,
4:18
Speaker 1: making it so enjoyable to watch. Audiences can connect with
4:21
Speaker 1: the characters and empathize the raw emotions. K dramas are
4:24
Speaker 1: always exploring, and according to ninety Day Korean K drama
4:29
Speaker 1: simply means it quote pertains to television series created in
4:32
Speaker 1: South Korea. So pretty simple, different, It just very direct
4:38
Speaker 1: and yeah, this was a part of a bigger phenomenon
4:42
Speaker 1: as we talked about the K wave or how you,
4:45
Speaker 1: which is a Chinese term of the global popularity of
4:48
Speaker 1: South Korean culture, and this term originated in nineteen ninety seven,
4:52
Speaker 1: with the popularity of a K drama titled What Is Love,
4:56
Speaker 1: which went mainstream in both China and Japan broadcasting. I
5:00
Speaker 1: don't think a bigger one happened later in Japan, like
5:03
Speaker 1: two thousand and three, as I guess, but yeah, so
5:06
Speaker 1: they had their own wave as well. And yeah, the
5:10
Speaker 1: wave kept spreading as the love of K pop groups
5:13
Speaker 1: spread throughout, including in the US. Groups like Big Bang
5:17
Speaker 1: and others were loved all of the world by teens
5:19
Speaker 1: and those in their twenties, and in twenty twenty, nearly
5:23
Speaker 1: one hundred million people have joined a hallyu or a
5:26
Speaker 1: K wave related group, including fan groups for K pop
5:29
Speaker 1: bands like BTS and Black Pink, which I love both
5:32
Speaker 1: of them. Did I listen to them as I was
5:33
Speaker 1: writing this episode? Yes, yes I was. And the rise
5:37
Speaker 1: of K pop music has not slowed down. In fact,
5:39
Speaker 1: it has expanded, with media like MTV embracing its popularity
5:43
Speaker 1: and creating a Best K Pop category in their MTV
5:47
Speaker 1: Video Music Awards in twenty nineteen. And we all know,
5:51
Speaker 1: because we've talked about this before, of the power of
5:54
Speaker 1: these fandoms such as the Army or the BTS Army.
5:58
Speaker 1: They are a force we don't mess with we love you,
6:01
Speaker 1: And with the wave only growing, the idea of South
6:04
Speaker 1: Korean culture has grown um. With distributions all over the world,
6:09
Speaker 1: K drama has become widely accepted and loved and even
6:12
Speaker 1: makes it on the top viewing streams all over the world. Yes,
6:16
Speaker 1: food is also a part of this um there's a
6:19
Speaker 1: whole push for it. Yeah, we're yeah. Yeah. So let's
6:24
Speaker 1: do a quick breakdown of some of the commonalities in
6:27
Speaker 1: KA dramas, and let's start with some of the typical tropes.
6:32
Speaker 1: According to screen Rant, here are the top common K
6:35
Speaker 1: drama tropes. Sudden amnesia, which is a great way to
6:39
Speaker 1: add suspense to your love story. Main characters who already
6:44
Speaker 1: know each other, you know, the whole oh wee cross
6:47
Speaker 1: has one time and now here we are again type thing.
6:51
Speaker 1: The disapproving parents, the parents who do not approve of
6:55
Speaker 1: the partner's status or job, best friend turned enemies thing
7:00
Speaker 1: tragic happens, and now whoops enemies. Yes, I think those
7:03
Speaker 1: are the ones that like the real as in fact,
7:06
Speaker 1: the movie I Sent You The Suspect, which going is
7:10
Speaker 1: one of my favorites. That happens in there. And then
7:14
Speaker 1: we have the friend, enemies, two lovers. Of course, that's
7:17
Speaker 1: always a thing. Uh. Then we have bring in the
7:20
Speaker 1: K pop idol and I'm gonna talk about why that's
7:22
Speaker 1: important in a bit. But yeah, if you watch again
7:25
Speaker 1: The Guardian Order the Goblin, which we were going to
7:28
Speaker 1: talk about that you had a K pop star in
7:30
Speaker 1: there and people loved him, and then always a tragic
7:35
Speaker 1: event or illness, which is why I was sobbing. But
7:37
Speaker 1: why just but why the dark past? You know, we
7:41
Speaker 1: have to have it for superhero movies, we have to
7:43
Speaker 1: have it for K dramas. Obviously the love triangles, yes,
7:48
Speaker 1: and that's an obvious and then there could be a
7:50
Speaker 1: Cinderella storyline, not my favorite, but it happens, and we
7:53
Speaker 1: know it's a trope for many, many, many stories and movies. Mum.
7:59
Speaker 1: And of course with all that we see plenty of
8:02
Speaker 1: product placement. Quite funny, every time my partner came through
8:07
Speaker 1: to as he would just walk by. Subway was constantly
8:11
Speaker 1: on that show, and I was like, did a whole
8:15
Speaker 1: piece about that and made a parody K drama a
8:19
Speaker 1: bounce Subway. It's a whole thing. Yeah, so they really
8:24
Speaker 1: loved those sandwiches. I'm not gonna lie. They didn't make
8:26
Speaker 1: it look good. I was like, oh, maybe I want
8:28
Speaker 1: a sandwich. And of course there's amazing heartwrenching soundtrack. I
8:34
Speaker 1: think they have the whole like slow mo dramatic music
8:38
Speaker 1: stare if I've ever seen it, like they have the
8:41
Speaker 1: classic the best way to do this, and of course
8:43
Speaker 1: the beautiful cinematic views. It's always glossy and very fancy
8:47
Speaker 1: looking almost like a magazine comple life. All right, so
8:52
Speaker 1: those are the troops. Well, who is watching? According to
8:56
Speaker 1: Sista dot com, at least seventy seven percent of the
8:58
Speaker 1: people that they surveyed in eighteen different countries believed that
9:02
Speaker 1: K dramas are popular even outside of the dedicated fan groups,
9:07
Speaker 1: and in the US in twenty nineteen, it's estimated around
9:09
Speaker 1: eighteen million US viewers streamed K dramas and the US
9:13
Speaker 1: only makes five to six percent of the viewers. At
9:16
Speaker 1: that time only made up five to six percent of
9:18
Speaker 1: the viewers, unlike Japan and China, where the viewership reaches
9:23
Speaker 1: about thirty percent each And as a side note, K
9:27
Speaker 1: drama popularity actually grew by forty percent during the pandemic.
9:31
Speaker 1: According to one Korean streaming network, which does not surprise me, right,
9:35
Speaker 1: and within that number of eighteen million plus viewers in
9:38
Speaker 1: the US, many of them are non Korean teenage girls.
9:42
Speaker 1: Some explanations could be linked to the love of K pop,
9:45
Speaker 1: but this is why this crossover is so important, and
9:47
Speaker 1: Korean filmmakers use these different idols in the different shows
9:52
Speaker 1: in order to bring in that viewing. One leading network
9:55
Speaker 1: told Forbes kpops the content that transfers most quickly online. Fine,
10:00
Speaker 1: but it crosses over into film, TV, food, and beauty.
10:04
Speaker 1: All of that combined has made our audience what it
10:06
Speaker 1: is today, and it's a smart play. This fact alone
10:10
Speaker 1: became a sort of kay drama in itself. The series
10:14
Speaker 1: Drama World premiered in twenty sixteen on Netflix, and the
10:17
Speaker 1: basis of it is pretty much a young woman's love
10:20
Speaker 1: for ka drama. She's like, I think nineteen and what
10:23
Speaker 1: would happen if you actually fell into one? Literally like
10:27
Speaker 1: literally fell into the phone to the drama. And unlike
10:31
Speaker 1: true KA dramas, this series is twenty minutes per episode,
10:35
Speaker 1: which takes you on this wild ride of a satirical
10:38
Speaker 1: look at KA drama. And yes, this is one of
10:41
Speaker 1: the ones that I made any wash to be like,
10:43
Speaker 1: this is a really great explainer of the love of
10:46
Speaker 1: kay drama. Did so you got their both seasons? Right?
10:50
Speaker 1: I did? I got Civilians? Yeah, I mean it was interesting.
10:54
Speaker 1: I don't know if I've told you this. Well, it
10:55
Speaker 1: was a very great explainer because I don't have that
10:58
Speaker 1: much experience outside of brief clips that I had seen
11:02
Speaker 1: before before you gave me the homework, which I enjoyed
11:06
Speaker 1: very fan fictionary, by the way, self in search is
11:09
Speaker 1: what this would be, um. But it has like a
11:14
Speaker 1: like a rule book that was very helpful of like
11:17
Speaker 1: this has to happen at the by episode three, this
11:19
Speaker 1: has to happen by episode six. But at first I
11:21
Speaker 1: couldn't get the subtitles to work, and for the life
11:24
Speaker 1: of me, I couldn't figure out if I was supposed
11:26
Speaker 1: to not have subtitles, because honestly, like half of it's
11:29
Speaker 1: in English and half of it's in Korean, you can
11:32
Speaker 1: figure out what they're saying even if you don't have
11:34
Speaker 1: the subtitles. So at first was I was like, this
11:36
Speaker 1: is a creative choice that they've made, But no, it wasn't.
11:42
Speaker 1: I didn't know that. You didn't tell me that. I
11:45
Speaker 1: think I watched like three episodes. I kept trying to
11:47
Speaker 1: get them to work and nothing would come on. So
11:49
Speaker 1: I was like, oh, okay, I guess I'm supposed to
11:51
Speaker 1: just know these strulls here are amazing thing. Yeah, I
11:57
Speaker 1: cannot believe you went with it for that one well,
11:59
Speaker 1: and so we kind of wanted to take a minute
12:01
Speaker 1: and talk about the tropes that they said in the
12:03
Speaker 1: in the movie, so here it is it is the
12:06
Speaker 1: first kiss is the defining symbol of true love. The
12:10
Speaker 1: mail lead must be a gentleman deeply considerate of women.
12:14
Speaker 1: A shower scene featuring said mail lead is essential. And
12:18
Speaker 1: the more obstacles there are to a couple's relationship, the
12:21
Speaker 1: truer the love becomes. So all of these things and
12:24
Speaker 1: then they have bystanders who helped make this happen. So yes,
12:29
Speaker 1: it's very cute. Of course, it also may cater to
12:33
Speaker 1: the non Korean audience that loves the kad drama, and
12:38
Speaker 1: it did. It was for the people who saw it
12:40
Speaker 1: loved it. I think it just didn't generate a lot
12:43
Speaker 1: of views. It kind of went away for a little bit.
12:45
Speaker 1: I was very sad because I actually binged it real
12:47
Speaker 1: quick enough. I really really loved it because it is
12:49
Speaker 1: an easy watch. You fall in love with the characters.
12:53
Speaker 1: There's it's amazing. But then it looked like, even though
12:57
Speaker 1: it didn't look like they would have a second season,
12:59
Speaker 1: they did, VICKI rackaton. I hope I'm saying that right,
13:03
Speaker 1: which is I think a US facilitator of these Asian dramas.
13:06
Speaker 1: And it's not just Korean drama, it's all the Asian dramas.
13:09
Speaker 1: They brought on a second season with characters coming back
13:13
Speaker 1: several years later, and like there's sid of all that.
13:15
Speaker 1: I believe all the originals who were playing that character
13:19
Speaker 1: with some familiar faces in there. That's added in. So
13:23
Speaker 1: I did not go it all the way through the
13:24
Speaker 1: second season. I gotta get through it. I got really
13:26
Speaker 1: caught up in the Guardian Goblin story. Well I know
13:32
Speaker 1: you've you've surpassed you did. I was like, actually said
13:37
Speaker 1: you could just need to watch a few episodes as
13:40
Speaker 1: much as I was like, well, I can get through
13:42
Speaker 1: it all all right, impressed, but you know what we
13:47
Speaker 1: should also note women aren't the only ones watching. Many
13:51
Speaker 1: men have been enjoying the tales as well, with shows
13:54
Speaker 1: like Squid Games, Academy Award winning movies like parasite men
13:58
Speaker 1: have been watching more Korean content as well, so we
14:00
Speaker 1: don't want to negate that though we are specifically talking
14:03
Speaker 1: a lot more towards the rom com look drama. The
14:07
Speaker 1: parasite is a drama. Yeah, that kind of like it's
14:10
Speaker 1: both of those things. So yeah, I think and I
14:13
Speaker 1: was kind of guilty of this as well. I do
14:14
Speaker 1: think of this sort of soap opera type thing when
14:17
Speaker 1: I hear K drama, but it means like much more
14:20
Speaker 1: and technically, yeah, and Squid Games is a K drama
14:23
Speaker 1: and yeah, yeah, it crossed over. And speaking of crossover,
14:30
Speaker 1: with the use of star powered crossovers to publicize the
14:32
Speaker 1: newest series in this realm, social media has made K
14:36
Speaker 1: dramas even more popular. The K wave has been made
14:41
Speaker 1: increasingly popular too, thanks to social media platforms like Twitter
14:45
Speaker 1: and a druma article written about the K wave, they
14:47
Speaker 1: say Twitter has been called the holy place of K
14:49
Speaker 1: pop because anyone can become a content producer, our consumer,
14:53
Speaker 1: start a conversation, or become the one who spreads new information.
14:57
Speaker 1: And we know that these fans know, how do you?
15:00
Speaker 1: Social media as both a tool and a weapon, and
15:03
Speaker 1: today more and more social media users have been sharing
15:06
Speaker 1: clips of their favorite series and movies, giving unexpected previews
15:10
Speaker 1: to followers who quickly search to find out more about
15:14
Speaker 1: the series that others are talking about. It's kind of
15:16
Speaker 1: a rabbit hole situation. Is TikTok has made it big? Yeah,
15:21
Speaker 1: and K drama production companies have honed in on the
15:23
Speaker 1: power of social media, also sharing small videos and clips
15:28
Speaker 1: to promote the newest series. So with all that, what
15:46
Speaker 1: makes K dramas different? The common consensus is that it
15:50
Speaker 1: offers something different than the typical US or mainstream series.
15:54
Speaker 1: For one, the pacing is different, and though each episode
15:57
Speaker 1: can feel like a movie, and yes they do, at
15:59
Speaker 1: the end of the sixteen to maybe nineteen episodes, it's over.
16:03
Speaker 1: You don't continue on with the story, no tenure plot.
16:06
Speaker 1: Unlike things like Gray's Anatomy, which has been on and on,
16:09
Speaker 1: or Supernatural, which went on for fifteen seasons, the stories
16:12
Speaker 1: are intermixed with different themes instead of just being one thing.
16:16
Speaker 1: It can be a dramatic comedy about aliens or gods,
16:19
Speaker 1: or a coming of age story involving mermaids. Yeah, and
16:23
Speaker 1: then there's this lack of spice. Don't get me wrong,
16:26
Speaker 1: it can still feel spicy, but this content in general
16:29
Speaker 1: is wholesome. The kiss, and I do mean the kiss
16:34
Speaker 1: is a huge plot point. There's always a giant lead up.
16:37
Speaker 1: The creators intentionally built up the kiss to translate that
16:40
Speaker 1: as a significant point to the plot and moment in
16:43
Speaker 1: the series. The series is more likely to be focused
16:46
Speaker 1: on the emotional growth and aspect and not necessarily of
16:49
Speaker 1: the physical connections. And then, yes, food is a significant
16:52
Speaker 1: character on its own. Many of the scenes take place
16:55
Speaker 1: around the dinner setting or at a restaurant. And then
16:57
Speaker 1: they aren't afraid to have their characters eat and eat well,
17:01
Speaker 1: whether it's noodles, fried chicken, kimbop, or bonchon, You'll always
17:05
Speaker 1: see a glorious array of a colorful feast. I love it.
17:08
Speaker 1: It makes me hungry, and all of those things combined
17:12
Speaker 1: make it appealing for the outside viewers. But on top
17:16
Speaker 1: of that, there is a level of relatability in these roles.
17:21
Speaker 1: The Drum wrote, Korean culture is very accessible and there
17:24
Speaker 1: has been such a push for k dramas and stories
17:26
Speaker 1: that are rooted in Koreans settings but have universal teams
17:29
Speaker 1: and archetypes that everyone across the globe can relate to.
17:32
Speaker 1: They are built on the successful universality that has really
17:35
Speaker 1: resonated with people right and then there's that level of intimacy.
17:40
Speaker 1: The viewers crave the emotional relationships that take place throughout
17:43
Speaker 1: the series. It is a relationship oriented thing and all
17:46
Speaker 1: of it seems to be based on new or at
17:48
Speaker 1: least at the beginning of the relationships, so people get
17:51
Speaker 1: really invested and for dramas once again, like The Guardian
17:55
Speaker 1: or Goblin because it's according to how you translate it,
17:57
Speaker 1: the Lonely and Great God. It looks to Laura, death
18:00
Speaker 1: and grief on a scale both intimate and grand. And
18:04
Speaker 1: most of these series are created to look at different
18:06
Speaker 1: challenges with a fantastical level of perception, so it makes
18:10
Speaker 1: it more interesting way to grieve, I guess. And then
18:14
Speaker 1: there is a difference in the gender roles and a
18:16
Speaker 1: hill within the industry as well as a series themselves.
18:20
Speaker 1: With the rise of more women writers in the K
18:22
Speaker 1: drama world, they give a different perspective interpretation in the
18:26
Speaker 1: film industry and this brings us to the female gaze
18:29
Speaker 1: in the industry as well. In twenty twenty one, Vogue
18:32
Speaker 1: India did an article titled in case you missed It,
18:34
Speaker 1: I see why am I K dramas have turned the
18:37
Speaker 1: male gaze on men so different perspectives. Here the writer
18:41
Speaker 1: explores what that actually looks like and how women's screenwriters
18:44
Speaker 1: have been allowing for women to express their sexuality through
18:48
Speaker 1: these series and films. And in this article they write,
18:52
Speaker 1: looking at men through a distinctly female gaze is a
18:55
Speaker 1: reflection of a bolder attitude towards women's sexuality for viewers
18:59
Speaker 1: as well as for the writers. And in that same miracle,
19:02
Speaker 1: they say with a higher volume of female voices in
19:04
Speaker 1: the writer's room, it also stands to reason that on
19:07
Speaker 1: screen displays of affection are treated with greater sensitivity and care.
19:12
Speaker 1: Unlike the bedsheet ripping tables being knocked over archetype propagated
19:17
Speaker 1: by mainstream television. The camera doesn't treat women as an
19:20
Speaker 1: object to underscore the sensuality of a moment. Instead, it
19:23
Speaker 1: delves into the emotions attached to the experience. With K dramas,
19:28
Speaker 1: the thrill is always about the emotional journey, and physical
19:31
Speaker 1: intimacy is consistently treated as secondary. And this is in
19:35
Speaker 1: the article the Fangirl Verdict of Firms and Ads. It's
19:38
Speaker 1: not uncommon for the camera to linger appreciatively and indulgently
19:42
Speaker 1: over the male lead. But no matter how the scene
19:45
Speaker 1: is framed, the focus will be on closeups of the
19:48
Speaker 1: lead couple's face, with extra attention given to their eyes
19:52
Speaker 1: so that we can interpret how the physical intimacy stems
19:55
Speaker 1: from their emotional intimacy and what the milestones means to
19:58
Speaker 1: them both. Because the perspective of the stories are from women,
20:02
Speaker 1: the leading woman has started to change as well. The
20:05
Speaker 1: sort of archetype of the leading woman, whether they are
20:08
Speaker 1: the innocent young girl or the powerhouse executive. The women
20:11
Speaker 1: in charge in the writing room have made changes to
20:15
Speaker 1: see these women as leaders in these case dramas as well, right,
20:20
Speaker 1: and the perspective of the men has been rewritten. The
20:23
Speaker 1: sensitive soul who we often see with a single tier
20:26
Speaker 1: running down their cheese, has become more in demand. He
20:30
Speaker 1: was some shirtless scenes, yeah, sure, of course. And also
20:35
Speaker 1: with the continued rise of women writers. According to the
20:39
Speaker 1: Korean Broadcast Writers Union, they estimated that ninety four point
20:42
Speaker 1: six percent of screenwriters were women in twenty eighteen, we
20:45
Speaker 1: see a rise of women led series. In twenty twenty one,
20:49
Speaker 1: at least fifty three percent of the lead characters in
20:52
Speaker 1: the dramas were women. The betrayals have slowly changed over
20:56
Speaker 1: the years. Yes, with more women the hel of these scripts,
20:58
Speaker 1: the diversity of careers and choices the women make within
21:01
Speaker 1: these stories has only grown. There are many different arguments
21:06
Speaker 1: as to why these changes have been happening. Is it
21:09
Speaker 1: a reflection of where women in South Korea are today?
21:12
Speaker 1: With the declining birth rate and marriage rates, women are changing.
21:16
Speaker 1: Is it just a reflection of that right? And it
21:19
Speaker 1: could be feminism And as we recently talked about the
21:22
Speaker 1: state of feminism and gender equality in South Korea, it
21:25
Speaker 1: seems that the women in the film industries are speaking
21:28
Speaker 1: out as well. The recent success of the novel turn
21:31
Speaker 1: movie Kimjian More nineteen eighty two, which follows the life
21:34
Speaker 1: of a housewife battling depression, ginger discrimination, and inequality, has
21:39
Speaker 1: only shown the pervasive need for more conversation concerning the
21:42
Speaker 1: unequal balances when it comes to women and marginalized people
21:45
Speaker 1: in that country. And as screenwriter of the movie said, quote,
21:48
Speaker 1: today's women don't just want to see women portrayed favorably.
21:52
Speaker 1: They want to see women who can do anything, even
21:54
Speaker 1: if that's lie, cheat, and fight for power and they
21:57
Speaker 1: are seeking quote to have their anxieties record. Guys. But
22:01
Speaker 1: even with all these good things and the things that
22:03
Speaker 1: we love, there are controversies within K drama. For so
22:07
Speaker 1: long before the direction of the different series change. Like
22:10
Speaker 1: we just talked about, there are many problematic issues and
22:13
Speaker 1: honestly they still are that made many viewers uncomfortable. The
22:18
Speaker 1: series often romanticized abusive relationships with young with young love
22:23
Speaker 1: and young dating. Also with the fact that the male,
22:26
Speaker 1: often male protagonists often forcibly grabbing women's arms or like
22:30
Speaker 1: pulling at them to kiss them or to make a
22:33
Speaker 1: passionate speech, or how they continue to glance over things
22:38
Speaker 1: like emotional and physical abuse towards children or towards housewives
22:42
Speaker 1: or wives in general. And in twenty seventeen, it was
22:45
Speaker 1: so bad that Musty International Korea actually reprimanded K dramas
22:49
Speaker 1: or these types of portrayals. And then there are the
22:53
Speaker 1: unrealistic standards set by many of these beautiful actors and actresses.
22:58
Speaker 1: And though most do know that it is is unrealistic,
23:01
Speaker 1: it doesn't change that the beauty industry profits a lot
23:04
Speaker 1: from these series. Many of the more popular stars and
23:07
Speaker 1: pop stars have their own cosmetic and beauty lines. The
23:12
Speaker 1: Korean standard for women continues to haunt them, and having
23:15
Speaker 1: these betrayals only perpetuates those standards. There's also very little
23:19
Speaker 1: LGBTQ plus representation, and those things have been changing. The
23:24
Speaker 1: country as a whole is not completely welcoming to that community.
23:29
Speaker 1: Not unlike the US, the characters and storylines for gay
23:32
Speaker 1: characters often seemed tokenized and queerbating, but they have made strides,
23:38
Speaker 1: and in general, for anything that is deemed controversial, censorship
23:41
Speaker 1: of content is common. In twenty fourteen, after a film
23:45
Speaker 1: showed two girls kissing, they received a warning from the
23:48
Speaker 1: Korea Communications Standards Commission for quote broken moral standards, and
23:54
Speaker 1: as we said earlier, some of the content is often
23:56
Speaker 1: criticized as queerbating. A specific category which came from Japanese
24:01
Speaker 1: manga and anime titled bl Or Boys Love, which depicts
24:06
Speaker 1: a relationship between two men, has been both praised and criticized.
24:11
Speaker 1: Some of those criticisms include that they have only one
24:15
Speaker 1: dimensional depictions, as well as it being seen as fetishism
24:18
Speaker 1: for cis straight women, who are often the ones writing
24:21
Speaker 1: and watching this specific content. And though the LGBTQ plus
24:26
Speaker 1: community has received support from the country as a whole.
24:29
Speaker 1: Like For instance, a Times article reported seven out of
24:31
Speaker 1: ten South Koreans believe that it is wrong to discriminate
24:34
Speaker 1: against sexual minorities. Still, representation has been lacking and the
24:39
Speaker 1: government has not helped and pushing for more representation and
24:42
Speaker 1: equality to the queer community. Even though yeah, most support
24:46
Speaker 1: an antidiscrimination law that was proposed in twenty seventeen, it
24:50
Speaker 1: might not be voted on until twenty twenty four, though, yeah,
24:53
Speaker 1: if at all. Let's be honest and kind of similar
24:56
Speaker 1: to what we talked about in our romance novel episode
25:00
Speaker 1: conversation about is it giving unrealistic expectations in love? Some
25:04
Speaker 1: feel that this type of drama often sets up its
25:07
Speaker 1: viewers to fail. Is it healthy to expect that being
25:10
Speaker 1: together with someone will solve all your problems? Of course,
25:12
Speaker 1: not that the toxic then turned good guy will always
25:16
Speaker 1: remain that good guy. Know that if there isn't magic
25:20
Speaker 1: in a relationship, then it's not a good or real one.
25:23
Speaker 1: So people keep It's kind of that holding of who
25:26
Speaker 1: believes what and what are the expectations. I believe we
25:29
Speaker 1: already talked about that. As being said, that's not typically
25:32
Speaker 1: true for those who consume this, but you know it
25:36
Speaker 1: is something to question. Sure, sure, Sure. However, there are
25:39
Speaker 1: studies out there that show that some mental health professionals
25:42
Speaker 1: use Katie dramas as a source. Some have talked about
25:46
Speaker 1: how important shows like these help to stigmatize mental health issues,
25:50
Speaker 1: and even have used these specific dramas as a conversation starter.
25:55
Speaker 1: There's a therapist who uses it for marriage and family therapy.
25:57
Speaker 1: The therapist Jenny y Chang told Forbes, in our culture,
26:01
Speaker 1: there's a stigma to talking about even being depressed or
26:04
Speaker 1: being anxious. Let me tie in a K drama and
26:07
Speaker 1: it really connects with the parents, especially. Go ahead and
26:11
Speaker 1: watch the scene. This is your homework. And even if
26:13
Speaker 1: you have not watched the drama, they can watch this
26:16
Speaker 1: scene and they'll come back to me and say, Okay,
26:19
Speaker 1: now I can visualize what you mean. And it has
26:21
Speaker 1: helped bridge the gap a little between cultures. So I
26:25
Speaker 1: found that fascinating. That's something to note. Who knows, because
26:28
Speaker 1: I will say, they are not afraid of showing emotion.
26:33
Speaker 1: So much emotion, a lot of emotion. Again in the
26:39
Speaker 1: sample set I have consumed. That was my experience. Yes,
26:44
Speaker 1: that's true. Okay, So because we've done all of this,
26:48
Speaker 1: and I did. You're like, let's let's talk about the
26:50
Speaker 1: specific dramas, which shows we know that you did. Drama World,
26:54
Speaker 1: give me a list of what you watched. I get
26:56
Speaker 1: where I did your whole list? Did you? I did?
27:00
Speaker 1: Because there was three I didn't finish. You did send
27:03
Speaker 1: me several lists. I took a picture of it. I did. Okay,
27:09
Speaker 1: so I haven't finished Goblin or Guardian, but I did.
27:14
Speaker 1: I think I got to eight or nine, and they're
27:17
Speaker 1: just what twenty sixteen sixteen. The last three are like
27:20
Speaker 1: the specials of the behind the scenes. They are quite long.
27:24
Speaker 1: I was not anticipating then. I didn't either, I think
27:28
Speaker 1: because I was watching it and I was like, because
27:32
Speaker 1: I saw I was on a free trial of the
27:34
Speaker 1: Vicki Reckaton and I saw there was only two, and
27:38
Speaker 1: I was like, okay, I'll get to the end of
27:39
Speaker 1: this two and see how I'm doing. And I remember
27:42
Speaker 1: at one point I was like, surely I've watched like
27:44
Speaker 1: four already, not because I didn't like them, but because
27:47
Speaker 1: I wasn't that much to happen anyone episode. Yes, there's
27:52
Speaker 1: a lot, and then they have these breaks where you
27:54
Speaker 1: don't quite know if it was the ending and this
27:57
Speaker 1: is the whole like dramatic sound and lights, all of
28:03
Speaker 1: the all of the effects. So yes, I agree with you. Also,
28:06
Speaker 1: I did the same thing when I first watched the
28:08
Speaker 1: two episodes. I was like, okay, I watched six episodes.
28:10
Speaker 1: Cool and I was like, oh no, that was that
28:12
Speaker 1: was those one too? Oh oh wow, Okay. When we
28:16
Speaker 1: were doing this episode, was like, I'm gonna need a
28:18
Speaker 1: second because I would like to get through this and
28:19
Speaker 1: I did not realize I'm not even halfway through. And
28:24
Speaker 1: I tried my best. I tried my d you did good.
28:27
Speaker 1: You did good. This is one of those ones too,
28:30
Speaker 1: Like I have seen many of people go back and
28:32
Speaker 1: forth like it was again one of the most highly
28:34
Speaker 1: rated shows because this was how this came out in
28:36
Speaker 1: twenty sixteen. But like people were like, I didn't get
28:39
Speaker 1: into it. It was hard to get into it. Is
28:41
Speaker 1: it cold? Like I found it entertaining, but trying to
28:44
Speaker 1: marathon this it's hard. So for me specifically these types
28:49
Speaker 1: of dramas, I can do it, but it's a lot
28:51
Speaker 1: harder to do than I expect because the episodes are
28:54
Speaker 1: so long, and when it's shorter, you take the breaks,
28:57
Speaker 1: but they do give you breaks with that dramatize the stuff.
29:01
Speaker 1: It was fun. I mean, I enjoyed it. It was
29:03
Speaker 1: not what I thought it was gonna be at all.
29:05
Speaker 1: I like time jumps and yeah demons and grim Reapers,
29:10
Speaker 1: and I love that they did a I think they
29:12
Speaker 1: did a great job with a flashbox because you don't
29:14
Speaker 1: quite know what's happening. You think you kind of know,
29:16
Speaker 1: and there's some of the things that, yeah, I definitely
29:18
Speaker 1: know this, but I was like, oh, oh, oh, it's
29:23
Speaker 1: pretty funny too. It's a funny yes, I left at Yeah,
29:29
Speaker 1: the fun of themselves. Yeah. Often, Yeah, that's what I
29:32
Speaker 1: was gonna say. It was a lot of like we
29:34
Speaker 1: realized this is kind of ridiculous, but yes, this grim
29:37
Speaker 1: Reaper they're in a roommate situation and they don't like
29:41
Speaker 1: each other, but they kind of like each other. Yes,
29:44
Speaker 1: it's quite hilarious. They I don't know if you've made
29:46
Speaker 1: it to the point. I'm sure you saw the which
29:49
Speaker 1: by the way, I saw this clip in TikTok, the
29:51
Speaker 1: walk up scene when they're rescuing her in the car.
29:54
Speaker 1: Saw that that's okay. Did you see the throwback to it?
30:00
Speaker 1: I think he actually makes a comment, it makes fun
30:02
Speaker 1: of it, and they do a throwback and they completely
30:04
Speaker 1: make fun of the whole thing. I think I just
30:07
Speaker 1: got to the like big reveal. I won't spoil it,
30:09
Speaker 1: but about like after the bus thing. Oh, that's where
30:13
Speaker 1: I am. So I don't know if okay, I don't
30:15
Speaker 1: think it, I would have no, you would have noticed it.
30:18
Speaker 1: It was a very obvious. So there's a lot to
30:21
Speaker 1: this and I really enjoyed what it was because this
30:25
Speaker 1: is your very typical what you would think of as
30:29
Speaker 1: k drama and Gong You, who is a huge celebrity
30:33
Speaker 1: in Korea as well as outside of South Korea because
30:35
Speaker 1: he was in Squid Games and so many more things.
30:38
Speaker 1: He apparently had taken a hiatus and this was one
30:41
Speaker 1: of his first acting gigs back, and so everybody was
30:45
Speaker 1: super excited about his return. There's also a great point
30:49
Speaker 1: where they make fun of him as the actor. They
30:52
Speaker 1: actually say his name. I thought it was hilarious. I
30:54
Speaker 1: was like, what was happening the one thing and again
30:57
Speaker 1: I didn't we didn't talk about this with the problematic
30:59
Speaker 1: things started to do a flip all of a sudden,
31:01
Speaker 1: and I love this, but one of the biggest conversations
31:04
Speaker 1: about it is the age gap in many of the
31:07
Speaker 1: actors that portray it, the male protagonist to the female protagonist.
31:11
Speaker 1: So we have a very like I was uncomfortable as
31:14
Speaker 1: much as I enjoyed it, I was really uncomfortable by
31:16
Speaker 1: the fact that she was a high schooler even though
31:18
Speaker 1: she's nineteen. But he was obviously thirty nine and she's nineteen.
31:22
Speaker 1: There's like so much awkwardness to me that I was like,
31:26
Speaker 1: I don't I am not comfortable with any of this
31:29
Speaker 1: conversation even though she was actually twenty five, right, she's
31:33
Speaker 1: a twenty five year old. Is still the difference and ages,
31:37
Speaker 1: which is so okay. Oftentimes when it's a man to
31:39
Speaker 1: a woman, it is it could be a problem. Make
31:43
Speaker 1: thing that's I cannot not think of that that is
31:45
Speaker 1: not something that I can do. Right, did that with
31:48
Speaker 1: the whole Game of Thrones, A House and Dragon. I
31:51
Speaker 1: was like, I'm so uncomfortable with this whole situation that
31:54
Speaker 1: I needed to look up their ages and who was
31:56
Speaker 1: protecting these kids? Right? The one thing about KA dramas,
32:00
Speaker 1: again though they don't do that romance flashy things that
32:05
Speaker 1: I'm so uncomfortable with, even though it's insinuated and there's
32:08
Speaker 1: an intimacy there, it's not physical intimacy, so it's kind
32:11
Speaker 1: of like, ah, this is a problem, but at least
32:13
Speaker 1: they don't do this, right, Yeah, I mean that was
32:16
Speaker 1: one of my biggest hang ups too, especially like because
32:18
Speaker 1: he's a I don't know, centuries year old god. It's
32:22
Speaker 1: like hanging out outside for high school and asking her
32:24
Speaker 1: about her test, don't we But I will say, like,
32:29
Speaker 1: not in defensive but also it's not like our media
32:33
Speaker 1: doesn't do that. It's when everyone That's why I was
32:36
Speaker 1: like talking about the House of Dragons, like they do
32:38
Speaker 1: that too, even worse to the point that they have
32:40
Speaker 1: sexualized scenes. So that's to me of course, like it's
32:44
Speaker 1: like a conversation, but the double standards that exist, yeah,
32:47
Speaker 1: definitely is there. Right. Kind of thought the same thing
32:50
Speaker 1: about Drama World because I had to check the age
32:52
Speaker 1: of the leading actress to the leading protagonist males protacton
32:55
Speaker 1: this because I was like, that's a huge age jump.
32:57
Speaker 1: What's happening, right? Yeah, Yeah, I do think that's interesting,
33:03
Speaker 1: and that's does show up a lot in our media,
33:06
Speaker 1: but it sort of goes back. I did. I know
33:10
Speaker 1: it's annoying, but I had so many that's like, I
33:11
Speaker 1: see this in fan fiction all the time, but I do.
33:13
Speaker 1: It's that thing again with kind of the power gap,
33:15
Speaker 1: the kind of like the age gap, the power dynamic,
33:19
Speaker 1: and it's just playing out in these dramas, which I
33:23
Speaker 1: think there's a like multitude of reasons why that's happening, right,
33:27
Speaker 1: But yeah, that was certainly something where I was like, Okay, yeah,
33:30
Speaker 1: everyone seems to be okay, right, We're all good here, right,
33:36
Speaker 1: I know we all have to check in a like
33:37
Speaker 1: every I think, okay, everything okay, okay, okay. So what
33:54
Speaker 1: else did you watch? I watched The Island, So I
33:58
Speaker 1: only watched two episodes of the Island. So you've made
34:00
Speaker 1: it way farther than I did in that one. I
34:03
Speaker 1: watched The Swindlers in the Suspect. That was my list.
34:07
Speaker 1: That is what I did. I did not watch. I don't.
34:11
Speaker 1: I think there was a mixup because I did not
34:13
Speaker 1: watch the show The Island. I watched the Korean movie
34:15
Speaker 1: The Island, which I didn't have a lot of these
34:17
Speaker 1: themes um so popular movie, but no, that's not the
34:22
Speaker 1: one I was talking about. Well, there was a slight
34:25
Speaker 1: mix up then I was impressed. I was like, oh,
34:29
Speaker 1: I couldn't should I let her believe that? And I
34:33
Speaker 1: was like to ask you, I think it would be
34:36
Speaker 1: pretty obvious you were not. We're not talking about the
34:39
Speaker 1: same one. It is a fantasy series in which it
34:43
Speaker 1: has also have time travel. I think one of the
34:46
Speaker 1: biggest appeals for me when it comes to you know what,
34:49
Speaker 1: when it comes to a Game of Thrones as well
34:51
Speaker 1: as Korean dramas like this, there's so much history, especially
34:55
Speaker 1: when it comes to traditions, and there's so many mystical
34:57
Speaker 1: ideas out there pertaining two specific history that it has
35:01
Speaker 1: a wide array of plot abilities, Like there's so many
35:05
Speaker 1: things that you could go through and not know. So
35:09
Speaker 1: the Island similar. It's more action packed, a little more
35:12
Speaker 1: horror base than Goblin slash Guardian because obviously that's a
35:18
Speaker 1: little more romantic rather than this one. I did also
35:22
Speaker 1: have you do two kay movies k drama movies at again. Gongyu. Sorry,
35:27
Speaker 1: he's just He's just I just love him and I
35:29
Speaker 1: adore him, and don't tell me anything bad. Actually, do
35:32
Speaker 1: tell me so if there's some bad things that I
35:33
Speaker 1: need know about him. But right now he has a
35:35
Speaker 1: place in My Heart and the Suspect is actually the
35:38
Speaker 1: first movie I saw with him, which I believe he
35:41
Speaker 1: did soon after he was discharged from his military stint
35:45
Speaker 1: that he is required to do in South Korea. And
35:48
Speaker 1: it has a very common theme that many of the
35:52
Speaker 1: South Korean movies have, which is the North Korean South
35:55
Speaker 1: Korean spy aspect. It does. It is very reminiscent of
36:00
Speaker 1: the born identity. Yes, I know, but has gone you
36:03
Speaker 1: and I love it. And apparently he and the actors
36:05
Speaker 1: have portrayed the reporter has actually done several movies together,
36:09
Speaker 1: so they just won recently. That's supposed to be really good,
36:14
Speaker 1: so but it is. It also has the losing of
36:17
Speaker 1: the wife turned enemy thing, finding of the child. There's
36:21
Speaker 1: always a child involved, yeah, and of course a lot
36:25
Speaker 1: of fighting and a lot of guns. And the one
36:27
Speaker 1: angry good guy who you don't really root for because
36:31
Speaker 1: he's always angry, and the one dorky dude who is
36:35
Speaker 1: kind of the clown that is in many of those movies.
36:39
Speaker 1: How did you feel about that movie? I liked it
36:41
Speaker 1: a lot, I would say for both of them. Excellent
36:45
Speaker 1: action sequences, kind of surprisingly more. Maybe this is just me,
36:50
Speaker 1: but I was like, wow, this is got violent pretty quick,
36:52
Speaker 1: or like sad, like a death very quickly though you're
36:55
Speaker 1: supposed to connect to and like wait a minute, whoa
36:58
Speaker 1: they do tragedy very quickly. I will say that same
37:02
Speaker 1: thing with a Swindler. The immediate like death and you're
37:05
Speaker 1: like what just happened. But there's a lot of like
37:07
Speaker 1: twists and turns where you kind of enjoy it. You
37:09
Speaker 1: definitely have the villain, like there's an obvious villain. It
37:12
Speaker 1: did kind of like go through the Ocean's eleven type
37:16
Speaker 1: of trip because you don't quite know what's happening, somewhat
37:19
Speaker 1: predictable but not quite predictable. I really enjoyed it though.
37:23
Speaker 1: I think that both of those movies it's violent but wholesome. Yeah.
37:30
Speaker 1: That way, it was like Bourne identity. It wasn't like
37:32
Speaker 1: anything yeah that we don't see a lot in our
37:35
Speaker 1: immedia at all. I think I was just like not
37:37
Speaker 1: expecting those like oh, that person's dead. Now you have
37:42
Speaker 1: the catalyst and both of those things. I didn't even
37:46
Speaker 1: give you those movies that I liked that are traumatic. Yeah,
37:50
Speaker 1: I'm not going to do this to you because it's
37:53
Speaker 1: that Yeah. Yeah, I will say Korean horror movies do
37:58
Speaker 1: not hold back. They will mess with you real hard. Yeah, yeah, yes, yes,
38:04
Speaker 1: like I've been traumatized by those. When they go in,
38:08
Speaker 1: they go all the way in. It seems well, well ady,
38:13
Speaker 1: come samny Da. Thank you so much for joining me
38:15
Speaker 1: in this journey as I talk about some of the
38:19
Speaker 1: things that I have rediscovered in this familiarity in k dramas,
38:23
Speaker 1: and also about why and how the US and non
38:28
Speaker 1: Korean people are just falling in love and continuing to
38:30
Speaker 1: fall in love. I really do hope that it continues
38:33
Speaker 1: to grow because I feel like it does open up
38:35
Speaker 1: a lot of conversations and ways. Again, I want to
38:38
Speaker 1: get Marissa's opinion on some things. I would love to
38:41
Speaker 1: hear her mother's opinions on some of these things as well,
38:43
Speaker 1: because I know she's got a list waiting for you
38:45
Speaker 1: as well. I'm interested in this list. Well, that's why
38:47
Speaker 1: I had the pictures on my phone RADI to go,
38:49
Speaker 1: because I sent your list to her to give to
38:52
Speaker 1: her mom. But yeah, I really want to see this
38:54
Speaker 1: list as well. Yeah, I'm intrigued. Yes, Well, thank you
38:59
Speaker 1: for the the homework. I had a good time doing it.
39:03
Speaker 1: I'm sure we will revisit it soon. Yes, yes, yes, yes,
39:06
Speaker 1: and listeners. If you've got any recommendations. I have a
39:09
Speaker 1: feeling much of some good recommendations out there. Yes, please
39:12
Speaker 1: let us know. You can emails at Steffandie you mom
39:14
Speaker 1: stuff at iHeartMedia dot com. You can find us on
39:17
Speaker 1: Twitter at Mom's to podcast, or on Instagram and TikTok
39:20
Speaker 1: at stuff I've Never Told You. You can also find
39:22
Speaker 1: us on YouTube. Thanks as always too, our super producer Christina,
39:27
Speaker 1: our executive producer Maya, and contributor extraordinaire Joey. You couldn't
39:31
Speaker 1: do it without you. Thank you so much, and thanks
39:34
Speaker 1: to you for listening. Steff I Never Told You production
39:37
Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. For more podcast in my Heart Radio, you
39:39
Speaker 1: can check out the Heart Radio, a Apple podcast I'll
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