GRSJ224/Feminism in Korean TV Dramas

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Overview

A famous K-drama called 'Iris'.

One of the most popular cultural phenomenon in South Korea has been the television dramas, often called K-dramas, that has become a global entertainment[1]. With its increasing popularity, K-dramas have become easily accessible through various streaming platforms, such as Netflix, Hulu, Viki and more. Through K-dramas, South Korea portray the cultural trends and have emphasized their role of media within the society. Moreover, among the various themes of family virtues, traditions and romance, K-dramas have shown to be addressing the feminist concerns to the audience since the early 20th century until today. Challenging the norm of a "patriarchal capitalist society", emphasis on feminism through K-dramas have caused controversies in South Korea throughout its years[2].

Feminism and Gender Inequality in South Korea

History

In 1970s and 1980s, in regards to the law in the hoju system, South Korea had a policy in which directly stated that men was the head of a household[3]. With this policy, South Korea obtained its dominant ideology of a patriarchal society as the traditional roles of men and women were fixated; men would have a job while women would stay at home.

During 1987, as citizens began demanding democratization, Kim Young-Sam, the first South Korean civilian was elected as president in 1993. This official change into democracy gave citizens confidence, creating opportunities for their voices to be heard[2]. Moreover, along with the economic development, more women began to take jobs and feminists started to become more active. According to the newspaper Cho Han, feminists started to fight for gender equality during these times[4]. Around the 1990s, feminism appeared through art and media. For instance, young married women were referred to as "Missy", which represented sophisticated, independent women[2].

Kim Dae-Jung, President of South Korea in 1998.

However, in 1997, South Korea faced an economic crisis during the Asian financial crisis and multiple large companies went bankrupt, with a serious impact on the foreign exchange. Eventually, South Korea was under the authority of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and resulted in an increase in unemployment[5]. Many men lost their jobs and their wives often worked for low-paid service jobs to compensate their husbands at home[5]. The slowdown in the economy stirred gender inequality, reversing the traditional roles of women and men. The issue of gender inequality was evident through the increase in divorce rates, and decrease in marriage rates since the 1970s[6].

Furthermore, with Kim Dae-Jung as president in 1998, pro-women policies stated by the government motivated the feminist groups in South Korea[2]. More women expressed self-assertiveness and independence, affecting the norm of a patriarchal society.

Present

Gender inequality continues in South Korea, as in 2016, on May 17th, a 34 year old man murdered a 23 year old woman at a public toilet in Gang-nam, a busy district in Seoul. Infamously known as the "Gang-nam murder case", according to the man, he had murdered the woman because she had ignored him [7]. Despite the verdict of the criminal having mental illness, this incident evoked petitions and protests on anti-misogyny in South Korea[7].

According to the World Economic Forum, South Korea is ranked 115th out of 145 countries on gender equality[8]. Until today, traditional roles of women are still enforced, as pregnant women are encouraged to quit their jobs, and women are constantly reminded that they should not be ambitious but have more children.

Korean TV Dramas and Gender Dynamics

Throughout the years, K-dramas have gained its popularity through its major theme of romance, intertwined with other themes of money, class, and family traditions. Within popular culture, K-drama worked to accommodate the interests of a broad range of audience, grabbing the attentions of citizens world-wide. The roles of K-drama within the society has been critical, as they function to address important social issues within the culture itself. In the early 1990s, women were portrayed to be mistreated by their husbands because of the traditional gender roles. Many scenes in K-drama consist of "forced kisses" where the male characters often grab the opposing female characters and kiss them brutally, or female characters are often bossed around by the male characters. Yet, all these scenarios are romanticized in K-dramas.

Moreover, since 1990s, K-dramas considered the concerns of people and what was worthy of representation in media. Reaching out to a large scale of audience, K-drama created opportunities for people to discuss further about issues of feminism and gender equality in the society. As far as it goes, K-drama works to depict the popular cultural trends of South Korea.

Representation of Women in K-Dramas in 20th Century

A notable K-drama that was highly debated and in controversy was "Lovers", aired between Sep 2, 1996 - Oct 22, 1996[2]. It is a mini-series of 16 episodes, and illustrates a story about a married couple who breaks up eventually as they both have an affair. The female characters are independent, with professional careers such as event producer, vice-chief and a fashion designer. Consequently, they also "refuse male authority" in the story[2]. For instance, the female protagonist, Yoon Yeo Kyeong, decides to leave her husband as he wants her to focus on family affairs rather than obtaining her career. What's more, she wins the custody of her son as a single mom, which was not really common during the period in South Korea.

One of the themes highlighted is the issue of traditional gender roles. In this K-drama, the protagonist represents the changing socio-economic status of South Korean women during the late 1990s. Moreover, it conveys the struggle of women within the social norm of a patriarchal society in the 20th century, as they challenged the commonly described ways of family system. As a result, this caused controversies among critics, as they claimed that this drama is strictly portrayed from a women's perspective, potentially causing problems for the society[2]. They labelled the drama as "immoral" or "problematic"[2]. According to an article in Segye Ilbo entitled, "Television drama and the collapse of family", the article expressed the issues of Lovers causing harm to the pre-existing family system in South Korea [9]. What's more, congressmen demanded to stop broadcasting the television series "to protect the family [as it] is the last fortress of society"[10].

Numerous newspapers in South Korea commented on the negative impact of Lovers, commenting on its inappropriate display of act in extramarital affairs. Nevertheless, both the author of the series and the director explained that the drama focuses on the equal relationship between a couple, rather than on the "traditional roles of men and women"[2]. They added that the drama illustrates how men and women with jobs are able to develop "equal relations"[2]. In fact, this television series gained a huge number of female audience, influencing females to copy the actress' hairstyles, accessories and so on[2]. Through this television series, it helped to increase awareness of gender inequality around the late 1990s.

Representation of Women in K-Dramas in the New Century

Another example of a K-drama relating feminism and gender equality is called "Lady Next Door", aired during July 16 - August 21, 2003. Through 12 episodes, the story unfolds the lives of three women, displaying the reversed roles of men and women in society. Soo-mi, the female protagonist obtains a career while her husband stays at home, taking care of the household. In this particular drama, the female characters are outspoken and confident as they are not shy in expressing their "sexual desires"[2]. What's more, in comparison to Lovers (1996), this drama illustrates more occasions of extramarital affairs as 7 out of 9 main characters get involved with love affairs [2]. However, reviews and newspapers changed the description of these dramas in 2003, stepping away from its negative comments. Rather, they described how the characters represented reality in South Korea, acknowledging the current issues of gender equality and female liberation[2]. For example, even before the drama was broadcasted, many articles in newspapers made positive comments on the characters of the series[2]. In an article in Daehan Maeil, they described one of the female characters as a "professional of love affairs, also [showing] the image of a self-confident, active woman, who can manage everything,"[11]. Other critics called for sympathy towards the content of the drama as these things happen in reality. This highlights the change in South Korean citizen's perspective towards females and their liberation in society from the 1990s.

Yoon Eun-Hye, Female Lead in Coffee Prince, aired in 2007.

Yet, critics still claimed about the limitations of female liberation. They stated that females should still work to keep the family system, and defended the dominant ideology of a patriarchal society. In another article from Kyunghang Shinmoon, they noted how extramarital affairs committed by women causes "disruption [to] family", emphasizing on gender inequality[12]. To add, they compared extramarital affairs between men and women and concluded that women's affair are more "severe"[2]. Furthermore, the writer of "Lady Next Door" responded by explaining the purpose of the drama; highlighting on the problems between married couples in reality and how they should "embrace" one another[2].

Regardless, myriad of K-dramas incorporated concerns of women's social status in South Korea, illustrating their values in the 21st century. For example, Coffee Prince , which is another famous television series aired in 2007. This drama illustrates the power of a heroine, reflecting the social concerns in Korea rather differently. By reversing the stereotypical gender representation, it gained its popularity due to the unique portrayal of the female protagonist as a tomboy. Unlike the past K-dramas where the story involves a transformation of the protagonists, the protagonist stays true to herself until the end of the series.

Until today, more K-dramas with strong female leads are increasingly produced, expressing the concerns regarding gender equality and female sexuality. The top K-dramas are listed below:

References

  1. ↑ "Korean Drama". Wikipedia.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 Kim, Sumi (17 Nov 2008). "Feminist Discourse and the Hegemonic Role of Mass Media". Feminist Media Studies. 8:4: 391–406, DOI: 10.1080/14680770802420303.
  3. ↑ Kim, Rosa (1-1-1994). [lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/twlj/vol14/iss1/7 "The Legacy of Institutionalized Gender Inequality in South Korea: The Family Law"] Check |url= value (help). Boston College Third World Law Journal. 14:1: 145–162. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ↑ CHO HAN, HAE-JEONG (2002) Reflective Modernism and Feminism, Tomoon, Seoul.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kim, Dong-one (6 June 2003). "Globalization, Financial Crisis, and Industrial Relations: The Case of South Korea". Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society. 42:3: 341–367.
  6. ↑ Lim, Jae-Woo (30 November 2011). "The changing trends in live birth statistics in Korea, 1970 to 2010". Korean Journal of Pediatrics. 54:11: 429–435.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Seocho-dong public toilet murder case". wikipedia.
  8. ↑ Kim, So-Hyun (Dec 18, 2018). "Korea ranks 115th in gender parity report by WEF". The Korea Herald.
  9. ↑ SEGYE ILBO (1996) 'Talking back and forth', 12 October, p.1
  10. ↑ KWON, SANG-EUN (1996) 'Drama Lovers and the parliamentary inspection', Chosun Ilbo, 17 October, p. 47
  11. ↑ CHAE, SOO-BUM (2003) 'Let's look forward to seeing a playgirl and super woman: Actress Byun, Jung-Su in The woman Next Door', Daehan Maeil, 14 July, p. 29.
  12. ↑ CHUNG, JI-HYOON (2003) 'Loose women are increasing in numbers', Kyunghang Shinmoon, 29 August, p. 33.
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