A Comparative Reading of Japanese and Korean Dramas

Lest anyone imagine that my criticisms of the powerful strains of xenophobia and selective amnesia which run through modern Korean society make me any kind of "Korea hater", let me take this opportunity to point out that there are more than a few aspects of today's Korea that I find admirable, even if I don't write about them - negative news generally makes for more interesting commentary.

One such aspect is the vibrancy of Korea's domestic entertainment industry (especially by comparison with the dreariness of Europe's homegrown fare), whose products have taken the rest of Asia west of India by storm, and this long but interesting paper lays out just what it is foreign audiences seem to find most compelling about Korean dramatic productions, especially by comparison with their Japanese alternatives. For me what stands out the most is the very, very high production values of the popular Korean shows - there simply is no discernable gap between them and those made in Japan, with all being shot in gloriously vivid HDTV detail - as well as the expressiveness of the acting: to indulge a stereotype or two, where the Japanese are said to be the British of East Asia, all reticence and understatement, Koreans might be said to be the regional equivalents of Americans, direct and unafraid to tell you exactly what they feel about anything on their minds, and this comes across in an almost exaggerated fashion in the TV shows being made in both countries.

A final issue which sets productions from the two countries apart in my mind, and one which I suspect is a powerful reason for Korean dramas displacing Japanese competition in many Asian markets, isn't so much a matter of technical or acting craftsmanship as sheer cultural distance: as superficially "Western" as Japan might seem at first blush, there are aspects of the culture which will likely prove jarring to Western viewers of its television, but compared with Korea these issues will seem downright insignificant. To get to the point, the influence of traditional Confucian thinking on Korean society seems far more powerful than it is in Japan, with deference to the rich and powerful being much more taken for granted, and expectations of female chastity and subservience far more rigid: in Japan, were a woman to be discovered to be sleeping with a man to whom she isn't married, it certainly wouldn't be cause for commentary, much less a threat to her marriage prospects and the social standing of her family, but that is the way it still seems to be in Korea, at least going by its television. Not to flatter the "ware ware Nihonjin" notions of especial uniqueness which are prevalent in some circles, but Japanese social norms do seem to have drifted a lot closer to those of the West over the decades than is the case in the rest of that part of the world, and to the extent this is true, I imagine that Korean dramas will make for more comfortable viewing in many Asian homes.

Anyway, enough with the theorizing for one evening, and now to offer some pointers for anyone looking to learn something more concrete about the shows upon which I've been pontificating. Your first port of call should be to the DramaWiki of a site called "D-Addicts", and after that, take a look at JDorama and the KoreanWiz website to learn about what's worth seeking out. You'll find that here's a lot more to television than suffering through "Smallville", "General Hospital" or (the horror!) "Coronation Street."

Comments

[Jim]

Loose sexual behavior is not a western novelty in Japan. It was the norm in Heian Japan. That was a long time ago but cultural influences have been permanent.

I like Korean drama because the characters tend to be down-to-earth people and they do put their business very much in the street. The comparison to Americans is a little stretched - in most of America that kind of directness will get you branded as either a jerk or a drama queen, or shot. "Seinfeld" is only representative of a subculture, if that even. But it's fun if it's on screen instead of in person.

[Abiola Lapite]

"Loose sexual behavior is not a western novelty in Japan. It was the norm in Heian Japan. That was a long time ago but cultural influences have been permanent."

I wouldn't use the loaded term "loose" myself - it suggests a disapproval I certainly don't share - but even acknowledging that Japan's sexual norms have never been as confining as those of mainland Asia, I *still* think there's been a substantial expansion of what's considered acceptable over the last century: reading about the Yoshiwara or going through the writings of, say, Tanizaki, it's pretty clear that a lot of activities today's kogals and OLs might take for granted would have been seen as outright scandalous back then.

"in most of America that kind of directness will get you branded as either a jerk or a drama queen, or shot."

Not in Noo Yoik it won't!

[radek]

They've also been churning out some really great movies lately - just saw "Save The Green Planet" and ummm, that one's definetly a genre-buster that will screw with your mind, in a good way. This isn't even to mention cross over successes like "Old Boy"

[odocoileus]

The Americans? No. The Koreans are the Irish of Asia. Always spoiling for a good fight.

[Preetam Rai]

I find it odd that they never tried to sell the Korean Dramas in India. With the recurring nasty mother-in-law and suffering daughter-in-law theme they will surely find lots of fans. Last I heard, Korean drama were big hit on Burmese state tv. In China most of my younger <20 friends finds them too sentimental and dragging while the older people like them.

[Jim]

"going through the writings of, say,
Tanizaki,"

Things move in cycles. Tanizaki was writing after a century of rigor and effort and modernization and industrialization. Try the Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon, if only for the fun of reading millenium-old gossip.

"Not in Noo Yoik it won't!"

I rest my case. America starts at the Hudson.

The equivalent in the States is those great Venezuelan telenovelas. They are real pulpy, but part of a well-blalnced diet.

"I find it odd that they never tried to sell the Korean Dramas in India. "

You have to have a huge nerve to try to break into the Indian market. Was/is it protected by local content laws or something similar?