Are Korean TV dramas shifting focus from love to revenge?

South Korea's drama series already have legions of fans around the world, but one media critic has warned that this could change as the industry shifts away from the popular romance tales of the past and instead embraces plotlines focused on revenge.    

In a column published in The Korea Herald on February 8, long-time contributor Kim Seong-kon explained that "Hallyu," or the Korean Wave, of popular culture had grown out of television dramas such as the romance "Winter Sonata" or "Dae Jang Geum."

"In those series, young people love each other despite ordeals and obstacles, or strive to accomplish noble goals of becoming the best in their fields of expertise," Kim wrote. "Such dramas portrayed South Korea as a romantic and historic place foreigners wanted to visit."

In recent years, however, "things have radically changed," he said. 

In search of revenge 

In today's television offerings — such as "The Glory," "Eve" or "Revenge of Others" — "the protagonist, who is obsessed with vengeance, devotes his or her life to get revenge on someone for misdeeds they inflicted in the past," he said 

In some stories, revenge is meted out to school bullies or rich and powerful businessmen. 

"One of the unacknowledged problems with such revenge dramas is that they unwittingly depict South Korea as a land of resentment and vendettas," Kim suggested.

"Without intending to, they also make Korea out to be a society run rampant with school bullying. 

"Such publicity might make South Korea a less attractive place for foreigners."  

Kim said the sudden emergence of revenge dramas could be the result of increased numbers of people believing they have been "the victims of social injustice," a sentiment that has been encouraged by "left-wing politicians" who have "exploited the situation by pouring fuel on popular enmity towards the rich and the privileged."  

Others with their fingers on the pulse of South Korean youth culture are less convinced of any connection.  

"I am unsure if there is a notable increase in the number of revenge plotlines," said Jungmin Kwon, an associate professor at Portland State University in Oregon who specializes in East Asian popular culture.  

"It is true that Korean citizens are very sensitive to matters related to social injustice, the gap between the haves and have-nots, and economic inequality," she told DW.

"However, this is not a new occurrence, although sensitivity may have increased recently."

Korean television has always enjoyed revenge dramas, she said, and it would be difficult to link these shows to "political predisposition."

More importantly, she said, there are no reasons for television companies to make programs that, "may agitate less privileged viewers against the wealthy in consideration of the current political leadership."

Diverse narratives, characters 

Yet, she agreed that K-dramas had seen a shift to more diverse narratives and characters.  

"TV shows used to be concentrated on family melodramas, trendy romances, or historical dramas," Kwon said. "Now, with the advance of media technologies, we are living in an age in which multi-platforms and multi channels are competing to grab eyeballs.  

"Traditional TV networks have been losing their foothold, and the younger generations are migrating to streaming services and mobile devices to consume media content." 

Fierce competition has forced content providers to look for new materials, angles and a variety of characters, especially if they want to appeal to the all-important youth segment of the viewing public.  

"Genres such as noir, mystery, crime, fantasy and action, which used to be less employed in the TV industry, are on the rise," she said. "And in terms of characters, we do see more and more TV shows with female leads, senior leads and queer characters, albeit mostly in supporting roles." 

David Tizzard, an assistant professor of education at Seoul Women's University and a columnist for a Korean daily focusing on social affairs, says K-dramas were "a new cultural phenomenon" that emerged from the radio serials of the nation's difficult days in the 1950s and 1960s. 

"These weekly episodes were generally focused on love triangles and featured urban people exploring modernization," he said. "They were fantasy depictions of life written by the country's elite to provide a sense of release from the reality of poverty the population experienced.  

"As color television became a staple, Korean dramas became the same thing. They focused on love triangles and often showed a depiction of life more glamorous than society was actually living through," he added. "They were successful because of the star power of the actors and the nature of the story lines."

Popular across Asia 

They resonated in Asia for the same reason. There was also appeal in "a romanticized version of a simpler, more conservative life," Tizzard said.  

"If people watch dramas today, however, I'm pretty sure they might immediately think Korea is a place of horrific bullying, violence, suicide and death," he said. "Those concepts seem to resonate and be very popular in the West. It's a way of making them more accessible to a larger audience beyond the female viewers who primarily engage with the high-teen and romance concepts." 

But he dismisses the suggestion in Kim's column that a character in a television program who successfully avenges him or herself on a rival might be mimicked by an individual in real life.  

"That's a trope as old as time," he emphasized. "That rock and roll is the devil's music. That playing computer games will turn you violent. I don't believe these dramas will affect large numbers in society and turn them into vigilantes.  

"There will always be isolated incidents and they should, of course, be treated seriously — but I don't believe these programs will create a rise in people seeking revenge against others."

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru