From Squid Game to Hellbound, new era K-dramas

K-dramas have had a unique entertainment journey that continues to unfold expansively with increased globalisation.

To understand the success of recent Netflix K-dramas with more violent content, it is necessary to first understand the long-term arc that shaped South Korea’s high quality entertainment exports.

What is Hallyu?

Sidestepping the argument around the origins of the term Hallyu (in short, some argue Japanese origins, others Chinese), what matters is that Hallyu is not a tale of accidental success, but rather the result of economic strategizing.

The Korean Wave refers to the South Korean government’s long-term, sustained investment in popular culture as an export. Ongoing commitment to a once fledgling industry made the K Wave able to swell and grow each year (divided into Hallyu 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0).

At each point, new strategies were adjusted by the South Korean government to address present global reach of Hallyu, and expand the product range that benefits from initiatives, to include evolving industries, one example being esports.

The provision of such a base—around a quarter of a century of facilitated global growth in government supported sectors—is one aspect of South Korean entertainment industry success.

Why is the K Wave so popular?

Obviously, the internet, and the development of YouTube, social media platforms, and so on were integral to enhancing K-Pop’s global reach. But many countries produce and promote entertainment without attaining similar results.

Other contributing factors are also in play. The unique cultural environment of South Korea, the South Korean work ethic, a modern societal focus on aesthetic beauty, a traditionally rich storytelling culture—the list is long, and expansive.

Hallyu integrated elements from popular global entertainment practices, while adding a unique cultural flavour. K-Pop, for example, utilised symbolism from diverse sources, consistently standing out from UK and US pop competitors.

This blog post focuses on scripted entertainment, specifically South Korean television. The K-dramas of South Korea have become an ever-evolving entertainment phenomenon, and a flourishing form of business.

The initial power of illegal streaming

One way K-dramas began to infiltrate new markets, was illegal online streaming. While overseas networks were slower to purchase broadcasting rights for South Korean dramas, the Internet didn’t hesitate to profit.

Multilingual members of online communities began providing English subtitles, known as fan subbing. K-dramas professionally subbed for international distribution were also pirated from subscription networks, and uploaded.

Online K-drama communities sprang up, in many languages. Global TV networks began to add more K-dramas. (A leap forward for the American market was the Asian content focused network DramaFever.)

K-dramas created with an international audience in mind, comparative to Asian countries focusing primarily on internal markets, meant minimising localised references which also contributing to increased accessibility.

The dissolution of language barriers

Hollywood has presented material in English to a largely non-English speaking world. While this was originally because of the focus on an English speaking market, Hollywood soon became a global entertainment provider.

In that sense, Korean dialogue for many countries is simply, again, entertainment in a foreign language. As the appetite for television increases, more audiences are looking beyond material in their first language, and/or in English.

As the taste for diverse entertainment increases, a growing percentile of English speaking audiences have become acclimatised to subtitled material. Watching subbed television is no longer an unusual practice.

There is also an increased use of captions when watching television—even when watching in a person’s first language. It appears for many, television habits are no longer primarily audio visual.

K-dramas and emotions

It is commonly considered K-dramas appealed to the hetero female gaze initially, while Hollywood veered more to the hetero male gaze. And a lead aspect of K-drama appeal, is the attention paid to the emotional spectrum.

For example, pop culture scholars have written about American TV pairings of chubby “every man” characters with slender pretty wives in suburban shows. Kdramas tend more toward stunning male love interests.

Because of this, K-dramas were initially dismissed as “soapies” in a derogatory way by some male Western reviewers (and still are). But unlike K-dramas, American soapies are not known for emotional complexity.

I’d argue K-dramas traditionally celebrate suffering, positivity, and happy endings in equal measure. As these themes expand and change over time, there is still a deep respect for some form of positive conclusion.

Hollywood vs. K Wave

American culture has drifted more toward violent television, and for a number of reasons romcoms are now rarely seen on the big screen. Hollywood romcoms have simplified their content, and are primarily relegated to “women’s” TV networks.

Happier, gentler emotions are still subconsciously associated in Western culture with feminine stereotypes, and therefore less deserving of acclaim, comparative to gritty material. K-dramas, however, integrate romance across all genres.

Even in the midst of a thriller/murder mystery, time will be made for (even the inference of) romantic human connection. K-dramas also honour emotional pain in an entirely different way to Hollywood.

An example: one-sided love. The unrequited love of K-drama characters receives careful treatment. Their pain and suffering are given validity, and respected in the context of the story—whether eventually returned or not.

K-dramas and the world

Rather than purely emulating America, Britain, China or Japan, as a genre K-dramas consider appealing elements from dominant global entertainment industries, integrating them with South Korean preferences.

Because South Korea is a conservative country, K-dramas were initially conservative in regards to sexual content and violence, yet complex in terms of emotional content. Nuance replaces more overt Hollywood storytelling trends.

This appealed to countries outside the West, as well as viewers within the West who shied from America’s increasing preference for explicit television. While Hollywood screamed, K-dramas offered a pained gaze.

By maintaining generally family friendly content, K-dramas were given avenue more easily into conservative cultures of varied beliefs. Hollywood’s penchant for primarily white casts also meant K-dramas offered an onscreen alternative.

A different format

At a time when American television shows ran for years, K-dramas generally stayed around the 16 episode length. In comparison to shows designed to stretch narratives across many seasons, the difference was stark.

A single season format greatly empowered the scriptwriters. Not as short and tight as a miniseries of 3-6 episodes, this was a complete TV series spanning a packed 16 hour narrative.

Unlike longer Chinese dramas, which at this stage presented more as a single drama spliced into 40 minutes to an hour long pieces (sometimes in the middle of a conversation!), K-dramas utilised episodic cliff-hangers to full effect.

Dialogue was quite heavy, with the plot moving forward at a relatively fast pace. The K-drama series format was designed to culminate in a relatively short yet mesmerising foray into a fictional world.

K-dramas, beauty, and fandom

K-dramas are also associated with stunning visuals. Cosmetic surgery is commonplace in South Korea and the country celebrates specific aesthetic ideals. After France and America, South Korea is a leading cosmetic exporter.

Popular South Korean celebrities are extremely good-looking, within specific cultural parameters. Fantasy-driven marketing means South Korean celebrities are usually presented as straight, single, and morally upright.

Hallyu also benefited greatly from the emergence and development of fan culture. South Korean celebrity success is heavily impacted by fans, and fandoms that began in South Korea now have extensive global networks.

Celebrity merchandising is a booming market. Not just the talent: merchandising for K-dramas is also in demand. Pre-pandemic, fan meet and greets were popular — and continue to be so, in a virtual setting.

The art of inequality representation

While K-dramas are renowned for fantastical elements and heightened realities, K-dramas also excel at reflecting cultural concerns, entwining serious social issues throughout everyday scripted television.

Wealth inequality is a widely reported issue in South Korea, and often occurs between the leads (Coffee Prince, Heirs,The Master’s Sun). Whatever the genre, classicism and discrimination are likely in the mix.

K-dramas have never shied from addressing social inequity. Maintaining the status quo is a constant source of plot conflict in K-dramas, notably in regards to marriage, and educational and professional opportunities.

Misaeng is a workplace drama that highlights problematic practices and prejudices in South Korean corporate culture. Stranger looks at corruption in government and law enforcement at the whims of the wealthy.

K-dramas and international streamers

International streamers adding K-dramas to their service greatly enhanced reach. But the involvement of international companies at the production level enabled access to another degree of rating success.

If a K-drama screening within South Korea is considered risqué or offensive, citizens can complain, and penalties may be dealt by the Korea Communications Standard Commission, as occurred with 2020’s It’s Okay To Not Be Okay.

At the same time, It’s Okay To Not Be Okay was nominated for an International Emmy Award by the Academy of International Arts & Sciences, highlighting the difference between national and international approval.

Netflix responds differently to outrage in various markets (as seen by the 2019 reaction to its first Netflix Original Arabic series, Jinn). Without local censorship and cancel culture, a different style of K-drama emerges.

K-success

Squid Game is now recognised as the most successful example of a K-drama beyond the content boundaries most K-dramas have had to meet in the past. The writer and director confirmed the series was rejected for a decade.

Because the pandemic increased wealth inequality globally, the grim premise of Squid Games proved more relatable. Audiences for whom violent television is more normalised took their first foray into South Korean entertainment.

And while the series Hellbound has not reached the same level of media success, despite high viewing numbers, the series excels at marrying character driven storytelling with action, and a complex philosophical base.

While these shows push new boundaries in terms of traditional mainstream South Korean television, they still retain the skilled humanising of complex issues through character driven storytelling that K-dramas are renowned for.

The K-drama future

An increasing number of international streaming platforms (Disney, for example) are investing in Kdramas, both more family-friendly and more violent options, throughout 2022 and 2023 as the K Wave continues.

But at what point is a production no longer a K-drama? When a different language dominates? Or if most scenes are shot outside South Korea? Perhaps when the non-South Korean cast and crew are the majority?

As co-productions become the norm, perhaps we’ll see the continued evolution of cross-cultural material, a recent example being Apple TV+ series Pachinko. Clearly, the global market is open to possibilities (and I’m guessing, a BTS led K-drama at some point).

For the near future, K-dramas are exploring different storytelling formats—from episode length and series length, to challenging content—while also still celebrating popular tropes. Future K Waves are sure to be interesting!