Words By Catarina Vicente<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Photo Illustration by Sangsuk Sylvia Kang<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was during the 2000s that K-pop created such a big reaction from Western audiences that the market for Korean exports boomed. Soon, there was a growing buzz surrounding everything Korean-related, dubbed the \u00d4\u00c7\u00ffHallyu Wave’, which included skincare, music, food\u00d4\u00c7\u00aa and K-Dramas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Western audiences fell in love with K-Dramas, and with growing accessibility to\u252c\u00e1entertainment media such as Netflix,\u252c\u00e1 there is now more demand than ever for Korean television. K-Dramas have many similar aspects, from tropes to plotlines to character types, including: love triangles, a strong but clumsy female protagonist, a rich male love interest, a scheming matriarch, the evil female rival — some are so copied that they have become parodies within K-Dramas themselves. Despite these clich\u251c\u00aes, there is a vital element to K-Dramas that keeps audiences coming back for more. The stark similarity among the most famous K-Dramas (Descendants of the Sun, Boys Over Flowers, Goblin) <\/em>is the epic, strong love story between the protagonists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n ‘It’s the cheesy love stories that truly hook Western audiences.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Fans\u252c\u00e1fawn over the chaste, small gestures between the love interests, whose romance appears far more innocent than those in Western shows.\u252c\u00e1 As most shows end after one season, with a rare few getting a second season,\u252c\u00e1 audiences are left wanting more, and thus move on to the next K-Drama.\u252c\u00e1<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the forefront of the propagation of K-Dramas globally, Netflix is now dipping its hand into creating its original K-Dramas with great success: My First First Love <\/em>received a vast number of favourable reviews, and Itaewon Class<\/em>, although not a Netflix original, became more popular after its acquisition by Netflix. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, both fans and writers of these K-Dramas note differences between the K-Dramas created by Netflix and those created for TV. Some writers claim they feel freer in their writing for Netflix originals, and as viewership ratings don’t influence the screenwriting process, the attitude of fans does not influence plotlines. Netflix original K-dramas may touch on topics that TV K-Dramas stray away from.\u252c\u00e1The recent Itaewon Class<\/em> featured a transgender character, a black half-Korean character, and discussed topics like the corrupt power of chaebols<\/em> (business conglomerates) and attitudes toward the growing diversity in Itaewon, the area in Seoul where the show takes place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n