Drama+KP

Asian Dramas - Korea, Japan, China Kyu Park Block D 6/8

= Prologue =

Dramas have always been a big part of my life. After returning to Korea at the age of eight, I was sent to a local Korean school. I wasn't able to understand the Korean language as well as I do right now, and struggled to learn and adapt to Korean culture. It were Korean dramas that made me involved in Korean culture and aided my learning of the Korean language and culture. This is because dramas often reflect that country's values, cultures, and fantasies. The first few dramas that I watched, "Lovers of Paris", "Full House", "DaeJangGeum" and so on allowed me to participate in many conversations with my friends, and acted as a bridge connecting me, a foreigner, with my fellow local friends. Dramas have not only given me leisure and entertainment, but also have made me a more social and interactive person. I still watch Dramas nowadays, as the uprising two Dramas, "City Hunter" and "Baby Faced Beauty", have outstanding plots that intrigues the readers. I felt that I should delve deeper into the topic of Dramas of Asia, to learn the characteristics of Korean dramas as well as Chinese and Japanese dramas. This will allow me to broaden my knowledge of the dramas I watch, and I might be able to find some interesting Japanese or Chinese drama that I could watch in the future. Through their dramas, the three countries' contemporary values would also be revealed.

= Chinese Drama: =



=**Characteristic:**=

China produces the most drama episodes everyday compared to any other country. About 40 episodes are filmed everyday, and are shown in hundreds of different channels. However the political restriction for the topics and themes of filming causes their inability to contain a powerful message, since they need government approval in prior to film (디토씨). Many films are very nationalistic, and somewhat enforces nationalism upon others (korea26y). Industrialization and loosening of the government has recently allowed the drama industry to become prosperous, and many magnificent dramas are being produced in China. A biggest factor that has aided China's drama development, however, is the government allowing advertisement through dramas, which also serves as a main source of income for the drama producers (디토씨).

= **Popular Genre:** =

//WuXia (Martial Arts)//

As China is well known for its martial arts and various hollywood action movies, many Chinese dramas contain this element. This genre of the Chinese drama is considered to be number one in the drama industry. The background for the WuXia dramas are generally ancient China, and is often portrayed as true stories. There isn't a clear borderline of good and evil, which makes the drama more complex and sophisticated than many other dramas in which the good and bad are clearly distinguished. However even amongst such conflicts that the main character undergoes as a part of a group or a country, there is always a love story going on as well: with cliche settings such as the main character saving his love or falling in love with a fellow rival since young age (korea26y). Many other factors such as secret weapons, art of fighting, and traps add on to the story to make it more interesting (가드를올려요).



//Historical Fiction//

Such famous historical fictions such as HongLuoMong or Midnight Summer's Dream or Monkey King has become a great material for thesedays dramas. These stories that are considered the masterpieces of Chinese literature are given life as they come into film. These films come in various different formats, allowing various age groups to enjoy it. Some are made for young adults while others are made for elders. The diverse drama industry thus allows many different interpretations of various pieces, which allows China to develop and teach its ideas about certain literature. These films are often encouraged by the government and don't receive as much restriction as some other films of censorious topics. However a problem that comes from these fiction based dramas is that people get sick of it after watching the same story once or twice, and then a whole portion of audience is lost (디토씨).

=**Themes**:=

//Heroism//: In the WuXia dramas, heroism plays a big role in the main character's actions. The main character often has supernatural strength in which he uses for a food purpose to save people or fend off his enemy. Though the hero may be weaker than his enemy, the cliche term 'good wins evil' comes in with heroism, and allows the hero to win in the end (가드를 올려요).

//Honor//: To almost all of the characters of the Chinese dramas, honor is considered one of the most important values that they would try to keep even by giving up their lives. The deceitful ones are often portrayed as characters without honor, and would in the end be punished for their actions (가드를올려요).

Citations for China Section

= Korean Drama =



=**Characteristics**:=

Korean dramas are currently becoming increasingly popular throughout Asia, also having a terminology for its growing popularity: Hallyu. Korean dramas are normally welcomed by many people because thy are extremely dramatic, to the point, and often romantic. Hallyu has been affecting other country's drama industries too, such as Taiwan and Japan, as well as many other Asian countries in which they compete in their market (Ho). A common characteristic of the Korean dramas is that they are full of emotion and many illnesses or accidents occur that 'naturally' kills people. Such drastic events happen at the climax of the drama, in attempt to shock the audience. However, many critics say that such deaths and many relationships portrayed in the Korean dramas have become too extreme throughout that it has now lost its freshness (바니보이). However, Koreans are huge fans of watching dramas, some dramas exceeding 50% view rate meaning that over half of the Koreans watched it (Korean Drama Wikipedia). Korean drama producers often put the focus of the story on love, and often misses other major themes of the original story, as they digress to the love relationships. They are not pre-filmed, so the script of the dramas could be altered according to the audience reaction. There isn't a set season where dramas start and end, because most of them are miniseries that end at different time periods (지오야).

**Popular Genre:** //Romance//:

Korean Dramas are well known for their romance stories. The romance stories, however, are made dramatic through extreme backgrounds, for instance car accidents, illness, blood-related sibling love, complex love triangles, and such. Some people greatly enjoy such dramatic events, but there are also many critics who disagree to this overly-drastic schemes. There are generally four main characters, two boys and two girls who form a complex love square as they are connected to one another through random events. There are many cinderella stories where the man is rich and the woman is poor and does many embarrassing mistakes. However the man falls deeply in love with her clumsiness or warmheartedness; however at first the woman doesn't feel interested in him (holman). A contemporary trend in Korean dramas is where a cold hearted gentleman who wasn't interested in a woman suddenly becomes mad for her and changes bipolar. The woman normally gets close to the proud man buy curing his scars from the past (바니보이). It is such cliche yet exciting settings that make Korean dramas attractive.



//Historical Dramas://

Just like any other Asian country, Korea is also very proud of their own history. People are also interested in the past, so are naturally inclined to watch dramas that deal with interesting topics of the past, such as 'DaeJanggeum' and Queen Min. Such dramas normally hold a serious tone, and often focuses much more on the actual story than love. Korea's historical dramas are very well made with large scale and investment (some even get government support), however if there is one flaw of Korea's historical dramas, it is that not all of it is true, and sometimes the history is twisted to make the story more interesting and comprehensible. As long as one realizes that the historical content may not be 100% true, one would be able to enjoy it fully and enjoy the complexity and of the Drama (Han).

=**Theme**:= //Love//:

The major theme of most Korean dramas is definitely love. Characters would sacrifice everything for their love, and this blind pursuit is what is considered beautiful. The blind pursuit of true love, and the two people gradually fitting in together like puzzle pieces is the true merit and purpose of Korean dramas. The development of love lines, and the successful love after overcoming all the obstacles, is what makes the love in dramas seem more touching (Han).



//Revenge//:

Korean people would do almost anything for their goal, and the villains of the drama would often harm the main characters because they share same goals and are in competition. However, in the end the antagonist is punished for his wrongdoings and the main character gets successful revenge, a revenge with much more humility inflicted upon the villains (엔젤로그).

Citations for Korean Section

= Japanese Drama =



=**Characteristics**:=

Many Japanese dramas are based off of novels and animations, and this is because they have developed 'one source, multi use'. For even one story, many different interpretations are made, and the japanese drama industry is also supported by the same story's anime or novel fans as well. Though there are different interpretations of the story, unlike Korean dramas where they modify the content to make the love the central theme, Japanese dramas would try its best to maintain the original story (지오야). Another thing that is special about Japanese dramas is that they have certain seasons in which they are released together. The four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter are the four different indicators of new series being released. Most of the Japanese dramas finish filming before they are released, and thus the ending doesn't change according to the fans' reactions (Japanese Television Dramas - Wikipedia). Finally Japanese celebrities more openly advertise the dramas that they have starred in than any other Asian countries. It is perceived as righteous and natural, and this attracts more people to watch certain dramas. Japanese dramas are generally gentle and are based on historical facts (지오야). They also serve to teach humanitarian lessons through their stories of diverse topics. Since they are short, events happen very quickly too (ziziba0234).

= **Popular Genre:** = //Romance//:

Unlike Korean dramas that the men are normally superior in society, in Japanese romance films, women are superior. The men are normally very shy, or doesn't step up, whereas the women approach them first and gives a hand to the struggling men (dustns0). Women of the romance dramas are often portrayed as kind, generous, and approachable. However because the dramas are a lot shorter than Korean dramas, oftentimes the love stories are proceeded very quickly, and the romance in some dramas aren't as highlighted. In Japanese romance, the feelings of the characters are often conveyed by monologues. And overall, the content is light without going to extremities like Korean dramas, and seldom is there an extremely complex love triangle (가드를내려요).

//Detective Dramas://

Detective dramas thrive in Japan. Many factors such as psychic, heaven, and some love is incorporated with the detective stories. As the main character investigates crimes he encounters various obstacles such as the disruption of the criminal. However since many Japanese dramas are really short, some detective stories simply deal with one major event and how everything revolves around it. Again, minimal romance is included, and is often ended without any actual relationship being made up (hello_iris_7).

=**Theme**:=



//Innocence//:

Japanese movies often try to teach moral lessons through their movies, and show that innocence is even more powerful than corruption. In the end it is the innocent ones who get back to the villains and successfully take revenge. Such themes as innocence is also found in the romance dramas, in which the women characters like the men for their innocence and cal behavior (가드를내려요).



//Justice//:

Justice served right is very important in Japan. This is why many detective dramas have developed. No matter how well the criminal tries to hide evidence and stop the detective, in the end the criminal receives his rightful punishment and repents. Though this may seem unrealistic, it is such settings that allow the drama to teach the audience that justice is served right, hopefully even within the Japanese society (hello_iris_7).

Citations for Japanese Section

= Examples, Introduction to a Few Asian Dramas =

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=**Self Evaluation**= = //1. What did you contribute specifically to your project?// =

I have worked all by myself, and have provided the popular genres, themes, and characteristics of each three countries with corresponding images. I have also made a keynote to provide an example for each of the three country's dramas.

//2.How successful do you think you conveyed your research to your audience?//

I was quite successful in conveying my research to my audience, not only did I have images that gave a visual supporting my research, I have also made a keynote to provide some examples. I have used credible cites to cite my statements and organize it into a pact paragraph for each description, which I think would aid the audience's reading.

//3. What would have made your presentation more successful?//

I might have been more successful if I were to start more early and had more time to check over my work more extensively, and had more time to find better images and make a better keynote.

//4. How successful do you think your technology-based materials were in conveying your research?//

I believe my keynote and images, work well together with the text to provide vivd examples without boring the readers. The keynote especially, placed at the bottom most part of the project, uses the key terms mentioned above so that the audience could easily refer back.

//5. What would have made your technology-based materials more successful?//

If I were to have found some more images and have provided some more examples (not only one but maybe a few more), it could have been even better.

//6. What did you learn from this project? Submit any other comments after this question.//

This project taught me a lot about the other two country's dramas. As a Korean drama watcher, I am very proud of Korean dramas, and have always thought that Korean dramas were the best. However the research proved me wrong in many aspects, as there were as many criticisms as praises about Korean dramas. I felt that Chinese and Japanese dramas were also very interesting, and if I get a chance, I would definitely like to watch a few series of their drama. I am especially intrigued in Japan's detective dramas, I shall try them soon.

I really liked this project because it allowed us to do research on things we actually do care about. This made the research much more fun and absorbable, as it was self-chosen topics that we had freedom over. I believe you should do this project for the next year students as well.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Sources = 한, 은경. "한국드라마의 특징, 일본드라마의 특징." //Daum 블로그//. 22 Oct. 2010. Web. 08 June 2011. . DonyaMayang. "Differentiating Asian Dramas." //CrossRoads ...// 20 May 2011. Web. 08 June 2011. . Woorinhanayah. "일본드라마의역사.특징." //High Five of Teenagers//. 13 Dec. 2005. Web. 08 June 2011. . [SAS]Tim_No.21. "Non-NBA Section Free-Talk 1 페이지." //외국인이말하는 한국드라마의 특징//. 14 Apr. 2011. Web. 08 June 2011. .  디토씨. "세계제1의드라마생산국, 중국의드라마산업은어떨까요." //디브러리 블로그 :: 네이버 블로그//. 17 Dec. 2010. Web. 08 June 2011. .