How K-Dramas Could Improve Their Representation Of International Audiences Considering Their Global Popularity

Hallyu (the Korean wave) has been in the spotlight as a global phenomenon for many years. Be it K-Drama, K-Beauty, or K-Pop (and the list goes on),  Korea has been earning the praises of global audiences.

Recently, there has been another particularly evident spike in K-Drama's popularity as Korean productions have taken over global OTT streaming platform charts. This rise in popularity has sparked a renewed interest in Korean production companies to begin targeting overseas markets, as well.

“Korean creators are always known for their creativity and this new success on a global level opens doors for them to try something new. I think they will have a better understanding of what works globally in a very short time.”

- Seo JangHo, CJ ENM's senior vice president of content business

Despite this enthusiasm from Korean creators, and much to the dismay of K-Content fans, the representation of international audiences and subject matter has sometimes missed the mark and needed to be called into question.

Fans are sometimes left scratching their heads or baffled by K-Drama scenes that aim at presenting a globalized image but miss the mark. Global viewers and their cultures/countries are sometimes misrepresented by the very K-Dramas that they appreciate, be it intentionally or unintentionally, causing upset. As a matter of mutual respect, it is important for these companies to do due diligence for the audiences that they serve.

"Reducing racism and increasing consideration of foreign cultures will make Korean dramas and films more competitive in the global market."

- Jimmyn Parc and HwyChang Moon (according to "Asian Journal of Social Science 41 (2013)" pg. 143 - 144)

Let's take a look at some of the things that need to change in terms of the representation of international audiences in K-Dramas.

 

Misrepresentation of non-Korean cultures and countries

Note: 'Misrepresentation' includes cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation has been an evident problem in K-Content. We have actually covered the matters of cultural appropriation of hairstyles, misrepresentation of black culture, and cultural appropriation of Native American and Southern Asian cultures in K-Pop on our site before. Make sure to check out those articles to learn more about those topics, as well.

These issues are not limited to K-Pop but are evident in K-Dramas, too.

One of the biggest sources of outcry when it comes to globally offensive K-Dramas is the representation of non-Korean cultures. Be it a particular culture or country as a whole, companies oftentimes misrepresent groups based on stereotypes.

In the recently released K-Drama "Sh**ting Stars", a scene has been called into question by fans for its offensive nature. A lead character goes on a humanitarian volunteer trip to an African village to build a water well (no specific country is mentioned). There were several issues in these scenes that made African and non-African K-Drama fans uncomfortable.

Firstly, the drama played into the narrative that Africa is a monolithic society. In this sense, a monolith describes a society or group of people who are all considered to be the same. It paints all of the people in this group with one stereotypical brush.

The elements that contributed to this monolithic idea include the tropes that Africa lacks infrastructure, wealth, water, and more.

Whilst it is true that countries in Africa (and many other countries worldwide - regardless of their developmental status) have impoverished communities, the idea that the entire country or continent is less fortunate is harmful and dangerous. This is especially because the drama didn't specify a region or area, creating an ambiguous and false statement.

One fan shared her appalled thoughts with fellow viewers, emphasizing that African countries do indeed have the infrastructure, water, and many of the luxuries that they are assumed not to.

These ideas are a common theme in Korean media as most of the representation that Africa gets on Korean television includes UNICEF advertisements displaying impoverished villages and starving children. These ads play extremely often on Korean cable TV making it inevitable that most TV viewers have seen them and potentially developed a linear idea of Africa. You can watch one of the ads here.

Many fans acknowledge that humanitarian projects and volunteer work would take place in less-developed areas, but the problem still remains in how that work is presented. Another issue that stemmed from these scenes included the white savior complex implied by the lead character's attitude about their charity work.

The 'white savior complex' is the idea involving a white person (who is in a superior position) who attempts to help or rescue a community of indigenous people or people of color. 

Although the lead character is Korean and not white, being elevated to a hero position in a narrative involving helping people of color is still considered a white savior complex. The story didn't center around the children, but rather what the 'hero' was doing for them in an attempt to make him look like a good person.

"So, the most fundamental issue is that white creators continue to dominate a conversation where it's vital that black voices are featured most of all."

Here is a video explaining what the white savior complex is in its entirety.

 

Moreover, these scenes were not only problematic from a content standpoint, but their color grading also came into question. The production company used yellow filter color grading over the scene in Africa, creating a stark contrast compared to the whiter and bluer tones used for the scenes in Korea.

'Yellow filter' is a color grading technique used in films that tends to make the landscape look unhealthy and dirty. Many have noticed a trend among filmmakers of using the filter specifically to represent countries in Southern Asia, South America, Africa, and more; creating a bad connotation about those areas. It is moreso a problem when used in contrast with the bluer filters or less-filtered looks of other countries.

"The thing that we forget in color psychology is that the more layers of artifice (cunning devices) we put on an image, the harder it is for us to connect with that image. Some of those heavy looks can dehumanize the people that exist in those places."

This video explains the origin of the yellow filter and why it is harmful.

 

One K-Drama viewer summed up the problems with the misrepresentation very well in this Twitter thread.

To my dismay I must discuss the awful portrayal of "Africa" in #ShootingStarsEp1 😬 (#ShootingStars)

They vaguely reference "Africa" as if the entire continent is a monolith, one where there's no clean water and everyone would be eternally grateful for a savior to swoop in — pic.twitter.com/zAZsQFWQrn

— cath ✧･ﾟ (@scenophile) April 23, 2022

Similar issues have been brought up for the representation of many other countries and cultures.

For example, Indian audiences have been the victim of many harmful misrepresentations of their culture and religion in dramas such as "Strong Woman Do BongSoon", "Kkondae Intern", and "High Kick 3: Revenge of the Short Legged". Better research needs to be done into even the smallest details that make up the cultures and religions of others. However, a surface-level portrayal and understanding based on prejudice tend to come to the forefront. Take note of the cultural appropriation in the below examples, as well.

One fan was upset by how Indian people were stereotyped for the way that they eat, among other misconceptions shown by a character. The character was shrouded in humor, making many people overlook the harm that he was causing. However, be it the overall plot point or a single line in a drama, it's important for companies to carefully do research and show respect for each aspect.

Another fan felt that sacred dance forms were misused, also noting stereotypical music and the constant mention of curry as misportrayed aspects.

Many fans were also surprised to see misinformation spread in the drama "Backstreet Rookie". Not only did it show a serious case of cultural appropriation of the Rastafarian culture, but it spread misinformation about the culture and gave it a dirty misconception.

About the kdrama “backstreet rookie”. It’s one thing to culture appropriate but to have dreadlocks with FLIES flying around the dreads while you’re wearing Rastafarian colors is at least offensive if not blatantly racist & it’s an ongoing drama?! #BackstreetRookie pic.twitter.com/EWZn0uPrv2

— rihanna’s album ⭐️ (@Sonia_MMH) June 24, 2020

The examples mentioned above are only a few examples of misrepresentations that could be better researched not to offend international audiences.

However, there have been dramas where non-Korean cultures are well-represented through inclusive diverse casts that allow those cultures to tell their stories themselves. Characters played by actors such as Anupam Tripathi (from India, who played a Pakistani character) in "Squid Game", Chris Lyon (from the United States, who played a Guinean character) in "Itaewon Class", and even idol actors such as (G)I-DLE's Minnie (from Thailand, who played a Thai character) in "So Not Worth It" are examples of non-Korean representation done extremely well in K-Dramas (both the characters and the stories themselves).

 

Misrepresentation of the LGBTQI+ community

Queer representation is slowly but surely increasing in the K-Drama world. In the past couple of years, the number of BL (Boy's Love) and GL (Girl's Love) web dramas and films being produced and played on mainstream streaming platforms has been on the rise.

These days there is a rise in well-done representation of the LGBTQI+ community. As much as BL and GL productions are on the rise, big network K-Dramas are slowly starting to show realistic representations of queer characters, too. Some examples include the SolJiWan couple from "Nevertheless," and Lee JooYoung's character in "Itaewon Class".

#Soljiwan is the best homosexual representation in a kdrama ever. The sincere and honest love that others don't see that's why they hate us for loving the same sex 😭 #NeverthelessEp8
https://t.co/HsoXtWIjoa

— soljiyumi • 스민장미 brainrot (@hellohollee) August 7, 2021

Our prettiest Hyun Yi! She said that her surgery went well. 🥺💛

Best Transgender Representation in Kdrama!#ItaewonClass pic.twitter.com/Dgr42UssHR

— kdrama tweets (@iconickdramas) March 6, 2020

However, there are times when production companies misrepresent members of the LGBTQI+ community.

Firstly, Korean dramas have been called out for queerphobia in their scripts and/or storylines.

'Queerphobia' is the fear or hatred of queer people expressed by thoughts or through words/actions.

Another piece of misrepresentation that concerns fans is the increase in queerbaiting.

'Queerbaiting' refers to when TV shows or films imply that there is a queer relationship or attraction between characters in the production to engage or attract an LGBTQI+ audience and get their interest. However, the relationship does not usually materialize. 

Another problem is the overall representation of LGBTQI+ characters. They are often stereotyped and painted to be overly flamboyant, hyper-sexualized, or characterized as be bad people.

One K-Drama with examples of queerphobia, queerbaiting, and villainizing a queer character is "Vincenzo". Vincenzo pretends to be gay to succeed in a mission, taking advantage of a gay character. Said character is even painted as a criminal. As the representation of queer people in big network K-Dramas is still growing, many fans thought it was harmful to make the gay character a villain as it could create dangerous biases against queer people.

currently on ep 8 of vincenzo and there's a homophobic subplot and its really making me enjoy this drama a lot less, this could have been solved in so many different ways yet they go down this route

— mal⁷ (@etheraeljimin) March 27, 2021

Another example would be the actor Kim WonHae's character from "Strong Woman Do BongSoon" who seems like a caricature of gay stereotypes. He is cloaked in humor, making his character comical and less relatable.

Until such a time that this representation is more common, it would be wise for companies to create more realistic characters that don't feed into the biases that some audiences have against them.

There are many ways that K-Dramas could change to become more inclusive and give a more accurate representation of international audiences, but these are just a few. What do you think of representation in dramas these days? Let us know in the comments.