potential wife in this year's fantasy romance “My Demon.”Netflix
It's certainly been easier for US viewers to watch Korean content in 2023. When NetflixNFLX CEO Ted Sarandos recently visited South Korea, he found that 60 percent of the platform's viewers had already watched a K-drama. U.S. viewers could check out Korean content on Disney/Hulu, Paramount and Amazon's AMZN Prime Video, as well as dedicated platforms such as Viki.com and OnDemandKorea. Not only were there more platforms to watch K-media, but several previously popular dramas also returned for second seasons, which is not traditionally the case with Korean dramas. These included second episodes of DP Sweet Home, Taxi Driver and the long-awaited Arthdal Chronicles. K-dramas in 2023 spanned all sorts of genres, from crime novels to gangster dramas to monster stories and fluffy romantic comedies. However, some themes stood out, with a disproportionate number of series focusing on revenge, fantasy romance, and characters who were celebrities.
Revenge stories are a tried-and-true part of K-drama storytelling, whether the protagonists are getting their day in court or seeking bloody retribution. Last year ended with the revenge story “Reborn Rich,” and 2023 began with the second part of “The Glory,” in which Song Hye-kyo avenges the brutality inflicted on her during high school.
In the second season of Taxi Driver, in the historical drama Oasis, in the dramas Dr. Cha, Delightfully Deceitful, Bloodhounds, Lies Hidden In My Garden, Big Bet, Worst of Evil, Numbers, Celebrity and Pandora, the characters Revenge, Payback, The Killing Vote and Vigilante. Sometimes the need for revenge lasted several lifetimes. In “Moon In The Day,” a man appeared to have been killed by his lover in a past life, complicating their current relationship.
K-dramas have definitely been more violent in 2023, which may have something to do with the fact that they appeal to an increasingly international audience accustomed to gorier entertainment. Think of the perhaps unnecessary fights in “The Worst of Evil,” “Bloodhounds,” and “Big Bet,” the executions in “The Killing Vote,” and even some of the superhero fights in “Moving.” Violent scenes used to be reserved for Korean films rather than dramas, but dramas are catching up. While terrestrial channels still blurred images of guns because they were considered too disturbing, some other dramas had knives gleaming and crammed. School dramas also depicted more violence, particularly bullying, which was not entirely pleasant for some viewers. On a side note, many more characters lit cigarettes, some chain smoked, which was notable as smokers were less common in the last decade of dramas and have all but disappeared from most international television shows.
As always, the dramas offered plenty of social commentary and focused on topics such as domestic violence (Castaway Diva), bullying in schools (The Glory, Moving, Island), allegations of bullying in the workplace (Welcome to Samaldri) or in the military (DP Season 2). . As an interesting side effect of displaying bullying on screen, several real personalities in the Korean entertainment industry have been punished for engaging in bullying in their earlier years.
Superhero parents in “Moving.”Disney
Dramas also criticized the education system for failing to protect students and teachers in “The Glory,” for potentially failing to protect other students in “Moving,” and for putting students under tremendous pressure in “Crash Course In Romance.” Korea's teachers actually went on strike this year to better protect themselves from occasionally vindictive parents.
Celebrities have been in the spotlight when it comes to K-drama characters. Many drama protagonists in 2022 were lawyers. This year, a number of characters worked in the entertainment industry. In Heavenly Idol, Kim Min-kyu played an otherworldly being who pretended to be an idol, Yoo Teo was a K-drama actor who hates kissing scenes in Love To Hate You, and Park Gyu-young was a Influencer in “Celebrity”. The accountants in Numbers covered the entertainment industry, CEO Doel-mart focused on idols opening a supermarket, and Escape of the Seven featured a CEO of an entertainment company. Singer Hwang Min-kyun played a composer in “My Lovely Liar”, Suzy Bae played a K-pop idol in “Doona”, Ryeoun and Choi Hyun-wook were father-and-son musicians in “Twinkling Watermelon”. Park Eun-bin was a singer in Castaway Diva and Lee Young-dae is a star in Moon in the Day.
Good day to be a dog.'Viki.com
Many of this year's love stories included fantasy elements such as time travel, supernatural abilities, alternate realities and secret curses. Popular non-fantasy romance novels included the historical dramas My Dearest and The Matchmakers, as well as Doona, Crash Course in Romance, True to Love, King the Land and Love to Hate You “, but in “See You in” the fantasy of romance gives an extra spark My 19th life, My beautiful liar, Time has called you, Destined for you, Sparkling watermelon, Good day to be a dog, Moon on Tag, My Demon, My Husband is Cupid and Park's Marriage Contract. Even without romance driving the story, 2023 was another big year for fantasy. Non-romantic stories with supernatural elements included Black Knight, Duty After School, Uncanny Counter, Moving, Miraculous Brothers, Arthdal Chronicles, Heavenly Idol, Yonder, Sweet Home, Island and Gyeongsang Creature.
There have also been some dramas that deal with divorce, perhaps because the divorce rate in South Korea increased by 400% between 1990 and 2017. Divorce was a plot element in Strangers Again, Dr. Cha,” “The Glory,” “Turn to Love,” “Love to.” I hate you, divorce lawyer Shin and Celebrity.
into the nation's phones.Prime Video
Some dramas focused on digital life and how time spent online affects people's behavior and could encourage some to view others as less than human. Celebrity focused on the volatility of social media, while The Killing Vote compared voting for executions to voting on a reality show. Mask Girl examined the media's promotion of unrealistic beauty standards, while Unlock My Boss featured a boss trapped in a phone. The ability to post incriminating videos online posed a threat in “Destined With You” and “A Good Day To Be A Dog.”
As in 2022, K-dramas featured a notable number of strong and independent female roles, including Song Hye-kyo in “The Glory,” Kim Ok-bin in “Love To Hate You and Arthdal Chronicles,” Moon So, among others -ri and Kim Hee-ae in Queenmaker, Uhm Jung-hwa in Dr. Cha, Lee Bo-young in Agency, Lim Ji-yeon and Kim Tae-hee in the eerie Lies Hidden In My Garden and Han Hyo-joo in the tender superhero saga Moving.
The portrayal of gay characters in dramas has evolved over the last decade and, thankfully, is no longer based on caricatures. While the 2023 dramas did not feature a significant number of present-day gay characters, the historical drama My Dearest featured the character Ryang-eum, who secretly loved his best friend. The series deserves praise for treating the character's emotions calmly and respectfully. “The Matchmakers” also featured two Joseon-era male characters who were violently attacked because of their feelings for each other.
According to ratings, the most popular dramas in Korea were “Taxi Driver,” “Dr. Cha,” “Crash Course in Romance,” “Dr. Romantic,” “Agency,” “King The Land” and “My Dearest.” International ratings varied, but with a wide range of genres – with plenty of revenge, fantasy romance and celebrity characters – there was plenty to enjoy.
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I have been writing about Korean media for various publications since 2013. For three years, I worked as a writer and editor at KPopStarz, a popular K-pop and K-drama news site. My stories also appear on my FB page “That Only Happens In K-dramas”.
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