The first K–drama that I watched—which no K-drama fan will have missed out on—was Crash Landing On You (CLOY). The heart of this show is the romance between a South Korean chaebol heiress, who finds herself in North Korea after a paragliding adventure goes wrong, and a North Korean soldier. Like most people who like K-drama, I loved the show. And suffused in the warm glow of Yoon Se-ri and Ri Jeong-hyeok’s (the lead pair) love story for weeks, I missed them for days after I finished the last episode.
In some k-dramas the portrayal of women in workplace is very realistic. "Somethin the the Rain" - had a long drawn out sub-plot about sexual harassment at work and while I was disappointed at how that went, I also feel it must have taken some effort to bring it out in the open.
Maybe , just maybe, portrayal of soft masculinity influences and normalizes this behavior? In India, we have had SRK in DDLJ fasting on Karva Chauth and setting a precedent for men to follow. Similarly hoping that male leads in K-drama can influence future generations.
Thanks Vishakha… The hope is that men could possibly understand that there is a better way to be :) The caveat of course being that some men are sensitive. Coming to SRK, I am not sure how many men are influenced by him. If anything, women see him as the ideal male as brought out brilliantly in Shrayana Bhattacharya’s book, Desperately Seeking Shahrukh
Wow. This was such an informative piece! I've watched a few K-dramas myself, and CLOY very recently. K-dramas just make you dwell in it for a while even after they've ended. I had never known of the Three Obediences and the Four Truths! It's crazy how similar life and these weird rules are similar for women around the world.
Your piece was informative, sad and also enraging. Women go through so much and can do so less about it.
Thank you Akriti… am glad it was informative for you. You’re right… women go through so much… each context has different versions of the same story. It is heart wrenching.
What a brilliant piece, Lakshmi! And what an education for me! I read Kim Ji-Young, and found it very disturbing. Let us hope women can look forward to happier times and equality at work and at home.
Loved reading this, Lakshmi! I am glad you showed both sides of this humongous industry. It’s definitely very romanticised and it’s about time we involve them in the greater discourse of feminism!
Oh my God. Where do I even start. This piece was pure education, Lakshmi. I am going to proudly share it EVERYWHERE!
I haven't watched many k-dramas as I mentioned in our workshop, but I have read Kim Ji-young and I was quite disturbed by how closely it resembled the experience of marriage and motherhood for women in India as well. The book is something I have often wondered about when I read glowing pieces about Butter being the champions of soft masculinity. I am so glad you brought that into this piece, and drew out this sharp contrast between real and reel life for women and men in South Korea.
I was gritting my teeth as I read your description of the Four Virtues and the Three Obediences. When you mentioned that State guideline about pregnancy, I thought it was about stuff like "women should eat iron and folic acid" the way government communication in India works (though nothing is legally enforced, as it should be). But wow. Stocking the fridge so the husband doesn't have to cook while you are away birthing his child is, just, wow. Speechless.
This piece is yet another reminder for me that Womaning in India is in fact not too far from Womaning all over the world.
Brilliant and heartbreaking. Take a bow, Lakshmi ❤️
I made so many discoveries while writing this piece… and it turned out informative for me too :) There was such indignation in me when I was reading up and there’s so much more that I’ve not written… it may find itself in another piece some day hopefully…
A very informative piece.
In some k-dramas the portrayal of women in workplace is very realistic. "Somethin the the Rain" - had a long drawn out sub-plot about sexual harassment at work and while I was disappointed at how that went, I also feel it must have taken some effort to bring it out in the open.
Maybe , just maybe, portrayal of soft masculinity influences and normalizes this behavior? In India, we have had SRK in DDLJ fasting on Karva Chauth and setting a precedent for men to follow. Similarly hoping that male leads in K-drama can influence future generations.
Thanks Vishakha… The hope is that men could possibly understand that there is a better way to be :) The caveat of course being that some men are sensitive. Coming to SRK, I am not sure how many men are influenced by him. If anything, women see him as the ideal male as brought out brilliantly in Shrayana Bhattacharya’s book, Desperately Seeking Shahrukh
Wow. This was such an informative piece! I've watched a few K-dramas myself, and CLOY very recently. K-dramas just make you dwell in it for a while even after they've ended. I had never known of the Three Obediences and the Four Truths! It's crazy how similar life and these weird rules are similar for women around the world.
Your piece was informative, sad and also enraging. Women go through so much and can do so less about it.
Thank you for writing this.
Thank you Akriti… am glad it was informative for you. You’re right… women go through so much… each context has different versions of the same story. It is heart wrenching.
What a brilliant piece, Lakshmi! And what an education for me! I read Kim Ji-Young, and found it very disturbing. Let us hope women can look forward to happier times and equality at work and at home.
Thank you Kermaan… it was disturbing for me too. We continue to live on in hope :)
Loved reading this, Lakshmi! I am glad you showed both sides of this humongous industry. It’s definitely very romanticised and it’s about time we involve them in the greater discourse of feminism!
Thank you Ekta… happy you found something to take away from it :)
Oh my God. Where do I even start. This piece was pure education, Lakshmi. I am going to proudly share it EVERYWHERE!
I haven't watched many k-dramas as I mentioned in our workshop, but I have read Kim Ji-young and I was quite disturbed by how closely it resembled the experience of marriage and motherhood for women in India as well. The book is something I have often wondered about when I read glowing pieces about Butter being the champions of soft masculinity. I am so glad you brought that into this piece, and drew out this sharp contrast between real and reel life for women and men in South Korea.
I was gritting my teeth as I read your description of the Four Virtues and the Three Obediences. When you mentioned that State guideline about pregnancy, I thought it was about stuff like "women should eat iron and folic acid" the way government communication in India works (though nothing is legally enforced, as it should be). But wow. Stocking the fridge so the husband doesn't have to cook while you are away birthing his child is, just, wow. Speechless.
This piece is yet another reminder for me that Womaning in India is in fact not too far from Womaning all over the world.
Brilliant and heartbreaking. Take a bow, Lakshmi ❤️
Thank you Mahima!
I made so many discoveries while writing this piece… and it turned out informative for me too :) There was such indignation in me when I was reading up and there’s so much more that I’ve not written… it may find itself in another piece some day hopefully…
Hold that thought - because you may use it in today's workshop! :)