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Samuel Poirot 2018190278

Dr. Miseong Woo

Korean Modernity and Popular Culture - CLC3108

December 16th, 2020

The Catastrophic Social, Personal and Geopolitical Consequences of the

Male Perception of Women-Oriented Korean Dramas & K-pop

The mysterious female point of view on romance is like the holy grail for men. It should

not be very surprising that male audiences enjoy watching Korean dramas through a woman’s

perspective. Not only is it dépaysant (a change in scenery), but it also is a possible answer to the

eternal masculine question of “what do women want and think about?” The representational

accuracy is not as important as the value of the symbolic it carries. In other words, it does not

matter if that is exactly how women perceive things. What matters is that people label it as how

women see things. This essay, through an analysis of Jang Tae-yoo’s Korean drama “My love

from the Star,” (2014) will decorticate the female-oriented cinematography through a male

perception. This study will analyze the unrealistic expectation the female gaze builds for men,

the ridiculous female ideal it presents to the male audience, as well as the consequences of these

dreamy idolizations on social, personal and geopolitical aspects.

Even when a certain entertainment is targeted for a female audience, it includes fantasies

women might enjoy, and therefore is interesting for men as prospective mates. Let us take the
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example of the popular Korean drama “My love from the Star.” In this TV series, Do Min-joon,

portrayed by Kim Soo-hyun, is an alien stranded on Earth who will fall in love with the actress

Cheon Song-yi, represented by Jun Ji-hyun. Now, the title of the drama hints that the main

character is Cheon Song-yi, for her “love from the Star” is the alien Do Min-joon. Therefore, it is

reasonable to assume this drama is targeting female audiences in the way it is developed and

produced. Indeed, as the first episode depicts a very needlessly graphic scene of the man

showering, it seems evident that a woman would be more interested in the cinematography than a

man. However, if one was to consider that this scene depicts an example of the perfect male, it

actually is a sort of motivation, or end goal for any man looking for a prospective girlfriend or

wife. The scene depicts very specific instructions when one looks carefully. The way the actor

turns around to grab soap, despite being awkward and seemingly uncomfortable, is the perfect

way to display his abdominal muscles. The light show in this scene is also constructed

specifically to convey an aura of godliness and perfection. The man’s head and arms are so

violently hit by the light that the camera’s vision becomes blurry, which in turn adds up to the

ethereal build up around the character, and also around the myth of the perfect man the Korean

genre constantly shapes and reinforces. It is worth pointing out that, in the interest of the endless

pursuit of perfect beauty, rationality completely vanishes. Case in point, the man showers with a

towel around his waist. This detail does not seem to bother the viewership at all as their vision is

obnubilated by the alien’s upper body. Showcasing this behavior is extremely confusing for a

male audience. All or most women will probably feel attracted to the actor, so the male

viewership will be encouraged into conducting and prioritizing an uncomfortable, awkward and

unnatural lifestyle over a human one – ironically, as the role model is an alien both

metaphorically and literally.

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The focus on a female lead is not an impasse to male viewers as they can watch men as

role models as aforementioned but also women as ideal partners. Women-oriented Korean

dramas are problematic not only for they twist the image of the perfect male, but also as they

mystify the perfect woman. Still following the Korean drama “My love from the Star,” the main

character Cheon Song-yi is systematically showed with impeccable make up and hairstyle. When

the woman is clearly upset with Do Min-joon at the front door of her house, in a situation in

which she should have at least some imperfections in her makeup, all of it is still intact, and the

actress looks as flawless as ever. This strengthens the unrealistic expectations men have of

women, as well the ones female viewers have of themselves. On top of giving fallacious models

both of the ideal man and the ideal woman, this sort of Korean drama also mystifies and alienates

the perfect relationship and encounter. Men will feel obligated for example to behave in certain

unnatural ways which might make women feel uncomfortable. In the show on which this essay is

focusing its analysis, multiple times does the man approach the woman’s face excessively, in

order to create a romantic moment. However, the notion of consent is absolutely obliviated from

the situation. The viewers simply assume the woman is comfortable with this close proximity

with a stranger, and might entice the male part of the audience into behaving in such an

inappropriate fashion, assuming that the recipient will not be bothered as long as she is a “good”

woman who follows in the steps of the unrealistic ideal set by the Korean cinematographic genre

for the “perfect girl.” In a way, this representation of an artificial romance, just for the purpose of

viewership and popularity, will indirectly or directly, depending on how one chooses to observe

the situation, provoke sexual harassment situations. Furthermore, in order to constantly display

the actress’s visage to the audience, the director chose to exhibit a massive portrait of the woman

when the scene shows her crying on the bed, face down. In other words, the constant and
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systematic exposure to the physique is so crucial that the cinematographic choice is to delve into

the ridicule instead of subtly omitting it for a short while. They will not show the crying

woman’s face because it is not perfect at that time, so they strengthen the inhumane – in its

etymological definition – expectation by letting the viewer focus on a massive picture-perfect

image of the actress. On top of these expectations on how a perfect girl should behave and look

like, the title of the show implies the man should be the main focus for the ideal woman. And as

the screen time favorizes the male actor so much, it also builds up on that expectation that the

ideal woman should focus mostly on the men, instead of on herself. Furthermore, as mentioned

by Stephen Epstein and James Turnbull in their essay “Girls’ Generation? Gender,

(Dis)Empowerment, and K-pop”, “Korea’s pop culture commodification of sexuality has reached

the point that for middle-aged men to focus their gaze on underage performers becomes cause for

rejoicing rather than embarrassment.” (333) All in all, the Korean drama genre completely

alienates the real image of the perfect girl to the profit of a lucrative, fictitious and fallacious

female model, and stimulates unnatural, disturbing and almost pedophilic behavior and

expectations from men.

The distorted envisioning of the ideal man and woman are endangering reality in multiple

ramifications, but these menaces do not seem to frighten nor dissuade viewership. There are

obvious consequences to the idolization and idealization of certain gender models. For instance,

apart from having unrealistic expectations for partners as aforementioned, these role models for

viewers will also subconsciously be put in relation and comparison to their own selves, possibly

leading to self-depreciation and depression. These two issues, if taken to extremes, could lead to

a rise in the suicide rates as well as a drop in marriages, which are too of the biggest sociological
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ailments plaguing South Korea nowadays.1 The process of deification is found all throughout

Korean entertainment. It does not only transcend the analyzed drama “My love from the Star,”

but also transcends the cinematographic industry as a whole. In the spheres of Korean drama and

K-pop, an influential global impact is currently observed. This trans-national success means that

the unrealistic expectations on South Korean beauty standards do not only haunt the host

country, who currently brands the lowest fertility rate in the world at 1.0 births per woman, but

also mislead Korean drama and K-pop fans all throughout the world. As a few of them actually

invest enough energy and resources into traveling to South Korea to find an ideal partner as

displayed in media, many become disenchanted and disillusioned, and end up viewing the

country in a negative light as a whole. Interestingly enough, only an infinitively small part of the

population formed the necessary cogs into creating these ethereal dream ideals, nonetheless, the

country will be blamed in its entirety. The void of rationality and logic that Korean drama and K-

pop viewership stimulates could be fuel for geopolitical tensions. After all, if a massive part of

the population of a certain country adheres to the K-pop fanaticism (from which the word fan

originates), emigrates to South Korea and becomes disenchanted, the peninsula will carry a

horrible reputation in the other country’s mindset. It might not seem like a valid and sound logic

but the reasoning is actually sturdy. As a tangent example, let us take the case of the Korean K-

pop band BTS. The artists charmed thousands of Chinese viewers into fanaticism. After their

dedication to their foreign fans, a small symbolic comment on the Korean War in October 2020

caused huge tensions in between China and South Korea. This is indirectly linked to the male

ideal they have built, which is arguably the reason behind their unequalled success overseas.

Were they not this popular, this comment would not have drawn that much uproar. These are

1
As a disclaimer, this essay does not claim that the main factor behind these sociological problems is the
representation of the ideal man and woman in Korean cinematography, but it definitely contributes .
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aspects of mediatic interactions that many people forget to consider when they let themselves be

seduced into a living rêverie. The unrealistic models and ideals found in modern Korean popular

culture indirectly foster personal, social and geopolitical crises, such as low fertility rates, high

suicide rates and tense international relations.

In conclusion, it can be said that the male perception of women-oriented Korean dramas

is problematic. Through an alien representation of the ideal man, branded as perfect in the eyes

of women, male viewers may be encouraged into an unnatural and uncomfortable lifestyle.

Furthermore, the role model for women also constructs an absolutely irrational and unreal

expectation of prospective partners for men, for which, in turn, women will pay the

consequences. Finally, not only will these discrepancies between reality and cinematography

create problems in personal and social relations, such as suicides, divorces and separations, but

they will also affect the geopolitical situation of the world. Through the captivation by perfect

looks, Korean actors, artists and models hold an unthinkable influential sphere, as showcased by

the BTS scandal in China. These are all proof that Korean drama and K-pop viewership is much

more impactful than we consider. It is much more than a simple leisure or hobby. It shapes

fertility rates, suicide rates, male and female beauty standards and much more. The fanaticism of

modern Korean popular culture is a driving force in tomorrow’s society all throughout the world,

which should not be taken lightly.

Word count: 1853

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Works cited

- “My Love from the Star Episode 1.” Jang, Tae-yoo, director. My Love from the Star,

SBS, HB Entertainment.

- Epstein, Stephen and James Turnbull. “Girls’ Generation? Gender,

(Dis)Empowerment, and K-pop” The Korean Popular Culture Reader, Kyung Hyun

Kim and Youngmin Choe, Ed, Durham: Duke UP, 2004.