Last year was a great year for Hope. We saw Descendants of the Sun taking over the world by storm. Suddenly everyone wanted to be in military uniforms, dating it was the best time to be in NS. An onslaught of hit dramas followed.
There was Wa cross-dimensional love story between a female surgeon and a male webtoon character. Then there was The Drama of the Blue Seaa love story between a mermaid and a charming con-man. Following this was Goblina love story between korean year-old goblin and a year-old high school girl.
You name it, they have it: Love stories of all kinds. But something was amiss. All K-dramas start this way. The main girl has the worst start to life, and a bleak future awaits. Then by dating magical twist of fate, she crosses paths with the heir to for chaebol a large family-owned business conglomerateand their lives are changed forever.
Dude also has to be as mean as possible. See Point 2. The rich chaebol heir treats the poor girl aggressively, with zero respect. Sure, the girl can be feisty hookup gay car fight back at times, but also finds herself falling for him at the same time. Abusive drama always win. No wonder so korean of the nice guys turn bad in the course of dramas these days. Wise counsel does not exist in K-dramas. Or rather, wise counsel is always presented as bad guys — the meanies trying to tear the protagonists apart.
The more people advice the main girl against her abusive relationship with the mean chaebol heir, the more she should disregard them and believe that their love shall prevail.
For has dating a trending element in the hit dramas of the past year.
When how you love is shaped by Korean dramas, don’t expect a happy ending
These might sound ridiculous and illogical now, but they pose a dangerous threat to our own perceptions towards love. With each episode we watch — and there are so many episodes — we begin to view love through a tainted lens. The safely-played-out fantasies of male pursuit and reforming the bad boy. The fairy tale transformation of Cinderella from rags-to-riches.
All this, when somehow similar narratives in real life rarely turn out the same way. We expect love to be an exciting, thrilling, out-of-this-world adventure.
Relationships
We think that being nice will get us nowhere. The problem with K-dramas is when we overindulge in them, and draw misplaced gratification from them. Seeking emotional gratification from K-dramas, and any other form of for, is so dangerous drama it can start to eat us up unknowingly.
There are things like pornography, adultery and lust which are more explicitly worrying. But the hidden gratification we derive from K-dramas can be as dangerous, and insidiously so. Maybe my chaebol korean coming for me soon.
These days I ask myself: What am I trying to get out of watching this show? The artful script, and the underlying message behind the plot.
Studies & NS
To be fair, Goblin had a really good soundtrack and a thought-provoking message about mortality. There are times when life should not imitate art, and art should remain art. A Korean drama is one such instance. Christina is a designer by training and a bread connoisseur by passion. She is now the Managing Editor of Thir. National Service. Finding Purpose. Damsel in distress? See Point 2 2. An abusive relationship is the way to go The rich chaebol heir treats the poor girl aggressively, with zero respect.
Always stand by your man hope when well-meaning friends and family try to dissuade you Wise counsel does not exist in K-dramas. The Thirst Collective of websites is supported by individuals and organisations. Your donation will go to funding the generation of more faith-based content to sow into the digital hope. Christina Wong. How God used a hackathon to save me from burnout and renew my passion for digital ministry 18 October A Thirst Collective Brand.