I think the one problem with He Yi (who I actually find very amusing and root for being on the screen more) or even Tae Kyung's mother is that she is selfish - she wants what she wants and doesn't care if it hurts others in the process. And from my watching Korean dramas, such selfishness is usually seen as the ultimate vice in characters, male or female - which is perhaps unsurprising in a society very built on social harmony. (There are rare dramas which have selfish characters as protagonists - What Happened in Bali comes to mind where all 4 of the main characters are selfish, obsessed and beyond dysfunctional) but it's a rarity to see a "positive" portrayal of that in a fluffy drama. Selfish heroes are also not really loved, Boys Over Flowers notwithstanding - heroes may be grumpy or icy or whatever, but they always end up hardworking and conscientious at the end even if they weren't already - see Goong where Shin is a supercilious icicle but the drama emphasizes over and over that he is dutiful towards his family and does everything required of him by his position.
I don't really think it's gendered in Hong Sisters' work, to portray this selfishness as an ultimate evil - one of the most selfish, awful characters in their work is "the other guy" in Delightful Girl Chunhyang - anything He Yi does is child's play in comparison (but then DGCH featured an incredibly strong and smart heroine, who was not only explicitly smarter than the hero but also very proactive - there are a number of scenes where she took on the traditionally male drama role of hurting/protecting and the hero took on the traditionally passive heroine role of suffering. Actually, that is sort of troubling - each one of Hong Sisters' heroines seems to be less intelligent and more helpless than the previous one. Hmmm).
There are kdramas which have driven career women who are NOT always self-sacrificial or meek as leads, but they are rather a minority (IRIS' women are tough as nails, competent, and with goals of their own, but IRIS is a weird weird drama by Korean standards). Oddly, a lot of period dramas have strong driven female leads (Jumong, Princess Ja Myung Go, Emperor of the Sea, Damo, even Capital Scandal etc) but it's fairly unusual in modern ones. I have seen comments that Jandi from BOF, who was a very dishrag version of Makino, was too strong and scary (!!!). Worlds Within, my favorite kdrama, and one that featured a bevy of strong, ambitious, flawed, selfish in a real way, still awesome women, flopped like a stone and I saw repeated comments as to how dare the heroine not want children or be so pushy or whatever.
I give Hong Sisters props because their writing is good enough that I see why the three guys all like Minam for different convincing reasons even if I find her insipid (the cluelessness is cute for an ep or two and then it gets wearying - do you really want to be together romantically with someone who is 5 years old and useless?) I don't really see a problem with having selflessness presented as a positive virtue and the opposite of evil selfishness - after all, we are supposed to like Tae Kyung best when he is being caring and selfless and ditto for Shinwoo. I just don't find watching a moron particularly compelling.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2009-11-13 05:33 pm (UTC)I think the one problem with He Yi (who I actually find very amusing and root for being on the screen more) or even Tae Kyung's mother is that she is selfish - she wants what she wants and doesn't care if it hurts others in the process. And from my watching Korean dramas, such selfishness is usually seen as the ultimate vice in characters, male or female - which is perhaps unsurprising in a society very built on social harmony. (There are rare dramas which have selfish characters as protagonists - What Happened in Bali comes to mind where all 4 of the main characters are selfish, obsessed and beyond dysfunctional) but it's a rarity to see a "positive" portrayal of that in a fluffy drama. Selfish heroes are also not really loved, Boys Over Flowers notwithstanding - heroes may be grumpy or icy or whatever, but they always end up hardworking and conscientious at the end even if they weren't already - see Goong where Shin is a supercilious icicle but the drama emphasizes over and over that he is dutiful towards his family and does everything required of him by his position.
I don't really think it's gendered in Hong Sisters' work, to portray this selfishness as an ultimate evil - one of the most selfish, awful characters in their work is "the other guy" in Delightful Girl Chunhyang - anything He Yi does is child's play in comparison (but then DGCH featured an incredibly strong and smart heroine, who was not only explicitly smarter than the hero but also very proactive - there are a number of scenes where she took on the traditionally male drama role of hurting/protecting and the hero took on the traditionally passive heroine role of suffering. Actually, that is sort of troubling - each one of Hong Sisters' heroines seems to be less intelligent and more helpless than the previous one. Hmmm).
There are kdramas which have driven career women who are NOT always self-sacrificial or meek as leads, but they are rather a minority (IRIS' women are tough as nails, competent, and with goals of their own, but IRIS is a weird weird drama by Korean standards). Oddly, a lot of period dramas have strong driven female leads (Jumong, Princess Ja Myung Go, Emperor of the Sea, Damo, even Capital Scandal etc) but it's fairly unusual in modern ones. I have seen comments that Jandi from BOF, who was a very dishrag version of Makino, was too strong and scary (!!!). Worlds Within, my favorite kdrama, and one that featured a bevy of strong, ambitious, flawed, selfish in a real way, still awesome women, flopped like a stone and I saw repeated comments as to how dare the heroine not want children or be so pushy or whatever.
I give Hong Sisters props because their writing is good enough that I see why the three guys all like Minam for different convincing reasons even if I find her insipid (the cluelessness is cute for an ep or two and then it gets wearying - do you really want to be together romantically with someone who is 5 years old and useless?) I don't really see a problem with having selflessness presented as a positive virtue and the opposite of evil selfishness - after all, we are supposed to like Tae Kyung best when he is being caring and selfless and ditto for Shinwoo. I just don't find watching a moron particularly compelling.
OK, this ramble was all over the place, sorry.