K-dramas and Hybridity
- nunezv
- Mar 4, 2021
- 1 min read
I found Hyunji Lee’s argument about hybridity in K-dramas and the importance of it for the creation of cultural identity really interesting. She argues that the lack of cultural specificity and the narrative familiarity in K-dramas is what makes it appealing for Western viewers, “blurring the boundaries between what is local and what is foreign” (367). However, Lee also acknowledges that the cultural and linguistic differences could also play a role in attracting Western audience. She states that the unfamiliarity (the differences) increases the viewer’s fascination and allows them to experience a new culture; Lee makes the connection to how females feel the romantic storylines in K-dramas makes them feel safer than Western narratives. This discussion was interesting to me because while watching the K-drama, Love Alarm, I attributed the “awkward” encounters to difference. In other words, what allowed me to enjoy the romance plot in this drama was the fact that I could justify the “weird,” like the infantilization of the female character, to cultural difference.
I think itis interesting to think about the ways that our consumption of transnational texts rely on our sense of ourselves as cosmopolitian citizens but also our sense of wonder with that which is "odd" or different. I think its interesting how these two impulses play off each other to create a kind of pleasure in consumption.
I also found myself attributing things that seemed "weird" or off to me to cultural difference; like others in our class, I was surprised by how affectionate Sun-oh and Hye-young were with one another (i.e. in the morning scenes where they would share the same bed), but as I watched, I justified this by assuming that this must be a cultural difference and that perhaps in Korea it is normal for men to be more affectionate with one another. I would agree that cultural and linguistic differences / the unfamiliarity aspect make watching K-dramas a more rich / interesting experience. - Nina