I just read a very bias article on US vs Korean TV, making out kdramas to be superior due to portrayal of relationships (sex), release dates (ep/week), and values/morals. Thoughts? (I watch both, btw)

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    I was thinking about this the other day. To me they are fundamentally like apples and oranges because of the sociocultural differences between the two. So they end up being different genres of television which they pretty much are. Putting this here as a “bookmark” to write more on in a bit.

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    Where was that article from?

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      Some sort of personal kdrama blog? I’ll try to find it again and I’ll post a link here if I do. Though biased, I thought it was interesting to see how this blogger saw American TV in comparison to Korean.

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        Yeah, it does sound very interesting. Let me know if you find it, I’d love to read it 🙂

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    As @hades said, it is like comparing apples to oranges. For example, Korean work place dramas are miles from anything you would see in the US. The interpersonal work dynamics alone are a foreign concept to Americans. Now that I think of it, the US doesn’t even really have any serious work place dramas, the shows they do have are sitcoms eg. Parks and Rec. I think it goes to show how much value is placed on work in Korea. It seems they spend countless hours either working or doing workplace activities (drinking being the #1 thing I see). So, the storylines alone reflect Korean culture, which differs vastly from ours.

    I find the quality of shows equal, but content in terms of socioeconomic/cultural expressions is very different. I would not say they are morally superior or better at depicting romance, they just display these aspects in a different way.

    Plus, they have strict censorship laws that also play into what is depicted on screen. American tv can show hot and heavy sex scenes, be more violent etc. just because they can.

    I will say, the 2 episodes a week deal is pretty freaking sweet. Plus, I like that shows only last one “season”. There is a distinct conclusion and no dragging out of storyline – looking at you ER and countless other shows that lasted 10 plus seasons.

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      SAME. I like that dramas are made to end. It leads to more complete, thought-out, well-paced dramas. Most dramas don’t do this perfectly, but it’s nice. I still watch Grey’s Anatomy, which has 13 seasons now, but it’s like a never ending series of arcs–which I hate and love.

      I do notice how the idea of hard work is so ingrained in Korean culture. It speaks to how fast the country has grown, but I do appreciate how some workplace dramas show how that idea can lead to hardships—it can be quite thankless, I imagine. My Korean friend told me this: It sometimes feels like you have to work so hard but you don’t necessarily go anywhere (especially since many big conglomerates are family run and can be prone to nepotism). She also said that she’s heard things like if you aren’t successful yet, it means you aren’t working hard enough. In that regard it would be a very different dynamic to work/school life.

      Oh and thanks for replying!! 😀

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        I would not want to work in Korea after having seen kdramas. Their labor laws are definitely not as protective as ours and it does seem that nepotism goes far there. Plus, I always see workers getting yelled at and physically abused in shows. What the hell is that about? I am reminded of the sad news article Dramabeans shared about that rookie PD that killed himself. Now I just depressed myself 😑

        Until this post, I never really compared the two except for comparing length and air times. Thanks for the discussion topic!

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