It is a new world out there, and this society is changing rapidly. Thanks to the development of technology, people got much closer to cultural contents, consuming them at a good pace. Such fast consumption brought about the needs of diversifying the contents, leading a number of trends in our society. And this eventually led the public to alter their opinions. Only a decade ago, most Korean dramas were about innocent love, a noble and pure romance. Since the overall recognition of our society was much more conservative, there were only few dramas that dealt with provocative materials, which might cause minor problems. However, situations have become completely different over the years. The public started to become interested in provocative materials, which are mostly combined with an illogical storyline. Such dramas are growing rapidly in number, thereby making it harder to find one without stimulating materials. A striking transition is that an affair, which was a taboo until a few years ago, is becoming a common material in Korean dramas. In addition, a romance between couples with a huge age gap is recently being popularized. Korean viewers are getting into the swing of “Risky Romance.”
In the drama A Witch’s Romance, which was aired in April, the heroine was a 39-year-old lady, while the hero was a 24-year-old young man. Despite the huge age gap of 15 years, they fell in love with each other. Another point of this drama is that a young man is dating an elder woman, unlike the past when it was the other way around. This might be due to the fact that it is now much easier to find women who are actively working in the society. The alteration in the perception of the public is also worth considering. Until recently, people used to have negative perspectives toward couples with a notable age difference, thinking that those couples were only engaged because of their partner’s bank account. However, thanks to the media such as A Witch’s Romance, people are now much more broadminded. They believe that age is only a mere number, and they are content with their romantic relationships. This shows that the public’s awareness regarding love has changed over time. Yet, such change did not stop there.
Secret Love Affair, which was aired a few months ago, was the story of a 20-year-old young man, who fell in love with a 40-year-old married woman. Since adultery is still considered a crime in Korea, an affair is not usually illustrated directly because it is absurd. However, Secret Love Affair put this up as its major subject, thereby making the main characters commit a crime. This drama provoked a number of controversial discussions when it was first broadcasted. Secret Love Affair did not exactly have a happy ending after all. Despite its ending, however, many people believe that their relationship is still ongoing, as they were neither accused nor punished for committing adultery. Temptation is another drama that was aired in July. It is about a married man who experiences inner conflict as he meets another woman, subtly dealing with adultery as well. Although there are controversial discussions that are still ongoing regarding this issue, it is clear that the public is being much more generous than before.
These provocative dramas may seem attractive in that it can easily attract a number of viewers. However, from a long-term perspective, it is uncertain whether these risky romance dramas can keep its popularity in the future. In consideration of the fact that more and more Korean dramas are being exported to other countries, such provocative materials must be gradually rejected. In order to avoid criticism that Korean contents are vulgar, the production crew should find an alternative way to attract the public.
