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Korean dramas vs K-dramas: What is a mother?

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Courtesy of Dickson Phua
Courtesy of Dickson Phua

By David A. Tizzard

What is a mother? Are there certain standards regarding age or socio-economic class that determine when it is acceptable or desirable to become a mother? Do these standards differ by country and over time? Finally, do Korean dramas have a responsibility to show us reality or fantasy? There will be various answers to all of these questions and it is for that reason that a popular television drama has the country debating what is acceptable in terms of television portrayals of motherhood. First, some context about Korean television and why we should differentiate between K-dramas and Korean dramas.

K-dramas are international. They get hyped by the Netflix behemoth and have articles written about them in the NYT and Guardian. They are often very good and thus become part of the global zeitgeist, inspiring Halloween costumes and late-night comedy parodies. They can feature incredible violence, swearing, adult themes, transgender characters, and zombies. Like with K-pop, it might be argued that a large percentage of target audience for this content is people overseas.

Conversely, Korean dramas are those shown on television here. The primary audience is, therefore, Korean people. Reflecting not only the audience but also the restrictions that come from being shown on television rather than a streaming site, the content is also far more conservative. After all, this is a country which blurs cigarettes, tattoos, and edits out scenes from "Bohemian Rhapsody" because Queen's music is well-loved but Freddie Mercury's personal life apparently less so.

TvN is a channel that has previously brought us "Mr. Sunshine," "Crash Landing on You," "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha," "Twenty-Five Twenty-One," "Hotel del Luna" and many more. All of which were incredibly successful and, at heart, dramas which the whole family can watch on a weekend. "Our Blues," set on the southern island of Jeju, shows the lives, trials, and tribulations of a variety of people, including high school students, fish merchants, divers, and grandparents, is the latest addition to this roster. Lee Byung-hun and Shin Min-a bring the star power. However, much of the conversation has been generated by the story-line featuring two young high school students and an unexpected pregnancy.

Bang Young-ju is a straight-A student who dreams of leaving the island and moving to Seoul. Her plans are thrown up in the air when she realizes that she is pregnant. Despite her initial plan to abort the baby, everything changes when she hears the baby's heartbeat upon visiting a hospital for an ultrasound. With support from her boyfriend, she makes up her mind to keep the baby.?

The content is deeply emotional and you would be hard-pressed not to be moved by how it all plays out. The music, the actors, and the presentation of the story is incredibly touching. It's a lovely narrative of people ultimately choosing life. But it's also generated a lot of criticism. Some have suggested that it romanticizes a very complicated situation. Others say that it promotes teenage pregnancy. A group of viewers have centered their complaints on the topic of abortion, which only became legal in January of 2021 after a ruling by the country's Constitutional Court.

The drama echoes the same content of another show: "Coding Om-bb." This show is apparently so Korean it doesn't even have an English title yet so I've done my best to transliterate the name. This program focuses on the real lives of young women, often high-school students, who have had children. It brings light to the difficulties they face, the choices they make, and the joy they have found. Some have petitioned for this show to be stopped, too.

It would be easy to criticize the actions of individuals but context matters. We are all simultaneously products and creators of the society we inhabit. Many young students and academics argue that sex education in Korea, while improving, is still a long way from what it should be. The contents have not been updated since 2015 and a survey of over 16,000 students carried out by the Ministry of Gender and Family in 2019 showed students were largely unhappy with the textbooks and material.

Statistics Korea reported that in 2020, there were 918 teenage mothers in Korea. Beyond numbers however, teenage pregnancies are still looked upon unfavorably in the somewhat conservative Korean society. This also applies to premarital pregnancies but there is often a special mark of shame attached to those who have children before they are of what society had previously deemed an acceptable age. Traditionally, Korea has valued the Confucian notion of "hyun-mo-yang-cho," a term suggesting that a woman is to be a wise mother and a good wife.

Yet with a growing focus on identity and individuality in many parts of the world, a lot of previously established standards are becoming much more flexible. Things are moving. We are changing ideas about what it means to be a man, a woman, an adult, or a partner. This same conversation is taking place here in Korea.

It might reasonably be argued that teenage mothers and fathers are not to be approved or disapproved of. Instead, they are individuals towards whom we can try to show support and understanding. This is not to condone or reject them and their behavior, which do not forget, is in the bounds of Korean law, but rather to create social, psychological, and emotional support so that they and their young family have the best possible chance of contributing to the society we inhabit together. After all, if we ostracize or ignore those who live here, what does it say about us?


Dr. David A. Tizzard (datizzard@swu.ac.kr) has a Ph.D. in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He is a social/cultural commentator and musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He is also the host of the Korea Deconstructed podcast, which can be found online. The views expressed in the article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times.




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