Korean dramas, like every other genre, have a set of conventions which characterize and to some extent define them. Most of these we’ve all seen before, but whether we recognize them consciously or unconsciously depends on our experience with Kdramas and our awareness of genre tropes in general. Here, I highlight ten of the most-frequently seen conventions in Kdramas, most of which, as you scan this list, you should realize you are already highly familiar with… Without further ado, I give you the top 10 Kdrama conventions.
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1. Love QuartetsThis isn’t just a staple of Korean dramas – it’s practically a law. It’s not enough for two people to be dancing around each other over the course of the drama – two more must be added. Almost every Korean drama consists of, in some way or another, four people running after each other, dancing around each other, colliding with each other, and sometimes, falling in love with each other. It’s Love and Other Disasters for four individuals in Korean dramas. |
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2. Terminal IllnessI’ve mentioned this before in 5 Signs that Drama Angst is about to hit: terminal illness is an oft-featured aspect of Korean dramas, and by terminal illness I mean any variation of physical ailment (blindness is not uncommon, too). Our heroines, in particular, seem to be just too beautiful and saintly to live, and so die quite frequently. See: Stairway to Heaven, 90 Days Time to Love, and many others |
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3. Childhood LoveA favorite element of older Korean dramas in particular, you know it’s true love if it’s established somewhere between the ages of 6 and 12. Engaged to a beautiful, kind, successful individual whom you met as an adult? He or she ain’t got a chance against the enduring power of the Deep Soul Connection you established with your childhood sweetheart in the few days, weeks, or months that you knew him/her. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t seen this person since you were seven, or if your memories consist of a few afternoons spent playing together, or of a childhood promise randomly given, or if every possible obstacle in the world stands between you and that person. Childhood love is a kind of love that is superior to all other forms apparently, and we’re all invited to worship at its shrine accordingly See: Spring Waltz, All In, Iljimae, Time between Dog and Wolf. |
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4. AmnesiaAnother convention of older dramas in particular, amnesia is a highly useful trope for separating the hero and heroine. Already used up the personality clashes, the evil family and the terminal illnesses? Bam! Amnesia. It is usually set up in such a way that the amnesiac is separated from all family and friends and presumed lost or dead by the one who loves him/her. And then when they do finally meet, the amnesiac doesn’t recognize him/her. Oh! le! angst! See: Time between Dog and Wolf, Stairway to Heaven, Save the Last Dance for Me. |
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5. Icy Tormented Rich Guy and Plucky Sunny Poor GirlWith the occasional exception of dramas like Snow Queen, Star’s Lover, and East of Eden, the male lead of a Korean drama is almost invariably very rich and the girl is almost always poor. As if to make up for it, however, the girl has a happy, plucky disposition which enables her to keep going in spite of her poverty, while the guy is generally tormented and driven by some hidden sorrow or tragedy in his past which has caused him to shut everyone out. The girl thereupon thaws his cold cold heart and teaches him to love and he rescues her from poverty and/or hard work and everyone lives happily ever after. This at heart is the plot of at least 45% of Korean dramas. See: Goong, Boys Over Flowers, Shining Inheritance, Who Are You?, and many, many others. |
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6. The Saintly Secondary Guy…who never gets the girl and the evil/annoying secondary girl who runs around the whole drama trying to ruin things for everyone and generally behaving as if she should be locked up in a mental institution (occasionally the secondary guy is like this too, but more often the girl). See: Shining Inheritance, Boys Over Flowers, Last Scandal. |
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7. Forbidden LoveIn Kdramas, people are always falling in love with their bodyguards (East of Eden), chauffeurs (Snow Queen), butlers (Take Care of the Young Lady), half-siblings (too many dramas to count), students (Hi My Teacher), siblings’ fiances, and anyone else who might happen to be absolutely forbidden and wildly inappropriate. If it’s a love that’s doomed by its very existence, then it’s going to happen. (Oh, and if you’re a nun or ex-nun, you’re destined to fall in love with either a popstar or a mobster – see You’re Beautiful and All In). |
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8. Contract Marriages/Engagements/JobsNeed a way for the heroine and hero of a Kdrama to spend some time together so that they fall in love? No problem! Enter the contract marriage or engagement (as seen in Full House and currently-airing Creating Destiny) or the hiring of the heroine by the hero to play a specific role (such as the housekeeper in Last Scandal or Gong Chan’s cousin in My Girl). It’s a trope as old as time but works perennially well to create forced proximity and attraction between the leads of a drama. |
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9. Grief/Loss/Childhood TraumaLead of a Korean drama? It’s almost guaranteed that you had a childhood from hell, especially if you’re the male lead (the girl has a slightly higher chance of getting off easy). Your parents are either dead from a car crash or other inexplicable event, or one or both of them abandoned you as a kid, or you never met them at all and are an orphan, or your brother died and it was your fault, or you were abused by your stepfather, or you killed someone or witnessed someone being killed. If by some miracle you have escaped all these, then at the very least you’ve been living hand to mouth and barely escaping abject poverty for years. See: East of Eden, Goong, Iljimae, and Cain and Abel. |
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10. Evil ParentsAlthough the parents of Kdrama leads are generally dead, it’s not necessarily a good thing for you as a Kdrama lead if they are alive, because there’s at least an 80% chance that they will do all in their power to make your life miserable, starting with threatening suicide and the destruction of the family business if you don’t give up the one you love and marry the one whom they choose. Mothers tend to be the worst offenders; they might stage your own father’s death just to get you even more under their control, or hire professional hitmen to take you out if your existence becomes a threat in some way, or throw you out of the house penniless after your father dies. See: Boys Over Flowers, Cain and Abel, East of Eden and Shining Inheritance. |
Category: Korean Drama Recommended Reading | Tags: Boys Over Flowers, Cain and Abel, East of Eden, Kdrama, Kdrama Conventions, Kdrama Tropes and Cliches, Korean, Shining Inheritance, Stairway to Heaven
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Tiffny February 2nd, 2010 4:23 pm
RFLMAO this list is awesome!So true! HAHA
Yani February 3rd, 2010 1:36 am
I agree it is so true that is why we are hooked…lol
rali February 4th, 2010 11:05 pm
hit the nail on the head. number 5, 10, and 1 are soooooooo over played. But I guess this is what works for most people, thus the writers keep recycling it.
jolly Goode February 6th, 2010 8:46 pm
Aside from the really bizarre things that could very rarely happen in real life but never say never, K-drama is addicting for me because some of the situations with family and conflicts are real.
I’ve seen really evil K-parents who went out of their way to break up their kids’ bf or gf. I’ve seen really psycho evil K-stepmothers, dunno why but many K-stepmothers seem super over the top. I’ve seen people fall in love with wildly inappropriate people and being chased by their parents with sticks. I’ve seen people literally sick with love for a long time. I’ve seen tragic illness/accidents/deaths and they are as sad and tragic as in the dramas.
Family secrets and hidden identity so that the person didn’t know they were adopted or who their real parents were, spite suicide…what else??? Sometimes I want to choke my family or other Koreans who could have resolved lots of problems just by talking to each other but they don’t and weird misunderstandings and mistakes drag on for ages. Conniving behind peoples’ back and secret dealings…
LOL…so when I watch K-drama, it’s like watching family and friends drama…ahhhhhh…sweet smell of home.
aX February 10th, 2010 2:42 pm
The best #3 Childhood love I’ve seen so far is Yoo Seung Ho & Kim So Eun in ‘Sad Love Story’ [Sad Sonata]. Who knew that they’d grow up to be Kwon Sang Woo & Kim Hee Sun later on…
Kurious1 February 19th, 2010 4:36 pm
Love this list…so true and that’s why we love <3 K-dramas! My family teases me that the story lines are always the same but to me my K-dramas are still so compelling to watch! I'm a big fan
bookworm88 March 6th, 2010 10:37 pm
I think its the angst that makes me so addicted to these dramas. Who cares for all these conventions, knowing chocolate is bad for me doesn’t make me stop eating it, and knowing this conventions will continue to exist in korean dramas won’t stop me from watching them. THIS IS WHAT WE CALL ADDICTION
qamar_b1 March 10th, 2010 3:40 am
i laughed tears when reading this!luved it, totally agree with it, whats funny is that i made a similiar list with my sister after we started noticing the k-drama pattern.But once again even though we notice this we r still hooked. i just wish they would leave out the whole inappropriate half sibling luv, that disturbs me the most in the dramas( ex. stairway to heaven), but still luv them.
dramadddict April 6th, 2010 4:33 pm
Totally agree. But that’s why we love them warts and all.
animedork101 May 3rd, 2010 2:45 pm
As long as they stop using the amnesia and terminal illness one, I will be more than willing to watch it. Once I know someone’s sick, I chuck faster than the speed of light!
Ally May 18th, 2010 10:18 pm
Ha! This is so true. Great list!
Susan June 2nd, 2010 6:10 pm
another convention I’ve noticed is a subtle incest theme ex. Wife Temptation– the character is obsessed with her adopted brother and forces him to marry her, another example is Loving You Ten Thousand Times where the female character unknowingly marries the brother of the man she was a surrogate mother to, the comedy Cuter By the Day where the two children characters become a “couple” without knowing their parents are in love with each other and planning to marry and the list goes on and on. I assume it’s to make the most of the characters that exist in the storyline ie. story economy and to keep the audience guessing at the web of relations. Still it’s somewhat disturbing too!
Sophie June 27th, 2010 1:21 pm
ahahahah this is really so funny and so true at the same time!!! haha
Kelsey July 8th, 2010 8:48 am
The ultimate “Saintly Secondary Guy” has to be Won Bin in Autumn Love.
What the heck, how could she not fall for him??? Handsome, rich, sexy, and totally in love with her, did I mention HANDSOME! Omo, because she was his maid, has a terminal illness & that childhood/grown-up love( who already had a fiance and was her “brother” at one point and also the best friend of the guy). Man.
Great topic.
Sy July 8th, 2010 10:20 pm
Hahahaha, this list is hilarious but so true! Still I love Korean dramas!
mamae July 10th, 2010 2:40 am
dont forget the ruggedly handsome badboy leading man who also happens to be very rich in the story…………….fullhouse, boys over flowers
Donjuro July 21st, 2010 7:35 pm
My favorite is “East of Eden” for action, suspense and romance. Also, superb acting talent.
However, I am looking forward to the continuation of “Pink Lipstic”, another compelling drams. How soon will we be seeing more episodes??