So the current Korean hallyu is unavoidable in the current world. The emergence of Korean culture is also colored by the worldwide K-drama. Especially nowadays, everybody are watching K-dramas, from teenagers to adults to mature old people. K-dramas, it is usually divided into two aspects, a film and a series. This time, let’s talk about K-drama on a global platform.

The difference in film and TV series making

When we talk about film or movies, we’re referring to going to cinema because the cinema are the place of  the movies. Filmmaking is freer in choosing its space and its time. Usually, films have a time range of about 2 hours which is the maximum time of the duration of commercial films this is also the reason why many films are shown in the cinemas. In the production of films the time range can be determined by the filmmaker itself, in the making of films producers or filmmakers can choose their own place or studio set depending on the output and needs of beauty in the movie. And if we talk about a TV series, there’s more freedom in its broadcast time and the number of episodes in the series can vary. Besides, in making TV series shooting in locations has limits and more do recording in the studio set.

Filmmaking can accommodate more actors and can describe a broader human condition, because the film has a specified screen space so that to raise more assistant actors can be used. Furthermore, films can raise social conditions from different perspectives and focus on such conditions in raising issues in films. Movies can build relationships between actors and film crews with the outside world. Then TV series usually focus on human relationships such as family, romance, school, and workplace. TV series presents a related life to the audience so it can be discussed more by the audience around the world. The TV series also shows how relationships between characters go through many processes such as conflict and negotiation, making it more interesting for the audience.

K-drama in Asian markets

In the early 90s, Japanese drama became more popular among Asian communities, but as time went by, K-drama began to appear on TV channels in neighborhood countries in Asia, so it began to have more audience from other regions than South Korea. Besides, in East Asia, there are also many anti-Japanese communities because of the East Asian territory that was once a Japanese colony. At first, K-dramas were aimed at ethnic Chinese audiences because the Chinese community was spread across Asia, then as the K-Drama began, many of its fans began to shift to the target audience that had the same situation as, for example, a romantic drama aimed at the audience of adolescents and early adults. The South Korean government itself also supports the full expansion of K-drama worldwide, in 2022 despite the exports generated by K-Drama reaching $161.2 billion. This is what makes the government support K- Drama as K-drama contributes quite a lot of revenue to the country of South Korea.

K-drama has also always followed the movement of the times, until now there are so many Korean dramas that cover modern themes such as romantic comedy-drama, friendship, and current issues that are found in daily life. One example of modern K-drama is the hospital playlist. It’s a comedy-drama with a touch of romance and it also raises about friendship, family issues, and health issues that need to be appreciated by many people. Besides, K-dramas also often raise fantasy stories, characterized by protagonists who can go back to the past and change their way of life, or stories like someone who has special powers like those shown in the drama titled Moving. K-drama has one genre question, the conditions it raises, and the issues described in K-drama. With this intriguing variation, K-drama is much embedded in the world community. Moreover, nowadays many social media are used to discuss one episode with the next episode about a drama, which can help South Korean K-drama and culture become more and more popular with the wider public.