The term melodrama originally stems from the Greek word melos, meaning music. However, ironically in contemporary Korean Melodramas, minimal music has replaced the typical throbbing and seductive tunes. 50-70% of films produced in Korea and classified as melodramas and they typically portray the neglected corners of society and its exaggerated feelings and circumstances work to arouse empathy in the viewer.

Korean vs. Western

In contrast to Western Melodrama, the concept of suffering is a fundamental component. It is partly captured in the word han, which is a deep-seated feeling of sorrow, bitterness, or despair that originates in oppression or injustice which accumulates over time and remains unexpressed in the heart. It is believed by some to be a distinguishing characteristic of the Korean culture. Another distinguishing characteristic of Korean melodrama is the emphasis on family. While Western Melodrama tends to focus on the individual, the portrayal of the self in relation to the family in Korean Melodrama is significant. Early melodramatic texts typically dramatize the moral superiority of old values.

In American melodramas, restages of social and cultural values are also pivotal. However, there is more of a tendency to evaluate the rapid transformation of social relations by looking back and consulting the old order of things. In typical endings, characters whose world has collapsed around them usually find another form of personal satisfaction and re-invest their faith in the typical American dream: a classic Hollywood happy ending. Contrast this to Korean melodramas, where the main characters don't recover. When Korean melodrama characters realize they've lost it all, the film usually takes them back to a fleeting memory of past happiness and then ends, eschewing resolution.

History

Melodrama in Korea has been a dominant genre in the film industry since 1919. With early influences stemming from the Japanese theatrical shimpa (adapted froms of western melodrama), traditional folk tales such as pansori (an oral narrative poetry expressed in song) and Hollywood, Korean melodrama evolved from the 1920s up until the twenty first century.

Timeline

1950s: After WWII, there was a Korean Cinema boom and melodramas were very popular. During this time melodramas focused either on modernization or the issue of “free love”
1960s: focus on social issues
1970s: a low point for the film industry. Melodramas focused on the mood of the society in general, revoloving around women who served alcohol or worked as prostitutes
1980s: after a relaxation of censorship, melodramas depicted contemporary issues such as Korea’s rapid development
1990s: focus on romantic comedies and action pictures. Also a new concept of melodrama began to form. Christmas in August redefined Korean Melodrama.

Central Features in Korean Melodrama

“Melodrama Revised,” Linda Williams

Melodrama begins, and wants to end, in a space of innocence
Melodrama focuses on victim-heroes and the recognition of their virtue
Melodrama appears modern by borrowing from realism, but realism serves the melodramatic passion and action
Melodrama involves a dialectic of passion and action – a give and take of “too late” and “in the nick of time”
Melodrama presents characters who embody primary psychic roles organized in Manichaean conflicts between good and evil

References

Contemporary Korean Cinema
The Korea Society

External Links

Korean Film