5 K-dramas to show you the REAL South Korea

The Hallyu wave is sweeping the globe, with the neon world of K-pop and the fantastic storylines of K-dramas. From good-looking chaebols (heirs to conglomerate businesses) sweeping the poor girl off her feet, to the portal to an adventurous comic book world, K-dramas are a perfect escape from reality. And perhaps, after watching one too many of these, you might have dreamed of moving to the peninsular nation for good. But all that glitters is not gold and so the glossy stories in K-dramas are as far from reality as Hogwarts is. 

The recently concluded South Korean presidential elections showed the world the real problems and grievances of the Korean masses. From unaffordable housing, rising class disparity and more, the reality of the people of South Korea is far from designer clothing and handsome, rich and kind men.  

But what are these issues affecting the land of K-drama and K-pop?

There is no better way to explain these issues than through K-dramas themselves.

Of course, the most internationally popular ones are the Oscar-winning film Parasite and Netflix hit series Squid Game, but there are much more than these two.

1. FIGHT FOR MY WAY

Unlike the usual stories of a neoliberal rich boy who meets a poor girl, the 2017 drama Fight for My Way tells the tale of four young people considered to be living ‘third-rate lives’ struggling to make their way up the competitive South Korean job market.

The four characters are Ko Dong-man, who is a nameless mixed martial arts fighter; Choi Ae-ra who works at a department store but dreams to be an announcer (TV host), Kim Joo-man who has a permanent position at a home-shopping network and Baek Sol-hee who works at the customer service department at the home shopping network.

The characters belong to the non-regular worker and low-educated worker groups that face job insecurity, and discrimination in Korean society. Usually, we hear fewer stories about such people who make up for most of the South Korean population portrayed in K-dramas.  

Also, if you are a fan of the Oscar-winning film Parasite, then one of the film’s lead actors, Kim Woo-shik plays a cameo in Fight for My Way. And Park Seo-joon who had a cameo in Parasite plays the lead role in Fight for My Way.

2. EXTRACURRICULAR

This drama is not your average teenage or high-school story. Though it portrays exaggerated dark themes, the drama also sheds light on some contentious South Korean issues plaguing the teens. Extracurricular depicts teen crimes, bullying and Asian academic pressure.

Bullying and academic pressures are two issues that are rampant in South Korean high schools. Unlike in other countries where bullying is often brushed off as childish fights, South Korean society, even the adult world, takes it quite seriously. There have been several instances where popular K-drama actors like Kim Ji-soo had their entire careers destroyed due to high-school bullying allegations.

Academic pressure in Asian countries is known to be on another level. The drama depicts the struggle of students who come from poor backgrounds and the expectations from students who belong to rich backgrounds.

3. SKY CASTLE

On the heels of Extracurricular, is Sky Castle, which also depicts the academic pressure in South Korean society on students. And like Extracurricular, it is a bit exaggerated. In the critically acclaimed drama, a group of rich housewives belonging to the Sky Castle community does everything to ensure their children get into the prestigious Seoul National University.

It means that those from middle or poorer backgrounds lose out on the spots despite their qualifications and merit. In 2019, then-President Moon Jae-in’s office was rocked by his Justice Minister’s scandal of falsifying his daughter’s merits to get her into a prestigious university.

4. LIVE

The 2018 South Korean drama tells the story of police officers, no not the detective, gang-busting rung of officers, but those doing the menial tasks at district offices. The characters' road to being a police officer is also not of an extraordinary tale, but that of a normal real-life struggle we are familiar with - unable to get a place in the competitive labour market in the private sector.

5. WHEN THE CAMELLIA BLOOMS

This K-drama talks about single unwed mothers, the perception of the society of such women and the discrimination. The protagonist Oh Dong-baek, an unwed mother of a little boy, moves into a quiet neighbourhood and starts a bar and restaurant business.

The neighbourhood doesn’t take too kindly to her presence. The ajhummas (middle-aged and old aunties) accuse her of being a homewrecker, and the men in the neighbourhood make unwanted advances towards her. The drama also shows how the discrimination based on the society's perception also has an impact on Miss Oh's business and livelihood. 

Of course, in the story, Oh Dong-baek finds her love – the kind police officer.

If you think watching these will be emotionally taxing; fret not, many like Fight for My Way are pretty light-hearted that get viewers laughing like a maniac while also driving home the social message.