New breed of female characters takes center stage in Korean dramas

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Entertainment & Arts

Sun, October 1, 2023 | 12:17

New breed of female characters takes center stage in Korean dramas

Posted : 2023-01-23 15:01

Updated : 2023-01-24 16:02

A scene from the Netflix series "The Glory," starring Song Hye-kyo, is seen in this photo provided by the company. Courtesy of Netflix

The classic plot of a rich man falling in love with a poor girl was a popular theme in Korean dramas a decade ago, but is now considered the same old story. Instead, strong, inspiring female characters have started to have a growing presence across genres in recent years, and the trend is likely to continue this year.

Top actresses have dazzled their fans with a wide range of roles in new TV dramas and streaming services' series, and more A-listed names are set to return to the small screen later this year.

Song Hye-kyo, well known as the "Melodrama Queen," has recently received acclaim for her dark role in the Netflix series "The Glory," a grim revenge drama about school bullying.

A scene from the JTBC drama "The Agency," starring Lee Bo-young, is seen in this screen grab provided by the cable channel. Courtesy of JTBC

The 41-year-old plays a woman who suffered from school violence and then takes elaborate revenge on her former bullies by taking advantage of the people around her.

The first part, streamed Dec. 30, was a global success, topping the Netflix weekly chart in eight nations, including South Korea, and making it to the streamer's top 10 TV shows listing in 34 countries.

While past workplace dramas mostly revolved around male protagonists, local cable channel JTBC's ongoing weekend drama "The Agency" follows office politics from the perspective of a female executive, played by Lee Bo-young.

Lee plays an advertising agency's first female executive, who has achieved fast promotions through her stellar performance despite her underprivileged background. The cool-hearted workaholic character doesn't hesitate to take revenge on her male rivals in the workplace but grapples with constant anxiety alone at home.

A scene from the TvN drama "Crash Course in Romance" starring Jeon Do-yeon, is seen in this photo provided by the cable channel. Courtesy of tvN

Cannes-winning actress Jeon Do-yeon has returned to the small screen in tvN's weekend drama "Crash Course in Romance," which began airing Jan. 14.

Jeon, who has a knack for playing emotionally distraught women in films such as "Secret Sunshine" (2007), plays a former national handball player who now operates a side-dish shop and takes care of her sick brother and a cousin in high school.

The 50-year-old actress with a teenage daughter said she could sympathize with the character who sacrifices herself for her family.

"When I was offered the chance to play my first bright character in a long time, I had many thoughts about whether I could do it well," she said during an online press conference earlier this month. "I thought it would be the kind of drama that would allow viewers to discover unknown parts of me." (Yonhap)

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