Dramaband: close bond between TV drama, broadband in Korea

A scene from a Korean epic drama, “Damo” (A Female Detective in the Joseon Kingdom) that aired on MBC in 2003. The show became immensely popular thanks to discussions about it on internet forums. / Korea Times file

Prof. Kim Hyeon

By Kim Hyeon

I introduce a newly coined term “dramaband” (drama + broadband) to refer to the mutual relationship between Korea's broadband and TV drama, as well as the secondary impacts generated by this.

Mobile telecommunication companies in Korea have constructed a nation-wide network of LTE (Long Term Evolution), a technology that enables data communication on smart phones at a much faster rate than 3G. The greatest beneficiaries of such technology are the providers of video content such as drama. The evolution in broadband-based content providing technology is broadening the customer range of Korean drama, which traditionally consisted mainly of housewives. The new customers will naturally trigger Korean dramas to accommodate their diverse lifestyles, tastes, and interests.

Broadband is not simply an environment in which one can watch drama - it also provides a platform for discussing drama. All the reviews, critiques, questions and answers, and in-depth discussions regarding popular drama suggest a new form of entertainment in society.

Korean society witnessed the power of drama reviews on the internet in 2003, when the costume production “Damo” (A Female Detective in the Joseon Kingdom) which was aired on MBC from July 28 to Sept. 9 in 2003 became immensely popular thanks to internet discussions. When the media noticed and reported this phenomenon, the connection between the interests of internet users and popularity of a TV drama was officially recognized as a new syndrome.

The function of these internet communities focused on a drama is not limited to providing feedback for the production. The communities also give rise to new questions and topics of interests related to the drama. While watching a drama, if you wondered about the location of a beautiful bridge or a cozy vacation cottage used as settings, chances are the next day you will find that someone else has asked the same question on the internet and has already got an answer through other people's comments. If you liked the hairpin and necklace the female lead was wearing, within a few days you will be able to find close-up pictures of the jewelry on the internet, along with information on where to buy it, for how much.

The function of broadband is not restricted to diversifying the means of consuming drama; broadband has come to wield significant influence on producing drama as well. For all TV dramatists, doing some research on the internet is a critical step in the conceptual stage of their scenarios. Most dramatists begin their research by typing in keywords on search engines such as Naver, Daum, and Nate. Then, they find matching information on personal blogs and homepages. Unlike scholars in academia, TV dramatists need not be so worried about the authenticity of the information they find on the internet. In fact, factual information about a subject matter is only a part of what TV dramatists want to gather from their online research. They are as equally, sometimes more interested in the public's perception of the subject matter: the criticism, over-generalization, misunderstanding, prejudice, and support. The dramatist then uses the gathered information in creating a script.

There are positive and negative responses to dramaband and its future. The negative responses include the following: first, that internet users are wielding too much influence on the production of drama. Second, young internet users waste too much time and energy discussing drama, which is only a form of entertainment. Third, while it is true that the quality of Korean drama improved as dramatists began to apply professional knowledge gained from the internet, there is a greater possibility of transmitting inauthentic information or misunderstandings about a topic.

We must fully recognize such concerns about dramaband, and think of ways to solve the problems. On the other hand, there is a great potential in broadband to direct Korea’s drama industry toward a promising new direction. By strengthening the interconnection between drama and broadband, Korea’s drama industry could generate added value to their product.

In Korea and across the world, the way people watch TV is changing. More people choose digital devices over traditional television sets, and interactive services over one-way broadcasting. Instead of just sitting in front of TV and watching aimlessly, they prefer to search, explore, and share relevant knowledge on the internet.

Korea's creative industry could take full advantage of the new paradigm in production and consumption of entertainment contents to hold and expand its ground in the global market. Even in Korea, where drama industry is considerably strong, Hollywood drama still sets the standard and goal for drama producers. However, Korean drama plays the role in society which Hollywood drama can't: they facilitate social communication, sharing of information and culture among the community's constituents. Thus, Korean drama is already playing social functions that cannot be replaced by Hollywood drama, and that function has a great potential to expand.

The writer is a professor of cultural informatics at the Academy of Korean Studies.