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K-drama Research Institute
Germany
Приєднався 26 лис 2022
Creating video essays about Korean dramas from a queer feminist perspective.
K-dramas about toxic relationships: a video essay
Let's analyze the 3 popular aesthetically pleasing k-dramas about toxic relationships: Doona!, Nevertheless and The Interest of Love. This video essay breaks down the character archetypes and the tropes that are typical for this sub genre, analyzes of the visual style and discusses why k-drama viewers seemingly hate doomed romance stories.
Support K-drama Research Institute on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kdramaresearchinstitute
K-dramas footage used in the video, in order of appearance:
The Interest of Love, nevertheless, Doona!, My Liberation Notes, My Mister
CHAPTERS:
00:00 The toxic situationship k-drama extended universe
01:56 The toxic crush archetype
08:07 The tragic backstory
11:38 Who is telling the story?
15:47 The aesthetic
19:12 Why you hate doomed romance
Support K-drama Research Institute on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kdramaresearchinstitute
K-dramas footage used in the video, in order of appearance:
The Interest of Love, nevertheless, Doona!, My Liberation Notes, My Mister
CHAPTERS:
00:00 The toxic situationship k-drama extended universe
01:56 The toxic crush archetype
08:07 The tragic backstory
11:38 Who is telling the story?
15:47 The aesthetic
19:12 Why you hate doomed romance
Переглядів: 5 737
Відео
We need to talk about Netflix k-dramas
Переглядів 5 тис.8 місяців тому
Is Netflix ruining k-dramas? A deep dive into the discourse and its arguments. This video also traces the history of the k-drama industry, explains how Korean shows are financed and debunks popular misconceptions about Netflix original k-dramas with the help of a massive dataset and peer-reviewed literature. Support K-drama Research Institute on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kdramaresearchinstitute ...
How k-dramas romanticize stalking: video essay
Переглядів 11 тис.10 місяців тому
A deep dive into problematic depiction of stalking in k-dramas. Let's analyze the visual style and the editing choices, some common tropes, look at good and bad examples of stalker representation and discuss the legal ramifications of stalking in South Korea. Spoiler: your stalker is not your soulmate! Support K-drama Research Institute on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kdramaresearchinstitute K-dram...
Why are characters in historical k-dramas like this?
Переглядів 2,3 тис.11 місяців тому
Exploration of the audience surrogate character archetypes in historical K-dramas: what are the most common types, why they are necessary for well-written exposition and what tropes emerge out of this narrative device. This video essay also includes a discussion of anachronistic ideas and historical inaccuracies and why they are unavoidable in the plot. Support K-drama Research Institute on Pat...
The best plot twist in movie history
Переглядів 2,3 тис.Рік тому
Analysis of all the small details that make "Forgotten" with Kang Ha Neul the movie with the most unpredictable plot twist ever. Let's discuss the foreshadowing, the red herrings and the storytelling structure of this underrated Korean psychological thriller. Support K-drama Research Institute on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kdramaresearchinstitute CHAPTERS: 00:00 Intro 01:54 Synopsis 05:43 10000 l...
In defense of the hyperfeminine villain: k-drama analysis
Переглядів 50 тис.Рік тому
Is she actually a villain or just a well-written and complex female character? A deep dive into the "rich mean girl" archetype in K-dramas. This video essay analyzes her fashion sense, her behavior, her opponent and her role in the narrative. Support K-drama Research Institute on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kdramaresearchinstitute K-dramas, in order of appearance in the video: My First First Love,...
Why does every K-drama have the same beach episode?
Переглядів 7 тис.Рік тому
A deep dive into the k-drama beach episode trope. Why is it in every k-drama? Support K-drama Research Institute on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kdramaresearchinstitute K-dramas and Anime mentioned in the video, in order of appearance: 2521, It’s Ok to not be Ok, While you were sleeping, Rookie historian Goo Hae Ryung, K-On, Aquatope on white sand, Nisekoi, Bleach, Vividred Operation, Harukana Rece...
Queerbaiting in k-dramas: a video essay with charts
Переглядів 14 тис.Рік тому
An attempt to categorize queer representation with the help of a chart to try and find the answer to the question: what is the difference between good representation and queerbaiting? Support K-drama Research Institute on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kdramaresearchinstitute You can download the blank chart here: imgur.com/a/7SNnWOG TV-shows and movies in order of appearance with timestamps: Love to...
Highly Intelligent Psychopath - K-dramaTrope Explained
Переглядів 9 тис.Рік тому
Breaking down the highly intelligent serial killer character archetype in 3 k-dramas: Psychopath Diary (2019), Strangers from Hell (2019) and Connect (2022). This is the first video essay in the "k-drama villains" series, analyzing the iconic roles of Lee Dong Wook, Go Kyung Pyo and Park Sung Hoon. Support K-drama Research Institute on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kdramaresearchinstitute TV-shows a...
How Strangers from Hell is gaslighting the audience
Переглядів 45 тис.Рік тому
Exploring how the protagonist of the 2019 Korean thriller Strangers From Hell misleads the audience. A deep dive into fan theories, visual language and the editing style of this k-drama. Support K-drama Research Institute on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kdramaresearchinstitute TV-shows, movies and books that were mentioned in this video in order of appearance: Aku No Hana (2013), Fight Club (1999),...
How Semantic Error uses fashion for storytelling
Переглядів 15 тис.Рік тому
This video essay analyzes how the BL k-drama Semantic Error uses fashion and design as storytelling devices. What brands are the characters wearing? How is color used to portray character arcs and feelings? Where does the art that was used for set design come from? Sources: Yongyong - yong_yong_ The "living together" theory - pCbEly6npqWN/ Ahn Gyeomseo - instagram....
How k-dramas villainize eating disorders - video essay
Переглядів 470 тис.Рік тому
A critical analysis of eating disorder, weight and dieting representation in k-dramas. Let's discuss the tropes and questionable product placement and answer the question: how are eating disorders depicted in Korean TV-shows? There are no graphic scenes and no mention of numbers in this video essay. *correction: My ID is Gangnam Beauty came out in 2018 not 2016 Support K-drama Research Institut...
The non-toxic masculinity of Cha Eun Woo: k-drama analysis
Переглядів 63 тис.Рік тому
Cha Eunwoo often chooses roles in feminist k-dramas that discuss beauty standards and misogyny. Does this mean he is a feminist ally? This video essay analyzes how his characters treat women in 3 of his k-dramas: My ID is Gangnam Beauty, Rookie Historian Goo Haeryung and True Beauty. Support K-drama Research Institute on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kdramaresearchinstitute Other k-dramas shown in t...
Yes, Glitch is a queer love story - here's why
Переглядів 7 тис.Рік тому
Is Glitch a lesbian k-drama? An analysis of the queer subtext, visual language, k-drama tropes and the outfits from the Netflix original k-dramam Glitch (2022). Support K-drama Research Institute on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kdramaresearchinstitute CHAPTERS: 0:00 Intro 0:29 Does Jihyo even like men? 1:44 Queer coding of Bora 2:44 More than friends? 3:53 And they were roommates 4:32 Visual langua...
When are you going to post again? Luv ur perspective on everything.
I am working on more videos, planning to upload stuff again :)
why you haven't uploaded any video for 7 months 🧍🏽♀️ I miss your video essays!! i hope you're doing well. 🩷 stay safe
Took a little break, but I am working on several videos, so I am still planning on uploading more :)
@@kdramaresearchinstitute omg yessss!!!!! that sounds great. and I hope your break was relaxing.
You make him be like Simon from Cry of Fear.
Please stop forcing your agenda on K-Dramas. If you don't like Korean culture, which mostly reflects Confucian ideas, then don't consume it. It's funny that you and people like you want to remove all the elements in k-dramas that you don't like. The moment you remove them, it will no longer be the dramas we loved in the past. The beauty of kdramas is that they contain their own culture. You are trying to ruin everything because of your own ideology. But the funny thing is that many people who considers themselves feminist, like Korean dramas more than western romantic series, even though k-dramas reflect patriarchy much more. Because romance is something instinctive and you can't control that. Queer feminist love stories are boring.
1:46 It's what he wishes and what is happening in reality. I don't see that as inconsistency. It's only presented visual and maybe that's why it made you think like he is unreliable as a narrator. Also, he slowly descents into a killer. He had the tendency, but the killer groomed him at the end to become one. He keep seeing the army dream, because at that time he was the closest to kill a man. It was the line that he almost cross, which in the end he does. Also, the narative isn't presented only from his point of view. Also, didn't the killer groomed another killer? He was not raise at the orphanage because he had a brother and a mother, so who called him if they are the same person? Why the lady drugged him if he was the killer all along? Insotm see how they add up
Intresting interpretation, but don't hold up. 1. The Joo stopped the fight because they remind him of him. And he was afraid that the guy beating up the other guy might kill him. It was also a parallel between him and CEO. One of them said what type of friend you are before starting the fight. The boss was an a-hole who wanted to sleep with Joo girlfriend, he wasn't over sensitive. Also, the coworker with glasses was an a-hole as well he was jealous on MC because the girl he liked didn't like him, she liked Joo. 2. Both characters are seen togheder by the injured man at the end. Didn't make sense for him to speak up if they where the same person? Also the police man said he killed the killer in self defence. 3. Police man pointed that the killing occurred in difrent ways. The old ones profesional, the ones did by MC amateurish, clumsy. 4. MC had proof for them entering in his room. It was the dust. 5. They lady drugged him. If he was the killer from the start, why drug him? 6. The killer was a dentist. The cop girl wouldn't recognise him if that was the case. He had two jobs? Dentist and also working for CEO? 7. He was starting to get more angry. He had anger issues. He was hot temper. His girl didn't belive him, his boss was an a-hole who wanted to sleep with his girl and try to gaslight him. His coworker was also an a-hole who attacked him by kicking and insulting him. So he started to become more and more angry. 8. At the end the girl also see the killer. 9. He become a killer. That's why the killer said he is his greatest masterpiece. If they are the same person, why he would have said that? Killer saw his tendencies and groomed him into becoming a killer.
6:45 Jongwoo didn't always started the fights. That neighbour asked him if he wants to kill him. How about when he was looking at him with a knife in his hand? How is that Jongwoo starting always a fight? Him being the killer from the start don't add up at all. Because the other characters see them both at the same time and make distinctions between them.
where to watch it in India is it even available anywhere because i cant find it .
I thought he is writing a novel, so the fantasy and the reality are mixed
그래서 이 이야기가 정말 살인자 집단이 꾸민것인지, 아니면 소설가인 주인공이 그럴듯한 살인을 일으킨 것인지 알 수 없게 되었습니다.
i love how you manipulated nevertheless into fitting the toxic trope 5:05 Park Jae-eon never have crossed his lines or come to nabis home uninvited she was talking to him on phone and coughing and telling him that she is sick and in between her phone died he was worried for her got to her apartment but she wasnt opening the door turns out she wasn't inside because she went outside to get the medicine and he called the emergency thinking she fainted.
[EXTREMELY LOUD CORRECT BUZZER] This video is so good! Well argued, well researched, I'm floored that you even made charts! I was about to tussle with someone on MDL this past weekend because I mentioned 'My Name' (a show that damaged me emotionally but I think is very good) and they said that "Just because you make something with 16 episodes and Korean actors, that doesn't make it a Kdrama" and that Netflix content just 'didn't cut it' for them. I, in turn, asked them how would they define a Kdrama (because that is a helluva declaration to make) and they gave me a very long, very unsatisfying answer that featured many of the complaints you covered here. I'm tempted to send them a link to this video as a reply, lol! Also, you're so on the money about the 'My Name' complaints! So much uproar over a consensual sex scene between two adults that makes sense for the development of the main character, but not a peep over the sexual violence she endured prior to that (which is part of why the later scene is important, because it's different and loving!). I see y'all puritan weirdos. Can't help but wonder what the numbers are for kdrama viewers who are simply western conservatives fleeing from the percieved 'depravity' of western media. But that's another essay, lol! I'm also glad you mentioned the idea that maybe Netflix kdramas are just Korean writers unleashing full storytelling powers; you got the wonderful and corny rom-coms we've always had, but also sexier stories, more violent stories, or stories that are plain weird. I find myself leaning towards that idea as well!
Why is every single one of your videos an absolute banger? I love and miss your content!
I am working on more videos!
this is very eye-opening and i haven't thought about connecting the story like this before. for what personality disorder he might have, i always got BPD vibes from him even before and i think that this is an extreme yet artistic way to write a story about the disorder. from the paranoia that everyone around him wants to harm him in some way, explosive anger as a response, hypersensitivity, extreme daydreaming, changing up of stories and events to believing in that he's the innocent one, when in reality he's been the villain the whole time. his unstable relationship as well as not being able to handle rejection. whatever the authors intentions were, i think this is the most suitable disorder for him.
God i loved Jaeyoung's outfits. The first time i watched the series i didn't pay attention to the outfits in particular, but they really did do a lot of work in conveying characters' emotional states and setting the tone of a scene.
thanks for making this video! i think your chart is wonderfully made and i will prob use it in the future for my own judgment :)) i was unsure whether "The Boy Next Door" is problematic or not when i watched it. feel a little bad enjoying it as a queer person (with the other shows i don't feel as bad because what makes me enjoy those shows is separated from their gay representations). well, at least TBND isn't openly homophobic and laughter+acceptance (while still exoticizing) is still much better than the predatory trope for laughs... i can sorta forgive Wooshik's character telling the gay couple not to date openly, because he was worried Mina - the girl who was dumped by one of those boys - would see them and get hurt, which is a fair reason. but i do agree that the show is made for straight audiences and during that story, we as the audience are geared to empathize with Mina, not the gay couple, so that's not gay friendly enough for sure. kdrama writers are definitely more into deep female friendships these days though, making it just slightly lesbian enough for hetero norms (2521, Little Women, ...). but i guess to truly get a good representation, we still have to look at non-mainstream media.
I think the benefit of the doubt we can give that show is: it was well-intended. They clearly tried making a funny lighthearted show about a taboo topic. We can appreciate the intent and the joke delivery while acknowledging this show is not peak gay-representation :) That show came out in 2017 and k-dramas have moved on, the more recent queer characters are more complex and less one-dimensional!
this show is soooo underrated. its so damn good and not talked about enough. wish theyd have it on more streaming platforms
. . . I think i have to watch again
The plot was Taken from a manhwa pigpen if you read it you'll understand
To be fair no one was rooting for the FL in Tempted!
Hello, i’m a video editor, I watched some of your content and thought maybe I could help. i couldn't find your email
Hey I am not going to outsource editing
@@kdramaresearchinstitute thats ok, i wish you the best👍
When the explanation is almost as long as the artwork, the artwork simply doesn't work.
Enjoyed that, but to be truthful it is pretty obvious from episode to 2 onwards. Loved every min of glitch. It is basically just a fantastic love story.
This essay has a lot of biases. In true beauty they literally promoted makeup more than accepting the female leads own skin. In my id gangnum beauty the boy fell for the girl after she had done surgery. It is so surface level show off body positivity trap.
I'm loving your analysis and content. Keep it up
everything you said is WRONG
I can’t explain how brain damaging kdrama is and how much the younger generation it is influencing
After just one kdrama I just want to throw up… is this the type of shit normal in Korean culture????
love your channel
Well the story is all in his head in the hospital there is very little written , (he’s too drugged up to write anything coherent ) .. he if you zoom close up on the laptop in the hospital all he has written was the word DIE over and over again he hasn’t written another single word. and when he moves into the hostel he’s has writer block he’s not really there .. he’s in and has been in the hospital for years ( there is clues to that when he meets his other made up character the police officer)… none of the character exist he’s in a metal hospital for killing his girlfriend and his boss when he thinks she is cheating after he see them together .. his mother brother and all the people in the hostel are made up characters in his head a way to resolve himself of the murders he committed , he is writing nothing really his mind is gone. Also I believe he was in military and was released due to his anger management issue where he first seriously injured a fellow army buddy. Notice how all the characters seem unsafe and insane and they seem trapped in their rooms be causes he’s in a mental hospital or in the mental ward at a hospital . The dentist character is his subconscious or his mind desperately trying to rationalize his psycho behavior the long fight scene represents his giving in to his insanity .. or he invented him to blame him for murders he committed .. he’s truly a psychopath like Norman Bates from the movie psycho who goes to great length to keep up the appearance that his mother is alive because he is not willing to come to term with the fact that he murdered his mother …so Norman kills in his mother persona just like he justify his killing by having this dentist that’s a figment of his imagination be the killer.
Uuh, I love this take, it kind of does explain all the inconsistencies!
I loved this so much I watched this multiple times.
As for American films and series, Pop Culture Detective made an amazing video, on the same subject , titled" Stalking for love " . He also made a video about all the movies and series that turn voyeurism into something funny and innocent by making a main character spy on somebody most of the time when they’re undressing/undressed. It made me realize how used we are to these types of scenes and how it's everywhere, including in ongoing shows like Stranger Things.
Yes, I love that video!
I really thought the end would be him in a mental hospital
Yeah ım losing my mind
I always had a problem with Weightlifting fairy bcs, as a weightlifter myself i couldnt see Bok Jo as an overweight girl, i couldnt even see her as the strongest of them. It scares me that people actually think that a professional weightlifter could look like that (the best, wtf)
So much work attention and detailing keep it up
omg thank u so much for this 💕🫶 Also i would like to add how Ryu Jihye had tints of Green in her outfit in the drama initially while Jaeyoung wore completely Red outfits at the time (this in my opinion symbolises how Chu Sangwoo saw Jihye as a green flag (Green Fairy) and i guess she was one of the first friends he made and talked to in the drama while he viewed Jaeyoung in all red as a devil initially) In the webtoon version too its stated how Jihye was like a Green Fairy to Sangwoo cause she always helped him while he viewed Jaeyoung a devil in Red.
Oh, I didn't even think about that! I love how much this show plays with color
this video made my day and tysm for replying 😭❤️😭❤️😭@@kdramaresearchinstitute
Hey , when are going to upload a new video-essay?❤❤
I am working on some research heavier topics, so there will be more stuff coming up :)
I love the interest of love
From my perspective, it wasn't Jung Woo all alone murdering people, maybe sometimes, he used to overreact due to the creepy ppl around him but i wouldn't say he's the actual killer. And this is a fact that somebody really breaks into his room & opens his laptop, bcz the dust he used to keep in his laptop as proof was one day not in it's place, providing the fact that somebody really came into his room... however, it wasn't that guy that Jung Woo thinks does that.. It was certainly Moon jo who used to read his novel & then make his killing moves according to the serial killer in that novel..Maybe he liked playing wd his mind nd make him go paranoid... All this stuff seems bloody crazy but it's the most logical interpretation we can come up with..And the evidence is Moon Jo reading the book out loud to the new guy when he tied him up on the 4th floor.. But yeah we could make the interpretation the other way round as during Jong Woo's first conversation wd Moon Jo on the rooftop, the way he described the signature killing way of the killer of novel is exactly same as Moon Jo's... However,.I certainly don't believe that Moon Jo is just Jong Woo's imagination. Bcz in that case, every single person who met Moon Jo would be somehow an imagination too,. especially his gf who had seen him many times, even wd Jong Woo himself..... Secondly, the bracelet case makes me think that Moon Jo did really exist.. For protagonist is not a professional dentist to create such artistic bracelet made of people's teeth & that too including his own girlfriend...nd at the end when policewoman caught a glimpse of Moon Jo, walked into the room of hospital, Jong Woo's there wd that bracelet...It could be a sign that Moon Jo's still alive nd somehow managed to give him that..! Hence proved, this show is driving me insane...!
I need to thank you! I had seen a lot of fawning over Semantic Error, but none of it made me interested in the show. Then this video popped up in my recommendations and you made me think that at least I sould go watch it for technical aspects of costuming and filming... and wow, this show is so good in so many ways! Really your little analysis her is the first praise of the show that I have seen that actually gives it justice! Without you I would never have watched this gem, so thank you so, so much!
Yeah, the romance is cute, but a lot of shows are cute. Semantic Error is special because of the amount of effort and attention to detail was put into it - you can just tell when a show has been made with a lot of love! I am glad you watched it because of my video!
Still confused ahhaha i have read different theory
Same, I am also still confused!
I love this video
Thrilleeer thriller night
Hmmm seems like my mom wrote the show
It'll be great if u took where he misses his mom into account tho, like that part what convinces me the society and it's crazy rules makes him crazy (indeed). But I don't like the conclusions where you gave him complex diagnosis such as DID. You can give him some simple thing like, he got hallucinations and the things u said where u described him as jumpy. So after when u said DID, i was like huhhh😅 DID is not about hallucinations .
Something caught my eye while watching the series- moonjo in a scene says 'i can be anything you want me to be' , and also in another scene he says to jungwoo 'hes here, just like you imagined ' , seems like it implies jungwoo is imagining all this ..
You're right
Wait wait that could mean moonjo DID read his novel and he IS REAL… that actually makes sense omg.
I don't remember the episode, but there was a scene where everyone in the background is frozen. I found it quite odd and noticeable. Its strange how no one seems to have noticed it
I don't remember a scene like that.. I know there were a few slow motion scenes, but not sure which one you are referring to
Found it! Ep 7 at about 50 minutes
Oh nvm, i saw it again and turns out its just slow motion! Lol
i had my doubts but 4:22 is changing my mind
agh my compulsory heteronormative ass
i hope the director of the drama bumps into this video
this is an entirely different perspective from mine from when i first watched the series. i thought all these moments where he gets aggressive is him slowly turning crazy from his neighbors. there was a time he was talking to the villain and he told him something like, "you're afraid of becoming like them" SOMETHING LIKE THAT.. and in the end the villain also kept saying that the mc is the "best work of art he created", as in he made the main character go crazy and murder all the neighbors whether its so save himself or from frustration, like the villain used the residence to torment the mc into turning crazy and becoming a mad murderer and him claiming that it's art. though i was really confused at the end it made me question things but i dont believe that the mc was mad from the start, i believe the place just made him crazy
I had the same thinking
And what about his being in hospital ? If its really his novel creation then why is he hospital at the end ,he should be in his room , writing his novel ..? confused about the end ,is this real or novel .