Viewers Want Dramas and Characters Reflecting Current Times

There are various characters in drama, but there are not many dramas that are sympathetic or connecting with the public who actually live in reality.

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"Korean dramas do not reflect various social strata in reality", the Broadcasting Monitoring Committee of the Citizens' Coalition for Democratic Press (BMCCCDP) said. "On the contrary, the worlds in dramas are too far apart from the real world", it said. "It is hard to sustain the interest and love of viewers by repeating the story of chaebols, romance and fantasy worlds where only broadcasters and actors have changed. Broadcasters should produce dramas that deal with more diverse groups of people and dramas that subtly incorporate reality even in the colorful world of imagination", it pointed out.

Giving vicarious satisfaction through fantasy stories is also a virtue of the drama, but the public also applauds dramas that comfort and encourage them in reality. KBS2 dramas "Fight For My Way" or "When the Camellia Blooms" are typical examples.

In "When the Camellia Blooms" Kong Hyo-jin gained a lot of sympathy from viewers with her role as Dong-baek, an orphan abandoned as a child and a single mother who runs a small bar called Camellia. Kang Ha-neul is also a naive and just country youth and police officer, showing off his charm that can be seen anywhere in someone's neighborhood.

"Fight For My Way" is a drama about a dramatic success in which a man and a woman forced to live as supporting actors in the world come out of the wheel and stand tall as the main characters of their lives. The story of ordinary young people who dream of becoming national taekwondo athletes, news desk anchors and actors finding new dreams in reality gained sympathy.

Critic Kim said, "The two works show that such a group of occupations that challenge and achieve in various fields on a small scale recieve positive responses from viewers".

However, such characters are not common in the drama market at the moment. It is partly due to the drama production companies' habit of making safe choices through easier and more stimulating materials, but it is more due to the lack of efforts to shed light on various parts of Korean society. Moreover, it is hard to attract viewers' interest, let alone empathy, unless the actors' acting skills and delicate directing are supported.

Critic Kim said, "Even dramas featuring characters that anyone can relate to in reality often combine them with bizarre elements and drop that empathy. It also has the disadvantage of lacking details that older generations don't know well", he pointed out.

Nevertheless, critic Kim said, "It is necessary to try to find characters in areas that are not frequently seen, but that are known to anyone, rather than characters that are not too well-known", and he emphasized, "If the character is given realism through detailed descriptions, it will be well received by viewers".

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"Fight For My Way" is directed by Kim Dong-hwi, Lee Na-jeong, written by Lim Sang-choon, and features Park Seo-joon, Kim Ji-won, Ahn Jae-hong, Song Ha-yoon, Son Byung-ho, Kim Ye-ryeong. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2017/05/22~2017/.07/11, Mon, Tue 22:00 on KBS.