[Opinion] American Drama Fever

The latest quiz to determine whether you belong to the young generation or to the older generation is, “Do you know the three Jacks?” If you say no, you are not a member of the new generation. The three “Jacks” refers to the names of the three main male characters of Jack Bauer, a counter terrorism official in the U.S. drama “24,” Jack Bristow, a double agent from “Alias,” and Jack Shepherd in “Lost”, in which Korean actress Kim Yoon-jin acted in as well.

Korea is now gripped by U.S. drama fever, which resulted in many people downloading foreign movies or soap operas on the internet and coining a new phrase. American dramas are called “mid” (the short form for saying U.S. drama in Korean), and hardcore fans are usually called “mid maniacs.” It is not too much to say that the internet and cable TV have produced another kind of trend in the society. American soaps are now making Koreans in their 20s and 30s, who were not mainstream consumers of local dramas, into drama maniacs.

The famous U.S. sitcom “Friends” and “Sex and the City” are as popular with Koreans as English conversation course books.

“Seok Ho-pil! We love you.” On March 23, British-born actor Wentworth Miller had a meeting with Korean fans at the Shilla Hotel. Miller is popular in Korea thanks to his role as Michael Scofield in the Fox TV’s drama “Prison Break.” Korean fans even nicknamed Scofield “Seok Ho -pil,” which is a Korean way of saying Scofield.

Koreans call lead investigator Gil Grissom in “CSI,” a police/investigational drama “Gil Banjang (lieutenant in Korean),” and the main character Dr. House of the medical drama “House,” “Ha Baksa” (Dr. Ha).

In Korea, there is a saying that goes, “Characters date in a hospital in a medical drama, date in a company in a business drama, and date in the Three States, Goryeo and Joseon period settings in a historical drama. This is a result of the fact that Korean dramas are too monotonous and lack variety. One rarely misses adultery, love triangles, secrets regarding one’s birth, accidents and amnesia, conflicts between a daughter-in-law and a mother-in-law, or one’s efforts to move up the social ladder and undercover struggles in Korean dramas. Dramas made with these obsolete mechanics and plots no longer retain viewers, who are longing for something new and fresh.

“Mid” fever reflects the crisis Korean dramas are facing.

Chung Seong-hee, Editorial Writer, shchung@donga.com