KJCKorea
Journal Central

This article aims to analyze the female heroes shown in the TV dramas <Strong Woman Do Bong-soon> and <Strong Woman Gang Nam-soon> using the keyword ‘class’. This is to reveal that despite the two dramas being evaluated as successful female hero dramas, hidden contradictions and limitations exist simultaneously. In the TV drama <Strong Woman Do Bong-soon>, the main character Do Bong-soon is a psychic living in Dobong-dong, Dobong-gu. Bong-sun, who is unable to get a job because she did not graduate from college, is a symbol of youth employment difficulties. Bong-soon’s rank gradually rises as she falls in love with the president of the company she wanted to join. Because of her chaebol boyfriend, she is able to achieve a dream she could not achieve on her own and get the job she wanted. And when she marries her boyfriend, she gets a happy ending of rising social status, enough to make a living without having to work anymore. This development causes a crack in the female hero narrative in which a strong woman overpowers a vicious criminal that neither the police nor men could catch and brings happiness to the neighborhood where she lives. In the TV drama <Strong Woman Do Bong-soon>, the main character Kang Nam-soon is a psychic who lived in Mongolia and came to Gangnam at the age of 22 to look for her parents. Nam sun, who became homeless after being defrauded, learns that his mother, who lives in Gangnam, is the richest person in Korea. Nam-soon, who went from being homeless to becoming one of the richest 1% and living in Gangnam, is a symbol of the polarized class in the neoliberal era. Nam-soon is shocked and distressed by the unequal social structure. However, as she succeeds in marrying the man she wants with her wealth, she shows ambivalence in enjoying unequal power relationships. These scenes conflict with the message criticizing social inequality that the drama has shown throughout. The TV dramas <Strong Woman Do Bong-soon> and <Strong Woman Gang Nam-soon> are works that have received many positive reviews. However, it has clear limitations. The wrong aspects of class representation hidden behind the device of female heroes must be clearly criticized and corrected.

TV drama <Strong Woman Do Bong-soon>, TV drama <Strong Woman Gang Nam-soon>, female hero, class, contradiction