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Middle-class Desires and the Times Revealed in the First-generation K-drama <What is Love>

  • International Journal of Glocal Language and Literary Studies(약칭: IGLL)
  • Abbr : IGLL
  • 2024, 18(18), pp.4~16
  • DOI : 10.23073/riks.2024.18.18.001
  • Publisher : Glocal Institute of Language and Literary Studies(GILLS)
  • Research Area : Humanities > Other Humanities
  • Received : November 25, 2024
  • Accepted : December 23, 2024
  • Published : December 31, 2024

Han Seung Woo 1

1중앙대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

<What Is Love> that displays the eating habits, tastes, educational orientation, and language usage of middle-class families, and makes viewers seriously think about the dignity and culture of the middle class. This drama, which explores the customs of Korean society, unexpectedly received a great response in China. This is because China shared a similar middle-class discourse as Korea, although the national and cultural identities were different. Just like Korean viewers, Chinese viewers were also drawn to the desire for middle-classness shown in the drama and responded to <What Is Love>. Similar social situations and desires in two different countries resonated through a single drama, and unexpectedly, it was able to lead to a great response called the Korean Wave. The first Korean drama, <What is Love>, demonstrated that the virtue of K-drama which appeals to people around the world, is to convey honest expressions and criticisms of contemporary desires in the most Korean way.

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