KJCKorea
Journal Central

This article analyzes the TV drama <Winter Sonata> as a re presentative work marking the beginning of “K-Shinpa” and aims to explore its significance. The study reevaluates the factors that contributed to the popularity of first-generation Korean Wave (Hallyu) dramas from a contemporary perspective, while also examining the ongoing Hallyu phenomenon through the lens of ‘Shinpa’ from a diachronic standpoint. The key characteristics of ‘Shinpa’ melodrama are as follows: 1. A dominant presence of sorrowful emotions with a melan cholic tone. 2. Contradictory attitudes and behaviors of characters. 3. Actions of the protagonists that reflect submission and compliance. All three of these features are evident in <Winter Sonata.> These melodramatic traits played a significant role in the drama’s massive success in Japan. The emotional resonance of melodrama aligned well with the sensibilities of Japanese audiences. This was possible because the concept of melodrama itself had been introduced from Japan. <Winter Sonata> reawakened a sense of nostalgia among Japanese viewers by reviving the melodramatic sentiments they had once cherished but had long forgotten. Domestically, Shinpa has often been viewed in a negative light. However, it is now time to redefine Shinpa as a concept that Korea can proudly present to the world. To achieve this, it is necessary to reinterpret first-generation Hallyu works, including melodramatic productions, within the framework of “Shinpa”

first-generation Hallyu, TV drama, <Winter Sonata>, sinpa, K-sinpa