KJCKorea
Journal Central

This study is a contemplation of the comedy in TV dramas through the <Nae-jo-eui Yeo-wang (Queen of Housewives)>. Until today, the study on the ‘comedy’ in comic dramas, especially in TV dramas, had not been done properly. Under the academic climate which is oriented toward serious human science and literary background, regardless of the East of the West, the comedy has been considered as culturally inferior in comparison to the tragedy. It has been the reason for us to be biased by the thought that ‘TV drama’ is not an art, but just for an entertainment, furthermore, the ‘comedy’ merely aims at laughter discounting any sincerity in it. The TV drama <Nae-jo-eui Yeo-wang (Queen of Housewives)> satirically portrays a survival story of a housewife, who got rid of her dream of becoming a ‘Cinderella,’ and became a ‘Princess Pyeong-gang’ due to her husband, who has a super brain, but can not adapt himself to the society. The subject of the story, in which the jobless breadwinner’s challenges to get a job, and to survive within the organization is portrayed in the prospect of the housewife’s support, is as unrealistic as the typical characters and exaggerated dramatic situations. However, in spite of the unrealistic caricatures and exaggeration, the drama appeals to the viewers by starting with the subject matters that are very likely to happen in everyday life. As the result of the study, it has been proved that the comedy <Nae-jo-eui Yeo-wang (Queen of Housewives)> comes from the typical characters and the exaggerated dramatic situations, and it also has been proved that the drama provide the viewers with a space to have fun, through the production techniques: various ways of ‘making unfamiliar,’ and breaking down the boundary between dramatic situations and the reality. TV watching activity as an ‘amusement with laughter’ basically induces viewers’ reflection. That is why the viewers feel the ‘satire’ and the ‘humor’ at the same time from the comedy <Nae-jo-eui Yeo-wang (Queen of Housewives)>. In conclusion, the <Nae-jo-eui Yeo-wang (Queen of Housewives)> deserves a recognition as the drama that demonstrated the genuine quality of comedy in the sense of ‘satire and humor’ by resolving the desperate reality of Korea, in which men strive to get a job under the unstable employment environment with the unsolved problems of irregular employment, and to survive the struggle for existence within the organization, in the way that gives viewers laughter with tears.

TV drama, comedy, <Nae-jo-eui Yeo-wang (Queen of Housewives)>, the typical characters, the exaggerated dramatic situations, making unfamiliar, the satire and the humor, viewers’ reflection