KJCKorea
Journal Central

In TV shows of late maiden ghosts are often portrayed as protagonists of romantic storylines. Maiden ghosts have been left in this life because they died unfair deaths, but since their past memories have been forgotten they are not depicted in the scary image of a creature burdened by resentment(e.g. distorted bodies). Yet in spite of that, the reason maiden ghosts search for their lost memories make viewers so tense is because of the evil demons, depicted as black shadows or dark images. An evil demon acts through its representative’s body, committing all sorts of crimes, which the representatives are able to conceal with their great wealth or policeman/professor statuses. Recently such shows where evil demons and their representatives are the source of crime have been appearing consistently. The shows in question are <Arangsaddojeon>(Arang and the Magistrate), <Oh! Naui Gwisinnim>(Oh My Ghostess!). This paper focuses on the evil demons in each show and analyzes the problems they create, their influence on others, and the conclusion to which eradication of the demon leads. The representatives of evil demons choose evil in order to survive, then become subordinated. Thenceforth they kill those who witness their crimes, yet feel no remorse. The evil demon eventually becomes separated from its representative, but it is only the representative who must pay the consequences of sin. Also, when there is a devoted female figure at the representative’s side, there is a possibility for correction. These thematic trends reflect certain symptoms of contemporary Korean society, namely an individual hurting another in order to satisfy his/her desires, then laying the blame on the other person; reducing problems which need improvement at the system level to individual effort; beautifying the acceptance of evil into something sympathetic. Those who are being controlled by the evil demons are proxies of the choices made by human beings. The evil demons and their representatives are distinctive in the show but fundamentally they are one; there is a sense of universality in that anyone can become an evil demon. Ultimately these demons and representatives reflect the state of the current society wherein society’s unnatural problems are not solved by the government but left to the responsibility of individuals.

Alter Ego, Arangsaddojeon(Arang and the Magistrate), A Cover-up of Crime, Desire, Evil Demon, Fantasy TV Drama, Ghost, Neoliberalism, Universality of Evil, Oh! Naui Gwisinnim(Oh My Ghostess!)