Abstract: The Hallyu wave of the 1990s brought soft masculinity to the forefront of Korean entertainment. Exemplified in pop music stars and the male leads of dramas, the Hallyu movement centered a “pretty boy” image that formed a dichotomy with the hegemonic style of masculinity which remained dominant in South Korea. Popular Korean dramas such as Boys Over Flowers (dir. Ki-sang Jeon, 2009) and Strong Girl Bong-soon (dir. Hyung-min Lee, 2017) feature male protagonists who are limited to the masculinities of kkonminam and alpha males. In contrast, Sung-yoon Kim’s drama Itaewon Class, released in 2020, presents a new definition of masculinity governed by duty, morality, and a broader progressiveness and allyship with marginalized communities, which exists in tandem with contemporary South Korean campaigns for gender equality and the subversion of patriarchal norms. Thus, the evolution of gender roles in Korean dramas, in conjunction with the genre’s global influence, provides insight to the relationship between entertainment and real-world gender narratives.
Keywords: South Korea, Korean drama, masculinity, modern gender roles
Introduction
Since the 1990s, South Korean culture has garnered increasing global popularity, notably driven by Hallyu, the export of Korean dramas and pop music. The entertainment medium of Korean dramas in particular has been described by scholars as being well-received for their “storylines rooted in real-life situations, characters that beat the odds, and definite ending[s].”[1] In addition, the allure of distinctly chaste, fluffy depictions of romance in Korean dramas set them apart from many of their Western counterparts. Kkonminam (flower boy) characters—male protagonists with feminine, attractive appearances and playful, immature personalities—have been prominently employed, almost formulaically, to curate this appeal and highlight a caring and sensitive performance of masculinity. On the other side of the dichotomy of masculinities in Korean dramas, we have male protagonists who take on “hypermasculine” personas (referred to in this article as “hegemonic masculinity”), where they exude power, exert influence and enact dominance over both female and weaker male characters. However, representations of masculinity in Korean dramas have evolved considerably in recent years in ways existing literature has not yet accounted for, as revealed by comparing the male protagonists from today’s most popular dramas to those from just over a decade ago. In this article, I will analyze how the character Park Saeroyi, of the popular 2020 Korean drama Itaewon Class, defies traditional masculine dichotomy and reshapes the patriarchal narrative through his relationship with the female protagonist. While prior literature has extensively analyzed Korean dramas from the 2000s and early 2010s, there is comparatively little which discusses the impact of current events and changing patriarchal norms in society. The 2018 #MeToo movement, for example, exposed many prominent men in South Korean society and prompted a surge of protest and discourse about women’s rights and representation. Thus, given Korean dramas’ close reflection of real-life situations, it is worth considering how the rapid progress of gender equality in South Korea over the last few years has influenced entertainment’s storylines and characterizations of male protagonists.
Problem Statement:
I compare the male protagonists in three of the most popular Korean dramas from the last decade—Itaewon Class (2020), Strong Girl Bong-soon (2017), and Boys Over Flowers (2009)—because these dramas, due to their popular resonance, clearly struck a chord in their respective times. Itaewon Class, which aired January to March of 2020, is the latest in a long line of Korean dramas that have achieved both global and domestic acclaim: it is the seventh highest-rated drama in Korean cable television history[2] and consistently trended on Netflix’s Top 10 internationally[3]. Itaewon Class differs from earlier Korean dramas through the manner in which the protagonist, Park Saeroyi, departs from the stereotypical image of a male lead. Saeroyi is neither a hypermasculine male lead nor does he embody the sensitivity, youth, and charisma of a stereotypical kkonminam character. Instead, Saeroyi is an ex-convict attempting to avenge his father’s death by obtaining success in the restaurant industry. He has only graduated middle school and lacks connections, money, and status, while the media typically represents men who succeed in the workplace as rich, well-connected, domineering, and harshly competitive. Although Saeroyi eventually finds success at the end of the drama, he deviates from this stereotype by adhering to his own moral values, prioritizing group gain over individual benefits, while providing unwavering support for his coworkers and friends.
This article investigates masculinity in Korean dramas by considering male characters in the context of their interactions and relationships with female characters, taking its lead from prior scholarship which maintains masculinity as meaningful and discernible only in juxtaposition to its binary opposite of femininity.[4] In Itaewon Class, Saeroyi relies on the help of Jo Yiseo, an extremely intelligent and resourceful woman who is the manager of Saeroyi’s restaurant and later becomes his girlfriend. With her social media savvy, fierce personality, and refusal to back down from confrontation, the Internet celebrity becomes invaluable to Saeroyi’s success. Yiseo, too, subverts the traditional depiction of women in Korean dramas, which can be described as soft, fragile, and self-sacrificing. This raises questions about gender in Itaewon Class and broader Korean entertainment: how does the construction of Yiseo and Saeroyi’s relationship in Itaewon Class lend to Saeroyi’s depiction of masculinity and corporate success? How does Itaewon Class depart from the dichotomy of masculine stereotypes in earlier Korean dramas, and what does this say about masculinity and gender roles in the Korean society as a whole?
I argue that Saeroyi challenges the dichotomy of masculinity previously embodied by male protagonists in Korean dramas and instead is defined by a contemporary, progressive brand of masculinity. In addition, his unconventionality allows him to form an equitable relationship with Yiseo that subverts the stereotypical patriarchal relationship. Rather than exerting dominance over Yiseo, Saeroyi often relies on and receives support from her on his journey to become the CEO of his own company. Yiseo’s strength and personality do not diminish Saeroyi’s masculinity, but rather help him remain true to his personal values of loyalty, honesty, and trust, which all contribute to his eventual success. Furthermore, I argue that depictions of masculinity in Itaewon Class, when compared with past dramas, reflect the Korean society’s progressive move towards gender equality in the recent decade. However, the fact that the drama remains centered upon Saeroyi’s success story, and the centering of the male lead’s story over that of his partner, are testaments to the persisting sentiment that the corporate world, and the world at large, is a place reserved primarily for men and men’s stories.
Literature Review:
In this article, I draw upon two fundamental definitions of masculinity: first, one that focuses on the male protagonist himself, and second, one which centers him in relation to the female protagonist. The first definition, widely stipulated by works in gender studies, asserts that masculinity is a fluid cultural construction through “the repetition of stylized bodily performances such as acting, dressing, and speaking.”[5] Yet, existing literature on the representation of masculinity in Korean dramas has claimed that there is a dichotomy between two overarching categories: the hypermasculinity of alpha males and the soft masculinity of kkonminam.[6] According to Moon Seung-Sook, the dominant expression of masculinity in South Korea is hegemonic masculinity, a combination of patriarchal authoritarian masculinity (duty to provide for the family), seonbi masculinity (the distancing of men from domestic and household work), and violent masculinity (originating from South Korea’s mandatory military service for men).[7] On the other hand, the new phenomenon of soft masculinity in Korean entertainment is a hybrid of Japanese bishounen (pretty boy) masculinity and metrosexual masculinity.[8] As Antony Easthope explains, the dominant masculinity (here, the hypermasculinity of alpha males), operates as a gender norm against which other types of masculinity (the soft masculinity of kkonminam) measures themselves.[9] In Korean dramas, the two stereotypes are posited as competing representations of masculinity that cannot coexist—one emphasizes the caring and emotionally sensitive side of men, while the other embodies power, assertiveness, and dominance. The hypermasculine trope of “tough and macho” men gradually ebbed in the 2000s after the Flower Boy persona gained popularity in the Korean entertainment industry,[10] which indicates that the two stereotypes are distinctly independent of one another and are incapable of coexisting simultaneously.
However, the scholarly representation of this rigid binary representation of masculinity in Korean dramas contradicts our initial definition of masculinity as a flexible, indefinite state. Some scholars have noted this fluidity, as with Joanna Elfving-Hwang, who discussed how “popular culture representations of masculinity in Korea have often afforded male characters a significant degree of fluidity and flexibility in aesthetics.”[11] Following the popularization of the kkonminam persona, there was an anxiety in the media where ‘authentic’ Korean masculinity was in danger of being ‘effeminized’ by the new soft masculinity.[12] As a response, Korean dramas began to reintegrate fight scenes and exposed torsos for male leads in order to assuage these suspicions. By phasing back certain hypermasculine characteristics, it is unclear whether the dichotomy between kkonminam and alpha male remains as well-defined as prior literature and early Korean dramas suggest. If soft masculinity and hypermasculinity can be taken as opposing representations of masculinity, is there a middle ground that lies between these two extremes? Or is there another brand of masculinity that has never entered the scholarly conversation? In addition, as the vast majority of existing literature comes from the early 2010s, there is a lack of analyses on how the dichotomy may apply to contemporary releases. This article aims to fill the gap by investigating Saeroyi’s masculinity in Itaewon Class in relation to the dichotomy of kkonminam and alpha male tropes, and how he subverts the traditional representations of masculinity in Korean dramas.
The second definition of masculinity comes from sociologist Raewyn Connell’s important and broadly-cited work on hegemonic masculinity, which adds masculinity’s counterpart, femininity, to the conversation. She focuses on men in the context of their relationship with women as follows:
“Masculinity is simultaneously a place in gender relations, the practices through which men and women engage that place in gender, and the effects of these practices in bodily experience, personality and culture.”[13]
Attempts to reformulate this foundational understanding of masculinity, such as Eric Anderson’s inclusive masculinity theory,[14] have been criticized for their lack of engagement with women and failure to “address the fear of feminisation inherent in attempting to maintain a hegemonic masculine identity.”[15] Thus, notions of masculinity remain a valuable understanding of gendered power relations between men and women.[16] Scholars have discussed how American soldiers’ presence in South Korea after the Korean War created a dominance of foreign masculinity and an image of emasculation and weakness for Korean men.[17] As a result, Korean postwar literature pushed a defensive narrative of extreme patriarchy in response to the challenge to Korean men’s masculinity.[18] This confined women to periphery, deferential characters that are dependent on the male character.[19] In earlier Korean dramas such as Boys Over Flowers, the male protagonist exhibits this kind of dominating behavior over the female protagonist in order to accentuate their own manhood. In contrast, Itaewon Class places Saeroyi and Yiseo in a relationship characterized by equal partnership where they mutually rely on each other to achieve their goals. My article will discuss how the unconventional construction of their relationship sheds light on Saeroyi’s representation of masculinity in the drama.
Analysis:
In this section, I directly compare Saeroyi to the male protagonists of Strong Girl Bong-soon and Boys Over Flowers in order to demonstrate the manners in which his character complexifies the traditional dichotomy of masculinity in Korean media. As the dramas’ leads, Ahn Minhyuk of Strong Girl Bong-soon and Gu Junpyo of Boys Over Flowers respectively embody the kkonminam and alpha male. I demonstrate how Itaewon Class contends with both stereotypes through physical attributes, dialogue, personality, and cinematography. Then, I rely on Connell’s definition of masculinity[20] to analyze Saeroyi from the perspective of his relationship with Yiseo, which is one of mutual dependence rather than the patriarchal norm.
First, I consider Saeroyi in isolation from other characters and where he lies with respect to the stereotypes of the kkonminam and alpha male. Saeroyi is a young man whose father is killed in a car accident by his high school bully, Jang Geunwon. After being mistreated by Geunwon and his father, the CEO of Jangga Group, Korea’s top food company, Saeroyi is sent to jail for attempting to avenge his father’s death. During his sentence, Saeroyi vows to overtake the Jang family’s company with his own food corporation. Saeroyi embarks on his mission once he is released from jail by starting his restaurant from scratch—no money, no connections, and no support. Eventually, he succeeds at the end of the drama and takes over Jang’s company.
When we meet Saeroyi in the first episode of Itaewon Class, the narrator describes, “He never had a friend throughout high school, but for some reason he never seemed lonely.”[21] Saeroyi’s father, who knows him better than anyone, perpetuates the lonesome and reclusive perception of Saeroyi by advising, “Even to me, you seem a little socially awkward. Don’t be so hardheaded, it’ll only make your life more difficult.” Saeroyi responds, “What? You said our family motto is ‘Never compromise your principles.’” Unlike the high-spirited, charismatic, and well-liked kkonminam persona, Saeroyi maintains a low profile and a solemn, isolated lifestyle. He stands opposite to Minhyuk, the male protagonist and a classic playful, feminine kkonminam character in Strong Girl Bong-soon. In this drama, the female protagonist, Do Bong-soon, uses her Herculean strength to protect Minhyuk as his personal bodyguard. Minhyuk jokes that, under Bong-soon’s protection, he feels like the heroine in King Kong while she is the inhumanly strong ape. He also quips while comforting her, “Just like I was born this good-looking, you being born with super strength isn’t your fault.”[22] Minhyuk’s high-spirited, immature personality keeps his character approachable and emotionally sensitive. This image is further amplified by the charming sound effects and light-hearted background music, heart-shaped background lighting, and close-up shots of his childish facial expressions. Saeroyi, on the other hand, neither acts nor looks like a kkonminam. His scenes in Itaewon Class are cinematographically stylized by shadowy lighting and slow, solemn instrumental background music. He does not communicate his emotions well, and rather tends to maintain a stoic, silent, and serious appearance as he interacts with other characters. Similarly, Saeroyi’s depiction contradicts the alpha male character who exhibits an aggressive and combative attitude in his interactions to get what he wants.
In the business world, Saeroyi’s journey to success is constituted by his binary sense of right and wrong: he protects the people he cares about, exacts justice on the people who wronged him and stays true to his own pride and values to get ahead. This differentiates him from hypermasculine characters who are motivated by their competitive desire to exert dominance over others through whatever means necessary. Take, for example, Junpyo, the male protagonist of Boys Over Flowers. Widely considered a gateway to Korean dramas and arguably the origin of the kkonminam craze, this show follows a group of wealthy and privileged high school boys as they initially bully the working-class female protagonist, Jandi, but later accept her into the group after Junpyo falls in love with her. After being rejected by Jandi, Junpyo has her kidnapped, knocked out with chloroform, and taken to his house, where the unconscious girl is given a makeover to become more physically attractive to him. He then comments, “Money can work wonders. An ugly duckling turned into a swan,”[23] thereby objectifying Jandi and asserting his power and control over her.
Junpyo’s abrasive and oppressive dominance over Jandi arrives completely unprovoked. Junpyo seeks to right no wrong or settle any score: he merely seeks dominance of Jandi because she is the lone figure who rebuffs his advances. Saeroyi’s search for revenge, in comparison, is a form of dominance motivated by a strong sense of righteousness. He takes pains to rely on his own hard work and determination to grow his company and take over the Jangs’ company in his journey to exert justice, in contrast to Junpyo’s reliance on hired goons. Saeroyi states that after getting revenge, he wants to have freedom so that “no one can mess with [him] and [his] people,”[24] and to live a life where he can make his own decisions without compromising his principles. It is his unwavering choice to follow his moral compass that makes Saeroyi distinct from the antagonistic motivations of the alpha male. Thus, Saeroyi is neither a traditional kkonminam nor an alpha male character, instead establishing his masculinity by being grounded by his moral principles and search for justice. He subverts the dichotomous understanding of masculinity typical of Korean dramas by rejecting the defining characteristics of both stereotypes.
However, Saeroyi, as the male protagonist of a contemporary Korean drama, defines a previously uncharted brand of masculinity: allyship. He allies with marginalized communities by emphatically supporting his restaurant’s employees—a former gang member (Choi Seungkwon), a transgender woman (Ma Hyunyi), and a Black man (Kim Toni)—who face prejudices in the conservative Korean society. Saeroyi approaches the obstacles he and his employees encounter with his characteristic unshaken moral certitude. When Jang attempts to undermine their restaurant by outing Hyunyi’s transgender identity on the Internet,[25] Saeroyi pushes forward with his “people over profit” mindset. He tells Hyunyi that she is brave, and her well-being is more important than the pub’s success. Similarly, after Toni is barred from entering a club for being Black despite having a Korean father and being raised in Korea, Saeroyi spray paints messages such as “you’re an embarrassment to our country” and “you racist” across the club’s storefront.[26] This ‘bad boy’ aesthetic harkens back to the aggression of the alpha male; Saeroyi has no qualms about defying the law in order to impose his views on others. However, his actions are motivated by altruist intentions—to defend his friend—such that while he broke the law, Saeroyi maintained an observance of his own moral code. In Itaewon Class, Saeroyi represents a level of judgment and maturity that is rare in prior romantic coming-of-age Korean dramas. Furthermore, these characteristics may be indicative of a greater shift in Korean dramas to feature characters that reflect the growing visibility and acceptance of diversity and progressiveness in South Korea today.
Let us now investigate how Saeroyi’s relationship with Yiseo is characterized by equal partnership, departs from the patriarchal norms, and sheds light on this performance of masculinity. To do so, we take Junpyo and Jandi’s relationship in Boys Over Flowers as a classic representation of the patriarchal norm where the man exerts dominance over the woman. Their relationship is framed as if Junpyo is her savior, helping her escape from her life of poverty with his wealth and influence. The obliteration of women in Korean entertainment[27] that Jeong describes is frequently depicted in their relationship—Jandi is constantly shoved to the side in order to accommodate for the depiction of domineering male characters. Meanwhile, Junpyo’s hypermasculinity is “maintained through the subordination of that to which is deemed ‘non-masculine’ or feminine.”[28] Jandi’s passiveness and reliance on a stronger male counterpart, where her character cannot be established independently of Junpyo’s, is typical of Korean dramas during this time period. Meanwhile the extreme success and popularity of similar dramas across South Korea indicates the acceptability of such patriarchal relationships.
Itaewon Class, on the other hand, places the male and female protagonists on a more equal footing, where they mutually provide for and gain from their partnership. One scene, for instance, shows Yiseo getting in a physical altercation with Saeroyi’s rival, Geunwon. Once Saeroyi arrives, Yiseo’s first course of action, while bearing a split lip and skinned knees, is to excitedly tell him, “I recorded that bastard confessing the murder of your father,”[29] which would help him finally achieve his decades-long pursuit of revenge. Her use of profanity and refusal to back down from challenges distinguish Yiseo from the characteristic delicacy and fragility of female protagonists in Korean dramas. She also rejects the trope of relying on men, and instead positions herself as Saeroyi’s equal and someone he relies on—not only in his personal life, going so far as to engage in physical violence to protect Saeroyi, but also professionally. Prior to hiring her, the restaurant’s interior design, menu, and social media marketing failed to bring in customers. Yiseo utilizes her talents as an Internet celebrity to refurbish the restaurant and conduct ambitious marketing. Later in the series, she uses her fierce debating skills to make critical negotiations with Jangga Group when Saeroyi fails. Her relationship with Saeroyi, rather than being characterized by a power imbalance, is built on a symbiotic partnership that is founded upon the strengths of both individuals. While most female protagonists depend on the male protagonist for protection, stability, and assurance, Yiseo and Saeroyi flip this conventional dynamic in numerous important ways.
In addition, Yiseo’s commitment to stand her ground against obstacles sets her apart from previous female protagonists. In a scene similar to Itaewon Class’s physical altercation in Boys Over Flowers, Jandi runs into an ambush set up by her classmates, who throw tomatoes and flour all over her as they burn her bicycle. She falls to the ground while thinking, “Help me! There’s no one now, no one is coming.” Her fragility and weakness serve to paint Junpyo as a heroic character when he comes to her rescue and carries her away. Junpyo dominates Jandi as her compliance and weakness are framed as a foil for his character development. Yiseo and Saeroyi’s relationship, on the other hand, contradicts Jeong’s claim that women in Korean literature must be reduced to passive characters in order to accentuate men’s masculinity. Yiseo, as a strong and capable woman, allows Saeroyi to express his masculinity in a more subtle, sincere method than Junpyo’s seemingly excessive aggressiveness. Her strength makes Saeroyi no less masculine—he is a reliable, diligent, and loyal man who goes to lengths to protect the people he loves and undergoes hardship to earn justice and freedom. The representation of masculinity in both dramas becomes more nuanced through this consideration of the power dynamics between the male and female characters: dominance versus partnership in Boys Over Flowers and Itaewon Class respectively. However, it is important to note that both dramas still show the man coming to the woman’s rescue. Itaewon Class is still a drama centered around the male protagonist’s success story, no matter how large a role Yiseo plays in it. In this regard, despite Yiseo representing some progress in gender equality in Korean dramas, Itaewon Class still adheres to an underlying traditional plotline wherein it is first and foremost a story of the growth of the male lead.
Conclusion:
The evolution of male protagonists in Korean dramas over the last decade demonstrates a weakening of hegemonic masculinity and patriarchal norms. Where prior literature describes a binary between soft masculinity and hypermasculinity among these male characters, Saeroyi’s character in the 2020 drama Itaewon Class subverts the dichotomy of either kkonminam or alpha male. Saeroyi’s masculinity is further developed by his relationship with Yiseo that refutes the male-dominated power dynamic of conventional Korean dramas. Her assertive and powerful character helps him on his quest to remain true to himself. In contrast to Strong Girl Bong-soon and Boys Over Flowers, Itaewon Class sets the precedent for Korean dramas to center on honesty, loyalty, and trust— Saeroyi’s core values— rather than fluff and romance. By rejecting traditional masculinity, Saeroyi and Itaewon Class speak to an increasingly progressive representation of manhood and gender roles in the Korean society governed by morality and inclusivity. The drama arrived at a time when the South Korean #MeToo and LGBT rights movements gained traction and the country faced an increased reckoning with sexual assault allegations. Itaewon Class’ high ratings and mainstream success are a testament to the changing narratives and representations of masculinity and gender in a postwar South Korea.
Emmy Song is a second year at Princeton University majoring in Computer Science with minors in Asian American Studies, Technology and Society, and Statistics and Machine Learning. She is an undergraduate research assistant at the Paul and Marcia Wythes Center on Contemporary China, analyzing the effect of social media platforms on shaping opinion dynamics. Emmy ultimately hopes to draw upon her interdisciplinary interests to address societal problems with computational and analytical tools.
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[1] Chuang and Lee, “Korean Wave”, 1.
[2] InternJang, “Park Seo-joon’s ‘Itaewon Class’”.
[3] Jie, “Strong Woman Do Bong-soon”; Yoo, “Explodes in Popularity”.
[4] Moon, “Production of Hegemonic Masculinity”, 83.
[5] Jung, “Korean Masculinities”, 46; Butler, “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution”.
[6] Louie, “Popular Culture and Masculinity”, 932; Murell Lema, “Beautiful, Young and Free”, 6.
[7] Moon, “Production of Hegemonic Masculinity”, 80.
[8] According to Khai and Wahab in “Prettiness as a Shield,” a metrosexual is a young, urban male who spends significant money on grooming his appearance and achieving a high fluency of culture, charm, and sophistication.
[9] Easthope, “What a Man’s Gotta Do”.
[10] Ibid, 58.
[11] Elfving-Hwang, “Aestheticizing Authenticity”, 58.
[12] Ibid, 58.
[13] Connell, “Social Organization of Masculinity”, 71.
[14] Anderson, “Inclusive Masculinity Theory”, describes an increasingly open and tolerant masculinity, where heterosexual men can exhibit non-hypermasculine behavior without being perceived as homosexual or weak.
[15] Waling, “Problematising Masculinity”, 364.
[16] Ibid, 364.
[17] Elfving-Hwang, “Aestheticizing Masculinity”, 56.
[18] Jeong, “Crisis of Gender”, 79.
[19] Ibid, 79.
[20] Connell, “Social Organization of Masculinity”.
[21] Itaewon Class, episode 1.
[22] Strong Girl Bong-soon, episode 6.
[23] Boys Over Flowers, episode 2.
[24] Itaewon Class, episode 8.
[25] Itaewon Class, episode 13.
[26] Itaewon Class, episode 8.
[27] Jeong, “Crisis of Gender”, 76.
[28] Waling, “Problematising Masculinity”, 364.
[29] Itaewon Class, episode 10.