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Post by TheBo on Oct 21, 2003 14:03:48 GMT -5
This may have been discussed on this board before--I know I'm a bit of a latecomer--but I was just thinking about how businesses are shown on Korean soaps. People's companies, restaurants, shops are shown, and people are shown to do business there, either competently or not. They aren't throwing each other down on the table to have sex there (like on some American soaps). The talk may be personal in nature, but business always comes first. Business scenes are used to show aspects of people's personalities not having to do with their personal relationships. They accomplish things that have nothing to do with their love lives. (If businesses were run in America the way they are shown on American soaps, the entire country would be bankrupt.) When something too personal intrudes (I'm thinking specifically of the many inappropriate visits by Sang-Min's parental units to anybody's place of business), it is jarring to all involved and serves to show something important, too, like lack of class or desperation. I'm interested to hear if anyone else has had thoughts on these lines. Bo
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Post by petirrojo on Oct 21, 2003 14:27:23 GMT -5
I don't know if it's just that work is about working or if it's just that there isn't a lot of physical passion exhibited at any time in duramas. That's why scenes like those around JY's and YJ's wedding and honeymoon were almost shocking; after all, I think YJ's bare chest was the first implied nudity I've seen in a durama!
In the case of SM and MJ, even while they were dating, later married, it would have been inappropriate for them to demonstrate affectionate behavior in the office. For one thing, she is his superior (owner of the company) and it might appear to unimpartial to his decisions as a director to those of any other director. I think it has more to do with rank and protocol between the hierarchical divisions.
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Post by JadeEyes on Oct 21, 2003 14:38:27 GMT -5
I've noticed the same thing as you, Bo, and I agree completely...it's an aspect of YH I love so much...especially, as you point out, compared to US daily dramas, where the characters have jobs but you rarely see them work or even go into their office. On YH, not only do we see people in their place of work, but we occasionally glimpse them in action...conducting business meetings, talking shop, meeting w/ clients, conferring w/ co-workers on plans and strategies, working on the computer. It's a really lovely aspect of the drama that brings the characters and their lives so much to life and makes them a lot more real to us, and gives them so much added dimension. We see them do this even when it appears to add nothing to any central plot. This is another example of what I compliment as strong writing. The writer/s take a little extra time to make the characters a little more real and to help the viewer relate to them on a personal level because we see them doing real work. Writers of most US daily dramas are too lazy or too stingy about giving the time needed to develop this aspect of realism, even though it adds so much to the overall viewing experience. For instance, I really enjoyed the recent, minor subplot of JY and her colleagues wooing and winning the new, prestigious client...the restauranteur who would commission a big order for china designed for his restaurant. It was interesting seeing their excitement and slight nervousness over the prospect of winning this account, and the planning for it. JY's meeting w/ the client was interesting, as was the subsequent conferences she had w/ the other 2 designers, her conversations w/ YJ about the situation, and the celebration they had after learning they won the account. It was very believable they'd want to celebrate at this news, and seeing that lent such credibility and realism to the overall story, and the characters. As you say, Bo, it's so nice to see these people in various modes...not just men or women obsessed w/ their personal problems and the call of hormones, as is common for US dramas. It's nice occasionally to see them really working and being good at what they do, as well as deriving pleasure and pride from that. By the same token, it's just as interesting to see how worries and problems may distract them from their work, the way MJ was so frazzled at her office yesterday and couldn't find her planner after meeting SM's doctor and finding out his terrible secret. It adds so much to the scenes. Jade
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Post by ShoNuff on Oct 22, 2003 0:07:29 GMT -5
I have to say that it is refreshing to watch a show where everybody on it has not slept with everybody else at least once. So often on soaps you can't find any character that has not been with at least three other characters or is a serial(eRiCa) bride. Many of the male characters who don't have a six pack don't last six months. And as for the ladies, they have the depth of a goldfish bowl. The writers think if they keep the daytime soaps a classy form of soft porn with a plot, we will watch.
Possibly a bit harsh ShoNuff
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Post by nsheldon on Oct 22, 2003 13:04:32 GMT -5
LOL ShoNuff for the serial bride (Erica) observation. I also enjoy the K-dramas for their handling of intimate situations. Sometimes things 'implied' are more sensual than throwing it all out there as they do on day time soaps. I have finally given up day time soaps, after nearly 20 years of watching. I have watched the K-dramas for the past 5 years & have enjoyed them so much more...
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