INTRODUCTORYKOREANDRAMA

UweE.Reinhardt

Afterthenearcollapseoftheworldsfinancialsystemhasshownthatweeconomistsreallydo
notknowhowtheworldworks,Iammuchtooembarrassedtoteacheconomicsanymore,
whichIhavedoneformanyyears.IwillteachModernKoreanDramainstead.

AlthoughIhaveneverbeentoKorea,IhavewatchedKoreandramaonadailybasisforoversix
yearsnow.ThereforeIcanjustlyconsidermyselfanexpertinthatsubject.

Disclaimer

MycoursewillconveytheimpressionthatanoutsiderwouldhaveofKorea,ifallhisinformation
aboutthecountrycamefromKoreanDrama.Quitepossibly,thatimpressionisatvariancewith
therealKorea.

Inreallife,forexample,Koreanmothersinlawmaywellbethesweetestcreaturesonearth
whotrulyadoreandspoiltheirdaughtersorsonsinlaw.

Furthermore,quitepossiblyreallifeKoreansdonottalkloudlytothemselveswheneverthey
arealone,althoughitishelpfulthattheydosointhedramas,sothatwemayknowwhatthey
think.Norisitlikelythattheyjumpintobedinstreetclothes,astheyroutinelydoinKorean
drama,especiallywhentheyareupset.

Finally,IcouldimaginethatthevocabularyofreallifeKoreanyoungstersextendsbeyondthe
threewordsye(yes),aniyo(no)andjueysonghamnida(Iamsorry)intheir
communicationswithparents.Itis,however,allofthevocabularythatachildneedsathomein
Koreandrama.

Forexample,whenaKoreangirlcomeshomelookingabsolutelydevastatedafterfindingonher
boyfriendscellphoneaswallpaperthepictureofanothergirl,andhermotherthenasksher
withgreatconcern:Isanythingwrong?thedaughterinvariablywillansweraniyo,goesto
herroom,jumpsintobedwithherstreetclotheson,putsapillowoverherhead,andkeepsher
cellphonebyherside,sothatshecanfuriouslyripoutthebatteriestopunishthemaybeex
boyfriend,shouldhedaretocall,asheshould,butprobablywont.

Similarly,whenasoncomesintothehouselookingtroubledafterhavingdrivenhismotorcycle
intothesideofDadsnewcarandmotheraskshimifanythingiswrong,hisinitialresponsewill
beaniyo,whereuponheretreatsintohisroomtogetsomerest.OnlywhenDadactually
discoverswhathappenedandallhellbreaksloosewillthesonmutteradejectedjueysoong
hamnida.Itisunderstoodtomeanthatitwillneverhappenagainatleastnotuntilthenext
time.

Somehowthisworks.
TheFirstLecture

Withthesepreliminaryremarks,letmenowcometomyfirstlecture,reproducedbelow.

"EverymodernKoreandramabeginswithamajorjuvenilecrime,towit:

TwoexceptionallygoodlookingyoungKoreansfallinlovewithoneanother
withoutithavingbeenarrangedbytheirmothersindeed,withouteventhe
mothersknowledge.

IthappensinEuropeandAmerica,too,ofcourse,andsometimesparentstherearenottoo
happyaboutiteither.

ButonlyinKoreadoessuchaninnocentbutillicitloveaffairinstantlydriveeachofthelovers
mothersintobed,withtheirstreetclotheson,wheretheyputapillowovertheirheadandmoan
pitifullyandpitiablyfrombeneaththatpillowAigooh,aigooh!

Usuallythemoremodernistfatherssecretlysidewiththeirchildren,becausetheirtheoryof
matrimonydiffersfromtheirwives,althoughopenly,visavisthekids,theyofcoursemake
commonfrontwiththeanguishedmotherbyshakingtheirheadsandmutteringtsk,tsk.

Accordingtothefatherssecretlyheldtheory,marriageisprimarilybetweentwopeople,and
loveisitsfoundationthatultimatelywillleadtothegoodlife.

Mothers,ontheotherhand,theorizethatmarriageisbetweentwoentire,extendedfamilies,
thatthenewcoupleplaysonlyasubordinatebitpartinthisunion,andthatproperconditions
speakeconomicsandsocialstatusaretheidealfoundationforamarriage.

Sociologistsandanthropologistsarestillseekingtodiscoverwhichtheoryismorenearlyvalid.
Whatevertheymayconclude,thebestKoreandramasarecraftedaroundthesedivergent
theoriesofmatrimony.

TogoonwiththeplotlineinKoreandrama.

Agooddramaserieshas50to80installments,andmostofthemarefilledwiththeclever,
strategicmovesemployedbythetwoaggrievedmotherstostoptheillicitaffairbetweenthetwo
youngsters.

ImmortalKoreanAdmiralYiSunShin,whooutsmartedJapaneseShogunHideyoshiwithhis
famousChosunturtleships,surelyranksasthemostastutemilitarystrategistinallofhuman
history.

ButevenAdmiralYiSunShinwouldstandinawebeforethestrategiccunningofamodern
Koreandramamotherbentuponputtingandendtoherchild'sundesiredloveaffair.

Earlyoninthecampaignthetwoaggrievedmotherswillmeetatatablefortwoinarestaurant
thatseemstospecializeinservingonlyangrymothers,onepairatatime,becausetherenever
seemtobeanyothercustomersintheserestaurantswhenthemothersmeet.Theeconomicsof
theserestaurantsarefascinating,becauseusuallythemothersorderonlywaterorjuiceor
coppee.Howdotheserestaurantscoveroverhead,letalonemakeaprofit?

Bethatasitmay,onceseatedandequippedwiththeselibations,oneofthemotherswill
promptlyinsulttheotherbysuggestingthatherfamilyisoflowersocioeconomicstatus.The
insultedmotherwillthenfightbackbydeclaringthatshewouldneverallowherchildtomarry
intothefirstmothersarrogantandcrudefamily.

Thusthetwomothersquicklyestablishabondaroundtheideathattheirfamiliescouldnever
unitearoundthemarriageoftheiroffspring,whichnaturallymeansthattheyoungloversmust
breakuptheirloveaffairatallcosts.

Therefollowmanyotherstratagemsinsubsequentinstallmentsofthedrama.

Blinddatesaresetupbythemotherswithchildrenofthemothersbestfriends.Althoughthe
younglovershatetogoonthesefutiledates,theyhavetodoitasotherwisethemotherswill
losefacevisavistheirbestfriends.

Sometimestheaggrievedmotherswilllurkbehindthegatetotheirhouse,hopingtocatchthe
twoloversinfrontofthegate,holdinghandsor,worsestill,huggingeachotherwhereuponall
hellwillbreaklose.

Finally,asalastdesperateresort,thereisalwaystheannouncementthatoneortheotherofthe
twoyoungloverswillbesenttostudyinAmerica,whichseemstobethedumpinggroundfor
youngKoreanswhohavefalleninlovewithouttheirmotherspermission.Rarelydothemothers
realizethegravedangertowhichtheythusexposetheiroffspringthepossibilitythatin
AmericatheoffspringmightfallinlovewithandmarrysomeoneotherthanaKorean.

Itishard,however,tofillallofthe50to80installmentsofagooddramaserieswiththe
motherscleverstratagems.Tofilltherestoftheseries,ascriptwritermustinventother
vignettes.

Onesetofvignettesmightbearoundanunclewhohasguaranteedalargeloanforafriend
whothenturnsouttobeascoundrel.Theunclesfamilywillloseallofitssavingsanditshouse
andmoveinwiththeloversfamily.Itwillcausemuchstress.Financegoneawryalwaysisa
majorstressbegetterinKoreandrama,whichiswhyitalwaysispartofagooddrama.

Anothersetofvignettesmightbeofanauntwhogotdivorcedorwhohadachildoutofwedlock
wheninhighschool.Shethenmovesinwiththefamilywithherchild,ifany,intow.Perhaps
shealsonowmighthaveasecretloveaffair,whichherfamily,ofcourse,wouldvehemently
oppose,asamatterofprinciple.Morestressallaround.

Finally,everygoodKoreandramahasmanyscenesatsupercleanhospitalswithgoodlooking
doctorsandnurses.Koreanslovetheirhospitalsandseemtoruntothemwhenevertheyhavea
coldoraheadacheorarelovesickorsimplyfeelstress.

Toaneconomistlikeme,thisfondnessforhospitalsissurprising,becausehospitalsareexpensive
inKoreaandmuchofthebillisnotcoveredbyKoreasNationalHealthInsurancesystem.Price
elasticityofdemanddoesnotseemtoworkinKoreandrama.

Asomewhatcheaperalternativeoffightingstressinhospitals,ofcourse,istogotoasidewalk
noodleshop,theretoeatRamennoodlesanddrinkplentyofSoju.Thenextmorningonedrinksa
literorsoofhoneyedteathatseemstoundothedeleteriouseffectofthepreviousnightsSoju.

WealthierpeopledonotdrinkSoju.TheywillgotoaritzybarinsteadofalowcostRamen
noodletent.Atthatritzybar,whereonceagaintheyseemtobetheonlycustomer,theywill
drinkexpensivescotchorcognacnotbytheglass,butbythebottle.Revivalcomesthenext
daywithgallonsofhoneyedteaaswell.

ButthecheapestalternativeofcopingwithstressinKoreaissimplydriveouttosomeriver
bankoroceanbeachandstareforhoursatthewater.EverygoodKoreandramahasmanysuch
scenes.FortunatelyKoreahasenoughriverbanksandoceanfrontspacetoaccommodateall
Koreansatonce,shouldallofthemsufferstressatthesametime.JudgingbyKoreandramas,
itcouldhappen.

TheoverallimpressionconveyedbyagoodmodernKoreandramaisofalandoftrulyhandsome
menandexceptionallybeautiful,fashionablewomen.Koreanwomenremainquitebeautiful
evenafterplasticsurgeonshaveretrofittedtheiroriginal,evenmorebeautifuloriginalAsian
faceswithpointedandstraightWesternnosesandWesterneyelids.

Becausetheystudysohardatcramschools,Koreansaresupersmartandveryindustrious.They
seemtobeabletoliveinfinehomes,albeitallfurnishedwithroughlyidenticalfurniturein
identicalsettings,withonebigchairalwaysreservedforthehighestrankingfamilymember
presentatagiventime.

AndKoreansinhabitalandthatisbothfertileandbreathtakinglybeautiful.

Yet,endowedwithalloftheseblessings,theKoreansinthesedramasseemtospendalldayand
nightmakingoneanothermiserableandsendingtoGodseveralmillionsighedAigoohsevery
day.Whatapity!

TheoneupliftingnoteinKoreandramaisthatromancestilllivesinKorea.Ittakesyearsof
furtiveglancesinhighschoolorcollegebetweentheyoungloversbeforeoneofthemfinallyhas
thecouragetotelltheotherIlikeyou,voicetrembling.Ittakesmanymonthsandpossiblya
yearmorebeforeoneofthemdarestaketheothershand,heartpounding.Yetmoremonths
passbeforethefirsthugandthewordsIloveyouareuttered.Aquickandscandalouskisson
thecheekispurebliss!

Indeed,sopowerfulisromanceinKoreandramathat,intheend,itoverpowerseventhewarring
motherswhoreluctantlyjoinintheweddingofthetwoloverswithroughlythewarmthonewould
expecttoseedisplayedbetweenapairofNorthandSouthKoreanarmsnegotiators.

Andfinally,after80episodesormore,theyoungcouplesisofftoJehu(Cheju)Island,whereallKorean
honeymoonstakeplace(http://www.lifeinkorea.com/travel2/cheju.

Butuponreturningfromthatfabulousisland,thenewbridemust
moveinwithherparentsinlaw,whereshewillpromptlystumble
overonethemostancientKoreanlaws,towit:

NoKoreandaughterinlawcanmake
Kimchi,orcookrice,orpreparemuddy
fishaswellasdoeshermotherinlaw.

Theimplicationsofthislaw,ofcourse,isthatKoreanKimchi
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimchi)musthavegottenlinearly
worseandworseoverthemillennia,generationaftergeneration.

Because,inmyview,KoreanKimchitodayisstillsogoodthateven
theworstKoreanKimchiregularlybeatsthebestGerman
SauerkrautinthefinaltastingoftheInternationalFermented
CabbageWorldCupseries,onecanonlyimagine,bylinearextrapolationbackwards,howglorious
KoreanKimchimusthavebeenduringancienttimesforexample,whenthefamousKoreanwarrior
DaeJoYeongs(ca.700A.D.)rodewesttodobattlewithChineseEmpressWushordes,munching
hisbelovedsKimchiallalongtheway(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dae_Jo_Yeong_(TV_series)).

Endofthefirstlecture.