A few days ago, I shared my thoughts of the effect that the internet has on Western entertainment, so why not do one on Asian entertainment? This time, I'm going to be focusing Asian dramas in particular - to be precise, Chinese, Korean and Thai dramas respectively.
Chinese dramas
Chinese media is extremely censored by the government. There are so many laws to be followed, especially with regards to the plot of the story. For example, dramas of a certain period of history have to be portrayed accurately and transmigration (a character going to the past and changing history or vice versa) is not allowed on Chinese TV. However, with the existence of the internet, this is easily avoided, resulting in a major rise in the production of web dramas from major online streaming sites like iQiYi and Youku. They're cheap to produce and license, which is also a downside since the end result leave more to be desired.
Intellectual Property dramas, or IP dramas, which are dramas adapted from mostly online novels and games. The keyword here being online. In the recent years, online novels have become very popular amongst Chinese internet users; the content is uploaded frequently and a lot of online novels have thousands of chapters. As such, they're a very good way to pass time, and also a very good source of income since there's a high chance of it being adapted into a TV drama or a movie. A look at current airing dramas in China would tell you that most of them are IP dramas and they're doing quite well, after all, who doesn't want to see their favourite characters come to life? On the other hand, there's a concerning lack of creative new content on Chinese TV; most of the dramas being produced are novel adaptations and 'original' scripts are most of the time recycled plots. There's no telling when this phase of IP dramas will end, but hopefully Chinese scriptwriters produce new content soon.
To dive deeper, there's this amazing channel on YouTube called AvenueX which talks about topics exactly like this!
Korean dramas
Much like China, there's an increase in small companies producing web dramas in Korea. Channels like Dingo and Playlist Global produce short web dramas revolving around office romances and high school love stories and there is a large audience for it. This might be because the dramas feature fresh faces and the episodes are usually 15-minute long with each series containing around 10-20 episodes. They're quick to binge and enjoyable and relaxing for the most part. Furthermore, it's refreshing to see fresh faces as there aren't many in the productions from official broadcasting stations.
An important and welcome change to note is LGBT acceptance and correct representation of other races in Korea. The Hallyu wave has spurred immigration of foreigners to Korea and for a homogeneous country, I think it was hard for Korea to adapt at first. Korea was, and still is, a collectivist society and conservative, too. With globalisation and exposure, much like Western media, Koreans, especially the younger generation, are becoming more open to change and more accepting of 'different' people. Two years ago, the first gay K-pop idol, Holland, debuted. Before that, the first on-screen lesbian kiss occurred in a drama called Seonam Girls High School Investigators. Recently, Romance is a Bonus Book featured a lesbian couple and My Strange Hero featured a correctly represented African for the first time. Korea is taking a step away from blackface and other racial misrepresentations and I'm living for it!
If you'd like a taste of a Korean web drama, here's one that is extremely popular!
Thai dramas
So Korea and China are changing in a similar pattern, but for a diverse country like Thailand which is also accepting of LGBTQ+, what changed since the internet?
Well, for starters, web dramas, again. So, we'll skip that.
One thing I want to touch on though, are promotional web series produced by non-entertainment companies...? Last year, OPPO, a very popular smartphone company in Asia, produced a web drama called My Secret Friend featuring their new smartphone the R9s. Similarly, OPPO also produced one for Indonesia for their phone OPPO F7. Needless to say, I was shooketh when this came out. This is revolutionary! A smartphone company producing web dramas for promotion? Yaz! Amazing! Mood.
Film adaptations are also becoming popular in Thailand, although hopefully they don't rely on that too much. Can't complain because my favourite Thai drama ever, Bhoop Phaeh Sanniwaat, was a film adaptation from a novel.
Anywho, that's enough rambling for now. Hope you've enjoyed this little observation!
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