Korean Actresses Beginning to Play More Diverse Roles

[uledy.livejournal.com]

Korean actresses have changed. They are giving up pretending to be pretty, weak and ingenuous.

Kim Seon-ah, model-turned actress who is 170 centimeters (near six feet) tall plays the role of a woman paralyzed from waist down in the movie "The Five" that will be released Thursday. Instead of showing off her slim legs, she rides an electric wheelchair with both legs tied up. A woman who lost her husband and daughter by a murderer, she is a vengeful person. To show such emotions, Kim has disheveled hair, and her face is bruised since she fights with the murderer.

Jeon Do-yeon in "The Way Home - 2013" plays a woman who is falsely accused of carrying drugs and is locked up in a jail in a foreign country. She doesn`t give off charm of a femme fatal. Ha Ji-won performs a swordsmanship action at "Chosun`s Angels" that will be released in early next year.

Soo-ae who attracted 3.22 million viewers for her movie "The Flu" this summer dresses plain as she plays a medical doctor who develops vaccines for a fatal virus. She doesn`t pretend to be weak, and struggles with her face smeared in soot and blood to save her virus-infected daughter. Han Hyo-joo in "Cold Eyes" plays a female detective with extraordinary talent of observation and intelligence in arresting a criminal.

Korean actresses are no longer stirring up protective instinct. Experts say this is because Korean movies are tilted towards thriller, noire and action movies. Among 13 popular movies that attracted more than 3 million viewers this year, 10 excluding "Miracle in Cell No.7", "The Face Reader", and "Man on the Edge" are the so-called "strong and heavy" movies. In a rough and tough atmosphere, actresses` elegance is neither expected nor work.

The number of melodramas and romantic comedies has declined sharply compared with in the 1990s and 2000s. Movie "Architecture 101" is one of the few melodramatic movies that succeeded recently, drawing 4.11 million viewers. Movies with the only heroine or romantic comedies have seen sluggish records. "Happiness for Sale", a movie that was released this spring with Choi Kang-hee as the only heroine, draw 333,000 people and ""Queen of the Night" with actress Kim Min-jeong attracted just 250,000 people.

A CEO of a movie production firm said, "Twenty-something actresses who has strong ticket power are rarely seen. Lack of movies that use these actresses` image and appearance also affected the neutralization of female actresses". Film critic Kwak Young-jin said, "Many Korean movies have two heroes. Harmony between the two is more important than appearance.

On the disappearance of actresses who contend with appearance, film critic Shim Young-seop says, "It is positive that the Korean society sees woman as a more active and independent subject. Critic Kang Yoo-jeong said, "As actress Yoon Jung-hee plays a heroine role at `Poetry` directed by Lee Chang-dong, actresses need to make efforts to melt into their characters. A good example is Tilda Swinton who performed with dentures in "Snowpiercer".

Source: donga via hancinema

do y'all agree with the author's assessment that there's been a shift in the types of roles played by female actors? what type of female protagonist do you most enjoy watching?

Comments

[flumes.livejournal.com]

i'm not sure, because i don't really know like even though i watch a lot of k-dramas i am still very american and my view on films/tv is from this standpoint (as i watch them more and see more.)

it's interesting that this was written because i recently read about an (k) actress (i forgot her name) who said she'd like more diverse roles. in terms of seon-ah a lot of what i have seen her in in dramas has been kind of different because she has a strong presence. she's tall and her weight has changed with different roles but isn't very thin. the last movie i saw her in was girl scouts though which was another atypical role i guess (and i really liked it but i just love her.)

writing for women is lacking in general everywhere and i don't really feel like i know enough or it's my place but it's something to think about for what the public--especially women would like to see.

i enjoy watching protagonists who get to grow and develop on their own. romantic entanglements are keys to a lot of things but they don't have to be the only thing going for them or like, women have to rely on someone else but there's nothing wrong with being weak as opposed to strong. there's not one type of woman out there, writers just need to think.

[canxi.livejournal.com]

I agree there is definitely nothing wrong with being weak, but it definitely is all about how you write that weakness. Is she a push over who will become stronger and bloom or will a man come and just be her lord and protector. Many female roles (mostly in dramas), I feel are written around the male characters--I think Heirs is having this problem, have not watched it yet only read about it. You rarely get the other way or the woman being able to be a stand-alone.

[flumes.livejournal.com]

oh yea, i definitely agree. that's what makes me so sad like men seem to be such a focus. and i think that's what makes a lot of people not like women characters in dramas (i mean aside from what we've been told and like sexism in general). i don't watch heirs well i saw the first episode but i'm sure judging by that and what people have said.

i think a lot of that also has to do with maturity which is something sometimes characters seem to lack. i wish if it was about romance and a man does come into the picture that those involved could grow together instead of a man being a buffer or shifting the focus. it's frustrating (also a lot of times it's ONE character growing and the other just lacking)

[ohlookshiny.livejournal.com]

that's definitely a kim eun seok thing. her female characters are always just sort of.... there, reacting to the male lead, who the story is really about. they don't have a trajectory/narrative of their own, and they are usually controlled by the male lead and what he wants. i have seen rom coms where women do have lives outside their romantic entanglements, but it's a rare thing and totally shouldn't be.

[canxi.livejournal.com]

It really is. Which sucks because her females are actually so full of potential and it is never realized or dissipates as the drama goes along.

[ohlookshiny.livejournal.com]

yep. it sucks :( i get why her dramas are hits but they don't deserve to be.

[canxi.livejournal.com]

The K-public seems to just eat it all up. I secretly wonder if all her female characters are that way so the female viewers can just insert themselves in the character's place and live vicariously through them, lmao.

[ohlookshiny.livejournal.com]

ikr. that's probably true. tbh though i wouldn't want to put myself in the female leads shoes and have to put up with her asshole male leads lol. when i was watching agd i got so angry at jang dong gun's character that i started throwing things at my laptop in rage. i take dramas waaaaaay too seriously lmao.

perhaps kim eun seok puts herself in her female leads shoes, idk. this devotion to the male leads makes me think that she's living out her own romantic fantasies through her dramas. it's so weird.

[canxi.livejournal.com]

I dropped AGD so hard, haha. I don't regret it at all.
She might be! People start writing for all sorts of reasons. I'm a person who sometimes will live vicariously through characters but if I inserted myself into one of her characters it would turn into a drama where I smack everyone in the face, steal the rich guys money, and travel abroad.

[ohlookshiny.livejournal.com]

i wish i'd dropped it :( dark times of my drama watching life tbh.

haha that sounds like an excellent plot :')

omg yoo ah-in in your icon, jeez dude.

[canxi.livejournal.com]

It started out pretty good but then everyone got annoying and I ran away, lol.
Lmao, it would actually be so great to watch something like that. Especially if it was like a parody of the rom-com genre, lolll. And yeah, Yoo Ah In is so sassy, haha! I like yours too!

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Can I know which part of AGD that made you so furious? I honestly thought that JDG's character wasn't so bad or an ass like many Kdramas out there. I mean, if you compare to let say Lee Sung Gi's character in Brilliant Legacy or King2Heart. :P

Because I think if you do watch dramas like BOF or Heirs, you will probably cannot function anymore since your brain cells have died while subjecting yourself to the torture even for 1 episode.

[miwa201.livejournal.com]

mte. like gil raim was such a promising character, and she was actually pretty cool at the beginning, but by the middle of the series she turned into a pushover who was just there to accommodate joowon. the drama was entertaining but ugh i hated how the two main characters were written, and i was very disappointed when i found out the writer is a woman. i don't even want to pick up heirs considering everything i heard about it

[ohlookshiny.livejournal.com]

ia. gil ra-im did have a distinctive personality in the beginning of that stupidly popular show, but it was gradually disappeared to make way for joo won's general grossness. i can't believe how much shit she put up with from that controlling asshole. i could buy their attraction to each other bc the leads had chemistry but really couldn't understand how anyone could fall in love with him. it was bizarre. yeah unfortunately there's something really addictive about kim eun seok's shows, even if they are awful. i'm staying far away from heirs, bc it seems like we've got the same patterns of manipulation from the male leads etc. someone make this woman stop writing dramas.

and yeah i think it does make it worse that she's a woman. it saddens me. particularly in agd where we had blatant gross sexism from the first episode, and the relationships between the leads is even more unhealthy than it was in sg. i can't believe she writes this shit.

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Actually, there are a lot of dramas that center around women -- you just have to choose the right one. There's plenty esp in Jdramas and in Kdramas, although it is not that many, they do have a lot.

Like Han Ji Min's character in Yisan. Although the King is the main character, but her presence and strong will is very prominent in the drama. Or her role in Capital Scandal -- she's basically the hard rock character she is until the end of the story. Although she did fall in love and all, she still remain the awesome women she is in the beginning of the drama. Or Sassy Girl, Chun-hyang -- that drama is truly center around Han Chaeyoung's character. All the males are just prop that going circle around her.

Or Lee Soyeon's character in Temptation of an Angel -- man, she's a bitch that I truly feel like slapping her face everytime she appears on the screen which is all the time since she's the main character in the drama. Or Kim Heesun's character in Faith. Although Lee Minho is the main, but boy the drama actually center around her and the decision that she makes. Or Moon Chae Won's role in The Princess' Man -- she portray that role beautifully where she is torn between the man that she loves and her father but the way she handled everything right until the end is really remarkable. :)

There're a lot actually you just have to look around. And unfortunately, many romcom always portary women as weak and ugly so stay away from that genre as far as you can. ^^v

[canxi.livejournal.com]

Of course there are! J-dramas are really good at this but in K-dramas it's still kind of a new idea.

I'm not saying there are aren't--I Do, I Do was great, Padam, Padam, Gloria, Cheomdangdong Alice was a surprise, Reply 1997...there are a bunch with female characters that are great but they are still few and far between and not all of them are popular. Even though women are being written differently and more realistically, we still get the bunches of typical candies or infuriating one note second lead females. Not every heroine is compelling and just used as an object of affection which can pad down a good drama. That was what I was talking about. And I think that has a lot to do with what the article is talking about, too! Like actresses want to take on different roles as well and it's slowly changing up especially in recent years--so it's not just about beauty but about other things as well--shaking up that image of "oh! this is what a woman is" because the truth is we can be many things and at the same time, too.

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

haha actually I know what you're talking about since after I wrote my long comment, I scrolled down and read your comment at the end of the page. XD

Yes yes you're right. But its kind of sad that most popular dramas out there always portray women as weak and annoying that center around men. I wish the international fans expand more and watch a more diversify dramas like Jumong, Jewel in the Palace, Dong Yi and etc... That way, they know that there are more to how women are portray in Kdramas. Like in Jumong, Han Hyejin's character was really awesome. Everything that she do is based on what she wants and her decision -- not because of someone else. Of course she has to make a lot of sacrifices but I think she portray how all women should be amazingly. ^^

[canxi.livejournal.com]

Yeaaaah. Well, at least it's heading in that direction in Korean Dramaland at least. But, I think the film industry over there is moving faster when it comes to this as well. So maybe we just need it to spill over into dramas haha XD

[ohlookshiny.livejournal.com]

i think it was moon chae won who said she wanted more diverse roles written for women. go girl~

[anathema-switch.livejournal.com]

My immediate and strongest reaction was to the 170 cm = ~6ft. I was like omg no I'm not near 6 ft, am I? Yeah that's a good 12 cm / 6 inches away from 6 ft. /all my feels

[charlotterhys.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that part my brain was going WHUT very loudly. 170cm is almost exactly (tiny fractions under) 5'7". That's... a bit away from six feet.

[chaneltini.livejournal.com]

lmao thank christ i'm not the only one who noticed that.

yeah? with a good pair of platforms she could hit six feet but lmao no.

[kelseyum.livejournal.com]

bahaha that's what i came in here to comment!
im 175, so like 5'9~ .. and i'd be hella pressed if someone said i was 6ft lol

[crowleyd545.livejournal.com]

if only i could watch these korean movies i'd have an opinion.

but, more power to us!

[canxi.livejournal.com]

I think it's slowly changing. Sloooowly. There are some actresses who are breaking away from those "Candy"/ rom-com roles and taking on characters with more to them for sure. Han Hyo Joo is a good example who I loved in Shining Inheritance (which was already a deviation from the typical Candy type) but is really thriving after her switch to movies and her taking on characters with brassier attitudes/personalities.

Kim Sun Ah, I feel has always had one of the stronger more realistic roles when it comes to women, so the only real change for her here is that she isn't romancing anyone and no one is romancing her. But, she's definitely not always played the glamorous type, lol. Even Jeon Do Yeon has always taken riskier roles. Ha Ji Won has always been more of an action star and I feel like her and Kim So Yeon are like the only two females who do the genre and get down and dirty with it.

Mostly, though there have just been actresses who kind of play at the roles mentioned but don't quite succeed--Han Ji Hye is one that comes to mind. I think there are many who may always be stuck in that world of glamorous/or cookie cutter candy roles--especially when you've built up an image with them--Kim Ji Won is starting to be I feel, Park Shin Hye might be. So when it comes to those off-color (I dunno what to call them--like strange types, more introspective roles, beautiful on the outside only lol) roles, you'll see only a select few in them--Bae Doo Na (her whole career pretty much--also known for taking on a role no else wanted because they wouldn't be able to use make-up), Gong Hyo Jin (like in Love Fiction), Im Soo Jung (as in All About My Wife), Kang Hye Jung (Old Boy or Kill Me Kiss Me), Jung Ryeo Won (like in History of a Salaryman) can take on roles like this for example.

So, we'll see where it goes. It also seems there are more roles being written like this, so we just need the ladies to take them on!

[flumes.livejournal.com]

when i first really began to get into gong hyo jin i know she was frustrated with a lot of her roles too-which is a shame but i think some of her choices have been kind of lol like pasta-but i was really really surprised at her in crush and blush. it might be about talent too and i guess going out of your comfort zone to portray something that isn't largely about beauty. i can't say that any actress would jump at the chance to play a character like she did in crush and blush etc. i'll take all these that you mentioned and look them up!!

[canxi.livejournal.com]

Oh ho ho! I loved Pasta as a drama and even that pairing. But yeah, it's true she became more and more dependent of "Chef". I still don't like that she didn't go to get her cooking education on, too. But Gong Hyo Jin does take on more of those quirkier roles! They're sweet but they are also kind of odd ball and weird not really centered around beauty even if the character is a beauty which is pretty fun.

And definitely. I feel like many want to start with those beauty roles and build up but then I feel like it may be hard to come out from there. Then there are those who don't really start out that way but don't get a lot of shine despite their obvious talent--like Im Joo Eun who's break out was in Soul (which is a horror genre and pretty creepy). She's in Heirs now, but it doesn't seem she has a lot to do there which is a waste, waste, waste.

[gunsandsmoke.livejournal.com]

this is a gr8 and true comment, i love all the actresses you named. bae doona is such a queen

[canxi.livejournal.com]

She is my favorite!

[turdferguson.livejournal.com]

i wish i was watching more korean movies to properly judge. maybe things are changing to reflect how korean women view themselves?

[nortonamo.livejournal.com]

I stan for more Korean actors than actresses, so I'm not 100% confident to judge on the matter, but that being said I can say for sure there is a huge imbalance between the diversity of roles men get and the types women get. I want to see more badass roles for women in revenge movies and women in the military roles. It'd be cool to see a espionage themed movie like Secret Reunion or the upcoming Commitment, but with female leads.

There's a shift, but I think it's mainly due to the fact that it's becoming more popular to see a strong, gritty female lead. Also, I don't think these kind of leading roles were often written in the past. Like, there were more diverse roles; but they were always supporting roles, but even then they were still being molded around that typical female role. There's definitely more diverse roles being written for women today and more actresses are picking up these roles.

[aleksu7.livejournal.com]

Sympathy for lady vengeance

[gray-fairy.livejournal.com]

170 is not nearly 6ft tho. That'd be 180ish. 170 is more like 5' 6'' aka, around Jjong's height

[dirrtypony.livejournal.com]

cant wait for the five