Is Netflix Riding the Korean Wave or Vice Versa?| Third-Space K-Drama: Netflix, Hallyu, and the Melodramatic Mundane

Authors

  • Yin Yuan Saint Mary's College of California

Keywords:

K-drama, Hallyu, hybridity, Netflix, Squid Game

Abstract

This article examines K-drama’s potential as a postcolonial Third Space. I consider the impact of Netflix’s profit-driven transculturalism on Hallyu by contrasting Netflix Korean Originals, particularly Squid Game, with K-dramas such as Liar Game. The latter belongs to an emergent mode of Korean TV that I call the “melodramatic mundane,” which creates new forms of hybridized identity in the global arena. Analyzing K-dramas’ Western reception alongside a comparative close reading of American, Japanese, and Korean TV shows, I examine alternative structures of feeling in K-dramas that challenge American narrative ideologies.

Author Biography

Yin Yuan, Saint Mary's College of California

Assistant Professor  

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Published

2023-11-13

Issue

Vol. 17 (2023)

Section

Special Sections

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