In recent years, there has been a surge in the number of works emphasizing diversity and subjectivity with women as the protagonists, referred to as ‘female narratives,’ capturing viewers’ attention. The female characters in these works are not confined to specific roles, such as the protagonist’s assistant or the mother. Instead, they appear in various roles, showcasing their growth. Moreover, they provoke reflection on the roles and values of women through the dramas, throwing multiple messages. Here are 10 extraordinary works among the proactive female narratives.
1. Queenmaker
This is a Netflix series where the protagonist, Hwang Do-hee, leaves her life in a major corporation’s strategic planning office and jumps into the election to make human rights lawyer Oh Kyung-sook the mayor of Seoul. The drama broke away from the traditional male-centered political narrative, naturally unraveling realistic and complex politics, making it accessible to viewers without any sense of alienation. The superb acting skills of Kim Hee-ae and Moon So-ri perfectly portray the roles of strong and capable female characters, illuminating the roles of female protagonists.
2. Extraordinary Attorney Woo
This work deals with the story of a rookie lawyer with a brilliant brain and autism spectrum. The female protagonist, Woo Young-woo, overcomes hardships and adversity while integrating into society, delivering great emotion and resonance to many viewers. Setting the representative of large law firms as a woman also showed the narrative of capable women. Moreover, the drama made viewers with prejudices against disabled people reflect on themselves and conveyed a message calling for diversity, inclusion, social understanding, and solidarity.
3. Little Women
This drama aired on tvN shows the experiences of three sisters who grew up in a poor environment confronting a wealthy and prestigious family. The protagonists leading the story and the villains opposing them are all women, showing a difference from previous works that depicted female characters as bystanders or assistants. This provides a new perspective and role for female characters. Moreover, by showing the relatively socially weak protagonists achieving a happy ending, it implemented ‘punishing the evil and rewarding the good.’
4. Under the Queen’s Umbrella
A drama aired last year is a one-top female work dealing with the royal education war and court life of the middle war. The female protagonist, Kim Hye-soo, shows her standing against power and competition within the royal family. Also, by depicting the situation where the king of Joseon, who is a royal son, competes with the son of the middle war and the son of the rear palace for the prince’s position, it gives freshness to the viewers by developing a story that breaks away from the existing customs.
5. Doctor Cha
This drama follows Cha Jung-suk, who graduated from medical school but devoted herself to housework and childcare after marriage. She feels regret and enlightenment after receiving a liver transplant surgery and being challenged to be a doctor again. Doctor Cha breaks away from the limited roles given to women in their 40s and 50s, showing various aspects through the protagonist, Cha Jung-suk. She leads the process of continuing her responsibilities at home as a mother while playing the role of a doctor, acknowledging and emphasizing the various roles of women.
6. Smugglers
Kim Hye-soo and Yeom Jung-ah star in this film, which tells the story of female divers struggling to make a living and getting involved in smuggling as a chemical plant moves in. The unique personalities and roles of all the characters in the film shone, captivating the hearts of various layers of audiences. It was recorded as the first case of a female-led top film with a production cost of 20 billion won ($16.9 million) succeeding at the box office, and there are also mixed voices of expectations in the film industry regarding the increased activity in the production of female-led commercial films.
7. Kill Boksoon
This is a Netflix film in which the protagonist, Gil Bok-soon, portrays a legendary figure in the murder subcontracting industry while simultaneously being a child’s mother. Jeon Do-Yeon, who plays Gil Bok-soon, depicts a charismatic figure without blood or tears, displaying a solid appearance that no one can challenge. This film gave viewers a unique experience of delivering a female one-top action, especially a one-top action of a female actress in her 50s, and received enthusiastic responses. This showed the possibility of female protagonists being noticed in the action genre.
8. Search: WWW
This tvN drama gained great popularity by portraying the female protagonists pursuing their desires without being constrained by the gaze of others. In particular, the line, “I create my desire. There is no cause for my desire,” emphasizes the protagonists forming and pursuing their desires independently, not being influenced by specific motivations or external factors. This approach, which beats the female narrative of burning with a vengeance through clear motivations such as betrayal or jealousy commonly seen in Korean dramas, received high praise.
9. Lies Hidden in My Garden
This thriller deals with a nightmare-like reality in a house that should be the safest, starring Kim Tae-hee and Lim Ji-yeon. It reveals the secrets and lies of a seemingly harmless house and tells the story of women who struggle to free themselves from the oppression and violence of the patriarch. The drama emphasizes the power and independence of women by dealing with the process of the protagonists fighting against domestic violence and oppression and finding themselves.
10. Cold Blooded Intern
This is a drama that depicts the inner conflict experienced by Go Hae-ra, who breaks a 7-year hiatus and makes a comeback as an intern and burns her social life to the maximum level of experience with a secret and cruel proposal from her successful colleague, Choi Ji-won. In particular, Ra Mi-ran, who has come to the viewers with various roles, such as active and powerful ones, is receiving cheers from many people by taking on the role of Go Hae-ra in the drama.
By. Oh Hye-in press@daily.co.kr
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