뉴스레터

On June 22, a rainy Wednesday afternoon, the grand conference room of the Northeast Asian History Foundation was buzzed with people. I had attended a number of seminars and symposiums about dramas as a presenter or discussant before, but this occasion felt particularly exciting to me. I have produced and directed a number of historical dramas including A Kingdom of Wind and episodes of Hometown Legends, but it was my first symposium on historical dramas and also I had the honor of being the master of ceremony of the occasion. The symposium drew the attention of audience of various age groups and had distinguished presenters and discussants such as Byeong-hun Lee, director of numerous historical dramas including Daejanggeum, Heo Jun, and Isan Jeongjo; Ju-hwan Lee, director of the historical drama Jumong and former head of MBC Drama Department; Chang-yun Ju, professor of Seoul Women's University; Gi-bong Kim, professor of Kyeonggi University; and Hyeon-suk Kim and Gyeong-suk Geum, research fellows of the Northeast Asian History Foundation, who offered enthusiastic discussions. Many historical dramas were made by TV stations, but there had been no occasion to share ideas and discuss with scholars of the related fields. With such distinguished participants, the symposium on that day was filled with high expectations of the audience. In particular, Mr. Sunjae Lee, a doyen of Korean actors was also in attendance of the symposium, which shows the intense interest the occasion draws.

As demonstrated by the interest to the symposium, Koreans love TV drams and these days historical dramas are becoming very popular as well. Why do Koreans love dramas, even more than peoples of other countries do, and what make them fall for historical dramas, in particular? As a drama producer and director, I often ask myself this question; I do not have a definite answer for this, but it might be that we Koreans are used to folk tales and stories told by our grandma while we were young and hitched up on their back or lap, which begin with a phrase such as 'once upon a time there lived a tiger…'

Attractions of Historical Drama: Learning History and New Interpretations.

Historical Drama is a genre of dramas that has rare appeal. Historical dramas deal with themes such as royalties and subjects, families and traditions, morals and government philosophy, causes and practicalities, attract the audience with weightier about simple triangle romances, secrecy of birth, adulteries. Dialogues, grand style of acting, and martial art scenes are also special appeals of historical dramas that make actors, directors and writers fall for them. But what makes historical dramas most appealing is learning history and new interpretations of historical facts as historical records such as the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty or history books or papers are researched and turned into a script, then the script is acted out on the screen. Historical figures who used to be thought as power-hungry usurpers of the throne who killed loyal subjects and brothers are cast in a new light as a main character with his own political philosophy or broiled in a fierce competition for powers between oligarchs and monarchs. As we make or watch historical dramas, we learn about these new sides of history and cannot help falling for their appeals. Therefore, at each broadcasting station, historical drama directors have been always distinguished and such a trend has continued.

However, it is hard to find young directors these days who venture to direct historical dramas. The production process itself is difficult, and it is hard to get financial support through PPL (Product in Placement) or sponsorship. Moreover, a historical period with a plenty of records has already been overused while a period with little records needs too much imagination to be made into a drama. Even if the young director has experiences in historical dramas through his training period as an assistant to directors of such dramas, he may not shake off the temptation to choose a modern drama project, especially one such as romantic comedy, since a historical drama needs too much research and preparation. Such is the case especially these days when drama production is financially squeezed. Therefore, some recent historical dramas have been made into crossover dramas that are not typical authentic historical dramas, since this way they can express characters and life including costumes free from the constraints of historical truth even though there still exists difficulty of finding appropriate locations for the production. With their obscure historical background and free adaptation of historical truth, however, crossover historical dramas are often criticized as being a mishmash of confusing periods and countries.

Keeping the Backbone of History While Stretching Artistic Imagination

This author also relies more on imagination than historical facts to fill the gap between records and history when making historical dramas. Granted that dramas are for entertainment, historical dramas based on a specific period or a real historical figure should be more careful. Audience without expert knowledge in the particular historical period or figure, including young students, can confuse the dramatic fictions with historical facts and form misconceptions. In this regard, the symposium has raised important issues at a well-timed moment.

Sometimes similar dramas pour out at the same time like a fad but unintentionally. It happens when those dramas have been secretly planned for a number of years and somehow come out at the same time. For a while dramas based on Koguryo such as Taewangsasingi, Jumong, and A Kingdom of Wind were popular among audience and faded down, but now it can be called 'Golden Age of Historical Dramas on Three Kingdom Period' with dramas such as Queen Seondeok, King Geunchogo, Gwanggaeto the Great, and Geybaek hit the TV screen simultaneously or consecutively. This sudden surge of popularity of this particular historical period has to do not only with the fact that the period was rarely dealt in historical dramas before and so relatively new to the audience, but also with the fact that it allows more leeway in adapting historical facts and records (due to the paucity of records) and suits the current crossover trend of historical dramas.

The symposium on historical dramas hosted by the Northeast Asian History Foundation and Korean Producers and Directors Association has been a very valuable occasion. Most people present seemed to agree that artistic imagination should be given free rein as long as the fundamental backbone of the history is maintained. In addition, the observation that as a messenger of Hanryu (Korean wave), historical dramas contribute to digging out the historical memories not just of Koreans but of the whole East Asians and therefore we had better focus more on the multiethnic identity of Koguryo and Balhae is particularly acute and appropriate. Also, the opinions that historical dramas should start with a subtitle for an educational purpose or that we should have a discussion session with historical dramas should be taken into consideration.

After the symposium, I felt the urge to run to the library to find a new brilliant material to give a new interpretation and fresh light in the niche of history for a new trend of historical dramas in Korea.