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The Korea Times

By The Korea Times
Korean broadcaster ENA premiered its thriller drama Your Honour on August 12, featuring seasoned actors Son Hyun-joo, 59, and Kim Myung-min, 51, in the leading roles.
The thriller focuses on the respective paternal love of these two characters: one the father of a murderer and the other, the father of the murder victim.
JTBC launched its new weekend drama Romance in the House on August 10, starring actors Kim Ji-soo, 51, and Ji Jin-hee, 53. The actors have 32 and 25 years of experience respectively, and are taking on leading roles in a series about a divorced couple.


KBS drama Perfect Family, which began airing on August 14, features Kim Byung-chul, 50, and Yoon Se-ah, 46, in major roles. The drama revolves around a family caught up in a murder case, with the two older actors portraying a married couple.
Last month, the number of people aged 65 or older in South Korea surpassed 10 million and, according to Statistics Korea, the median age of the population has risen to 45.7 years, more than double the median age in 1980, which was 21 years.
Korean dramas are beginning to mirror its ageing society and are focusing on individuals in their forties and fifties.
Yoon Suk-jin, a professor of Korean literature at Chungnam National University, said: “As ageing progresses, the perception of being in your fifties as being ‘old’ has weakened. This trend has influenced drama productions, with actors who began their careers 20 to 30 years ago continuing to play major roles.”


This trend is also evident in recent online streaming dramas, where lead roles are often given to established actors in their forties and fifties, such as Yum Jung-ah and Cho Jin-woong for No Way Out: The Roulette and Kim Hee-ae and Sul Kyung-gu for The Whirlwind.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to find youth-centric dramas, and the most popular and talked-about dramas of the first half of this year have largely focused on the conflicts and relationships of older adults rather than the experiences of younger people.
Dramas like Queen of Tears, which explores the rekindling of love between a divorced couple, and Marry My Husband, centred on revenge against an unfaithful husband, are examples of this trend.
While there is portrayal of young romance in Lovely Runner, the story mainly grapples with themes that resonate with viewers in their thirties and forties, blending the experiences of teenagers into a broader narrative aimed at an older audience.
In recent years, youth-oriented dramas have been limited to a few titles like Twinkling Watermelon (2023), Twenty-Five Twenty-One (2022) and Our Beloved Summer (2021).


Pop culture critic Kim Heon-sik said: “Those in their teens and twenties prefer to consume content outside of traditional TV.”
A shrinking drama market is accelerating these trends. Production companies are increasingly opting for “safe choices” by casting well-established actors who have proved their talent and marketability rather than taking risks on newcomers.
As a result, the traditional pathway for new actors to rise through drama roles is deteriorating, and K-pop idols venturing into acting find that their success rate remains low.
“The continuous casting of actors who have been active for decades is making it difficult for a new generation of actors to break into the industry,” Kim said. “To expand both the pool of actors and the viewership, we need dramas that appeal to a broader audience, bridging the gap between generations.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by staff at The Korea Times.
Read the full story at The Korea Times


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Lifestyle

K-drama

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

K-Pop

Youth-centric Korean dramas are giving way to ones about middle-aged people, reflecting changing tastes and the country’s ageing society


K-dramas tell stories about young people less often than they used to. That reflects changing demographics and shrinking audiences for TV that cause producers to play safe by casting established actors.


Ageing society

South Korea

TV shows and streaming video

Korea Times