The Art of Adaptation - The Healing Magic of KDramas

 

Nine-Tailed Fox from Pinterest

Welcome to the Supernatural Underground! Today we are looking at another form of adaptation as seen through the magical world of KDramas.

Why Korean Drama?

What is so spectacular about KDramas that makes them popular? 

First, the obvious. 

South Korea is financing their Art, film and music industry, and what a difference that support can make We are seeing more and more polished, well-written, directed and acted shows produced for a rapidly growing audience.

These shows present a window into another culture that broadens our international perspective. They bring the heights of emotion to the surface, exploring tropes of love, family, romance, fantasy, mythology, contemporary goals and timeless longings.

Gong Woo and Kim Go-eun in
Guardian - the Lonely and Great God

When well done, and many are very well done, they richly entertain while sparking creativity, cultural empathy and compassion.

KDrama as International Films*

KDramas, once categorized as foreign films but now referred to as 'international', have a magical appeal, tempting viewers with new settings, customs, styles and ideologies while staying firmly rooted in familiar feelings, narratives and archetypes. Think of them as the epitome of immersion into another culture, the next best thing to being there. 

The Brain Delights

As with all international media, we must adapt in multiple ways to experience these films to the highest degree.

From the original post, Kdramas not only adapt one medium to another - book or screenplay to film, they translate it for another culture. For this to work, the 'other culture' must find the truth of the story through sound, sight and the interpretation of the written word, ie subtitles. 

Not how the brain watches films.

We might think of this as multiple tributaries flowing into the same reservoir of cognition, but that isn't the case with the human brain. Not even close.

Each interpretation of sight, sound and language is processed differently and in different parts of the brain. 

How the Brain Views Multiple Media

For example, sound begins as an air wave, entering the ear where it turns into an electrical signal and travels through the thalamus to the auditory cortex in the temporal lobe for 'translation'.

Sight, on the other hand, is light that journeys through the eyes, into the optic nerve where it turns into different electrical signals and is carried to the visual cortex in the occipital lobe for interpretation.

Reading the written word, however, is fairly new to human experience, at least in evolutionary terms.

Because of the infancy of the process, there is no specific part of the brain responsible for written language translation. 

Instead, we must rely on our memory of the sounds heard while linking them to the sounds we 'see' in the written letters or glyphs. This process is known as phonological recoding, describing how our brains understand writing.

Via these multi-layers of stimulation, the brain learns to make sense of films with subtitles to our great benefit.

Watching Kdramas is Good for You

A major benefit of watching KDramas is the activation of multiple areas of the brain. Think of it as enhancing comprehension, memory, recall and attention to detail. It's stimulating and entertaining all in one.

With soap-like plotlines that aren't afraid to tackle everything from grief to joy, agony to ecstasy, watching KDramas can help us reconnect with our own emotions and process past trauma.

The idea that Kdrama binging can help with mental health may seem a stretch, but it aligns with psychological research. These models show how viewing creates a safe space for individuals to explore their experiences and by doing so they may regain a sense of control, restoring well-being. Healing through the art of storytelling

Expert Im Su-geun underscores, "Watching Korean dramas can be beneficial for anxiety and depression from the viewpoint of art therapy." KDrama for mental health

Subtitle Caveat

Kim Jung Nan plays Talupio
in Tale of the Nine-Tailed

Although subtitlers do an amazing job of staying true to the translation, they sometimes fall short. 

Take an instance in Tale of the Nine Tailed, for example. Here our hero is a Gumiho, a nine-tailed fox, who has a grandmotherly relationship with Talupio, the beautiful, ancient woman in charge of afterlife immigration and protector of the Samdo River. (Think River Styx)

Our fox calls her halmeoni, or Halmeonim, a form of supreme respect given to a venerated ancestor goddess. And rightly so.

But what words does the translation team choose for this exalted women?

Old Hag.

In the subtitles, he calls her Old Hag repeatedly!

If I hadn't been watching the film with someone familiar with the Korean language, I would have been very confused. Certainly, the actor never treated her like a hag, old or otherwise. 

The Bottom Line

Kdramas, with their high production values, strong acting and gorgeous stars have propelled South Korean TV shows to the top of global charts, but there are even deeper reasons to get hooked. 

With soap-like plotlines tackling everything from earth-shattering grief to the joy of new love, watching KDramas can help people reconnect with their own emotions. - Bing watching KDrama

"We all have family pressures and expectations, conflict, trauma, hope, and watching heavy topics being successfully managed on screen can change people's ability to navigate real-world challenges.

Besides, they are so wonderfully done and addictive!

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Are you keen to let yourself adapt to a new experience? Try stories that make the heart beat faster, through KDrama!

xo Kim

*International films were referred to in the past as 'foreign films' which in contemporary settings is seen as exclusive and outdated.

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About Kim Falconer 

Kim Falconer, also writing as AK Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows as book 2 in the series. Currently, she is ready with the third book, out in 2025. TBA

Kim can be found on AKWilder.com, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and KimFalconer.com. 

Throw the bones on the AKWilder.com site See you there!