The fictional story of Goong is one that fascinated and enthralled Korean media viewers and readers with no prejudice to age. It is a story that "re-imagines" Korea, pretending that the Japanese Colonial period did not exist and that the Korean monarchy still reigned. This fiction glorifies what once used to be the Korean monarchy and with it the treasured but often neglected traditions of this prideful country.
It evokes nostalgia and pride for the older generation as they reminisce the time before they had to endure intrusion of the Japanese in their country. There is still a large number of Koreans who still feel passionately hateful towards the past Japanese Colonial period and wish that it had never happened; Goong fulfilled that wish. It is understandable why the older generation that would be expected not to be so zealous towards a drama or a comic book to be so heartwarming towards Goong and feel it to be such an endearing story.
Although the older generation feels a connection to the story of Goong, the younger generations who were born much after the Japanese Colonial period and would only learn of it from their parents or from textbooks were also intrigued with the drama. Of course they were attracted by the attractive actors in the drama or the beautiful drawings of the comic book and their generation is highlighted by the active media in their society, but if the content of the drama or the comic was substandard it is unlikely Goong would have drawn so much attention from them. The reason behind their adoration for the story could be traced to a trigger in their interest in their country's history for it arose not in the context of a tedious textbook, but a drama and a comic book, which they take up on their free time for their own enjoyment.
Goong called into importance the history of Korea, catching the attention of a wide range of audience. The older generation who remembered the Japanese Colonial period and wished to erase it from Korea's history felt a special connection to the story. The younger generation's interest was stirred by the resurrection of a distant time in their country's history they did not relate to and only learned about from older generations and from their schools. However, would this interest still be the same if the story of Goong was presented in the future when the older generation that could relate to this story was no longer existent and the younger generation no longer even heard about it from older generations? Would the younger generation feel it is too much of a distant past that does not seem relevant to them or even real to them? Also, is the story of Goong just something of a temporary interest like a new pop song by a new debuted artist?
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2 comments:
Goong is very much like a new pop song by a debuted artist - it's the drama of the month. I think it'll remain popular for a few more years but fresher dramas with similarly innovative plotlines will occupy the public's mind.
Yeah, I definitely agree. Goong was undoubtedly an extremely popular drama when it came out. Everyone was talking about what would happen in the next episode, the actors and actresses were featured on the news, etc. But now, today, everything is about the new drama or the movie that is playing now. Despite the fact that Goong, the drama itself, was something of a temporary interest, I think that the underlying desire and interest in such a drama will stay around forever. Even though Goong is over, there will be( has been?) dramas that have aired after that had the same effects that Goong had. The effect, I feel, is the sort of escape or fantasy that was mentioned in the Dallas(?) article that we read earlier on. This feeling and want of an escape that a drama provides, is not temporary.
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