When it comes to romance in a TV series, you immediately think of passionate kisses or scenes with very high erotic content. In the modern imagination, however, something seems to have changed. With the advent in our homes of K-drama, or South Korean TV series, romance and love on the small screen have become more subtle and delicate— where looking into the other eyes became something to blush about, misunderstandings, unspoken words, or mouthed in secret. The representation of love, which is born slowly and grows day by day, finds space in the South Korean products of which our country is now a serial devourer. Asked by Panorama.it, Don Kang, Vice President of Content of Netflix Korea, explained how “the viewing of content considered K-Romance has grown three times compared to 2022”.
But what content are we talking about? Let’s put aside the Squid Game phenomenon for an instant. Let’s try to forget it. When we talk about K-romance, we are talking about a vast genre composed of excellent content and actors who have become the symbol of the Hallyu Wave in the world, who have populated the universe of K-drama for years, and who have always characterized the genre thanks to the vastness of choices. In the K-romance universe, great dramas embrace all kinds of sentimental genres, from classic romantic comedies to epic sagas to everyday love stories. Needless to say, often, the hint of romance also peeps out in Korean action dramas or thrillers, such as My Name, in which Han So Hee and Han Bo Hyun mix beautifully with the initial story, a romantic subplot that leaves you breathless.
The charm of South Korean romance is undeniable. Titles like Crash Landing on You, The King: Eternal Monarch, Business Proposal, or the more recent King the Land are part of the common imagination of love for an increasingly significant chunk of the public. As Don Kang pointed out exclusively to Panorama, “Netflix has recorded a 90% of K-romance viewers outside of South Korea,”: an impressive number that reflects the power of the Hallyu Wave also in Europe and Italy with the increase, for example, of tourism in locations where part of these products are filmed. Indicative of the phenomenon is undoubtedly the case of Iseltwald, the village in the Alps, which is the backdrop to some of the most romantic scenes of Crash Landing on You. Literally taken by storm by tourists – 400,000 in 2022 alone – the village, which regularly has 441,000 inhabitants, has chosen to put a tax of 5 francs to tread the wooden walkway on the Alpine Lake of Brienz and take a photo at the point where Hyun Bin plays the piano. And what about the tours that touch Barcelona, Girona, and La Coruña? If these three cities don’t tell you anything, except that they are in Spain, maybe you haven’t seen Legend of the Blue Sea, the romantic love story between Lee Minho and a mermaid played by Jun Ji-hyun.
The charm is totally undeniable. But what’s the secret? For Don Kang, it is the slowness of the content. “Love and romance are not necessarily immediate. They let themselves wait. It is something that the Korean public is used to, but which has also impacted the foreign public thanks to the many nuances that are portrayed in the stories and the natural evolution of feelings”. Confirming the trend is Wooyeon Yang (Director of Content of Netflix Korea) who listed some of the unmissable titles in the Netflix catalog. Starting with the great classics, such as Crash Landing on You, up to Twenty-Five Twenty-One, which last year spent 10 consecutive weeks in the global ranking of the top ten most viewed titles not in English, and the hilarious Business Proposal, the first series produced entirely by a Korean agency to reach the top of the Netflix ranking.
Back once again to quote Crash Landing on You, Wooyeon Yang explained how one of the strong points of K-romance is precisely the plot. “A great example is Crash Landing on You which caught the interest of the international public thanks to a particular plot that connects North Korea and South Korea in a love story between a soldier who saves an heir to a large South Korean conglomerate.” “The drama” continued “runs slowly and shows the evolution of the feelings of the two protagonists as well as their personal stories and sheds a light on life in North Korea and the differences with South Korea.” Not only romance, then, but a series of ingredients that manage to intrigue – be they historical or fantasy, such as those exploited in the successful K-romance My Love from the Stars.
But what will happen now?
For Wooyeon Yang, success is not meant to slow down or change his course in the short term. «We look forward to the release of a new title, Behind Your Touch, in which the queen of romantic comedies Han Ji-min plays a veterinarian from a small town who has a strange gift, psychometry. When he convinces a detective of his abilities, the two collaborate to solve neighborhood crimes”. Once again a mix of genres, like the one proposed by the ongoing title See You in My 19th Life, a spin-off of a successful webtoon, in which Shin Hye-sun plays a heroine who can remember all her past lives and returns, in her nineteenth life, in search of the next door boy she had fallen in love with in her previous life.
“We are truly honored by how our emotion-packed Korean programs have found a space in the heart of global audiences through Netflix, from the United States, Europe, South America, and beyond,” concluded Don Kang, “Our stories touch on the universal themes of life — love, pain, and tenderness — and at the same time offer a glimpse into the unique facets Netflix’s commitment to creating this deep global connection is something we’re really excited about.”
Not to be missed was a small criticism of the subtitle system, often contested due to the lack of accuracy in the translation. A problem acknowledged by Don Kang and his team. “We are looking for better subtitle quality, better dubbing quality,” he said. “The advice for those who like to see dubbed episodes,” added Wooyeon Yang, “is to watch the dubbed product first and then with subtitles and in the original language so that they can grasp more nuances without losing too much of the original context.”
Some titles not to be missed also available in Italy
KING THE LAND
Available from June 17th. New episodes until August 6th
A rich heir can’t stand fake smiles. At one of the family businesses, he meets a girl whose dazzling smile is part of his job. He can’t stand it immediately, considering her a person who hides his true self behind a false smile. Former world K-Pop idols Jun-ho and Yoona team up for the first time as actors in this long-awaited K-Romance “from enemies to lovers.”
SEE YOU IN MY 19TH LIFE
Available from June 17th. New episodes until June 23rd
In this spin off of a successful webtoon, Shin Hye-sun plays a heroine who can remember all her past lives. As a girl, in her eighteenth life, she falls in love with the caring guy next door. In his nineteenth life, he tries to get back to him, only to discover that he has become a cold man who doesn’t want to get close to anyone. Will their love triumph in a different life?
BEHIND YOUR TOUCH
TBD release date. New episodes until October 1st
Queen of romantic comedies Han Ji-min plays a small-town veterinarian who has a strange gift, psychometrics. When he convinces a detective of his abilities, the two collaborate to solve neighborhood crimes.
DESTINED WITH YOU
TBD release date. New episodes until October 5th
K-Romance giants Cho Boa and Rowoon (also K-Pop idol) combine their stellar power in this wide-ranging saga. Rowoon plays a crying lawyer who has it all but is haunted by a family curse. And it turns out that the woman who can break this curse is precisely the despicable public official played by Cho.
A TIME CALLED YOU
TBD Release Date / End 2023
Ahn Hyo-seop (from Business Proposal) and Jeon Yeo-been (from Vincenzo) are the protagonists of this remake of the classic Taiwanese romance Someday or One Day. Jeon’s character travels back in time to 1998 and meets a man played by Ahn, who looks strikingly like her late boyfriend. Yes: the two protagonists face the challenge of playing two identical characters, but with completely different personalities, with all the complications that come with it when it comes to love.
DOONA!
TBC Release Date / Late 2023
A college student (Yang Se-jong) finds himself facing life and school in a unique situation: he lives with a former K-Pop star, played by Suzy – former K-Pop star in real life. Their relationship begins with a mutual misunderstanding and dislike and grows over time into a relationship of love and trust. But will their bond be able to withstand the cruel pressures of fame?