Why Pakistani women love Korean dramas

London:

In South Korea, social norms are the glue that holds the developing society together. Respect your elders, keep your mouth shut, follow the rules. Sound familiar? Korean screenwriters have turned these customs and the unpredictability of love into a formula that their loyal audiences can’t resist. Love triangles range from business rivals to lovers, marriages of convenience, rekindled first loves, or where the obvious choice is always second. From rooftop confessions to couples breaking class barriers, no one tells love stories like the Koreans.

The Korean romantic comedy is now a popular and instantly recognizable genre around the world. Picture this: A woman stands on the sidewalk as a car speeds by, splashing through a puddle. The male lead, over six feet tall, with perfect hair and a neat jacket, pulls her out of harm’s way, sacrificing his designer back to take the brunt of the impact; it’s a classic scene. I can think of at least four Korean dramas that play this scene out verbatim.

Why are these Korean dramas so appealing to Pakistani women, even though we can probably predict what will happen in the next episode? The answer is simple. We understand them. Tired of not being able to imagine myself as the heroine in Pakistani dramas that always regurgitate the mother-in-law undermining the daughter-in-law, and Western dramas that cut into montages of life in the club scene that inevitably end in a one-night stand, I ventured into the K-drama world. Among the many Korean dramas on Netflix, What happened to Secretary Kim? It sounds promising – and it is. Finally, a film that realistically depicts life in a conservative society where holding hands with a member of the opposite sex is a blushing nightmare, kissing before marriage is social ruin, and confessions of love are almost always accompanied by a marriage proposal (with her parents’ consent, of course).

The most intimate scenes usually come around episode 8 or so, where the classic stumble/trip scene happens, where the heroine dramatically falls into the arms of the (usually very rich) hero, in slow motion of course, with the most romantic K-pop song playing in the background.

But K-dramas are more than just bastions of slow-burn romances, and people are obsessed with more than just pretty faces (what’s the secret to glass skin?) and dramatic plot twists. Emphasis on family, preserving community, honor, and insisting on humility are common tenets of Pakistani and Korean culture, making these K-dramas a refreshing alternative to the risk-taking antics of Hollywood series. As a result, they’ve unexpectedly attracted a whole host of new fans.

Korean dramas have not only captured the hearts of Pakistani women, but have also completely mesmerized Muslim women around the world. British Pakistani Sahar Zahid told Express.com, “I wouldn’t say these shows are completely sharia-compliant, but they are definitely not as raunchy as Hollywood movies or even the latest Turkish soap operas. As a Muslim woman, I find these shows relatable because pre-marital relationships are not a given and not everyone is playing the dating game. In most shows I’ve seen, the couples don’t get together until the end, so the main plot is about them not being a couple yet.”

Sahar also found the personalities of the characters in the series to be very different from traditional types, a refreshing change from the overprotective and overbearing personalities of young men in other dramas. South Korean men’s underdeveloped frontal lobes have never stopped them from being kind to their women. “These dramas show modern men being confident in their masculinity, which allows them to get away with a lot of bad behaviors that stem from insecurity. They take care of the women they love,” she said.

Pakistani actor Kubra Khan has similar reasons for watching Korean dramas and urging others to do the same. In a candid PSA for Fuchsia Magazine, Kubra implored: “Men of Pakistan, please watch Korean dramas and learn something from those men — the good men!” She continued: “How to be compassionate, how to be loving, how to show love.”

Besides the all-around halal nature that Pakistani audiences appreciate greatly, the writing and storytelling of these Korean dramas are also worth learning for others in the industry. They pay attention to details; the plots are coherent and there are no loopholes. There is almost always an eye-opening elder monologue in the script, which ends with a poetic metaphor.

But unless Pakistani audiences are learning Korean, will the beauty of the story be lost in translation? Sabeen Obaidullah, a fan of Korean dramas, thinks not. “I think directors and producers are now very aware of the global reach of Korean dramas and are now paying more attention to the translation of subtitles and dubbing.” She also believes that the performances have a lot to do with keeping the authenticity of the work. “Now that Korean dramas have become so popular, the quality has improved a lot, and even if the translation is not very good, you can still understand all the emotions expressed by the actors,” Sabeen said.

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