[HanCinema's News] Hateful Love Stories Mark Curious Romance Trend in South Korean Dramas

The success of "When the Phone Rings" as an apparent romance isn't immediately intuitive. The political thriller about a husband whose wife is kidnapped is distinguished by that husband's apparent cold-heartedness in the face of crisis. The author of the original webnovel's pen name, Dried Fish Woman, is likewise a slang term for a woman who's not likely to get married. Yet something about the story has struck a chord with the drama's many fans.

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Of course, the idea of antagonistic romantic pairings isn't a new one by any means. From the earliest days of the Korean Wave, "My Lovely Sam Soon" in 2005 pioneered the idea of the contract marriage romance, and "Secret Garden" in 2010 used supernatural circumstances as a means to force an otherwise not obviously compatible couple together. More recent dramas like "Business Proposal" and "My Demon" are simply newer versions of the genre.

What is it about such romances that appeals to people? One production director of a South Korean drama has said that characters who can be honest about their feelings aren't appealing. Forcing such characters to deal with desires they can't express is an effective driver of conflict, and these expressions are often fun to watch. The moodiness this evokes can also inspire drama, such as in "Dear Hyeri" where the title character expresses ambivalence about her ex-boyfriend of eight years.

Of course, it's not like this hook alone guarantees success. "The Trunk" has had a fairly weak showing on Netflix despite starring Gong Yoo, whose role in "Guardian: The Great and Lonely God" is one of the most distinctive such portrayals in South Korean drama history. In the end, like with any other drama, the hook matters. A man can't just be a jerk to be attractive in such a role. He also needs a compelling reason to behave the way he does.

Written by William Schwartz