Kudos for a thoughtful and interesting post. For me, the comparison of kdramas to novels is more apt than stage plays because kdramas have a scope and potential for deep and nuanced characterization closer to novels. The biggest difference from stage drama and kdrama I see is that due to time and narrative constraints, stage drama is too often reduced to polemics, which I see happening much less frequently in dramaland.

And for the question you pose, I absolutely believe kdramas can be, as opposed to are, good for us, which is a qualifier which applies to all art. But when kdramas are at their best, the catharsis, insight and push to think I derive from them is the same as what I feel after having read my favorite authors.

Hmmmmm, I have never thought about stories as bad for you. I guess because I come from a book background (it that books are the best way to consume stories). I guess for me in thinking about this is, the only stories that are bad for you are bad stories. Bad stories for me mean a bad plot. The content itself can be moral or immoral, so long as the plot is good, I'm happy. Good stories pull you into them and wring you dry, they make you happy, sad, mad, they bring the range of human emotion, so I agree with Aristotle, they bring catharsis. Bad stories bring disappointment , anger, and sadness without their opposite emotions.

So a story like Forest of Secrets had me on an emotional rollercoaster, I was shocked, happy, sad, angry, and content all in the space of 16 episodes. At the end of it was content like after a deep bone tissue massage.

Then there is Goblin ( I understand, some people love it, that is not me). I despised that drama. I was pissed off at the end of every episode. I was sad that I was watching it because of my strong love for Gong Yoo, and finally I was disappointed because I thought the plot was God awful.

All this to say some dramas can be bad on the psyche, but the good ones make up for it.❤️

This is sucg a great write-up @missvictrix!

I have yet to encounter a show that raises my blood pressure higher than The World of the Married. Damn, that was a ride. My sisters for sure thought I went bloody crazy even though we watched together! 😂

And hmm... I've never given much thought about a drama being "bad" for you, because... well I'm all for catharsis and indulging. If I don't enjoy a drama or it's too triggering, then I just drop it. I use the word "enjoy," because sometimes even bad dramas can be enjoyed depending on what perspective you look at them.

Well now this got me thinking though. About whether there are actually any "good" or "bad" dramas, because while there might be certain criteria to decide that, it's not universal and some people will always disagree. Maybe it's better to think of it in terms of dramas "fitting" your expectations of a good story instead of bad or good. Or even not thinking of it in such strict binary terms.

Anyways I guess K-dramas really are deserving of the name "drama." Some even with a capital D.

Drama is good for us and a good drama does all of the things suggested here: Catharsis, life lessons and even a greater understanding of others. Stories have always helped us to understand ourselves in a way that logical analysis cannot. While WORLD OF THE MARRIED was directly based upon the British show DOCTOR FOSTER that show was indeed based upon the classic tragic Greek story of Medea- a story that was already old by the time that Aristotle was writing.

This is a very lovely read. You did make good points about what drama does in our lives.
Like most other things we consume in our lives moderation is key. Kdrama watching for me is sort of an escape from the real world. I try to limit my drama hours so I can accomplish other aspects in my life. But it will no longer be good if one choose to spend all their time watching kdramas and forget to live their own life. This actually reminds me of the Mirror of Erised and also of Dumbledore's quote in Philosopher's stone "It does not do to dwell on dreams, Harry, and forget to live".
Kdrama sells dreams and escape. Though it does provide entertainment and catharsis that helps people. It can also be detrimental if too much time is spent on it. Just my two cents.

On the topic of Greek dramas I'm reminded of the series 'Misty' whose ending confounded so many people. If you go into that drama thinking of it as a classic Greek tragedy where the players are doomed by the gods from the start the ending makes total sense. In fact there couldn't have been another ending.

There's a recent K-pop song about a drunk girl hitting on the DJ at a party. In the lyrics is the random line "Hey Mrs. Dalloway, I love your party". Mrs. Dalloway? Is this song referencing the classic 1925 Virginia Woolf novel? That changes the context of this otherwise frivolous song. My my, Koreans are SO much more literate than Americans!

In all the time I've been watching Kdramas (since 2009), I've never felt the way I felt seeing "A couples word" (ACW).
The best dramas I saw left me wanting more and intrigued (like Signal, Forest of Secret, Misaeng, Secret), but only on a superficial level, never an intense emotion, just an avid interest. But with ACW, from the first chapter I felt ALL the emotions Sun Woo felt. I felt them very close to me, I experienced them almost as if they were mine, or real.
Each episode left me seething with rage, for the betrayal and humiliations that SW was subjected to, and the victories, oh, her victories, no matter how small, they left me euphoric. Seeing ACW (with the out of this world acting by KHA) transcended the experience of being a detached spectator, it was a vivid experience, vivid in its maximum splendor.
I had never felt like this with a series. And I loved every bi of it. And it's stranger that I have felt that way with a female lead with a life opposite to mine: I am single, younger and at beginning my career. However, her pain and joy were mine too: I felt each of her emotions as if they were on par with my own heart.
For me, this was the absolute best experience. A once in a lifetime thing.

I've been watching dramas since I got introduced to Jumong, well, at first it was just one or two dramas a month since I was busy working. But after I started working from home, I also began binge-watching some dramas that had good reviews from dramabeans. I seldom watch sad movies or dramas -I like to relax my mind. But The World of the Married made me remember how angry I was when my husband cheated on me and our eventual separation. The Heirs were the flirty younger years while My Unfamiliar Family is my present. K-dramas will always be a part of my life.

This is such a good article missvictrix. Catharsis and living by proxy - both for me, thank you. But I do worry that my life is running through my fingers as I serially and compulsively consume all-absorbing dramas.
One of the saddest moments for me in a drama was in Fated to Love You, when Jang Hyk's Lee Gun finally faces up to the loss of his child. At moments like this all the loss in one's life, and the tragedy of loss in life, in general, surfaces. Then it's a struggle to hold back the tears. That's catharsis.
In other dramas, seeing the bad guys, especially the corrupt ones, get their just desserts is cathartic too. Sure it's unrealistic, but seeing it means there is hope in the world that justice will eventually be done. The good thing about k-drama is that the outcomes are not always assured. That's why I liked how The War of the Prosecutors ended and also how Life ended,
Sometimes too, we get to see why the bad guys have been so bad, and we feel for them too. In Six Flying Dragons, for example, when Park Hyuk-kwon's Gil Tae-mi dies, we can't help but applaud his brilliance, even though he has been so terrifyingly evil.
It may wear a bit thin at times though. Some stories seem less convincing. Maybe we are not always persuaded anymore when the poor candy gets the rich guy. When he is instantly intrigued by her as she falls over in the street and into his ever-ready arms, and he is puzzled that he sees past her awkwardness and ordinariness and finds himself against his better judgement falling in love with her. Perhaps we are not so easily fooled by that anymore and are more interested in Kim Hye-Soo's Jung Geum-Ja when she stands up for herself using all of her resources and womanly wiles, especially on the cocky but delicious Yoon Hee-Jae. Yet we still keep coming back for it. Maybe my Prince Charming will see the real me and pick me up off the street.
But how about becoming addicted to dramas?? I've always lost myself in fiction in whatever form it comes - books, films, dramas. Can't get enough. When one comes to an end, I reemerge into the "real" world, a bit dazed, dislocated, wondering what's been going on? Have I missed anything?
At the moment, escape from the world seems like a good option. At least I have the seemingly infinite resource of kdramas to lose myself in, and to live at a remove.
Some people I know during lockdown had no idea what to do with themselves once they did all the spring cleaning. (But maybe I should have done some of that instead of watching multiple dramas at the same time!!) Guilty but shameless.

I love your essays, they're always such great food for thought. For sure, I think what draws me in particular to dramas is the emphasis on emotion/pathos. I can forgive a lot in a drama if it ultimately hits the right emotional notes for me (of course, that doesn't mean it will do so for everyone so minimal plot holes is still nice lol).

I do notice I tend to watch dramas in pairs- usually if I'm watching a more stressful or dark show, I'll also watch a romcom or something alongside to balance it out

I’ve only finished up to ep 12 of Married Couple. I still don’t have the emotional strength to continue with the last 4 eps. I don’t know if I could take more stress.

Personally, I won't say dramas are bad for me because I don't let them. For A Couple's World, I watched the 2 first episodes and it's all. I thought it won't be a story for me. I didn't understand the characters and was already super frustrating by their behavior, so 16 episodes... So I guess my survival instinct protects me well :p

Great essay, @missvictrix! It's always a pleasure to read your insights. About catharsis, that's exactly what I felt when I discovered dramas. I was sick and stuck at home; dramas provided me an escape from my own worries, and crying for characters' misfortunes - specially watching characters live out their emotions - helped me let out steam, and deal with my own emotions in a more positive and hopeful way

I was thinking in the same lines this weekend. I just binge watched A Piece of Your Mind. My mental state is not in its most stable then having that melo-drama, was I just feeding my negative emotions? But with the new week starting, I realized, "Ah, that was a perfect weekend."