If a show I like has violence in it, I imagine that the blood is fake and knife/weapon is a cardboard (which is true), so that I do not get freaked out. Also, if there are autopsy scenes I just keep looking at one corner of the screen until it is over. In general, with each passing drama, I as a viewer am getting hardened towards the gruesome scenes and flinch less when the same scenes a few years back would have made me drop the drama. I guess, repetition makes a person get accustomed to violent scenes, just like other tropes.

Really not a fan of the mostly gratuitous violence in a lot of dramas. Not just the big, gory stuff but even the seemingly 'minor' instances - in the older dramas it used to be slapping someone (usually women 😠) and nowadays it's kicking them in the shins, hitting them in the head, etc.

As for the more over-the-top violence, I think it's a mix of natural evolution as broadcasting rules relaxed (which makes the blurred knives even funnier) and a crossover from k-movies. After all Korean cinema doesn't shy away from the truly dark side of human nature - see Oldboy, I Saw the Devil, the Vengeance Trilogy, etc. Frankly every time I see brutal violence from a crazy chaebol boss, I just find myself thinking Yoo Ah-in did it better (and seven years ago at that) in Veteran 🤷‍♀️.

I see it as keeping up with the times and not keeping up with the Joneses. Like older K-dramas, fake fist fights look dated. As long as it's not gratuitous violence, I want to see realistic onscreen violence and wish censorship would stop blurring out knifes when guns aren't blurred out.

I don't have an issue with onscreen violence, but it depends on the parties involved. Any violence where by it is clear from the beginning that the victimized would always be the victimized until the tail end of the drama is something I can't watch. But if they always one-up each other (Monster is a very good example of violence that one-ups each other), I'm open to watching since they're both on the receiving end.

Bringing it more narrowed, school violence is one that I'm never a party to. It irks my bones and I can't just sit down and watch kids bully other kids and the teachers do nothing about it due to a class divide.

I'm kinda tired by the feelings they give that romance is for brainless people and violence for the ones who likes quality and strong plot...

But in a lot of the last dramas, the violence was totally free like Squid Game. I watched Revenge of Others and now Weak Hero Class, I got the feeling I was watching Fight Club and not some dramas about highschool students...

I'm not bothered by violence when it's well done like in D.P.

I'm one who can't tolerate violence, no matter what form it takes.

I like brainless, fluff dramas because it's easy for me to watch them. I like enjoyment, and enjoyment comes from watching such dramas. I like dramas with great ensemble (e.g., Sh**ting Stars, My Unfamiliar Family, 2521, Start-Up) There is no enjoyment when violence, especially physical violence, is involved. I agree that there is some sort of violence -emotional- in almost every drama, but for evident physical violence I stay as far from it as I can. I am not desensitized to see these weapons being used to hurt anyone in any drama or even in news. If the drama I'm watching has some of these scenes, I close my eyes. I don't want to be desensitized by it, and that is my decision. I haven't watched Squid Game (and I doubt if I ever will) and any famous dramas that the major them is violence. It's very clear from the shows I've finished this year which are Sh**ting Stars, 2521, A Business Proposal, and the Sound of Magic.

I don't normally do crime dramas either, and I have no interest in learning/knowing anything about criminals (i.e., Through the Darkness avoidance). It hurts my head just thinking about it. To be honest, I wonder how other people find enjoyment in these.. but I guess to each their own. For me, it is just a big no.

My hope is that we have more and more happy dramas. 🙂 I like healing dramas, and I'm looking forward to next year with this little hope of mine. But tbh, as this year has been quite brutal to me Kdrama-wise, I'm exploring dramas from other countries as well.

Hmmm interesting question, I don’t mind when a drama or series showcases the horror of violence and pointing out a societal issue like D.P.

But yes I agree on the whole, there seems to be increase, for example Taxi Driver has no business being on SBS. At minimum it should’ve aired on OCN or some streaming service

There is also the depiction of sexual violence which I have complicated feelings about. It’s an unfortunate reality but more often then not I feel like it’s not taken with care and sensitivity and at worst fetishising it.

Cafe Minamdang is an example, it’s meant to be a comedy but there was a scene where a woman was running for her life while the male perpetrator killed her with a glass object. The complete tonal whiplash was shocking honestly. I blocked the scene out in the beginning hoping the series would lean more on the comedy but eventually I dropped it.

That said, I don’t think all violence is bad, and I do go through phases where I enjoy thrillers. Fiery Priest had some epic and fun martial arts fighting scenes which were a treat to watch

I think violence is present in life and therefore representing life in it’s many forms will lead to violence being shown as part of a story. The issue for me is the infiltration of violence into a range of genres even when it’s not necessary to the core story. I also don’t understand why the low percentage rate of stranger violence is used as the main representation of violence against women on dramas.

TV used to be censored but now it seems to have gone to such extremes that what is acceptable for certain ratings is way past what would have been considered appropriate in the not so recent past. I think viewers should have a choice of what they expose themselves to so prefer to have tags on dramas that clearly specify the content so that I can choose whether I want to be exposed to stress hormones as part of my unwinding routine. Tags are more effective for me than ratings as I can not and do not want to tolerate what some teenagers who have been desensitised from a very young age would find laughable.

I think Netflix is really changing the landscape of K drama in violance and sex scene. I know K movie can go far in those two field, so when I watched one I was mentally prepared, in right time and mood. But I was familiar with K drama that is family friendly, I watch them while eating dinner, etc. So when I watched gruesome violance and obscene sex scene in k drama 8 episodes, I was just sigh.... this just isnt it. I look at Somebody, I still consider to continue to wach ep 4 or not. Sometimes, I feel Netflix out those scenes, only for shocking effect and trying too hard to convince its dramas are more edgy and internationally forward, And again it just isnt.

Personally, I'm less concerned with the amount of violence on screen and more concerned with why it's there in the first place. My problem with violence in a lot of Western media (and a lot of East Asian films) is that it's there to be "cool". The storytelling glorifies those who commit the acts and glosses over any consequences or long term effects. Faceless "bad guys" get mowed down and the hero swaggers through the carnage unfazed. If a show or film is willing to do the hard work of looking at what violence really does to individuals and communities that's different, and that's actually one of the things that drew me to k-dramas in the first place. It wasn't that they didn't contain violence - it was that they were often willing to look much more critically at the effects of violence. It's not accident that two of my favorite k-dramas are The Devil and Six Flying Dragons, which are both shows that look explicitly at people using violence to try to right wrongs, and all the reasons that that never really works.

Violence is a part of real life, and at its best, quality entertainment both reflects and embellishes reality in such a way that we learn and extend our understanding of all human experience. It also makes me squeamish in many cases (for example, last night I couldn't get through "Someone" because there's a scene involving an injured cat) but in others, I find it to be an effective and exciting way to tell a story (for example, I loved both "Squid Game" and "DP").

I can't speak to whether or not kdramas have grown more violent as a reflection of Western drama or just because as time has passed, the general trend has been for media to showcase an increased level of violence. As an American who has opted out of many an American show because they're too violent, I still don't agree with those who blame Netflix for the fact that kdrama has grown more violent and gory. For every "My Name" or "Sweet Home," there's a "Hello, Me" or "Dear My Friends" or "Chicago Typewriter," (all on Netflix US) so to me, the evolution of kdrama or the supposed Westernization is really about all entertainment companies wanting to tell a balance of stories which, to my mind, is never a bad thing.

The issue I sometimes have with kdramas in particular is that there seems to be a stubborn refusal to expand how sex, sexual identity, sexual assault, and gender identity are portrayed, even as many dive headlong into embracing ever more explicit depictions of blood, gore, and other types of violence.

Just as with violence, topics related to sex and gender can easily cross over into the realm of gratuitous and exploitative, but they are key parts of human experience. So it can be frustrating to see creators and conglomerates embrace depictions of serial killers, gun violence, and buckets of blood pouring from all orifices, while simultaneously balking at a proper kiss scene, or depicting gay relationships or people as more than foils/best friends to straight people who either a) are pushed aside to show how their unknowing spouse or lover (see "My Unfamiliar Family") is the real victim we should care about b) exist only to support their (straight) friends and appear unable to have real romantic relationships of their own (because the writer can't/won't depict them).

Note that I'm not advocating for explicit sex and nudity in kdramas, unless, of course, it makes sense for the story being told. But I am confused as to why explicit violence seems to be acceptable and more realistic depictions of sex and sexual identity are not.

Such a challenging discussion. I believe one of the things that happen as shows become more violent is that they also push out the female characters as the shows become more male-centric. You see more shows with the ratio of 3 male actors with top billing to 1 female with top billing. One area where k-dramas can find growth is with the male audience which may be why there has been a growth in more explicit violence, particularly gun violence. One of the reasons I started watching K-dramas was that there was an abundance of female characters but many of the most successful (internationally) k-dramas of the last few years have been dramas where there is more of an imbalance of male/female characters (DP/Squid Game). These shows have as much violence as any US show I've seen and also have female characters that are secondary.

I don't have a problem with violence on screen, tbh. I enjoy my action/crime/horro/thriller movies/series a lot. Some of my favorite movies are Pieta, Audition, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, etc.

So it's the same with kdramas. I've always enjoy my dark OCN dramas. I guess I just need balance. My mood isn't always for a fluffy romcom.

I don't give too much thought to the changes we've seen in the productions. If I rewatch an old show and see a "fake fist fights with clearly post-edited sound effects", I just think "old times" or something.

The real problem I have is the random/unnecesary violence we see these days. There are shows where I can literally skip the side plot about the murder or wtv and nothing happens. It's just violence for no reason, no meaning.

For me, I want any violence in my shows to be necessary to the plot. Is there a reason we need to see it on screen, instead of having it implied or happen offscreen? Is the reason it's included just the shock-factor, or does it serve a narrative purpose or establish a character's motivation or personality? It's the gratuitous violence that I don't like because it just feels lazy. There are lots of ways to include tension or intrigue without violence, so if kdrama makers are just resorting to it because they couldn't think of anything else, that's annoying. I also really dislike it when a female is violent against her romantic partner (or prospective romantic partner) and dramas treat it as humor. Sometimes they get seriously hurt (but even if they don't) and I don't know why this is seen as funny by the writers/directors/whoever.

Interesting topic @missvictrix.
When I first entered into Kdramaland with HEALER I was quickly drawn to the cops/crime/mystery genres. Reviewing my log out of my first ten kdramas I would classify six (HIDDEN IDENTITY, TEN, TEN 2, HEARTLESS CITY, CITY HUNTER and BAD GUYS) in cops/crime/mystery CCM.
The other four were a mixed bag (HEALER, FALLING FOR INNOCENCE, MASTER: GOD OF NOODLES and BEAUTIFUL MIND).
My viewing is predominantly CCM but not exclusively having ventured into sageuks and lately into romantic dramas/comedies.
I go to dramas for the story or mystery not for the potential of violence. That being said I am a bit of a ‘fight guy’ and probably enjoy the choreography involved in a ‘good’ fight rather than the actual violence. Just off the top of my head I can think of great fight scenes from LAST, LAWLESS LAWYER, THE UNCANNY COUNTER and D.P.
In the area of violence early on in my kdrama viewing one of the most shocking reveals was how much hierarchical violence was portrayed in dramas. Think supervisors kicking, slapping workers. The same in schools or the police force. It was everywhere. I can’t tell you being American how many times I said to myself watching an assault, ‘911 baby’. In other words the cops would have been called but not so in kdramaland. It may go back to the whole neo-confuscian influence in Korean society. I have no idea.
Sorry for the rambling.

I can’t speak authoritatively about the history of kdramas, but I really doubt that if there is an increase in violence, it shows the influence of Netflix. In fact, prior to me becoming aware of kdramas or Netflix, I had associated Korean crime films with Taiwanese ones, for their graphic depictions of savage violence. In addition to Oldboy mentioned above, also the Man from Nowhere, 2010, where Won Bin singlehandedly eliminates the entire Seoul criminal underground in various brutally choreographed ways. (I would have thought his bloody achievement would have made all recent Kdrama crime shows unnecessary, but unfortunately writers seem to have forgotten that crime is no longer a problem in South Korea)

I have noticed an increase in serial killers, but I don’t think that’s Netflix either. If Netflix’s influence has been to shorten kdramas (plausible) then you’d think serial killers would be less common, since the benefit of serial killers is that you can use them to build tension over multiple episodes. If you have to invent a new murderer 12 or 16 times it begins to strain creativity. Its just like the white truck which I was thinking about yesterday. Why think of different ways important characters could die, when you have a fleet of killer white trucks at your disposal?

Now, whether the changing audience of kdramas, (OR an attempt to appeal to a broader audience, with the thinking that violence will bring in more male viewers) is a factor -- that could be. I happen to be a male viewer who doesn’t care for violence, but I do think there is something to a male preference for action and adventure. I myself enjoy balletically staged fight scenes for their athleticism and physical creativity. On the other hand, in those scenes kicks to the head do not seem only to have a slight stunning affect, hardly that violent.

One final influence that has occurred to me from time to time is the impact of video games and even webtoons on what is shown on the television screen. Violence in video games is sometimes blamed for increasing violence in society (I think the influence is the other way around, myself), but in this case it could be violence in video games and graphic story telling, put there for reasons unique to each genre, is in turn changing kdramas.

Anyway, obviously I'm just totally talking off the top of my head, but thanks to @missvictrix and all other contributors for a fascinating discussion!

I agree that the increase in violent depictions is a crossover from kmovies, which had been pushing the envelope on dark/disturbing themes. Old Boy is definitely one of the more disturbing things I've seen and that was made 20 years ago. Some of the kdramas - like Squid Game, which I didn't watch- seemed to be just one really long movie. And people would rather binge watch 3 episodes for 3 hours than watch a 3 hour movie.

Also we have a lot more avenues for airing kdramas now. Maybe in the past, there were 5 slots every 3 months. You'd maybe get 1 drama depicting violence a year. Now there are 2-3 times that many timeslots - especially if some dramas are 12 episodes and under - so you'll get 2-3 dramas with heavy violence a year.

I can take watching some violence, but bullying-related violence is a bit too much for me. I'm not even a victim of bullying so there is no PTSD to be triggered. But the relentlessness of bullying violence is too much.

I actually disagree with this because to me Korean dramas were always far more violent because of the way they normalised every day vioence.

Oh sure, American TV glorifies "big" violence with revenge films, zombies and the superhero genre. But those aren't supposed to be "real" stories with real people. Kdramas were supposed to be. And yet violence was inherent and deeply embedded in normal social interactions. Watching a boss slap an employee in the workplace is far far more shocking than watching Batman pulverise a criminal. Watching a parent hit their children, or kids in school be assaulted without their teachers caring. This is normalised, casual violence that is far more shocking to me.

I have now and then come out of an American show and been annoyed at the violence but it's usually written on the tin. The violence in the average kdrama was far worse to me generally. And Korean films and television have a long history of celebrating violence as an acceptable response to violence. I've yet to see anything apart from DP and Angry Mum that says, "no the violence itself is the problem and so violence can never be the solution".

I think Violence in storytelling is easy to get wrong, and has to be handled with care, like any narrative tool, but with more care than usual, because by definition its quite a volatile tool.

When it has purpose in the story, in moving the story along or developing the story and its characters, then it has its place and I have little problem with it.*
(This purpose could be as much or as little as it being a trait of the genre, and therefore the task then is to use the violence in a way best suited for the genre, and the individual story, because that will be different each time.)
It can be a very effective narrative tool even in this way.

But I do believe there is line that Violence in the Narrative can cross (even or perhaps especially in genre specific stories);
When Violence becomes violence for violence's sake, gratuitous, voyeuristic, self-indulgent, or even pornographic, that's where it loses true purpose in the narrative, and instead betrays the story or anything it might be trying to do.

This is true for any story in any medium, kdrama or not, and is therefore a statement about violence in storytelling as a whole, and not specifically Korean content.

Before I 'discovered' Korean dramas, I was a big fan of Park Chan-Wook's films (Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr./Mrs. Vengeance), and had seen some of Kim Di-Duk's works as well (Bad guy and 3-Iron). For those unfamiliar, these guys made movies that were very dark, violent, and sexually explicit. Full on gore, nude sex scenes, and such. So I was pretty surprised at how sanitized Korean dramas were in comparison. I loved them anyway (as someone who can enjoy a trope-y rom-com as much as something, like, say, The Boys) but I remember noticing the disconnect.

Recently I've read posts on Dramabeans and elsewhere lamenting how Western media has influenced K-dramas to be more violent and such... but those films came out 20 years ago. I see it as a natural evolution - one that mirrors how Western media has changed as well. Network TV looks pretty different now than it did 20 years ago in the U.S., and a lot of that's because cable shows and streaming sites were able to tell stories more like how movies did. Not just due to looser guidelines, but also non-network TV being willing to take risks with more experimental content. Personally, I'm excited to see these different kinds of stories being told. As long as I can still get my fluffy fusion-sageuk love stories also, thank you very much :D

Back to the topic, I don't mind explicit violence, provided it makes sense for the story being told. If you're going to talk about the horrors of war, show how horrible it is. For example, the battle scenes in Nokdu Flower. I don't think the story, and the characters' decisions, would've had the same impact if we weren't shown just how devastating the fighting was. But then... I honestly don't mind gratuitous violence either (unless it involves animals, then I hate it!) so maybe I'm not the best judge.

the blurring of knife blades gets me everytime like gee i wonder whats under there

aside from that, im pretty cool with violence in kdramas as its quite toned down occasionally and I know its all fake. I do recall some dramas had really unsettling scenes (cant rmb which drama exactly, it was quite a while back) so at most ill just ffwd if im intrigued by the storyline and/or halfway into the show and need to find out how it ends. (eg: i tried watching all of us are dead but i couldn't get past the first ep as it was just uncomfortable so i dropped it)

I’m mostly for whatever helps tell the story better. Violence, when used correctly, is a keen tool that can provoke very specific and powerful responses.
But like any tool, it’s in how it’s wielded. Clumsily swung around it obscures the point, hindering the message. There are tons of good examples out there. Even heavy handed ones can be effective.

I honestly don’t miss the badly choreographed fights with blurred weapons all that much. It took me out of the story more than it helped. I just finished up Weak Class Hero 1 and I was super surprised at how good the choreography was. The violence was plentiful, and school violence is pretty common place in kdramas, but it still elicited this very uncomfortable uneasiness that they seemed to be going for.

As long as it’s the creators intent, and not following some trends to chase ratings, I’m all for it.

I'm relatively new to k dramas (about 2 years now) so I can't tell how it was in the past. I'm rather sensitive to excessive violence onscreen, so I tend to avoid stories about serial killers like Mouse or Beyond evil (I never get past first episodes). In my opinion the less is more, that's why I've stopped watching many Western shows. That and unecessary nudity. In my opinion the less is more and sometimes when I was watching some Western series I just didn't know what's the point of exposing so much nudity and just wondering how uncomfortable actors must felt. On the other hand k drama romances are sometimes too sugary for my taste and often lacking in chemistry. So when I want to watch a romance between two people I turn to Turkish dramas. In them I find all that is lacking in korean series: erotic tension, slowly building romance, physical attraction, growing intimacy between couples without nudity or sex onscreen. So right now I'm just hopping between korean and turkish tv.

As someone who watched Korean movies for a few years before discovering dramas, I was shocked at how different dramas were. I couldn’t believe they both came from the same country.
In dramas or in general, I am not turned off by violence if the genre or story dictates it. Eg, My Ahjushi had some scenes. But I hate random violence in a romcom or non thriller genre. And most of the time it serves no purpose. And violence in school dramas are the hardest for me to watch.
I don’t mind murders (I mean, on TV ) but I have issue with abuse shown on TV because almost always women are at the receiving end. And bullying violence is one I cannot watch. I stay away from those. Especially if they are happening in a school setting.

'Netflix' K-dramas. Smoking, cursing, gunplay... and multiple seasons that end in cliff-hangers. I'm as big a fan of 'gritty' dramas as the next guy but sometimes it just comes across as lazy writing.

Someone, I forget where, was commenting about how heavily censored C-dramas are becoming more attractive to them precisely *for* the censorship. Because 'westernized' K-dramas are becoming as insufferable as western dramas. No, please, don't do another generic handgun shoot-out!

To be fair, guns still seem taboo in Kdramas. You see gangs with bats or knives going at each other but rarely guns. I hardly ever see automatic pistols, just revolvers, if at all. At times police officers carry nothing more than stun guns (with the spring). I don't live in Korea but I'm pretty sure law enforcement there are better armed than that. Or are they?

One thing that has definitely changed in kdramas is police violence. Instead of the physical violence in interrogations now, you often get someone saying, "you can't do that anymore".

When I first started watching Kdramas, the amount hitting was "striking," (ha!).

I still can't get over the amount of people hitting each other in every Kdrama I see--co-workers, students/teachers, lovers, children, old people--just about anyone gets hit. It is AMAZING that in a culture of no-touch romances, hitting others is prevalent, normalized and acceptable. I find that it makes the characters seem immature when they resort to hitting to express emotions. I don't like that hitting is a way to express grief. I especially dislike it when hitting escalates into kicking, usually to someone who is already down on the floor. (How in the world can those people stand with broken ribs and internal bleeding, etc.???) Yet, all of this hitting is normalized in the mildest genres. Is that much hitting really a true reflection of modern Korean culture?

Unfortunately, criminal and wartime violence has embedded itself into the entertainment industry. Many Korean movies seem focused on knife fights, with lots of blood. I am embarassed to admit that I have become accustomed to violence even if I don't really like it. And, that it has become easier to watch violence with weapons (guns, knives, swords, bow&arrows). Saguek physical torture if uncomfortable to watch. Peron-to-person physical violence (boxing, sports, fights) is more difficult to watch. Shock value was maximized on Squid Game and caught the world's attention.

Yes, more violence seems to be gratitous in entertainment today everywhere, not only South Korea--just like foul language, revealing clothing and seductive dance movements.