One comes across scenes of drinking in Korea’s TV drama series about every 5 minutes. Korean TVs, as it were, are not only fond of focusing on drinking, but go to extreme length in their portrayal of it. Characters, often too inebriated to stand up or walk, are shown being taken home, propped by someone or carried on someone’s back. As frequent are scenes of women’s binge drinking, making it seem all too natural to see intoxicated female protagonists on TV in Korea. The influence of TV being what it is, this propensity to portray overdrinking is in fact encouraging people to drink more and leading young women toward this dangerous substance.
The Consumers Union of Korea monitored 22 TV dramas from July to October of this year for scenes of alcohol consumption, and found that the show in which drinking is the most frequently portrayed was ‘Tosagupaeng,’ an episode of ‘Love and War,’ aired on September 10. This 50-minute show featured a total of 10 drinking scenes.
Drinking on TV – a Daily Ritual
Scenes of drinking in Korea’s TV dramas are such a daily phenomenon that they no longer strike anyone’s attention. These characters drink because they are agonizing over something, and ‘must’ drink, when they have to discuss something important. Needless to say, these images are making alcohol seem as natural as breathing and inciting viewers to go and intoxicate themselves.
A monitoring of TV dramas, which lasted from July to October of this year, found that the show most frequently portraying drinking scenes was ‘Tosagupaeng,’ an episode of ‘Love and War,’ aired on September 1. 10 total scenes of alcohol consumption were shown at the frequency of one every 5 minutes. These sorts of shows propose alcohol as the cure-all and panacea for all life’s problems, and are effectively pushing the nation toward alcohol.
Moderation, a non-existent word in TV drinkers’ dictionary
Female heroines, not swooning, but passing out
Glasses of alcohol in Korea’s TV series are seldom those sensible props held by characters enjoying a nice evening with a bit of alcohol. Most portrayals are of binge drinking, often ending with intoxicated characters stumbling or rolling on the ground. Our senses are so deadened by these daily spectacles of inebriation that it all seems so natural. These characters, most often heroines, are so boozed up that they are picked up off sidewalks and carried home in an unconscious state. Leading female characters (think of the heroines of Oh Pil-seung, Bong Sun-young, Ireland, Second Propose, Requirements of Love, The Prince’s First Love) are shown to verify the love they are feeling through these scenes, or the central motifs of the drama is conveyed through these scenes. Alcohol, in other words, is proposed as the ultimate medium of self-expression, and this sort of message is highly disturbing, especially in the way it influences youth viewers.
Binge drinking comes in various forms: guzzling soju or whiskey out of the bottle or from large goblets (The Prince’s First Love, When Man Love, Requirements of Love, Darling, My Shining Star, etc.), or downing 3 to 5 bottles of soju in one sitting (Island Village Teacher, Requirements of Love). Whatever the forms, all these liquor abuses are shown as normal and decent, even passionate enough to befit dramatic heroes, expressions of pain, sorrow and rage of the soul. Poetic license is used with impunity indeed to veil the dangers of alcohol, especially from the sensitive eyes of the young.
Drink wherever and whenever you can
Nothing seems to be a taboo for boozing on TV. While under-age school girls are shown drinking (Darling, My Shining Star, My Sister-in-Law’s Rebellion), TV drinking runs through the entire gamut of possible locales as well. Drinking onboard an airplane (Ireland), on a hospital bed (Darling, My Shining Star), outside a hospital room (Ireland), on the rooftop of a hospital (My Brother’s Teen Bride), at a park playground (April Kiss), at a swimming pool (The Prince’s First Love), at a parking lot leaning against a car (My Brother’s Teen Bride), etc. The tacit messages of these scenes are squarely in opposition to warnings against driving under the influence or swimming after drinking alcohol.
That alcohol is the biggest enemy to health is a proven fact, which is endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as well. Social cost of drinking is estimated at as much as an annual 16 trillion won. It is one of the main causes of domestic violence, and auto accidents caused by intoxicated drivers are on a steady rise. It should be clear to TV networks that they have to restrain themselves from portrayals of excessive drinking. The Consumers Union of Korea is therefore planning to issue official requests to broadcasting companies to take concrete action to reduce broadcasting content conducive to alcohol abuse.
▶ Inquiries: Kang Jeong-hwa, Secretary General, Consumers Union of Korea (794-7081)
