special thanks to @therukurals for making the gif (insp.) and @melonatures for doing literally all the brainwork with prompts and write-up. thank you to a lot of the people that i’ve met on here who refuse to let me give up on this week - I appreciate you all a lot. maybe the real™ kdrama women’s week was the friends we made on the way.
[alternatively: a week and one day to talk about and make things for women you appreciate in celebration of International Women’s Month]
Day 1: All About ‘Romantic’ Love
A romance between two women, either in the canon, in the subtext, or as a headcanon; or an actress or actresses you want to see in wlw drama.
Day 2: Competence Porn
A character who is exceptionally good at what she does; a genius; a character who is never second-guessed or undermined in her story because everyone around her knows she’ll get the job done, and done well. Alternatively, tell me everything about your favourite female director / writer / lighting tech etc. working in kdramas. Why them?
Day 3: I Just Think She’s Neat!
Heroines or supporting characters who were hated on—either in fandom or in the show—for being frustrating, for getting in the way, for taking up time and space, for being confusing, or for simply not being convenient, inoffensive vessels for self-projection. Give them some grace, love, understanding—do they deserve it? Does anyone?
Day 4: Freaks & Geeks
They wear funny clothes and don’t make friends easily. They’re late bloomers. Everything about them says they’re destined (doomed) for a makeover, but you don’t want them to have one. They stand out, and not in a good way. They may see the manifestation of human desire as jellies. Women who are losers and outsiders.
Day 5: Can I Handle the Seasons of My Life?
Adult women and their relationships with their younger selves; or a woman who is grappling with aging or an age milestone, be it turning 20, 30, 40, or beyond; or woman who is having a coming-of-age later in life.
Day 6: She’s a Runner, She’s a Track Star
Characters who quit. They pathetically or euphorically pack it in. Bags are full and being taken home. They’re running from situations they can or can’t handle. Running from growth. Running from life. Running from love. “She’s a runner, she’s a track star. She gon’ run away when life gets hard” – and sometimes she’ll run even when it’s easy.
Day 7: Character Actress
cha·rac·ter ac·tress /ˈkerəktər/ /ˈaktrəs/ noun
1. An actress who plays a distinctive and important supporting role. 2. The go-to actress for a specific character type.
An actress who always shows up in dramas to steal scenes, provide solid acting alongside greener actors, and play your favorite side characters; an actress who always plays supporting roles who you want to see in a lead role.
Day 8: Home or Free Day
A character who creates a safe place for herself in the world; or a drama you return to again and again because you identify with or love the heroine’s story; or free day.
I was going to write about Age of Youth for this prompt (because what would kdrama women’s week be without Age of Youth?) but decided that this year, I’ll give a shoutout to Be Melodramatic instead. It’s a drama that in many ways feels like a companion piece to Age of Youth.
Be Melodramatic focuses on three friends in their thirties, Im Jin Joo, Hwang Han Joo, and Lee Eun Jung who are each facing a difficult period in their lives. Jin Joo is a struggling drama writer, Han Joo is trying to juggle her career with being a single mom, and Eun Jung has recently lost her boyfriend to cancer. At the beginning of the drama, Jin Joo and Han Joo move into Eun Jung’s apartment along with Eun Jung’s brother and Han Joo’s son.
What I like about the three friends becoming roommates is how it creates a safe space for each character. It gives Jin Joo a sanctuary away from her stressful job. It provides Eun Jung with a loving circle of support during her time of grief. It also takes some of the burden of worry away from Eun Jung’s brother. And it gives Han Joo room to relax knowing that she has extra hands to help care for her son, who in turn benefits from having the additional parental figures.
Found families are my jam, and I loved watching this little found family build a home together.
No one quite steals a scene like Kim Seul Gi! From the sharp-tongued webtoon editor in Flower Boy Next Door to the pervy ghost in Oh My Ghostess, Kim Seul Gi is the absolute best at playing wacky supporting characters. She has this adorable, off-the-wall energy to her, and has the perfect sense of comedic timing. She really excels at turning a funny scene into downright hilarity! Seul Gi is also great at giving that extra emotional oomph to her silly characters, too—she totally made me cry in Oh My Ghostess. And she hasn’t been entirely limited to comedy, either. She’s occasionally branched out into more serious roles like in the action/thriller Lookout.
Kim Seul Gi is an all-around solid actress who really shines in supporting roles. But that’s not to say that I wouldn’t love for her to have more lead roles, too! To date, she’s been the main lead in a number of drama specials and web series—she’s particularly great in Splash Splash Love. I think it’s high time that she’s cast as the lead in a full-length drama. She’s more than ready!
Song Eun Jo in Cinderella’s Sister is a character who spends her life running away, both literally and figuratively. Eun Jo has grown up watching her gold-digging mother bounce from one bad boyfriend to another. The pair are used to skipping town after each relationship turns sour. In the first episode, Eun Jo’s mother has abandoned her to move in with a new man. When she finally sends for Eun Jo to join her, Eun Jo has had enough. She tries to run away again, this time on her own.
Eun Jo doesn’t manage to physically escape, but she continues to run, emotionally-speaking. She’s tired and lonely and broken. She hates her mother, she hates her life, she hates herself. So, Eun Jo walls off her heart and builds up a prickly, cynical exterior to protect herself. She morphs into a cruel, hateful person who finds a twisted sense of pleasure in hurting those around her. She becomes Cinderella’s wicked stepsister.
And yet, I understand why Eun Jo becomes that way—in her mind, she’s still that young, vulnerable girl trying to outrun her dysfunctional past. That’s why it’s so gratifying when, little-by-little, she finally learns to stop running away. And it’s even more cathartic when, in the end, Eun Jo lets down her defenses and actually runs towardssomeone.
KDRAMAWOMENSWEEK | DAY 5 | “Can I handle the seasons of my life?”
It’s natural to fall ill and die when you’re old. Even if you know what’s wrong, you’ll die. I’ll just die not knowing, with no regrets. / You’ve only turned 70, how can you say that? And I never said rely on your kids. Let them live their lives, and live however you want. Don’t you have anything you want to do? / No, do you? / Me… I also can’t think of anything! / Life’s no fun anymore… My only joy in life is eating a bowl of rice and delicious soup with you… Of course, old friends are best!
Characters who quit. They pathetically or euphorically pack it in. Bags are full and being taken home. They’re running from situations they can or can’t handle. Running from growth. Running from life. Running from love. “She’s a runner, she’s a track star. She gon’ run away when life gets hard” – and sometimes she’ll run even when it’s easy.
When we meet Yoo Seol Ok at the beginning of Queen of Mystery, she’s an average middle-aged housewife. Seol Ok dreamed of becoming a detective as a young girl, but as she grew older, she sacrificed that dream for her family. She gave up her chance to go to college to get married instead. Since then, her days have been busy cooking, cleaning, and catering to the needs of her husband, daughter, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law.
Seol Ok still hides a secret love for solving mysteries, though, and she finally decides that—you know what?—she’s going to go for it! She begins studying for the police exam, gets involved in solving crimes around her neighborhood, and eventually earns a place on a special investigation unit. She’s a natural investigator, with a real knack for observation and unrelenting passion for digging deep for clues. Little by little, she gains the respect of her police partners, and she gains a sense of independence from her family, too.
I really enjoyed Seol Ok’s late coming-of-age story! I loved the way it centers an ahjumma who would normally be a background character. Her story reminds us that those women once had hopes and dreams of their own, and shows us that it’s not too late for them pursue those dreams.
K-Drama Women’s Week, Day 5: Can I Handle the Seasons of My Life?
Adult women and their relationships with their younger selves; or a woman who is grappling with aging or an age milestone, be it turning 20, 30, 40, or beyond; or woman who is having a coming-of-age later in life.
That’s right, it’s the obligatory Jang Hee Bin post! And of course, I’m talking specifically about the 1981/1995 smear campaigns* (see tags) because her character here is pretty different from other adaptations. Ok Jeong struggles with age throughout the show - from her worries about “wilting” at 20 to “growing old” with Queen Myeongseong during her time outside the Palace - mourning the death of her innocence through her younger self at 26, worries about having a child at 30, and not having accomplished enough by 35, despite her servants’ reminders and platitudes that she is literally the Queen and that she looks so young for her age.
How does she handle this insecurity? Er… let’s just say not well? Ok Jeong does a speedrun of all the misdeeds people did to her based off these insecurities in a show of extreme irony (spoiler beyond the break here), targeting women who remind her of herself when she was younger and becoming the very antagonist she once would have avoided. Not every drama character resolves their issues as nicely as one hopes, especially in historicals such as these. But, it’s a moving display of the struggles and insecurities one can face when living in a society that often defines you by your age.
