South Korea is aging

Youth-focused Korean dramas are giving way to middle-aged productions, reflecting the country's changing tastes and aging society.

The trend of aging main roles

On August 12, Korean TV station ENA released the drama Your Honor , starring veteran actors Son Hyun Joo (59) and Kim Myung Min (51) as the leads. The drama focuses on the father-son relationship of a man whose son is a traitor. killing and the other is the father of the murdered victim.

Two days earlier, JTBC launched a weekend drama Romance in the House , featuring female performer Kim Ji Soo (51 years old) and his male colleague Ji Jin Hee (53 years old). These two stars have 32 and 25 years of experience respectively. In the film, they play a divorced couple.

Kim Ji Soo and Ji Jin Hee star in Romance in the House.

TV series Perfect Family KBS's drama, which began airing on August 14, stars Kim Byung Chul (50) and Yoon Se Ah (46). The drama revolves around a family caught up in a murder case. The two older actors play the roles of husband and wife.

According to The Korea Times , the average age of the 6 main actors in 3 dramas premiering in August is 51.6 years old. Background Korean dramas appears to be reflecting the Northeast Asian nation's aging society, with the voices of youth fading and stories increasingly focusing on individuals in their 40s and 50s.

In July, the number of people aged 65 or older in South Korea exceeded 10 million. According to Statistics Korea, the median age of the people increased to 45.7 years, double the median age of 21 years in 1980.

Korean dramas, like the country itself, are aging. The change in drama content matches the changing demographics in the land of ginseng.

“As we age, the perception of being ‘old’ in your 50s has weakened. This trend has affected the production of TV dramas, with actors who started their careers 20 to 30 years ago continuing to play leading roles,” said Yoon Su Jin, a professor of Korean literature at Chungnam National University.

This trend is also evident in web dramas in 2024. The common point is that the main roles are often given to established actors in their 40s and 50s, such as Yum Jung Ah and Cho Jin Woong in No Way Out: The Roulette and Kim Hee Ae and Sul Kyung Gu in The Whirlwind .

Yum Jung Ah plays the mayor in the drama No Way Out: The Roulette.

Youth-centric dramas are becoming increasingly difficult to find. The most popular and discussed dramas of the first half of the year focused more on conflicts or relationships between older people than on the experiences of young people.

TV series like Queen of Tears ( Queen of Tears ) - revolves around a divorced couple rekindling their love and Marry My Husband ( You go and marry my husband ) - focusing on revenge on an unfaithful husband are examples of this trend.

Despite its depiction of young love, Lovely Runner ( Running With You ) primarily revolves around themes that resonate with viewers in their 30s and 40s, blending teenage experiences into a broader story aimed at an older audience.

Young people are at a disadvantage.

In recent years, youth-oriented TV series have been limited to a few titles such as Twinkling Watermelon (Watermelon Sparkle, 2023), Twenty-Five Twenty-One ( Age twenty-five, age twenty-one , 2022) and Our Beloved Summer ( Our Beloved Summer , 2021)...

“As youth dramas are becoming less popular, stories about young people have been introduced into dramas aimed at audiences in their 30s and 40s. Meanwhile, people in their teens and 20s are leading the trend on social media and online dramas, where they enjoy watching content other than traditional TV shows,” said pop culture critic Kim Heon-sik.

The Asian hit movie of the first half of 2024, Queen of Tears, targets audiences with life experience.

The declining population of 20-somethings, coupled with long-standing employment challenges, has further reduced the presence of young people in mainstream films.

The shrinking TV drama market is accelerating these trends. Production and broadcasting companies are focusing on catering to people in their 30s and 40s. They are playing it safe by casting established actors who have proven talent and marketability rather than taking risks with newcomers.

As a result, the traditional path for new actors to rise through roles in TV dramas has become increasingly difficult. K-pop idols who venture into acting also have a low success rate.

“Continuous casting of actors who have been active for decades makes it difficult for new generations of actors to break into the industry. To expand both the actor pool and viewership, we need dramas that attract a wider audience, narrowing the gap between generations,” critic Kim said.

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