Dramas starring powerful female characters take over home theater

▲ These photos, provided by JTBC and Netflix, show Lee Bo-young in 'Agency,' and Song Hyekyo in 'The Glory.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This photo, provided by JTBC, shows 'Agency.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This photo, provided by Netflix, shows 'The Glory.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ These photos show Kim Hee-ae in Netflix series 'Queenmaker' and Lee Young-ae. (Yonhap)

▲ This photo, provided by ENA, shows Kim Seo-hyung in 'Pale Moon.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This photo, provided by tvN, shows Kim Goeun in 'Little Women.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) - JTBC's weekend drama "Agency," which is currently on air, opened its doors with advertisements for female warrior training games. It shows the creativity of the female protagonist who planned the advertisement, while also signaling that the female protagonist in the drama is different from the female protagonists in other works.

'Cinderella-style heroine' is now an old saying. Competent and ambitious "SSenunni (Strong sister)" dominate the home theater this year.

The weekend drama "Agency," which has started airing on the 7th, depicts Go Ah-in who becomes the first woman to be an executive at a large advertising agency VC Group, building her career to the top position.

Lee Bo-young plays Go Ah-in, a creative director who leads the second production team in VC Planning, an advertising agency of a large company.

Viewers feel anger to see Go Ah-in who graduated from a local university being ignored even though she has achieved outstanding results just because she is a woman. They also cheer for her who struggles against discrimination.

A strong and combative woman will also star in the Netflix original series "The Glory," which has announced the start of Part 2 on March 10.

Song Hyekyo plays Moon Dong-eun, whose soul was broken by violence she experienced in her childhood, and vigorously punishes the perpetrators one by one.

The female protagonist, who is obsessed with revenge, does not care about love at all. Moon Dong-eun tells the male protagonist who has a crush on her, "I don't need a prince, but a executioner who can work with me."

Kim Sung-soo, a pop culture critic, said, "In the past, we focused on love stories even if women were the main characters, but these days, the trend has changed," adding, "Just by looking at the success of Kim Eun-sook, who wrote “The Glory,” we can read changes in the Korean drama consumption market."

"Kim Eun-sook's 'Mr. Sunshine' was very popular with an independent female lead, but the typical romance fantasy 'The King: Eternal Monarch' was shunned by viewers,” he said.

Kim Hee-ae and Lee Young-ae, "Queen of Drama" have taken over roles that were considered exclusively for men.

Kim Hee-ae will play the role of Hwang Do-hee, a genius in image-making strategies in the new Netflix series "Queenmaker," who jumps into the election to make Oh Kyung-sook (Moon So-ri), a labor rights lawyer who fights against the world by standing on the side of the weak, a mayor of Seoul.

In the drama 'Maestra,' Lee Young-ae transforms into a female conductor who leads the orchestra. She is a character who is on a top position where everyone wants to be by working passionately and boldly as if there is no tomorrow.

It tells the story of approaching to the truth surrounding itself by digging into mysterious events that take place in the orchestra. It has yet to be decided which platform it will air on and when.

Actress Kim Seo-hyung also leads suspense in the ENA drama "Pale Moon."

The story is about a woman who lived a suffocating daily life enduring discord with her husband, making an irreversible choice to embezzle VIP customers' money while working as a bank contract employee.

JTBC drama "Dr. Cha Jung Sook," which will be aired after "Agency," shows "growth process of ajumma (old lady)." Uhm Junghwa plays Cha Jung-sook, who changed her life course from a housewife in her 20th year to a resident in her first year in the wake of her husband's betrayal.

Hwang Jin-mi, a pop culture critic, explained, "The main reason why works dealing with the stories of women are dominated is because the dreams of women, the main audience of the drama, have changed from the past."

"These days, women try to overcome social prejudice and oppression with their abilities rather than dreaming of 'Cinderella,'" he said. "The dramas have also changed to suit the tastes of these viewers."

There have been cases in which female narrative works, in which female protagonists lead the story, are loved by viewers. The dramas "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," "Under the Queen’s Umbrella" and "Little Women," which were very popular last year, were all works featuring female characters supported by viewers.

The main characters of the home theater, which are drawing attention in the New Year, are strong and venomous. The number of works featuring female narratives has also increased significantly.

"With female narrative works attracting attention, bolder investments have recently been made," said Kim Sung-soo, a pop culture critic, adding, "It has become possible to attach narratives with veteran actors with ticket power as the main characters."

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Yunhee Cho.)

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