Drinking and drinking - common scenes in Korean movies
In recent years, scenes of drinking, carousing, and drunkenness have become common in Korean dramas, movies, and entertainment shows.
The heavy presence of these drinking scenes is causing concerns about their impact on audiences and society.
Explaining this, Korea Times said, in Korean culinary culture, wine is an indispensable part of gatherings of friends and meals.
Images of drinking and drunkenness appear continuously on the screen, reflecting the social concept that alcohol has the effect of relieving stress and promoting social interaction.
Movies like "Crash Landing on You" with the scene of female tycoon Yoon Se Ri drinking with soldier Ri Jung Hyuk, Kim Hye Jin in "Beautiful Girl" getting drunk while talking to her boss or "Hyena" with the scene of the bar association going out drinking after winning the case, all show that alcohol is an indispensable part of social situations.
In addition, the development of OTT (Over-The-Top) platforms and cable television has changed the way drinking scenes are portrayed on television, making these details become more dense.
Actress Han Ji Min once shared on Netflix's "Paik's Spirit" that she felt less pressured to drink alcohol in front of the camera of an OTT platform compared to major TV channels.
The impact of alcohol representation on television
A study by the Korea Health Promotion Institute tracked 219 popular dramas and 438 reality shows in 2021 and found that each episode of these shows had an average of 2.3 alcohol-related scenes.
The institute believes that portraying alcohol on screen can increase social acceptance of alcohol use and stimulate viewers' cravings for alcohol.
The survey from the Institute also found that 47% of 1,057 respondents aged 20 to 64 said they were inclined to drink alcohol after watching drinking scenes on TV.
According to Kang Chang-bum, an official at the Korea Institute for Health Promotion, the popularity of drinking scenes on OTT platforms and social media may lead to romanticizing or encouraging excessive drinking. and often involves sexually explicit or violent content.
He also suggested the need for government intervention through public policy to regulate inappropriate depictions of alcohol consumption in the media.
Double standards in Korean television
A notable issue is the lack of specific regulations in Korea restricting alcohol consumption on television, while tobacco advertising is banned.
According to Korea Times, critic Jung Duk Hyun commented that this is clearly a double standard. This person agrees that banning tobacco advertising on television is practical, because this is the cause of many diseases, but drinking alcohol also has similar harmful effects but still frequently appears on screen. incomprehensible thing.
In recent times there have been moves to control the use of celebrity images in advertising alcohol and related products. However, these changes are still happening slowly and have not been enough to have a profound impact on the representation of alcohol in films and entertainment programs.
While filmmakers and program producers continue to include alcohol in their content, consideration and adjustment of this representation is necessary to ensure that drinking does not become a discouraging factor. negative behavior in society.
