Journal of Education and Social Sciences, Vol. 4, (June) ISSN 2289-9855 2016 MALAY WOMEN READINGS OF KOREAN DRAMA Norbaiduri Ruslan, Department of Communication International Islamic University Malaysia
[email protected] Siti Sakinah Abdul Latif Department of Communication International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)
[email protected] _____________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Korean drama has a stronghold position in the global entertainment scene. In Malaysia, the craving for Korean drama started about a decade ago when the hit-drama ‘Winter Sonata’ made its debut. Korean dramas become household favorites, especially among women. This study reports some findings on the audience reception study of Korean drama among avid Korean drama fans. Four focus group interviews using semi-structured protocol were conducted of which two groups were comprised of adolescents and another two groups were adults. The main research question was, “How do Malay women read Korean drama media text?” The analysis of the verbatim transcriptions yielded eight salient themes: 1) Male-centric; 2) Family oriented; 3) Female-centric; 4) Cultural values; 5) Storyline; 6) Cosmopolitan lifestyle; 7) Realism (Fantasy Love); and 8) Parasocial relationship. The findings are discussed from Stuart Hall’s dominant, preferred, negotiated, and oppositional reading. Keywords: reception study, Korean drama, reading of media text, audience study. _______________________________________________________________ Introduction Winter Sonata is epitome of Korean Wave or Hallyu’s presence in Malaysia. The term ‘Korean Wave’ or Hallyu was first coined by a Chinese journalist back in 1997 to describe the popularity of a Korean drama, All About Love, that was aired in the republic (Shim, 2006; Shim, 2008; Jung, 2009).