The era of the disappearance of an authentic historical drama… Can I see you this year?

‘Taejo Wanggeon’ (KBS),’Heo Jun’ (MBC),’Woman Cheonha’ (SBS).
These are historical dramas that were aired by terrestrial broadcasting companies in the early 2000s and gained great popularity. Although it was before the release of the comprehensive programming channel,’Taejo Wanggeon’ and’Heojun’ recorded an audience rating of over 60%, and’Woman Cheonha’, which hit the buzzword’What is it~’ by Kyungbin Park, was originally programmed 50 times. It also left an unprecedented episode extending to the episode.

However, it is no longer difficult to find a great historical drama on TV.
KBS stopped broadcasting’Jang Young-sil’ last Saturday evening on 1TV in 2016. It has been 26 years since the airing of’Daemyeong’, which deals with the post-war Joseon Dynasty, in 1981.
The situation is similar for SBS and MBC. MBC, which once gained popularity as a series of ‘500 Years of the Joseon Dynasty’, has had fun with’Daejanggeum’,’Jumong’ and’Queen Seondeok’, which mixes Jeongsa and Yasa since the mid-2000s, and SBS also has’deep roots. He published historical dramas with similar trends, such as’Silver Tree’ and’Six Dragons Narsha’.

At this time, works that put imagination on the basis of love affairs were the mainstream of historical dramas, but in recent years, faction historical dramas that only borrowed from the periods such as Goryeo and Joseon, but almost ignored the actual historical situation filled this place. Breathing was also shortened from over 50 episodes to around 16 episodes.
The same goes for KBS. Works featuring fictional characters against the backdrop of the virtual Joseon era, such as the recently aired’Amhaengeosa Chosun Secret Division’ and’Gourmi Painted Moonlight’, are becoming popular.

There are several reasons why broadcasters are turning their heads toward the drama.
First of all, it is profitable. Since there are many performers in Daeha Sageuk, the size of the cast is large and production costs such as preparing props and sets are high. In the case of’Immortal Yi Soon-shin’ or’Dae Jo-young’ produced in the 2000s, it cost about 35 billion won in total production cost. On the other hand, it is difficult to make a profit because it is difficult to receive PPL (indirect advertisement).

An official of a terrestrial broadcaster said, “Unlike the past, even if you are guaranteed prime time on terrestrial broadcasts, you cannot guarantee viewer ratings, and it is disadvantageous in terms of advertising revenue, but it is difficult to pour tens of billions of dollars into historical dramas.”

There is also a problem that casting is not easy because popular actors have expressed difficulty in appearing in Daeha historical dramas. Although the production period is long, the appearance fee is said to be lower than that of regular miniseries. Kim Young-cheol, who played the role of Gung Ye in the past’Taejo Wang-Geon’, said, “For two years or so, I couldn’t dream of other activities and I had to focus on’Taejo Wang-Geon’.”

Here, unlike normal acting, you have to learn the vocalization and breathing called’Sageuktone’, and the actress suffers from’false phobia’. Gachae is an accessory worn by a high-ranking woman on her head to show her dignity and weighs several kg. In an interview in the past, Mr. Jong-ok Bae said in an interview, “If you put Gacha on your head and shoot for several hours, it seems like you are living with an elementary school student on your head. As if you have a cramp on your head, it’s aching. I have never said that I have no pain. It is said that there are even cases of hair loss.

Netflix’s influence is also a factor that turns his attention to the trendy faction-type historical drama rather than the epic historical drama. They prefer materials that shorten their breath while lowering cultural barriers. ‘Kingdom’, which received explosive reactions with zombie objects set in Joseon, is a representative example.
Ha Jae-geun, a popular culture critic, said, “In order for Korean-style materials, not English culture, to be competitive, it is better to tell a universal story that has few lines and can be understood by anyone. Producers will have no choice but to be interested in that direction.” It is said that it is difficult to gain attention only with stories of history that are familiar to Koreans.

Nevertheless, the opinion that an orthodox scholarly drama is necessary is not easy.
This is because the traditional historical drama itself is not only valuable, but can also act as a’balancer’ against the distorted perceptions of the history that have been created as the recent faction-oriented historical dramas are being woven.
In that sense, there is a high voice that emphasizes the role of KBS. In the case of NHK, a Japanese public broadcaster, it has been leading a great historical drama for over 50 years, and even recently, the 44-part series’The Kirin is Coming’, which deals with the Sengoku period, has still succeeded in attracting interest and popularity.
Popular culture critic Chung Deok-Hyun said, “KBS does not have to compete by creating a trending faction historical drama like other broadcasts such as tvN. KBS, rather, boldly produces large historical dramas that other broadcasters cannot do, and the public broadcaster’s You have to tell the value,” he said.

There is an atmosphere within KBS that sympathizes with this point. In particular, the president Yang Seung-dong, who had promoted the resurgence of a great historical drama from the beginning of his inauguration, made this year its first year. However, as a result of internal review, it is hard to gain momentum from the expectation that it will take about 100 billion won in budget to create a great drama (100 episodes). A KBS official said, “Since the deficit is accumulating every year, we are only reviewing it.”

Reporter Yoo Seong-woon [email protected]