Clarification of how R rated shows work with TV & OTT

 renmilktoast:

PS. Sorry for adding to an already shamefully long reply lol, but I missed this and I wanted to mention, I think this point is totally valid and in my own defense, I'm sure there are plenty of Koreans who that type of content appeals to and I've never doubted it. If that came across in any of my comments, it wasn't intended. I just didn't want to see people (not referring to you) discounting the fact that some more conservative-leaning concepts like modesty and purity are historically Korean (Confucianist) ideals and that some Korean people probably still retain those ideals, and this could have possibly impacted their television as much as censorship laws.

Oh undoubtedly, at the risk of getting off topic laws are often a reflection of society at the moment of time and place (pardon me while I brush off my sociology degree). But censorship laws being a byproduct of society (or at least those in the majority/positions of power) isn't really the issue. 

We need only look at manhwa or film to see that R rated material is plentiful there (The Handmaiden comes immediately to mind). Not to mention Korean erotica and pornography. So the fact that television in particular doesn't showcase those things but other media does tells us a) there's an audience  for it and b) there are creators making it, irrespective  of a western audience. So we can assume that television is spared because of the regulations in place. And with OTT platforms allowing creators to circumvent broadcast standards that opens up a whole new realm for dramas that print and film have already existed in for decades.

 Ivy:

But censorship laws being a byproduct of society

Maybe I wasn't clear enough, sorry about that, my main point wasn't that censorship laws are a byproduct of society. They most likely are, but my point was that in some cases, there is an influence in addition to censorship laws. Cases in which certain ideals or values, possibly left over from Korea's own history or culture, could be influencing the content displayed in a drama even regardless of the laws, if that makes sense.

 Ivy:

So we can assume that television is spared because of the regulations in place.

This is also a valid point and I'm sure it's definitely the case in some dramas. In fact, I'd be inclined to believe it especially about dramas like It's Okay to Not Be Okay, Lawless Lawyer, or Tale of the Nine Tailed, for example.

Inversely, dramas where I think it was more the creative vision (and maybe values, who knows) of the creators to leave out sexual content are dramas like Soul Mechanic or My Mister or My Perfect Stranger, to name a few. While watching those dramas, it just felt clear to me that the creators didn't feel sex was important to the story they were telling, or possibly even wanted to leave it out for some reason. Namely because there are many ways they could have included sexual content that was not explicit and therefore wasn't in contradiction with the censorship laws, but they simply... didn't. There are even dramas that went out of their way to imply something sexual didn't happen, again when censorship laws did not demand that.

But in the end, we'll never know the intentions and inner thoughts of those creators, so I can't prove it.

(I apologize that all this is really not eloquent, it's getting late and my mind is failing me lol.)

 renmilktoast:

Namely because there are many ways they could have included sexual content that was not explicit and therefore wasn't in contradiction with the censorship laws, but they simply... didn't. There are even dramas that went out of their way to imply something sexual didn't happen, again when censorship laws did not demand that.

It's really two separate things. No one is saying dramas without sexual content only exist because censorship wouldn't allow them to be sexy. There are plenty of family friend dramas that would exist without or without censorship. Not everything has or will contain sexual content (and we know this because broadcast standards vary greatly world wide and we aren't lacking in G rated material).

The point is that dramas with sexual content aren't on Korean television, in part, because of censorship. Those other dramas would still exist, creators are still going to create non-romance, non-sexy dramas. Its just the one that do want to create sexier dramas can't air them on television or if they want them on tv they have to fit regulations. 

Pointing out broadcast regulations in television was to make the point that kdramas are expanding to new platforms with less regulations, meaning a wider variety of storytelling - some of which is sexually explicit. Part of that might be because of western influence or even for a western audience but it's not the sole cause as some in the comments have argued. 

I don't particularly like gore, and when shows started going to Netflix they started getting really graphically gory because they could now without television regulations in the way. But not all shows went that route and I learned to avoid the ones I didn't like and to expect more graphic levels of violence on Netflix than I would find on tv. The same is happening with sexual content. But I mean these broadcast standards evolve as well, and media with them. Television 25 years ago isn't the same as today, that's all just part of the process. 

Have we gotten off topic? :D

 Ivy:

There is a subset of very conservative sexist fans on this site in particular that loudly proclaims that a) any sexual content coming up in Korean drama is only the result of Western influence, full stop. b) that any sexual content is irrelevant, unnecessary and should be censored (because all media should meet their tastes) and c) assumes kdramas to be a bastion of purity against the evils of western society, like sex and feminism. Basically they view Korean media as parroting their conservative values and are Big Mad that kdramas are daring to evolve. (and part of that evolution is OTT streaming platforms)

And we've seen these people go after dramas that don't have explicit content like The Atypical Family and No Gain, No Love simply because the FL is known to have had sex with more than one partner

If these people were as loud regarding the objectification of Korean actors, that always have to look in good shape for a shirtless or shower scene that is like mandatory in almost every single drama that is aired on TV (if it's a man it's okay to show his body naked apparently), they could be understood. But enjoying your favourites actors naked scenes to then scream "porn" because a woman is also naked or the scenes are a little bit more explicit is hypocritical.
It's a good thing that the audience of Japanese dramas are more mature otherwise it would be impossible with these people.

"...all my favorite Korean dramas were both sex-free AND feminist."

That sounds right up my alley! Can you give me a list please 🙏  and thankyou.

 Toot:

"...all my favorite Korean dramas were both sex-free AND feminist."

That sounds right up my alley! Can you give me a list please ? and thankyou.

For starters here is a slightly outdated list of my all-time favorite Asian dramas (all but one of them are K-dramas) and I felt like all the female leads in them were strong and opinionated and not at all the gross trope about Asian women.

Worth noting that several of the romances here (Are You Human Too and Extraordinary You to be precise) failed later on in the writing of the female leads (in my opinion). But they did start out very strong and feisty in the beginning, to the point where they are on my list of favorite FLs. Even though I felt like the writers didn't stick the landing, I still love them.

I can't quote on mobile. I definitely didn't mean to suggest you don't belong or your comments aren't welcome, just that the original post and conversation were aimed at another group of people.