Confucian heroes in popular Asian dramasMoral high ground in metropolises
Capitalism and Confucianism share an important characteristic: a select few have power over the
masses. This situation breeds elitism and creates tensions between a public desire for inspirational
role models and a postmodern egalitarian concern for injustice. To cast the monopoly of power
in the best light, popular dramas produce a social war between the leaders in which the good
ultimately take down the bad. But the strengths of these male heroes come as much from within
as from without, especially the urban space that gives them a symbolic platform to stage their
moral high ground and launch their rescue missions. A brief summary of the stories will help
explain such narrative attractions.
My Love from the Star describes a male alien with supernatural powers who arrived on earth
four hundred years earlier during the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897) and rescued a teenaged
Korean girl betrothed to an unsavory character. Fast forwarding to 2013, the alien Do Min-joon
is now a college professor of biology who incidentally lives in the same apartment building as a
popular actress Cheon Song-yi (Jun Ji-hyun) who seems to be the reincarnation of the teenaged
girl whom Do Min-joon first encountered on the new planet. Love sparks and complications
ensue. Do Min-joon ultimately becomes an Asian version of a Marvel superhero, chasing away
demonic powers to restore order to society.^18
In comparison, Hanzawa Naoki has no romantic entanglement and reveals, instead, a business
climate of backdoor wheeling and dealing that celebrates the tenacity of a young, revenge-
driven banker Hanzawa Naoki (Masato Sakai), who grieves the suicide of his father after a failed
bank loan. With superhuman grit and intelligence, Naoki identifies and exposes corrupt bankers’
schemes of money laundering that exploit law-abiding citizens like his father. At the end, Naoki
overcomes the malice of his backstabbing boss Asano (Kanji Ishimaru) and completes his cycle
of vengeance by bringing Director Akira Ohwada (Teruyuki Kagawa) to his knees at a board
meeting.
Celebrating fantasies about trans-planetary love, no-holds-barred vindication and resource-
ful heroes, these stories take place only in metropolises (Seoul, Osaka, and Tokyo) for good
reasons.^19 High population density creates ideal local audiences, drawn to the sights and
sounds of shows that transform their everyday lived space into a star-strutting stage. Equally
appealing is the appearance of a good life. Dotting the cityscape are designer stores, expen-
sive restaurants, luxurious apartments, and attractive people, making TV watching an aspiring
activity for housewives, retirees, blue-collar workers, students and teachers who want to be
there and be “them.”
More symbolically, perhaps, is that creators of these shows harness the urban contrast of
highs and lows by perfecting an aesthetic strategy, which consistently places heroes on an
elevated ground to literalize their superior moral standing. This symbolic motif takes place
in many recurring scenes. In My Love from the Star, the most important mise-en-scène is the
two adjacent apartments that connect the lives of the two protagonists Min-joon and Song-yi.
Living in a soaring building with a spectacular view of Seoul, they share a favorite pastime of
standing on the balcony to survey the sea of humanity below (Figure 7b.1). As the still shows,
their exclusive position gives them unfettered access to information about the world and a
person’s every action, seen through a magnified glass, taking hold of the imagination. Although
Song-yi is about to fall from grace and her billboard image, looking back at them from the
distance, will soon be replaced by another star, Min-joon is nonetheless able to single-handedly
change the public perception of truth by making others see and agree with his perspective.
His spatial elevation in the city is therefore indicative of a panoramic clairvoyance that sets him
above the masses.