As we are forced to quarantine inside our homes for a longer period of time, my time spent on Youtube has also increased dramatically as well. There is a show called We Got Married that I have not watched in a very long time, however, it started to pop back up on my feed, so I recently got back into it. We Got Married was a South Korean reality variety show that aired on MCB from 2008 to 2017. The show paired up celebrities who pretended to be married couples and completed various challenges together. Although this show is simply supposed to be light and romantic tv show for teenagers, I thought it revealed a great deal of Korean culture and differences in tv show standards between Korea and the United States.
First of all, the main difference between Korean and American reality shows is their level of provocativeness. In We Got Married, it is quite “PG” and very “cute” with many adorable gestures and words. For example, a gesture in which the male lead pats the girl’s head is illustrated as overly romantic and suitable for their audiences to see. Also, cursing is not allowed on any Korean tv shows. However, when I see American reality tv shows like Love is Blind and Too Hot to Handle, it is very different on what is deemed acceptable to air on national tv. On shows like these, people talk about sex and relationships very openly and swear occasionally as well, which is not something you will find on Korean tv shows. In shows like We Got Married, it is almost like a forbidden word in which no one can ever speak of. However, on a show like Love is Blind, it is basically about a show in which singles try to find a match and fall in love -- without ever seeing each other face-to-face, as emotional connection attempts to conquer physical attraction. Too Hot to Handle is about singles who meet and mingle for a chance to win $100,000 but they must not have any sexual intercourse with each other. Korean and American reality tv shows are polar opposites of each other.
These shows also directly translate back to different celebrity dating cultures in Korea and the U.S. In Korea, dating between celebrities is something that is very controversial and it is very rare that couples willingly reveal their relationship to the public. If they do, it is very likely that they will receive heavy negative backlash from their fans and their entertainment companies. If they break up, it reflects even more badly on them and sometimes these things even end their careers. However in the United States, celebrities come out with their relationships very openly and even show public display of affection. Many times, no one actually even cares about their relationship and it is not considered a very big deal. In this manner, one can really see the different cultural aspects in these two countries’ dating life.
Comments
I think your post is really interesting! I watched "we got married" a few years ago and I truly believed that one of them is really. However, it turned out that their love only exists in my imagination. After that, I have never watched them again. To be honest, it sets some unreally and imaginary examples for younger generation who does not have relationship experience.
Amazing post! Korean and American shows are really different. It is true that Korean shows really prohibit any usage of cursed words. However, there are shows that aren't quite PG and joke about "adult" things like 마녀사냥 and Saturday Night Live. Of course with many k-pop idols entering these cutesy shows like "We got married", it definitely is for a different target and purpose.
Thanks for your post! I quite agree with the differences you mentioned between Korean and American love reality shows. I watched "love is blind" not long ago and I watched "we got married" a few years ago. Reality shows in South Korea only show sweet love to the audience, and maybe because of the reason that stars and idols participate in it, they only focus on the beauty of love.
Hey Vivian, thanks for sharing this. I have never watched any shows like this, either Korean or American. I found the difference in the shows interesting, as well as different attitudes celebrities have towards an open relationship in different countries. The only "variety couple" I knew was Monday couple, but we know how it ended lol.
Yes! These cultural differences have always stood out to me as I've watched Korean reality shows growing up. The chemistry of the couples was always overwhelmingly cute and not at all provocative compared to American tv shows. The level of censorship was very obvious, but it was still very enjoyable and entertaining. But what always confused me was the label of 'scandal' any time two Korean celebrities were possibly seen holding hands. I still think the restrictions on dating are a bit extreme, but I realize the Korean entertainment industry has different goals and a different image than the American entertainment industry. There are a lot more groups than solo artists in Korea, where it is the opposite in the US. To keep every member whole-heartedly committed to the group, their personal lives take a huge toll. In the US, artists have a lot more freedom to just do whatever as long as they keep releasing music.