Posts tagged ramen
Kpop Reality Check
" I think it's so cool how you are able to see the good AND the bad of kpop and how you're letting everyone know in a funny yet mature way. " - tou403
Kpop Reality Check: 17. Why is Ramen such a dominant motif in Boys Over Flowers?
Motif: is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative (or literary) aspects such as theme or mood.
We’ve all seen Boys Over Flowers, we all laughed, cried, felt pissed off and basically went on a roller…
Awesome article! I remember when watching the Banjun dramas how often they would eat Pizza and that’s cos they were sponsored by Dominos - not something you always know unless you see the credits and listings at the end of an episode which I don’t on a lot of occasions. I often wonder how many social ideals are engineered into dramas along with the advertising and how many political points. By the time I had finished watching ‘Dr. Champ’ i was able to say ‘Korean beef/pork is better than foreign beef/pork, its more tender and has a better flavour, Its cheaper too, and better for the economy’ I swear every character said at least once in the drama that as they were always sitting down to eat meat. as soon as anyone commented on how nice the meat was the cook would say ‘that’s because I use domestic… etc etc’
Hello! I’ve actually replied to this via your formspring but i’ve checked that and i’m going to assume that your not active on that so i thought i’d take the opportunity to talk to you here instead after the last CF post. When i just read your comment i sat with a dopey grin on my face thinking “Yes, someone gets it!” I checked out the Banjun dramas after you mentioned it and found out Rain was in one of the episodes… at pizza hut XD lol :D
“ I often wonder how many social ideals are engineered into dramas along with the advertising and how many political points.” You could not have put together a sentence any more perfect. Considering the dramas are created for Koreans first and foremost it’s primarily going to have Korean social values and their politics. I think that’s amazing that they had that ‘meat one liner’ so often in that drama, whether it was part of the storyline or if there was a meat brand sponsor i don’t know but it’s abit condescending. Which sorts of challenges that if they know they have an audience outside of Korea, would they be deliberately saying that line? I guess they are taking advantaged of the Korean wave, i mean i bet their tourism is booming but that’s because kpop fans have perceived Korea to be this euphoria. ANYWHO, there are so many gender stereotypes and Korean ideals in dramas it drives me nuts sometimes (in a good analytical though provoking way lol). There is an obvious inequality value that still exists in korea especially since it’s represented in the media. I mean the latest was Hyuna with her banned bubble pop dance for being sexually provocative but it’s socially acceptable for men to walk around half naked. I’m rambling on aswell! Perhaps i should make an actual post instead of rambling to you (sorry :D).
Anywho, please continue to write your comments, i really appreciate your opinion because they’re really rich and thought provoking. Not only that i don’t know everything and it’s great to get some perspective. Thanks heaps :D (I hope you don’t mind me reblogging.)
Kdramas are at times like hour long promos for products, music and social values. The scary thing is, how many people might think life in Korea is like this. I certainly don’t judge Western TV as indicative of our culture and attitudes so I don’t do it to Korean ones, but there will be a lot of people out there who get fooled into thinking this way and have a pretty nasty culture shock over it all.
Phones, sportswear, food, music, jewellery, toys… its in every drama. Look at ‘You’re beautiful’ and the merchandise from that - the pig-rabbit, the hair bow. Whilst they were relevant to the story you do wonder to what extent things get engineered into the drama as a way of providing funding to make it in the first place. IRIS was even worse with merchandising, though even I got keen on having the USB that looked like a cross (but then I’m a bit of a tech head and i love sneaky USB designs).
There will be a saturation point one day and the initial fall out from it it won’t be pretty.
:D Wow that’s so true!
I’ve never said it but i personally felt Dream High was a big puff promo piece for the korean music industry. Not only did you have idols as actresses (with three of them belonging to JYP with the human JYP in it aswell trololol) but take that away and what do you have left? A narrative about rookies training in an arts high school to debut to fame and fortune. WHAT IS THIS I CAN’T EVEN? *jaw drops*
I completely agree with what you said about the merchandise, products and services and even tourist destinations are engineered into the construction of a drama. It’s as if those are the foundations and a narrative and creativity is weaved between them.
For example, Boys over Flowers and Shinhwa corp. I looked it up, :O it exists! Although i’m not too entirely sure if it was affiliated with the drama, i’m going to assume that it isn’t a coincidence, the logo and brand name was dropped so frequently. It was even represented as prestigious in the drama however as corrupt so i’m not to sure what (IF THERE WAS EVEN TO BEGIN WITH) their intention.
I have to admit though, i’m guilty as it has worked on me and it will work again. I have looked up on ebay where i could get the knitted headband Kim Tae Hee wears in My Princess and I have looked up the Boys Over Flowers necklace.
Kpop Reality Check: 17. Why is Ramen such a dominant motif in Boys Over Flowers?
Motif: is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative (or literary) aspects such as theme or mood.
We’ve all seen Boys Over Flowers, we all laughed, cried, felt pissed off and basically went on a roller…
Awesome article! I remember when watching the Banjun dramas how often they would eat Pizza and that’s cos they were sponsored by Dominos - not something you always know unless you see the credits and listings at the end of an episode which I don’t on a lot of occasions. I often wonder how many social ideals are engineered into dramas along with the advertising and how many political points. By the time I had finished watching ‘Dr. Champ’ i was able to say ‘Korean beef/pork is better than foreign beef/pork, its more tender and has a better flavour, Its cheaper too, and better for the economy’ I swear every character said at least once in the drama that as they were always sitting down to eat meat. as soon as anyone commented on how nice the meat was the cook would say ‘that’s because I use domestic… etc etc’
Hello! I’ve actually replied to this via your formspring but i’ve checked that and i’m going to assume that your not active on that so i thought i’d take the opportunity to talk to you here instead after the last CF post. When i just read your comment i sat with a dopey grin on my face thinking “Yes, someone gets it!” I checked out the Banjun dramas after you mentioned it and found out Rain was in one of the episodes… at pizza hut XD lol :D
“ I often wonder how many social ideals are engineered into dramas along with the advertising and how many political points.” You could not have put together a sentence any more perfect. Considering the dramas are created for Koreans first and foremost it’s primarily going to have Korean social values and their politics. I think that’s amazing that they had that ‘meat one liner’ so often in that drama, whether it was part of the storyline or if there was a meat brand sponsor i don’t know but it’s abit condescending. Which sorts of challenges that if they know they have an audience outside of Korea, would they be deliberately saying that line? I guess they are taking advantaged of the Korean wave, i mean i bet their tourism is booming but that’s because kpop fans have perceived Korea to be this euphoria. ANYWHO, there are so many gender stereotypes and Korean ideals in dramas it drives me nuts sometimes (in a good analytical though provoking way lol). There is an obvious inequality value that still exists in korea especially since it’s represented in the media. I mean the latest was Hyuna with her banned bubble pop dance for being sexually provocative but it’s socially acceptable for men to walk around half naked. I’m rambling on aswell! Perhaps i should make an actual post instead of rambling to you (sorry :D).
Anywho, please continue to write your comments, i really appreciate your opinion because they’re really rich and thought provoking. Not only that i don’t know everything and it’s great to get some perspective. Thanks heaps :D (I hope you don’t mind me reblogging.)
17. Why is Ramen such a dominant motif in Boys Over Flowers?
Motif: is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative (or literary) aspects such as theme or mood.
We’ve all seen Boys Over Flowers, we all laughed, cried, felt pissed off and basically went on a roller coaster full of emotions. Despite this drama being a couple of years old, recently when i was re watching it on my holidays I couldn’t help but notice a motif that appeared artificial, somewhat forced and appeared irrelevant to the overall plot. This motif was ramen noodles.
I suddenly realised it was the source of why i was craving noodles almost everytime i watched BOF. Coincidence? I think not. It turns out that Nong Shim is one of the sponsors for the television show. Nong Shim is a popular food manufacturer specializing in instant noodles and snacks… yes we have a winner, they’re also the people who own Shim Ramyun noodles which are seen in BOF.
Okay sure, sponsors are sort of the helping hands of the production of a drama. It is a solid foundation provided with financial security and supports the creation of the media text. (Sponsors give money to assist people to make the drama eg sets, locations, costumes, casting) I respect sponsors, i really do but the way in which their product was marketed and advertised WAS NOT SUBTLE AT ALL.
I felt that the target audience was undermined especially since it was aimed at young people, assuming that the youth wouldn’t recognise the underlying tones of advertisements or that they would be naive enough to buy into it.
The norm was that sponsors often played their advertisements during “ADVERTISEMENTS/BREAK TIME” while on broadcasting television. It was not until the late century that audiences were able to recognise the structure and purpose of advertisements therefore they would ‘mentally switch off’ or realise that they’re being persuaded to purchase a product. This lead to sponsored products to actually appear in media texts and be camouflaged in a way that is so transparent that audiences would not even realise that they’re consuming an advertisement. This is called product placement.
Product placement, or embedded marketing,is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs.
I admit sponsored products are everywhere in media texts nowadays and it’s not just BOF but in Western cinema aswell. (BACK TO THE FUTURE where McFly wears Calvin Klein underwear and his name is thought to be Calvin Klein.)
The least they could do is be subtle with the presentation of their products, there is nothing worse as an audience member to realise and have an “I see what you did there” moment. The worst thing of all was to realise that the way they marketed the product had worked on me - hellooo i was craving noodles.
It amazes me that ramen had made several cameos and it even pushed the boundaries to become apart of the storyline and apart of the dialogue. They specifically go out for ramen, they walk past it in the supermarkets, Jan Di eats the creeper model dudes ramen when shes sniffing around at school, Gu Jun Pyo has a breakdown after not being able to cook ramen, Jan Di eats ramen when she her own apartment, Gu Jun Pyo greedily eats all of Jan Di and her dongsaengs ramen after starving, Gu Jun Pyo requests Jan Di to make him a big bowl of ramen and gets upset when she doesn’t bring him a lid…. you guys get the point, so basically they eat ALOT of ramen.
Sure you could easily argue that ramen was symbolic and reflective of one’s disposable income, that those who couldn’t afford fine dining ate ramen therefore Jan Di always ate it and when Jun Pyo moved out he ate it. They might be the case or simply it’s product placement. Especially the amount of times it appeared and that Nong Shim was a sponsor cannot just be a coincidence.
Now you might think i’m nit picking but there were plenty of other product placements by other sponsors in BOF, such as samsung any call phones, costumes, locations… CARS!!! Now here’s another one for BOF fans, after realising that noodles appear frequently in the drama, isn’t it abit fishy and suspicious that in Episode 19 there is a plot line that leads to nowhere? Kangsan whose Jan Di’s younger brother conveniently craves pizza. Which is totally random and is completely irrelevant to the plot line, sure it shows Jun Pyo appears to be generous by delivering a truck load of Pizzas but it also gives Domino’s Pizza a whole heap of product placement and advertising…. coincidence? I think not.
Disclaimer: This is my opinion. I do not own any of the images, they are just screen caps. If you don’t agree, then we can all agree to disagree.
Note: Hey guys, i haven’t wrote a piece about Advertisements for awhile and this has been in the back of my head for some time now so thought i’d share it with you guys! Took me a good hour to do this post because of all the screen caps XD Please rate it (like it) or message me feedback or suggestions would be great guys !! Would you like more analysis of dramas, films similar to the post? Last of all, WHAT IS YOUR OPINION? Put it in the answer box! Thanks guys, hope you have a good one!
