882530

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MIA0010.1177/1329878X19882530Media International AustraliaShao

Article

Media International Australia

The returning of Hallyu in 2020, Vol. 175(1) 79­–92

© The Author(s) 2019
Article reuse guidelines:
China: transnational reception sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1329878X19882530
https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X19882530
of the Korean drama My Love journals.sagepub.com/home/mia

from the Star

Lingwei Shao
Zhejiang University, P.R. China

Abstract
My Love from the Star, the hit Korean drama has led to the revival of the Hallyu boom in China
in 2013. After conducting a textual analysis of 100 reviews on Douban, the results of this study
indicate that urban middle class audiences in China are attracted by the beauty of the actors and
the conservative romantic storyline, and admire individual pursuits of free love and career success
depicted in the drama. However, they are dissatisfied with the stereotypical gender relations and
criticize the drama’s aim of securing the submission of women to male domination. The results
illustrate that cultural proximity is not only related to the audiences’ cultural background, but
also determined by the social class and lived experiences. As the major consumers of Hallyu 2.0
have switched to the open-minded young generation, the production of Korean dramas which
maintains the traditional patriarchal ideologies is facing challenges ahead.

Keywords
Chinese audience, cultural proximity, Korean wave, My Love from the Star, television drama,
transnational reception

Introduction
In recent decades, new centers of media and cultural production have emerged in the developing
world and started to challenge the established scenarios of media imperialism. South Korea (Korea
hereafter) is a new exporter of entertainment products including film, television drama, popular
music, and online games in Asia (Thussu, 2007). In the early 21st century, Korean television dra-
mas such as Autumn in My Heart, Winter Sonata, Jewel in the Palace, and Full House became
extremely popular in China. The term, ‘Korean Wave’ or ‘Hallyu’, has been used to describe this
fad that sweeps across the country (Hanaki et al., 2007).

Corresponding author:
Lingwei Shao, Zhejiang University, 148 Tianmushan Road, Hangzhou 310028, Zhejiang, P.R. China.
Email: [email protected]
80 Media International Australia 175(1)

The following years witnessed the popularity and the resentment of Hallyu in China. Meanwhile,
the Korean drama industry has gone through steady changes. Aired in December 2013, My Love
from the Star, which features the story of an alien who landed on Earth 400 years ago in the Joseon
dynasty and then fell in love with a top actress in the modern era, achieved an average viewership
of 25% in Korea (Ock, 2014). Besides the high viewership ratings in Korea, My Love from the Star
became one of the most viewed dramas on the Internet in China. On Chinese streaming platform
iQiyi alone, it was streamed more than 14.5 billion times during the drama’s initial run, breaking
the rating record of all Korean dramas (Lin, 2014). My Love from the Star aroused heated discus-
sions on Chinese media coverage and social media sites. Fried chicken and beer, the favorite snack
of the female protagonist in the drama, became a trend in China. Even the Chinese government
officials were aware of the craze the drama has created in China and discussed the Korean Wave
splash in the National People’s Congress in 2014 (Wan, 2014). The phenomenal success of My
Love from the Star leads to a new Hallyu boom. By analyzing the reviews on Douban.com, a major
media review site in China, this study examines Chinese audiences’ reception of the drama and
centers on the leading research question: To what extent do Chinese audiences like the drama My
Love from the Star?

Inter-Asian media flows and the rising of Korean popular culture

In the 1960s and 1970s, the rest of the world heavily depended on media products from the United
States and other major Western countries. This uneven, one-way flow was identified by scholars
and aroused various debates over media imperialism (Schiller, 1976; Tunstall, 1977). The embed-
ded ideologies and values in the media products may lead to cultural hegemony and threat to local
culture and identity of receiving countries (Chadha and Kavoori, 2015; Gramsci, 1971). Thanks to
the rapid technological development and opening up of economies since the 1990s, the media
market in East Asia has rapidly expanded (Iwabuchi, 2007; Sinclair et al., 1996). Close partner-
ships among the Asian countries have been formed and regionalized media flows are visible (Chua,
2004). Japan is one of the first major players in the inter-Asian flow. Japanese popular culture such
as television dramas, pop music, and fashion magazines have been widely consumed in Asia
(Iwabuchi, 2002). However, anti-Japanese sentiment soon appeared in the region due to Japan’s
colonial experience (Jung, 2009). Korea, then, has emerged as a new center for cultural produc-
tions. The popularity of Korean pop music, films, online games, and television dramas leads to the
rise of a Korean Wave and becomes widespread across Asia (Kim, 2007). Prior to this boom, Korea
was a recipient of foreign culture rather than a producer with export capacity (Kim, 2014). Similar
to the rest of the world, the influence of American culture has been dominant in the Korean society.
Hollywood films and American television dramas presented as examples for the Korean entertain-
ment industry (Kuwahara, 2014). Japan is another major source of Korea’s cultural influence. The
Korean television industry retained the elements of the Japanese television series by producing
plenty of dramas that depicted the fashionable lifestyles of trendy young urbanities (Kim, 2014).
There were numerous similarities between Korean and Japanese dramas in terms of characters,
settings, plots, and narratives at an early stage (Kim, 2014). In fact, the popularity of Japanese
popular culture paved the way for the introduction of Korean popular culture. As Kim (2014)
argued, where there is now a Korean Wave, there was previously a Japanese cultural fever.
Cultural proximity is one of the main reasons for the success of Korean television dramas in
East Asia. The argument of cultural proximity claims that audiences prefer television programs tied
to local and national cultures (Straubhaar, 1991, 2007). When national programs are not available,
the audiences tend to choose television programs close to their own culture (La Pastina and
Straubhaar, 2005). Korean television dramas depict life and struggles in a developing and changing
Shao 81

society, but yet at the same time the dramas have been produced to appeal to conventional Confucian
values. Several studies (Ainslie, 2016; Jeong et al., 2017; Kim, 2017) have demonstrated that when
local media productions fail to respond to the changing socio-economic status and desire of the
people, the audiences refer to Korean dramas which represent the beautiful urban environment and
aestheticized lifestyles of the modern Asia. However, the themes and values of Korean dramas are
far more than urbanity and social modernity. The Korean dramas embrace the virtues of Confucian
values as well. The stories usually place emphasis on familial relationship, filial piety, and sibling
love (Kim, 2017). Meanwhile, the love relations in the dramas are very ‘simple’ and ‘pure’. Instead
of intimate shots, the love in the stories is shown in a more tender, significant, and emotional way
(Kim, 2017; Lin and Tong, 2008).
As stated, Korean dramas depict modern life against the backdrop of a conventional Confucian
values, and in this way they satisfy what scholars (Jin and Yoon, 2017; Shim, 2006) have identified
as cultural hybridity. Korean popular culture holds an ‘in-between stance’ which integrates ele-
ments of both Western modernity and Asian tradition (Ryoo, 2009). The hybrid nature of Korean
dramas perfectly matches the social, economic, and cultural background of the audiences in the
region. The consumers of Korean trendy dramas are primarily youth and women of the middle
class in urban cities, and their experience in everyday life is locally situated but globally connected
(Kim, 2013; Won, 2015). They have grown up much exposed to Western cultures and lifestyles but
are still tied to local settings of filial piety, modesty, and domesticity. In this respect, the Korean
dramas that feature the stories of city youngsters would resonate with the real-life experiences of
their corresponding audiences.

The Korean wave in China

The Korean Wave took root in China in the late 1990s. What is Love All About?, which was broad-
cast regionally by China Central Television (CCTV) in 1997, became the first hit Korean drama
(Shim, 2006). Chinese media used the term ‘Hallyu’ to describe Chinese youth’s sudden craziness
for Korean cultural products (Kim, 2013). Since then, a large number of Korean dramas were
imported to China. In 2002, 67 Korean dramas were shown across the country, among which,
Autumn Tales was broadcast simultaneously on 21 local television channels, and the number of
imported Korean dramas reached 107 in 2004, causing Hallyu to pick up speed (Hwang and
Epstein, 2016).
Korean dramas attract Chinese buyers for several reasons. As the Chinese government attempted
to protect its social ideology and national identity, the lens of Confucianism in the Korean dramas
fit into the government’s goal (Hwang and Epstein, 2016). The values delivered by Korean dramas
help the Chinese government to maintain its political stability and social unity. In addition to cul-
tural proximity, the cheap price of Korean dramas is an important factor. The quality of Korean
programs is almost as good as that of Japanese equivalents, but the cost is far less (Jin, 2016).
Therefore, Korean dramas are regarded as a cheap alternative to expensive Japanese productions
(Joo, 2011). In addition, Korea has experienced industrialization and urbanization one step ahead
of China, and the glamorous cosmopolitan lifestyles presented in the dramas are always welcomed
by Chinese fans (Hwang and Epstein, 2016).
Shortly after the Korean Wave reached its peak in China owing to the broadcast of Jewel in the
Palace in 2005, anti-Hallyu sentiment began to emerge (Chen, 2017). It is widely believed that the
Korean cultural products overwhelm the local market and is constructing a regional hegemony to
some extent (Nye and Kim, 2013). The anti-Hallyu arguments called for a check against the reck-
less spread of Korean pop culture within Chinese society as well. The Chinese government per-
ceived Korean cultural products as a threat, fearing that the Korean Wave was encroaching upon
82 Media International Australia 175(1)

its local culture (Hwang and Epstein, 2016). Consequently, the government strictly regulated every
aspect of imported dramas, and the number of import permits issued for Korean dramas dropped
sharply since 2006 (Chen, 2017).
Social and digital media contribute to the revival of the popularity of Korean dramas. Jin (2016)
argued that the growth of the Korean Wave entered the Hallyu 2.0 (New Korean Wave) era from
2008. The key feature of Hallyu 2.0 is the swift advance of social media which facilitates the access
for fans around the world to enjoy K-pop, video games, television programs, and films (Jin and
Yoon, 2017). For Chinese audiences, although the government strengthened regulations on the
imported dramas broadcast by official television channels, they have alternatives to watch Korean
dramas on the Internet. Online streaming video websites such as Youku, Tudou, iQiyi, and Tencent
Video have acquired the rights to several Korean dramas and can offer Chinese viewers a simulta-
neous broadcast with Chinese subtitles (Hu, 2017).
My Love from the Star first became popular in China on the Internet. iQiyi bought exclusive
Chinese rights to the drama and it was streamed more than 23 million times within 2 weeks since
its premiere in December 2013 (iQiyi, 2013). It was not until 2016, 2 years after the original release
on Chinese online platform, that My Love from the Star finally got the permission to be aired on
Anhui Television, a regional television station in China (Sina, 2016). Yet, due to the state regula-
tions, the drama has to be re-edited and is only allowed to be broadcast after 10 p.m. in order to
avoid prime-time schedules.

Chinese audiences and Korean drama consumption

Audiences play an active role in selecting media inputs and interpreting television programs, chal-
lenging the traditional argument of media imperialism. After analyzing the media consumption in
Latin America, Straubhaar (1991) found that the audiences are seeking greater cultural relevance
or proximity from both national and regional television programs. Hall (1980) argued that the audi-
ences have diversified interpretations of the media content and may decode any given message in
a way which complies with or contradicts the producers’ intentions. The processes of interpretation
and meaning-making is influenced by the audiences’ ethnic, social, and cultural backgrounds
(Athique, 2014; Liebes and Katz, 1990).
Studies (Ahn, 2014; Oh, 2009; Yang, 2012) have shown that urban middle class women are the
main audiences of Hallyu products in China. The rapid economic growth and drastic social change
during the 1980s and 1990s lead to the rise of a new wealthy class in China’s cities (Buckley,
1999). The ‘new rich’ in urban China have the economic capacity and psychological need to con-
struct and live a middle class lifestyle of economic prosperity, comfort, a keen interest in fashion,
and material and spiritual enjoyment (Buckley, 1999; Fung and Ma, 2002; Jiang and Leung, 2012).
The emerging urban middle class started to embrace the values of consumerism, individualism,
and self-realization (Zhang, 2010). Men aim to make money and possess desirable material goods.
For women, there is a growing, intense interest in improving body image and self-confidence.
Therefore, media contents, such as Korean dramas, containing images of modern lifestyles, beauty,
and success would easily attract middle class audiences (Xu, 2007).
Several empirical studies indicated that Korean dramas model and maintain cosmopolitan city
lifestyles to which Chinese audiences aspire and are eager to catch up with. For example, Yang
(2012) argued that young urban middle class audiences in China found Korean dramas represent
the latest fashion or the most advanced style that they are keen to emulate and consume. Similarly,
Lin and Tong (2008) reported that female viewers in Hong Kong generally expressed positive
attitudes toward the modern city life, consumption patterns, and individual pursuits of free love
portrayed in Korean dramas through in-depth interviews.
Shao 83

Changing media consumption habits in the digital environment

So far, scholars mainly focused on the audience reception of Korean dramas in the Hallyu 1.0 era.
Today’s multimedia environment has changed the traditional family television viewing practices.
The audiences are becoming fragmented or individualized. They rely on personal computers (PCs)
and smartphones to watch television programs, making it a highly personal practice (Jin, 2018;
Park et al., 2019). The rapid changes in the media environment also lead to changes in the constitu-
tion of Korean drama viewers. As the consumption of Korean television dramas in the new Korean
Wave is closely tied to Internet accessibility, the primary audiences tend to be younger and highly
educated (Ahn, 2014; Lee, 2012). A recent study showed that 93.23% of the audiences of My Love
from the Star are below the age 35 in mainland China. Women still made up the majority (79.48%)
and nearly 60% of the audiences earned a bachelor’s degree or higher (Zhang and Sun, 2014).
The fragmentation of audiences brings challenges for the researchers to identify the viewing
groups and conduct ethnographic observation (Livingstone, 2004). The emergence of media review
websites makes the privatized and interiorized interpretive activities of particular audiences acces-
sible for the media researchers. Unlike traditional living room observation and in-depth interviews,
the users start to write these reviews which reflect their real thoughts voluntarily and anonymously
and share them on social media websites, building an active online community. Launched in 2005,
Douban is the major online platform in China that allows users to rate and comment on media
content and help them to create their own communities based on personal interests. By the end of
2016, Douban has 150 million registered users (China Daily, 2017). Due to its influence, both
national and international media outlets use Douban as a key barometer for gauging the audience
reception of cultural contents in China (Yecies et al., 2016). According to Douban analysis report
(Douban, 2016), over 80% of Douban users are from urban areas within mainland China and have
higher education or equivalent degree. Over 90% of the users are young people aged between 20
and 39. Users produce individual interpretations of the media content and post their reviews on
Douban pages with no word limits. Other users who share common interests can read and respond
to the reviews, thus forming a dynamic online audience network.
The new Korean Wave should be understood through both production and reception (Choi,
2015). Current studies of Hallyu 2.0 primarily focus on the changing media consumption habits
among youth in the age of social media, little attention has been paid to the reception side.
Reception studies remain crucial to explore how the audiences engage with the media texts and
make sense of them in the digital age (Schrøder, 2019; Ytre-Arne and Das, 2019). Online media
review sites such as Douban offer the audiences new possibilities to interact with television nar-
rative, which becomes a new form of participation in television culture. Taking the case of My
Love from the Star, the first and most sensational television drama in the new Korean Wave in
China, this study analyzes how the Chinese audiences on Douban like the drama and further dis-
cusses how they evaluate the values and ideologies reflected in the drama. Because Douban’s
primary users consist of the growing Internet-savvy middle class who have heightened exposure
to cultural globalization (Soh and Yecies, 2017), the study of Douban reviews not only reveals the
authentic attitudes of Chinese audiences toward My Love from the Star, but also reflects the aspi-
rations and values of certain social class, thus providing a window into the cultural and social
changes in China’s urban settings.

Method and data collection

This study conducts a textual analysis of 100 reviews of My Love from the Star written by users on
Douban. Douban is chosen as the dataset because it offers a rich and reliable source (Yecies et al.,
84 Media International Australia 175(1)

2016), and the demographic background of Douban users corresponds to that of the consumers of
the new Korean Wave.
My Love from the Star received an average rating of 8.3 out of 10 on Douban. It showed that
besides the high viewership ratings, the quality of the drama has been widely recognized. By the
end of 2017, there are 1045 reviews of My Love from the Star written by Douban users published
in total. This study sorted the reviews by popularity and collected the first 100 most popular pieces.
These reviews got thousands of likes from other users and may represent the common opinion on
My Love from the Star in the Douban community.
All the reviews are written in Chinese language and the lengths vary substantially, from a couple
of lines to several 1000 words.1 This study uses a manual, inductive coding approach to analyze the
sampled reviews. After analyzing the data, four major recurring themes are identified.

Findings
Aesthetic qualities
Korean dramas are widely known for their quality (Lee, 2018). ‘Beautiful’ and ‘aesthetic’ are terms
that have appeared frequently when the audiences refer to the high quality of Korean dramas. Users
on Douban appreciated the visual pleasure brought by My Love from the Star and spoke highly of
its aesthetic values. Since the first Korean Wave, producers of Korean dramas have made an effort
to pursue visual aesthetics. Good-looking actors and actresses, fashionable clothes and beautiful
sceneries are distinctive features of Korean dramas.
Wu diedie commented that ‘the producers of My Love from the Star paid a lot of attention to the
costumes and accessories used in the drama. The story spans four hundred years and both tradi-
tional hanboks and modern fashions are delicately made’. Moreover, the user was attracted by the
beautiful sceneries and felt that ‘each frame of the motion picture is as beautiful as an exquisite
poster with sophisticated compositions’. With the headline of ‘Korean dramas fulfill our most
primitive pursuit of beauty’, Xiaoxiaoyi’s review indicated that ‘the production team have lost
their senses and they did everything they could do to uphold the aesthetic standards. Because they
believe nothing else is better than “beauty” that can attract the female audiences’.
The physical beauty of actors and actresses resonates well with the Chinese audiences. As East
Asian countries have common beauty standards, Korean celebrities who have delicate face, fair
skin, silky hair and long legs become the ideal model for Chinese people (Zhang, 2012). When
watching My Love from the Star, the actors and actresses are drawn to the audiences:
The reason why many audiences consume the drama is that they want to look at the pretty faces
of the actors. They would get a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction. It is probably the same as the
ancient Greeks love to observe the muscles of Discobolus.
Using the metaphor of Myron’s sculpture, Xiaoxiaoyi pointed out the significance of physical
beauty in Korean dramas such as My Love from the Star because it brought visual satisfaction to
the viewers. Korean dramas directors have strict requirements for the actors’ appearance and body
shape. It kept to be one of the biggest strengths of Korean dramas, as Fenglingcao argued.

Romantic relations
My Love from the Star features a romance between an alien and an actress. Do Min-joon, the male
character in My Love from the Star, is an alien who lives on Earth for 400 years and now a college
Professor of biology. For Douban users, the screenwriter of My Love from the Star ‘created’ an
indescribably perfect man that meets all the expectations of a perfect boyfriend. Xue adored his
Shao 85

beautiful appearance and intelligence and described him as ‘handsome, knowledgeable and rich’.
Similarly, Ji Chengjun articulated that Professor Do possesses all the good qualities and ‘is a man
of both wisdom and wealth’.
In line with traditional Confucian values, the depiction of love relationships in My Love from the
Star is conservative. Loyalty and chastity are highly valued in the Confucian cultural realm (Chow,
1991; Jung, 2011). In the story, Do Min-joon rescued a teenaged Korean girl 400 years ago when
he first arrived on Earth and Cheon Song-yi is believed to be the reincarnation of that girl.
Aichimantoude Baobao is impressed by Do’s loyalty to love: ‘Professor Do loves the same girl for
four hundred years. His love for Song-yi is consistent’. Qian Banxian described the male protago-
nist as ‘cute but puritanical . . . He kept his first kiss and virginity for four hundred years until he
met Cheon Song-yi’. Many Chinese audiences on Douban agreed that the reserved expression of
love is more acceptable than overt scenes of sex or passionate lovemaking in many Western dra-
mas. Liaoliao Weiyang conveyed that
sexual involvement is very limited in My Love from the Star. Usually, the Western love story
encourages brave confession of love and features explicit sex lives. My Love from the Star stresses
on spiritual love. As an alien, Professor Do even got sick when he kissed. Instead, the couple con-
quered difficulties, resolved misunderstandings, and experienced the joy of meeting and the sorrow
of separation together. This kind of narratives moved the audiences to tears.
The pure and innocent romance illustrated in My Love from the Star enabled the viewers to
satisfy vicariously. As one_sunnyday argued, ‘I can feel the sweetness of love when the characters
fall in love’.

Femininity and individualism

Cheon Song-yi, the female protagonist in My Love from the Star, became the idol of many female
audiences on Douban. Song-yi is a popular actress who experienced ups and downs in her career
in the drama but finally achieved success. Women used to be bound to domestic role and are seen
as ‘gentle’, ‘shy’, and ‘understanding’ in television (Fung and Ma, 2000). But the image of Song-yi
subverted the traditional female role in Korean dramas.
Several Douban users admired Song-yi’s external beauty and suggested that it is an important
factor to achieve success. Influenced by individualism and consumerism, young people in China,
particularly females, paid more attention to their face and body images, and the number of people
who undergo cosmetic surgery has increased (Cho, 2009; Zhang, 2012). It is widely believed that
beautiful physical appearance could help them build confidence and recast self-worth (Zhang,
2010). As Feiniao Qianliu stressed, Song-yi’s self-confidence is deeply rooted in her beauty: ‘She
is attractive. She has many fans and admirers. It boosts her confidence and allows her to present
herself as she is’. In addition to her gorgeous face, Douban users pointed out that Song-yi’s inner
beauty is equally significant. ‘She is independent, assertive, frank, and sincere’, as Summer put it.
Viewers also appreciated Song-yi’s attitudes toward love relationship. She is brave and eager to
fight for love. In traditional Confucian culture, women have no freedom and autonomy in mate
choice and it is uncommon for women to express their emotions to the opposite sex (Chow, 1991;
Yan, 2003, 2009). Taking initiative in a relationship and expressing inner feelings and desires
explicitly constitute a sign of the development of female individualism (Yan, 2003). Hence, some
Douban users were touched by the scene when Song-yi persisted in finding ‘true love’ and defended
herself against the fact that Professor Do took her as an alternative for the girl he fell in love with
400 years ago. Summer found Song-yi shows a positive example for girls in the modern society
and commented that ‘too many girls lose self-esteem and rationality in love relationships. Song-yi
is a strong and self-respecting woman who dares refuse to be an alternative’.
86 Media International Australia 175(1)

With the proliferation of consumerism and individualism, Korean drama screenwriters no

longer portray domestic and submissive female characters. Instead, they started to display
women’s ambition and independence. Several Douban users noticed the progressive values
appeared in My Love from the Star. Muyan admitted that there is much she can learn from the
female protagonist,
Song-yi has both high EQ and IQ. Such a smart and beautiful woman deserves a Prince
Charming. The drama delivered the message that if you want to find an outstanding boyfriend like
Professor Do, you have to be intelligent, capable and confident at first.
He Jiandan stressed the importance of women’s economic empowerment,
Song-yi is independent. She is born in a family where her parents often quarreled over the finan-
cial issues. So she stared to earn her own living at a young age and devotes herself entirely to a
career as an actress.
China’s transformation has created new standards for individual success, and new ideals of
femininity (Xu, 2007). Summer related Song-yi’s story to her own lived experiences and argued
that the expectation of women has changed in the 21st century. As Summer argued, ‘women are
request to be as competent as men in the modern society. Women are able to pursue their own
careers and are encouraged to express their personal feelings and desires’.

Modernity and traditional Confucian values

The science-fictional elements became the breakthrough in the new Korean Wave. The Chinese
audiences also regarded it as the main appeal. Wang Dagen, one Douban user argued that My Love
from the Star is the typical example in the new Korean Wave, because a series of soap operas in
this period try to explore the romance of outer-space beings with super powers that have lived on
Earth for centuries. Ji Chengjun, another Douban user believed that the presence of aliens in
Korean dramas expands the possibilities of the story. As Ji Chengjun wrote,
The characters in earlier Korean dramas always suffered from terminal diseases and the
dramas would end with the death of the leading character. The alien, however, has the ability to
travel through time and space. It causes repeated separations and reunions, which makes the
drama more exciting.
However, a few viewers on Douban criticized that the science-fictional elements in My
Love from the Star actually serve the patriarchal ideology and enhance the traditional Confucian
gender hierarchy. Although My Love from the Star contains innovative elements such as mur-
ders, super powers, and time travel, it is in essence a Cinderella fairy tale. Douban users
noticed the power imbalance between female and male characters in the relationship. In the
story, Song-yi experienced a series of misfortunes and Do Min-joon appeared every time to
save her from danger. Do Min-joon became an Asian version of a Marvel superhero and had
rescue missions (Deppman, 2017). The drama presents an asymmetrical gender relation
whereby the masculine hero is placed in the spotlight and females are often portrayed as char-
acters that need to be protected or rescued. Mimeng felt disappointed that ‘Do Min-joon did
nothing else with his extraordinary ability. He just used his powers to protect and please the
female protagonist’.
Similar to the earlier generation of Korean dramas, My Love from the Star continues to show
explicit gender biases and promote patriarchal values. Do Min-joon offered security and perfection
with the aim of male domination in essence. Zhou Chong commented that
male protagonists in Korean dramas are always Prince Charming characters. They are tall,
strong, wealthy, and loyal. They protect women, love women, and are worshipped by women. But
it engenders the illusion that women can naturally rely on men when facing obstacles.
Shao 87

Jiuwoshi baozibei held a similar view,

It is more reasonable if the story took place in an ancient setting. The view that men are superior to women
is not acceptable in the modern society. Both men and women deserve to be treated as equal in a relationship.
Why does a strong independent woman need to rely on a man?

Discussions: the battle of reading My Love from the Star

The textual analysis of Douban reviews shows that Chinese audiences appreciated the aesthetic
quality of My Love from the Star and it becomes one of the major reasons for its popularity in
China. The drama features beautiful sceneries, handsome men, and gorgeous women. The audi-
ences are also attracted by its science fiction storylines. The storylines in earlier Korean dramas
developed rather slowly, and the narratives were predictable (Lee, 2018), such as the character’s
sudden death in a car accident or the diagnosis of a terminal illness. Dramas produced in the Hallyu
2.0 era kept the pure love and tragicomedy tradition while learning science-fictional innovations
and quick rhythms from Western television series.
Because both Chinese and Korean people have conservative attitudes toward love and sex,
the depiction of true and pure love in My Love from the Star remains attractive to Douban
users. However, My Love from the Star is more than a love story. It triggers discussions about
gender relations and female individualization. The increasing participation in education and
labor market released Chinese women from traditional home-related gender roles (Kim, 2010;
Yan, 2009). They started to challenge the dominant patriarchal ideology and strive to create an
individual identity in a rapidly modernizing society. According to the sampled reviews,
Chinese audiences widely believed the female character in My Love from the Star is more
empowered than those in previous dramas. Rather than featuring household trivia, the plots
center on the obstacles and conflicts encountered in Song-yi’s professional life. In addition,
the audiences appreciated the fighting spirit of the female protagonist and her initiative atti-
tudes toward love.
Under the impact of globalization, the middle class in urban China, especially among
women, have experienced an increased sense of individualization of choice around lifestyle and
tend to attach importance to self-realization than in China’s past (Lewis et al., 2016; Yang,
2017). The concept of individualization is just emerging for women in China, and to some
extent for men as well. Meanwhile, traditional patriarchal norms are never entirely absent from
the scene (Shen, 2011). Middle-class Chinese women, in this sense, are facing the tension
between the deep-rooted male dominance and the rise of autonomy and individualism. Korea
and China have similar social-cultural contexts (Kim, 2010). Thus, Korean dramas provide
Chinese audiences with a space for reflexivity. They both associate the character in My Love
from the Star with their own lived experiences as well as criticize the embedded unequal power
relations. My Love from the Star tried to create an ‘ideal’ image of women. On the one hand,
Song-yi is financially independent and career minded. On the other hand, she showed weakness
and helplessness in the love relationship. Douban users identified the real agenda of My Love
from the Star is to secure the submission of women to male domination. It delivers the message
that women should surrender to the romance because men offer security and independent
women alone have to face setback. Douban reviews demonstrated that the educated young
urban audiences in China are striving for complete gender equality. They embrace the freedom
of romance and pursue the individual independence, and are strongly against the gender hierar-
chy preserved in the Confucian cultural realm.
88 Media International Australia 175(1)

Conclusion
Containing elements of both Asian and Western culture, My Love from the Star portrays a romantic
love story between an alien with the ability to travel across time and space and a tough, career-
oriented female actress. The textual analysis of Douban reviews indicated that cultural proximity
is still meaningful to explain the popularity of My Love from the Star in China to some extent. The
physical appearances of the actors and actresses is in accord with the aesthetic standards of Chinese
people because China and Korea have shared norms of beauty. In addition, the Chinese audiences
on Douban endorse the conservative attitudes toward love and sex reflected in the drama.
Cultural proximity is a dynamic process composed by multiple elements (Iwabuchi, 2002;
Straubhaar, 2003). In addition to traditional values, the results of this study further demonstrated
that social class and lived experiences became an important factor in determining cultural proxim-
ity. When watching television dramas, audiences relate the characters and plots to their own lived
experiences, making television dramas a space for reflexivity (Georgiou, 2012; Kim, 2017). Better-
educated urban middle class has a more critical and reflexive engagement with the sense-making
practice, and hence are distanced from the original culturally proximate media contents. With the
socio-economic transformations, the major consumers of Hallyu 2.0 in China are well-educated
young urban residents who are exposed to a wide range of global cultural products and are more
open-minded than older generations. Influenced by western styles, My Love from the Star con-
tained innovative science-fiction plots and values of female individualism and self-realization.
Users admired these modern elements and deeply engaged in discussions on Douban because indi-
vidual pursuits of free love and career success are highly valued in China’s rapidly modernizing
society. However, unlike the dramas in the first Korean Wave that received unanimous praise for
the successful portrayal of a glamorous cosmopolitan city living (Lin and Tong, 2008; Yang, 2012),
My Love from the Star failed to fully satisfy the Chinese urban middle class audiences. According
to Douban reviews, the users felt disappointed that My Love from the Star did not portray women’s
existing struggle with their gender identity, but rather showed the conformity of the female pro-
tagonist to the dominant patriarchal ideology. The users are critical of the stereotypical gender
relations and patriarchal values reflected in My Love from the Star. In fact, they are expecting tel-
evision dramas to involve the intense tensions between Confucian traditions and Western moder-
nity and the power struggle against patriarchy. The criticism on My Love from the Star revealed that
the drama did not completely address the aspirations of the urban middle class audiences in China.
Soon after the incredible popularity of My Love from the Star, Descendants of the Sun repeated
its success in 2016, hitting the peak of Korean drama fever in the Hallyu 2.0 era. Similar to My
Love from the Star, Descendants of the Sun is a fantasy romance series that is criticized for involv-
ing gender discrimination and instilling patriarchal values (Lee, 2016; Zhao, 2017). In this respect,
how long will the popularity of Korean dramas last in China is a question worth considering. As
social and digital media facilitate the dissemination of television series today, there are a variety of
choices available online. Korean dramas have to compete with American and British hits. In the
meantime, Chinese television drama production has progressed and more drama series started to
deal with social problems and reflect real-life struggles (Keane, 2005; Schneider, 2012). Therefore,
despite its current success, the Korean drama industry is facing challenges ahead.
As transnational audiences remain highly fragmented, online social media platforms such as
Douban provide an avenue where audiences can discuss and share opinions. This study provides
some empirical evidence for the current academic debates on understanding audience reception in a
digital media environment. The interpretation is usually in connection with the audience’s own
social, economic, and cultural background (Hall, 1980; Liebes and Katz, 1990). Douban users are
mainly educated middle class young people. The results of this study thus cannot be generalized to
Shao 89

all the consumers of Korean dramas in China. Another limitation is that this study relies solely on
audience reviews and it is not possible to probe further into their motivations and responses. Further
research might explore the motivations and responses of Douban users by adopting in-depth inter-
views, which helps to present a comprehensive picture of the online community. My Love from the
Star is one of the most successful Korean dramas in recent years due to its high viewership ratings
and enormous cultural influence. But the single case study cannot be taken as representative of all
Korean dramas in the Hallyu 2.0 era. Follow-up research might also contain more dramas in the new
Korean Wave in order to examine the transnational audience reception with a broader scope.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publi-
cation of this article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD
Lingwei Shao https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7282-5990

Note
1. All the Douban reviews quoted in this study are originally in Chinese and translated into English by the
author.

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