K-Drama 2.0: updating tropes with intertextuality and cinematic visuals in Crash Landing on You

The entry of international SVODs into the Korean broadcasting industry since 2016 has altered the genres, quality, and sheer scale of K-drama, arguably creating a new type of television that no longer possesses the characteristics that have so far defined K-drama. Though overshadowed by this new phenomenon, K-drama’s representative genres have been evolving to stay afloat in the rapidly changing terrain of globalized K-drama. My article explores this unheeded development by examining what has historically been the most typical K-drama genre, the romance genre – what I call the 'K-romance.' Through the case of Crash Landing on You (2019), the article elucidates three methods adopted by the K-romance. First, representative tropes of K-romances are savvily updated to align with the post-feminist audience’s values, allowing the genre to appear ‘woke’ in the face of global viewership. Second, intertextual references to other K-dramas play a crucial role in conversing with fans within the text, thereby securing their fanbase against a plethora of fresher materials. Third, the tactics of Korean cinema from two decades ago are employed to facilitate K-drama’s ‘glocalisation,’ namely by inserting Korean history into their narratives and applying cinematic (national) visuals into what has so far been a visually simple genre.