중국과 한국의 가족드라마에 나타난 갈등구조와 갈등해결 방법 비교 연구

Abstract

The following paper contemplates the similarities and differences in culture between Korea and China by doing a comparative analysis of family soap operas in both countries. Among the choices, a total of three hits in 2005, 2010, and 2015 were selected for Korea. On the other hand, three soap operas from 2005, 2010 and 2015 were selected for China. A total of six soap operas were selected for further critical analysis. Through analyzing the six different soap operas, a total of three different conflict structures are classified. First, conflict between husband and wife/man and woman. Second, generational conflict. Among generational conflicts, conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law and between parents and their children are analyzed. Finally, conflict between brothers and sisters underwent comparative analysis. The results of the comparative analysis are as follows. First, in terms of the conflict between husband and wife/man and woman, the showcase conflicts between husband and wife/man and woman in Korean family soap operas highlights Korea's patriarchal system. The soap operas tend to center around the husband, and the marriage relationship is unequal. Furthermore, the soap operas detail conflicts arising from differences in societal status and household between man and woman. On the other hand, marriage relationship is relatively equal in China. Husband and wife conflicts are related to social problems. As such, the soap operas deal with social issues in light of the background period. Conflict resolution methods between the two countries are similar. All of them end with a happy ending where the protagonists find love and end up marrying with the help of their friends and family. Second, among generational conflicts, conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in Korea is focused around mother-in-laws presenting their authority and the coming generation of daughter-in-laws are obedient. Additionally, the soap operas carry forward a narrative where the woman's sacrifice leads to major success for the family in such unfair relationship between mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws. This phenomenon has intimate relationship to Korea's 'family-centric' concepts. However, because China has more of a nuclear family structure, daughter-in-laws don't tend to live with their mother-in-laws. As such, the opportunities for conflict with the mother-in-laws are less. However, even in the rare cases where daughter-in-laws live with their mother-in-laws, soap operas deliver narratives of daughter-in-laws securing their authority and rightfully fight their mother-in-laws. From this, China's 'individual centric' concepts can be seen. Especially in recent soap operas, daughter-in-laws' egoism is clearly directed and have garnered a lot of interest among viewers. Next, the study results show details about the conflict between parents and their children. The following study analyzed deeply into the conflict between parents and their children in Korea. The reason for this is because the Korean society is extremely unique in terms of its definition of family. Parents tend to have a say in everything that their children does. Of course this is an issue in Chinese parents as well, but Korean parents are relatively more authoritative. More often than not, parents tend to make decisions for their children in terms of their academic career, jobs, marriages and other important life decisions. On the other hand, because Chinese parents only have one child, they tend to have infinite trust and give the right of choice to their children. As such, parents and their children are quite often portrayed as friends in soap operas, and relative to Korea, parents tend to be portrayed as friendly people. Third and last, conflicts between brothers and sisters are analyzed. Because Korea is suffering from low birth rate, family soap operas showcases families with at minimum two children or even sometimes 4 to 5 children. Among such brother and sister relationships, soap operas create sadness of the younger and family problems arising from neglect due to career success of the oldest or favoritism. Through a subtle competitive structure between the oldest and youngest, viewers are able to connect with the oldest's difficulty and the youngest's sorrow. Additionally, it tends to be a common problem that arise in a typical family. However, in China, there's only one child in a family due to 'single child' policy that started in 1980. As such, family issues and conflicts arising between brothers and sisters are often not selected as a topic for discussion. However, soap operas deal with concerns of 'egotism,' 'lack of responsibility,' and 'lack of cooperation' stemming from China's single child families. Through analyzing conflict structures and resolution processes between China and Korea, the study showcases some of the family culture and social issues of each country, and sets the goal to provide a better understanding into the differing cultures of the two country.