Scholar argues K-dramas use Africa to show South Korea's rise
In an essay in The Conversation, a film and media scholar argues that three South Korean dramas portray Africa in negative ways. She says these portrayals help South Korea show itself as a developed country that gives aid.
The scholar studied Shooting Stars (2022), Marry My Husband (2024) and Queen of Tears (2024). She says Africa appears as a place that needs charity, a place of savagery, and a place to punish a "troubled" child. She argues that this lets South Korea measure its own development against the continent. This is her interpretation, and it rests on only three shows.