Sisters in their 50s flying high on the female wind

A strong wind is blowing in the master bedroom. Recently, female-led narratives are popular on the small screen. This is also an emergency for actresses in their 50s.

The first one to choose is Jeon Do-yeon. Jeon Do-yeon presented a lovely romantic comedy in the role of Nam Haeng-seon, a former national volleyball player and owner of a side dish store, in tvN's recently concluded 'One-hit Scandal'. At the time of planning and filming, there were question marks about whether a romantic comedy featuring an actress in her 50s would work, but Jeon Do-yeon proudly broke the preconceptions and colored the character with her own color, and also developed a love line with actor Jung Kyung-ho (played by Choi Chi-yeol). It was portrayed convincingly.

Jeon Do-yeon then attempted action acting through the Netflix movie 'Gil Bok-soon' (directed by Byun Seong-hyeon). Jeon Do-yeon, who plays the role of Gil Bok-soon, a top-class killer at a killer company, took on the challenge of breaking the limit by performing high-intensity action scenes for the first time since her debut. 'Gil Bok-soon' has had sharply divided opinions on the work itself, including the controversy over director Byun's Ilbe (short for Daily Best, an extreme right-wing community site), but Jeon Do-yeon's acting skills and action challenge are receiving favorable reviews without much disagreement.

Next is Kim Hee-ae. Kim Hee-ae played the character of Hwang Do-hee, a top 'image maker' in the Netflix series 'Queen Maker'. Kim Hee-ae was the head of the strategic planning office who used all means to prevent the risks of the owners of a conglomerate company, and gave Oh Kyeong-sook (played by Moon So-ri), a women's human rights lawyer, the exhilarating taste of victory by acting as the head of the Seoul mayoral election camp. Even though she was a character with a large amplitude in the play, Kim Hee-ae is said to have firmly taken center stage and led the play with her own strength.

Uhm Jeong-hwa, an all-round entertainer who kills two birds with one stone as both a singer and an actor, transformed into the title role of Cha Jeong-sook in the JTBC Saturday-Sunday drama 'Doctor Cha Jeong-sook.' Cha Jeong-suk, who went from being a housewife for 20 years to becoming a resident for 1 year, is drawing the attention of many viewers with her sometimes fun and sometimes refreshing charm of cider, forming a consensus on the situation of so-called 'Gyeongdannyeo' (women who have taken a break from their careers). Uhm Jeong-hwa is adding charm to the character of Cha Jeong-sook with her stable acting skills and unique charm.

Following Uhm Jung-hwa, Lee Young-ae transforms into a conductor and knocks on the screen. Lee Young-ae played the role of Cha Se-eum, a female conductor with a secret, in tvN's new drama 'Maestra'. 'Maestra' described Cha Se-eum as 'a world-famous classical music star who dominates the stage, captivating performers and audiences with his bold and strong personality.' Attention is focused on how Lee Young-ae will embody Cha Se-eum's character. In particular, Lee Young-ae, who experienced box office failure in the JTBC drama 'Gugyeong', which ended in December 2021, is expected to make this work even more important.

The increase in the proportion of female-led narratives is also captured in a recently published study. According to a recent diversity report jointly published by Netflix and the Annenberg Inclusion Policy Research Team at the University of Southern California (USC), 55 of the Netflix movies and series released from 2018 to 2021 featured women as solo or co-leads. It was %. In 2018, the first year of diversity analysis, the percentage of female leads started at 48.6%, and is showing an increasing trend, reaching 55.2% in 2019, 56.7% in 2020, and 61% in 2021.

It is believed that the reason women's stories are selling well is because the proportion of women who make up content providers and consumers has increased compared to before. The number of women who create content has increased, and the proportion of women who consume or purchase content is also high. In addition, it is analyzed that the main reason is that women's advancement into society has increased, but it has also become more diverse and can cover more diverse and new stories than before.

An industry official told Ten Asia, "Recently, as many female directors and content creators have emerged, the supply of women's stories has increased and the quality of their work is fresh. We are trying to produce stories that women, who are the main viewers or purchasers of content, will be interested in. “This trend continues,” he said.

Another interesting thing is that the actors mentioned who are playing the top female leads in Korea are all in their 50s and over 1,000 years of age. In the past, actors who would have simply played the roles of mothers or wives are flying high by taking on the title role.

Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr