The Social Commentary Of "When The Camellia Blooms" | Reasons Why It Was a 12 Award-Worthy Drama

"When The Camellia Blooms" is much more than a love story.

Rohan, Kpopmap Member
4 min to read · Published : Jan 2, 2020

The Social Commentary Of "When The Camellia Blooms" | Reasons Why It Was a 12 Award-Worthy Drama

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STORY BY
Tanya JacobKpopmap Contributor

There’s no doubt that "When the Camellia Blooms" turned out to be one of the most entertaining dramas during the latter half of 2019. A story about love, life, and hardships, the realistic portrayal made it a wholesome watch, earning high ratings both domestically and internationally. The series follows single mother, DongBaek (Gong HyoJin), who settles down in the town of Ongsan as a bar owner and finds love with a local policeman (Kang HaNeul). As she navigates her way through the struggles of everyday life, she becomes the prey of a serial killer.

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The series can credit multiple factors to its success, including its social commentary. Despite being a romantic thriller, the drama captured the reality of the working-class people by addressing social issues like the impact of poverty, the social stigma around single parents, the adverse effects of social media, the perception of economic status as social ranks, mental health, and social identity. Yes, the love story between DongBaek and YongShik and Joker’s plotline consists of the main narrative. However, in depicting a good case of character development, the drama managed to use each character’s story to form a bigger picture.

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DongBaek is an obvious example of this. Initially timid, she learns to grow out of her meekness and stand up for herself. A contrast from the strong women we usually see in dramas, DongBaek’s quiet yet resilient nature is a refreshing take. DongBaek’s strength, as she discovered, was in her optimism, humility and easy-going personality. Though she is considered to be unlucky and ostracized in the community, she always managed to rise from it positively. Her character can be summed up from this conversation between Hong JaYoung (Yeom HyeRan) and DongBaek, “Some think you can never be happy. They find comfort in saying how bad they feel for you. But you smile so easily. And it’s a pretty smile, too.” This dialogue also depicts the harsh reality that anyone seemingly disadvantaged by society’s standards entails pity. Her character also shows us how we have the power to choose how we react. In spite of being isolated throughout her life, DongBaek somehow manages to remain positive and determined. That’s not to say that she’s never felt sad or angry, just that she chose to fight through it. HyangMi (Son DamBi)’s life was similar to DongBaek’s. Both were moulded by their experiences, and both reacted to situations differently. Here lies the complexity of social identity.

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The drama also reviewed this aspect through multiple characters, prime examples being Jessica (Ji YiSu) and HyangMi. Despite growing up in different social situations, both suffered from a lack of love which shaped how they saw themselves. HyangMi became a pathological liar, kleptomaniac, and manipulator, while Jessica became an attention-seeker obsessed with the life she exhibited on social media. The online persona she created became a determinant of her success, identity, and self-worth. This dialogue by HyangMi explains it the best, “You and I are the same. The girl who never got attention, and the girl who was never loved. If you’re lucky, you become Jessica. If you’re not, you become Choi HyangMi.”.

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"When the Camellia Blooms" ultimately explores the concept of inferiority complexes and how people cope. Each character dealt with their situation differently. Some chose to face it head-on, while others let it fester within them. And as an entertainment source, the drama was able to keep viewers interested with its eccentric characters and engaging storyline. "When the Camellia Blooms" proved to be more than just a love story. It was a story that showed the everyday challenges and joys of people, a story that showed the influence our actions can have, and a story that showed us the strength of friendship, community, and love.