O Sistema Patriarcal Neoconfucionista e a Representação de gênero nos doramas sul-coreanos

Abstract

This study analyzes how South Korean dramas represent and reconfigure gender roles in dialogue with the neoconfucian patriarchal order, investigating the persistence of this system of values in South Korea. It is based on the understanding of neoconfucianism as a system of values that historically structured gender roles in the country and that, despite processes of modernization, continues to influence social expectations directed at women. The research adopts a qualitative approach, employing a sequential comparative analysis of selected scenes from the dramas What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? (2018) and When Life Gives You Tange- rines (2025). The analytical focus is organized around three central axes: work, motherhood, and romantic relationships, allowing observation of how these audiovisual narratives repro- duce, challenge, or reconfigure patriarchal values grounded in neoconfucianism. The results indicate that although the dramas feature more autonomous female protagonists and incorporate discourses associated with gender equality, these productions do not promote a structural rup- ture with the patriarchal order. Rather, they function as spaces of symbolic negotiation, in which movements of contestation coexist with mechanisms that maintain gender inequalities. It is concluded that such representations reflect the tension between continuity and transformation that characterizes contemporary South Korean society.