한국 TV드라마 속 ‘악의 미학화’ 현상에 대한 고찰 : 「미스티」를 중심으로

Abstract

One feature of the latest TV drama is the fact that powerful villains are emerging as objects of fascination and envy. This can be seen as a phenomenon of ‘aesthetics of evil’. And one example is Ko Hye-ran in TV drama Misty. In this paper, through a character analysis of Ko Hye-ran I look at how female character becomes a subject, who makes herself an evil woman and acts for recognition, success, survival and proof of existence in the course of her confrontation with the world. And I explore its aesthetic and social implications. In the drama, doubts and suspicions about whether the main female character is the culprit or not, a bad woman or not lead the entire epic. The strategy of the double masquerade that Hye-ran is using lies in the core narrative mechanism. Hye-ran continues to seek success, power and fame through the double masquerade of womanliness and pseudomalignant while fighting back the revenge of men(Kevin Lee’s revenge/the suspicion of the murder of Kevin Lee). This double masquerade strategy is the conscious and unconscious way she conceals and reveals her dangerousness in a male-dominated society. This is a clever way for her to highlight her existence while avoiding social punishment by men as she runs fast toward public success. The problem is we never know what her truth is, what she says is true or not. We are not sure whether what she is trying to implement is her lust for power or social justice. So she turns herself into an uncertain and ambiguous split entity, and places herself as the object of love and desire. It is the desire for rule and control over Hyeran who is not in his hands that her husband Tae-wook makes Hyeran a suspect in the murder of Kevin Lee and tries to save her. But Tae-wook’s domination and control of the name “love” goes on to a total failure, showing its impossibility. Hye-ran never enters Tae-wook’s rule and control. She does not end up in the family domain, even though she is using her marriage and husband, nor is she confined to the ruling order. Therefore Hye-ran is placed as a fascinating evil woman, beyond masculine domination and control.