Kim Eun Sook Hallyu Star Off Screen

Kim Eun Sook is a South Korean screen writer and has written some of the biggest Hallyu shows. Her works include Secret Garden,

The Heirs,

 Descendants of the Sun,

 and the recent hit Goblin, the Lonely and Great God.



All of the shows found success both in country and international with high ratings the highest being Descendants of the Sun at 38.8%. She has won many awards and has promoted the Hallyu/Korean Wave internationally. The Hallyu Wave is just the fancy term describing the popularity of South Korean pop culture outside of the country. The wave can be explained through the popularity of Gangnam Style.

Some think her shows are successful because of the actors she enlisted to play the leads. Every male lead in her works become, or are, sensational Hallyu actors: Lee Min Ho, Song Joong Ki, Hyun Bin, and Gong Yoo.

               

Others argue that she just knows what to say to affect the viewers heart whether it is to laugh, cry, or flutter.

No matter the reason for her success her characters are well known and loved. Many people see the characters to have very real qualities making them more grounded and approachable to the average viewer rather than the idea of a genius or a fearlessly brave soldier. Her characters are grounded in reality which allows the audience to get to know the characters qualities, strengths and weaknesses.

Creatively, Kim Eun Sook definitely embodies the Eastern View of Creativity. She took influence from stories and legends but she didn't set out to write for the fame or the views. Although all eyes are on her to create new and amazing dramas she does not think to reinvent the romantic drama but rather to create her own personal spin while keeping some of the tropes and clichés. Her most recent work Goblin took her six years to create and she was inspired by the idea of legends and gods in Korea. She finds personal satisfaction in writing her dramas and seeing amazing actors give life to her works. In this mindset she can continue to write and be creative without being stuck on the idea of making money or being famous like many Hollywood writers seem to be. Although her creativity is eastern her process seems more  Western. She doesn't connect to the spiritual to derive inspiration but rather she creates by thinking on how best to connect the story and the characters to the audience and to herself. She first creates the character as someone she personally would connect to, understand, and maybe even disagree with. She bases the characters around a problem and weaves emotions and one liners through the plot. This could be a result of the Hallyu Wave where many dramas and music are created to entertain not only the citizens of South Korea but also the world thus creating a hybrid of creativity.

After Goblin Eun Sook is taking a break from writing, but she has already speculated that her next drama will be a historical and everyone is waiting to see what she will do next.




sources:
Creativity Across Cultures  Todd I. Lubart
https://www.soompi.com/2017/02/14/kim-eun-sook-goblin-voted-best-screenwriter-korea/
https://www.dramafever.com/news/after-goblin-whats-next-for-screenwriter-kim-eun-sook/