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Son Woo Hyun and Kim Kang Min in To My Star (Tencent Video/Energedic Company)
Over the past few years, Korean dramas or K-dramas as they are popularly called have been growing in popularity, skyrocketing over 2020 amid the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns. Thanks to online streaming platforms such as Netflix and Viki, audiences across the world are able to access these dramas, regardless of their knowledge of the Korean language. Some dramas have even achieved cult status like Descendants of the Sun , Crash Landing On You , and True Beauty .
However, while Korean dramas are opening up a whole new world for many viewers, the entertainment form lacks in representation not just in people of color (by depicting South Korea as a socieity with no foreigners, which is far from the reality of the situation), and having little to none LGBTQ+ representation. At least, not in the mainstream dramas that are often talked about.
Amazon Prime
Top Pick: “One Night in Miami”
Based on the 2013 play by the same name, “One Night in Miami” is a fictionalized account of a real-life meeting in a Miami hotel room between four Black American icons: Boxer Cassius Clay (Eli Goree, “Race”), civil rights leader Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir, “The OA”), NFL running back Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge, “City on a Hill”), and singer-songwriter Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr., “Hamilton”). The film already made history earlier this year when it became the first movie to premiere at the Venice Film Festival directed by a Black woman (Regina King, “Watchmen”), and early reviews are almost universally positive, with many tapping it as an early Academy Awards contender. Currently playing in a limited number of theaters, “One Night in Miami” lands Jan. 15 on Prime Video.