Doramas: Scenes of Asian Culture

Abstract

rrent article analyzes doramas, an audio-visual production characteristic of Asian TV. The productions are very similar to US serials with regard to their once-a-week transmissions during certain months. They may also be related to Latin-American soap-operas because of their continuity during months on end and because of their dealing with several cultural aspects in the plots. Doramas from China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan are highly appreciated within and outside Asia. Current essay deals with Japanese and South Korean doramas, highly appreciated in Asia and in other continents, such as Latin America. The text is derived from two research works approved by FAPESP. The construction of a theoretical and methodological referential has proved to be difficult due to the fact that the main object of investigation lies outside Western criteria, or rather, the theoretical construction (with scanty bibliography) and choice of objects bring about new perspectives for research.