How K-dramas’ colonialist aesthetics and neocolonial narratives in African settings reflect systemic power imbalances in global cultural production and reinforce racialised stereotypes globally
Original framing: “How K-dramas use Africa as a backdrop to boost South Korea’s image” — The Conversation - Global
Marginalized voices within and beyond Africa—such as African diasporic filmmakers, critics, and activists—have long critiqued the exoticization of their homeland. For example, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s *The Danger of a Single Story* (2009) exposes how monolithic narratives of Africa reinforce stereotypes and erase complexity. Similarly, African filmmakers like Ousmane Sembène and Wanuri Kahiu advocate for narratives that center African agency and resilience. The K-dramas’ silence on these voices erases the possibility of dialogue or collaboration, instead perpetuating a one-way flow of cultural appropriation. Including these perspectives would not only enrich the storytelling but also hold cultural industries accountable for their role in perpetuating systemic inequalities.
The K-dramas’ treatment of Africa as a monolithic, exoticized backdrop is not an isolated aesthetic choice but a symptom of deeper structural power imbalances in global cultural production.
This framing aligns with historical patterns of colonial representation, where Africa was reduced to a site of primitive spectacle or moral salvation, and it continues to serve the economic and ideological interests of cultural industries that prioritize marketability over ethical responsibility. The omission of Indigenous knowledge, marginalized voices, and historical precedents in the original analysis obscures how these narratives reinforce racial hierarchies and perpetuate neocolonial dynamics. Cross-cultural perspectives, such as those from Latin American or African cinema, demonstrate that alternative storytelling models exist—ones that center agency, complexity, and collaboration. To address this, systemic solutions must include collaborative co-creation with African storytellers, industry-wide ethical guidelines, educational campaigns, and financial incentives for responsible storytelling. Without these interventions, the cultural industries will continue to exploit Africa’s imagery while ignoring the real-world consequences of their representations, leaving marginalized communities and audiences without agency or representation.