Its okay for men to show emotions

As for how typical Korean drama characters are, usually, the male main characters will depict men that are "rough on the outside and soft on the inside". Usually, men characters hardly show emotions. They rarely cry, they rarely talk about their feelings casually, they rarely open up to people, and rarely have such close intimate male friends group. However, this drama is very refreshing to that.
I am very aware that art imitates life. I have been studying film for almost 4 years-- currently taking a degree on that--, and I am also aware that audiovisual products are also the depiction of the current social situation in that particular region. Thus, I am not surprised how a Korean show still romanticizes toxic traits-- I can say this observation as an Asian myself. How people react to the shows also proves further that some toxic traits still linger and normalized.
Do San as a character makes me feel hopeful. He is not afraid to show emotions, he is not afraid to say what upsets him with healthy communication. How Do San communicates shows people how to manage their own emotions. (Plus, he's also cute, but that's beside the point). Ji Pyeong on the other hand is the exact opposite. Ji Pyeong is the epitome of a typical K-drama character. His words are rough, but he shows his care from his actions.
Oftentimes, men are belittled when they express their feelings and emotions as "girly". "not masculine enough", "not man enough", "too soft", etc. This, of course, contributes to the high number of suicide among men because they are afraid to get help and talk about their problems. This problem roots from toxic masculinity that stems from patriarchy.
But since this kind of character is "new", people's reaction to this character isn't as good as I thought it would. I didn't think too much of this before as this is how I think all people should be. People still think Do San isn't "man enough" and Ji Pyeong is "such a manly man". Of course, this kind of comment cant is helped since it's a new idea. I also understand that this is fiction and not real life, and people would say "so what? this isn't harmful". But the truth is, audiovisual products aren't that innocent. They do impacts people's life. They do generate people's opinions. I would as far as to say they form the societal system that we live today. I won't say much more about the impact, but believe me everything that you see will shape society, historically speaking.
However, I'm still hopeful since the filmmakers are "brave enough" to bring up this kind of traits as the lead. I hope this character will show people how men don't have to be "so manly" and still be attractive. Together let's be a better society, be less harmful to others, and actively talks about things that are should and should be to further send the message.

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