[Current & Culture] The Mask Unveiled by 'Mask Girl' in Our Society

OTT Series Embracing Appearance Supremacy
Plastic Surgery as the Only Way to Change Hierarchy and Fate
Relatable Setting That Best Reflects Reality

Drama series on online video streaming platforms (OTT) such as Netflix often face criticism like this: they start with an intriguing premise but then drag on with implausible developments. Watching a series that spans from a few episodes to several seasons only to give up halfway means wasting the time invested. As more people experience mid-series dropouts, many complain about decision paralysis when choosing what to watch.

While I sympathize with much of the dissatisfaction, I also understand the circumstances of the OTT industry. Netflix, TVING, Watcha, Disney Plus, Wavve, Coupang Play, Amazon Prime, Apple TV Plus, Paramount Plus... With the market saturated, companies are engaged in fierce competition. They focus more on enticing subscribers than on overall quality, so plot holes and lack of plausibility inevitably grow as episodes progress.

The recently well-received Netflix series Mask Girl also exposes the chronic flaws of OTT series: excessive setups and lack of plausibility. Despite not being a comedy or fantasy, its realism is severely lacking. A prime example is that although the timeline spans from 2010 to the present, CCTV and digital forensics are completely ignored during crimes and escapes. CCTV and digital forensics are the main reasons for the high crime-solving rate in South Korea. The absence of serial killers since Kang Ho-soon is also due to this. Yet, in Mask Girl, detectives merely conduct inquiries with notebooks. Characters who commit crimes undergo plastic surgery and carry fake IDs, roaming freely. As episodes go on, such complaints naturally arise: does it make sense for them to behave like that?

Still, I watched the series to the end without dropping out. With only one season and seven episodes, the burden was light, and above all, the story’s power was strong. To avoid spoilers, I won’t detail the plot, but the turbulent life stories of each character unfold with a force comparable to Cheon Myeong-kwan’s masterpiece Whale. This is thanks to bold and fresh attempts. When drama writers write scripts, the planning documents often include lengthy backstories (not shown in the drama) for characters, but Mask Girl tried turning these backstories into individual episodes. The meticulous effort to prepare connecting links to avoid confusion or distraction when the protagonist changes episode by episode deserves praise.

Another reason Mask Girl could tell its story so boldly is that it completely lacks the obsessive theme that inner value matters more than appearance.

In this drama’s South Korea, appearance supremacy is accepted as naturally as capitalism. Appearance is hierarchy and fate. The only way to change the fixed hierarchy and fate is plastic surgery. This approach is completely different from the similarly themed, kind-hearted film 200 Pounds Beauty released 17 years ago.

What about our real society? Just as people’s desire for better academic backgrounds gave rise to the Daechi-dong cram school district, the desire for more beautiful appearances has filled the areas around Apgujeong Station, Sinsa Station, and Gangnam Station with plastic surgery clinics. This is the true face of our society. Perhaps appearance supremacy is the setting that best reflects reality in Mask Girl. Wait a moment. I’ve been getting more wrinkles lately too, maybe I should...

Lee Jae-ik, Novelist

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.