New Delhi: In a digital age ruled by viral trends and visual storytelling, a Korean drama is having a warm discussion not only for its plot, but a cute cultural belief online.
East Asian cultures in the heart of conversation have an ancient concept: the red thread theory, which is also known Red wire,
Red thread meaning behind the principle
Chinese is inherent in mythology and embraced in Japanese folklore, the red thread theory suggests that an invisible red string connects those who are lucky to meet and love each other. This mysterious thread, which is often bound to a little finger, may be stretched or confused, but it is said that it never breaks, eventually, without caring time, location or circumstances, the partner of the soul leading to each other for each other, the partner of each other.
In Chinese culture, the deity responsible for these sacred bonds is Yuè xià lǎorén (4), also called Yuè lǎo (4), Elderly lunar matchmaker God.
Traditionally, threads were bound around the ankles of luck lovers in Chinese legends, while Japanese knowledge connects a man’s thumb to a woman’s pink finger.
More than just a romantic symbol, the red thread represents the permanent power of hope, luck and love. The color red is auspicious in the Chinese tradition in itself, often used to indicate pleasure and happiness at weddings and ceremonies.
K-drama ‘S-line’
With the advent of the Korean drama ‘S-line’, a bold adaptation of a popular webtoon can fall out. The series tells the story of a high school girl, who has been gifted or cursed with the ability to see red lines that add to those connecting people who are sexually involved. These red connections, rather than reflecting fed love, maps sexual experiences, sometimes connecting a person with many others, who create a web of intimate history.
The beginning that started as a fictional plot, giving rise to a viral social media tendency, quickly crossed the screen. Known as “S-line trend,” Users began to draw red lines on people’s heads in photographs, imitation of the concept of drama. In many cases, the trend was used to speculate or joke about people’s sexual history.
Internet reacts: red thread or red flags?
The backlash was sharp. Many people argued that the play is distorting a sacred cultural belief for sensational and shock value.
A user on Instagram wrote, “This dirty ke-drama ruined this love string luck theory,” a user wrote on Instagram. Another user wrote, “Red string is considered a solmet, not bedmates.”
Some netizenses are pushing back with their own positions, “The Red Thread Theory that you know, and the red thread theory is captioned with phrases such as the red thread theory, which depicts a clear line between traditional beliefs with innocence and a clear line between the version painted in ‘S-line’.
A cultural change?
While art often borrow from folklore to create modern stories, an important question arises from the alleged renovation of red thread theory in ‘S-line’: “Are we protecting or commercializing cultural beliefs?”
By converting an intensive spiritual idea into a viral meme, drama, perhaps inadvertently contributes to the growing disconnect between young audiences and traditional Asian values.
