A SOAP by any other name is still a soap—or is it? In Thailand, soap operas are called “lakorn.”
A lakorn is usually a melodrama that usually focuses on the romance between a man and a woman and the struggles they go through to be together. There is always a third party, a woman who is so in love with the leading man that she’ll do anything to get rid of the leading lady.
Unlike Korean and even Filipino dramas, sex, consensual or otherwise, is a central theme in lakorn.
In You’re My Destiny, Wanida, a secretary, takes cold medication during a cruise and enters the wrong cabin where Pawut, a lawyer, lies drugged. They spend the night together and after three months, Wanida discovers that she’s pregnant.
The male lead in a lakorn is called a Pra’ek, while the female lead is called Nang’ek. The main couple in the drama is the Koo Jin. Lakorns are also focused on the “an eye for an eye” solution to conflicts. For instance, the antagonist always gets raped in the end, something that has been the source of criticism from many Thais and advocates for women’s rights.
In Dao Prasook, the lead female character is raped by her benefactor/guardian. This man “bought” the girl from a brothel. As if that wasn’t enough, she almost married her biological father. Sex and rape play an important part in the very popular slap-kiss genre for lakorns. In this genre, there is always some element of force or non-consent on the part of the Nang’ek.
Revenge is also a favorite theme. One lakorn is about a mother and her daughter being gang-raped. When the daughter shows signs of being depressed and disturbed by what happened, the mother takes it upon herself to exact revenge against the rapists as she kills them one by one.
Now that GMA will air what it claims as the first lakorn in the Philippines, drama lovers are very excited to explore Thai drama. Thailand is a country that Filipinos love because of its friendly people and excellent cuisine, so it is only logical that we will like their TV dramas, as well.