This study explores effects of retrospective drama on alleviation of depression.
Using the popular TV drama, ‘Reply 1988’ as a research drama,
interrelationships among conceptual constructs are examined. As results, it is
found that empathy influenced pleasure and arousal of drama viewers. For
the roles of affective variables, pleasure influenced psychological comfort, and
arousal leads to anti-depression. Direct relationship between arousal and
depression is also found. It means that arousal increased the level of
depression. These results could provide academic implications regarding
antecedents of depression, and also managerial implications can be found in
terms of retrospective drama production.