Unpacking sex and power in South Korea's film industry in Netflix K-drama Aema

The South Korean series Aema is unapologetically provocative - revisiting Korea's most popular erotic film Madame Aema (1982), while splicing in pointed references to real-life figures, including former President Chun Doo-hwan, to expose the sexual exploitation and abuse of power that plagued the country's film industry in the 1980s.

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Now available on Netflix, the period K-drama tackles sensitive material head-on, from casting couch to late-night "banquet halls" where actresses were expected to play hostesses for politicians.

South Korean actress Lee Ha-nee, who stars as Hee-ran in the show - an A-list star who refuses to appear nude in an erotic production and loses her role to rising talent Joo-ae (Bang Hyo-rin) - was frank about the challenges of navigating such combustible material.

"Rather than literally recreating or reproducing reality, I thought Aema satirised certain moods or atmospheres of the 1980s. At times, it may feel a bit uncomfortable because it's portrayed so directly, but in the case of the banquet hall scene... I interpreted it as being simultaneously very realistic in some aspects, and very dramatic and fantastical in others. Still, I think such a scene was necessary," said the 42-year-old also known as Honey Lee, who gave birth to her second daughter in August.

The Miss Universe Korea 2007 winner and her Korean-American husband also have a three-year-old girl.