By now, everyone knows that Korean dramas with English subtitles, aired on the Korean-language station KBFD for the past 16 years, have in more recent days whipped the tube-viewing public into a soapy froth of addiction. But few could wax eloquent about "Melodrama, Modernity and Mass Culture," the opening remarks to be delivered after the forum convenes at 1 p.m.

But don't worry, said Jun Yoo: All are qualified for this meeting of the minds.

"This is the first time town and gown are really coming together," said Yoo, assistant history professor at the University of Hawai'i and a coordinator of the forum. "You don't have to have a Ph.D ... We can talk together about something that's really a phenomenon."

There will be TV time, of course: Episodes of "Yellow Handkerchief" will be screened at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, "Romance in Paris" at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Discussion topics include "Difficulties of Rendering Korean Dramas into English," a discussion by Crystal Suh, a translator for KBFD. Her boss, station general manager Jeff Chung, is one of the moderators at the forum and can also speak with some authority on the subject.

"Our top complaint from viewers is they want more subtitles," Chung said. "We're doing the best we can.

"I've had a hard time finding translators," he added. "I run into people who feel they're fluent, but when you put them to the task they realize how difficult it is."

A case in point: The popular historical series "Dae Jang Gum," a kind of upstairs-downstairs rendering of life in the royal kitchens of dynasty-era Korea. There are references to unfamiliar foods and spices, Chung said, and a general use of an archaic form of the language.

Fans of the genre who attend the forum also can learn the back story of how the dramas are conceptualized, how actors are selected, how scripts are written.

Of course, some devotees may know more than the lecturers, Yoo said.

"Our fans here might not speak a word of Korean," he added, "but they know all the gossip and rumors of celebrities."

Wonder if there's any way to earn a college credit out of this?