Posted on: Sunday, May 8, 2005
'Ballad' appeal set standard for soaps
| • | Keep up with events in K-Drama world |
 |
What is your favorite drama? Choose your favorite K-drama in this week's poll. |
 |
K-drama message board Got a question or comment? Post it on our K-drama message board. |
By Jeff Chung
From dramas to music to kim chee and soju (Korean alcohol), Asia is turning Korean — and Korean soap operas (K-dramas) are a big reason for the transformation.
Part of the appeal is that we use subtitles in Hawai'i to help bridge the communication gap. The results were really noticed with our most popular soap, "Winter Ballad," shown in 2002. This is the one that has hooked most fans still watching K-drama today.
Initially, the idea behind the subtitling was to promote the Korean culture in hopes that the second- and third-generation Korean Americans who had moved here retained their culture.
But K-drama's influences have surpassed expectations. "Winter Ballad" was so popular that when it went to DVD, it sold more than 300,000 copies in Japan at an average price of $400. (In Hawai'i, the DVDs have English subtitles, provided by KBFD, and I've been told some fans in Japan use the DVD series to learn English).
In "Ode to the Han River," should Ga-Young and Joon-ho give in to pressure and start a family? Of the 138 responses, 112 voted no and 26 voted yes. On a visit to the country, nearly 10,000 fans lined up for a glimpse of him at the airport, causing massive traffic complications. His popularity matched the drama's popularity, which surpassed all other Japanese programming in the ratings, leading to today's K-boom.
Even Sony, the media giant based in Japan, capitalized on "Winter Ballad" by signing Bae Yong Jun to a million-dollar contract to do commercials.
One more note: Bae Yong Jun's co-star, Choi Ji-woo, recently was invited to Japan to meet Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
It's not the typical welcome for soap opera stars, no matter the culture.
And as for "Winter Ballad" in Hawai'i — it aired with subtitles here two years before the show was aired in Japan.
In other words — lucky you live Hawai'i!
Enjoy this week's K-dramas.
Jeff Chung is the general manager of KBFD, which televises the K-dramas. If you have a K-drama question or comment, call KBFD at 521-8066.
Even here in Hawai'i, you can trace K-dramas' grip on the community to "Winter Ballad," (also known as "Winter Sonata," in Japan).
"Sad Love Story," Monday and Tuesday, 7:50 p.m.
The original sound track for "Winter Ballad" sold more than 1 million copies in Japan, a record for sound-track sales in the country by more than 200,000 copies. One of the show's stars, Bae Yong Jun — also known as "Yong Sama!" in Japan — is a perfect example of the soap's economic and social impact in Japan.
"Ode to the Han River," Sunday at 7 and 8 p.m.
Last Week's Poll
