If you are a hallyu fan and have been buying movies or drama DVDs, you may be unintentionally supporting piracy of Korean media content. There is no doubt that Korean movies and dramas have taken a foot-hold in Hawai'i. KBFD was the first to translate and subtitle into English many South Korean TV series, beginning in 1989. But with the recent success and popularity of Korean programming, combined with advancements in technology, pirating has become a hot issue among networks. There is a great deal of pirated material sold in retail stores in Hawai'i; store owners themselves often do not even know their merchandise was illegally recorded — or they pretend not to know.

There are only three major networks in South Korea producing and broadcasting popular dramas. Some production companies that supply programming to networks now retain the rights to DVDs, video and related business other than domestic broadcast. Exclusive rights to programs are often sold to a single outlet in a given country — and in this tight-knit business, everyone knows who purchased rights especially for the U.S. market.

However, pirating of Korean dramas and movies is rampant at all levels in the American market. Whether it is via DVD or on the Internet, it's easy to gain access to your favorite programs. But pirating hurts the networks, local broadcast affiliates and other businesses that rely on secured programming to recoup their investments.

Sales of legitimate programming rights often begin to decline as pirating material tends to hit the market quicker. Lower sales result in lower budgets for production, eventually resulting in less production or in poorer-quality TV series or movies. One industry executive told me that nearly 25 percent of Korean video stores in the U.S. have closed because of pirating. Why drive to the local video store when you can watch a program on your computer with just a few clicks? In most cases, the content that is available there has been illegally copied and is not authorized by the program licensor.

KBFD has been selling DVDs at the request of drama fans for the last seven years and recently has taken a hit, too. Sales have dropped nearly 30 percent as pirated material became more available. KBFD was the first here to offer DVDs of popular dramas, but soon other stores, and big-box retailers, followed. All outlets selling legitimate DVD are now being hurt by pirated material.

I was walking to one of my favorite dim-sum restaurants one Sunday and happened to walk by a store in Chinatown selling Korean drama DVDs. I was simply shocked at the quantity of Korean dramas available, and what really got my attention is that they had titles KBFD didn't have yet, as these were still in the process of production. The owner lectured me, saying, "Why pay $80 dollars elsewhere when you can get it for $20 here?" How ironic; our company owns the rights to some of the programs he's selling.

For example, KBFD purchased the rights to "Lovers In Paris," but someone, somehow, got a supplier to produce well-designed knockoff packages available in that store. My next concern was, are these copies using and pirating KBFD translations? Without revealing who I was, I haggled for and purchased the recent series "Money War" for $18. The cover looked legitimate, but I had to ask if the whole series was really in the box, because the packaging was really thin, with only about two discs inside. Normally, for a 16- to 24-episode DVD set, the box is quite thick, as there are six to eight discs. He assured me all the discs were there.

I brought the pirated box back and played it later that day. But because the series had been compressed onto two discs instead of the normal eight, the video quality was not DVD but more like high-grade VHS.

And the subtitles? I couldn't stop laughing, as the translation seemed almost as if a computer-generated program had been used; the dialogue was too literal and didn't make any sense.

Well, you get what you pay for.

In another instance, one of my friends wanted to see a specific South Korean movie and went to a local Korean video store but didn't see it on the shelf. He asked for the title and the video store clerk simply burned him a DVD of the movie on the spot! The price was $2, and when my friend asked when he should return the disc, the clerk said, "whenever you want."

Pirating also hurts nonprofit organizations such as the Hawaii International Film Festival. For example, the third annual K-Fest, a Korean film festival held in the summer, was a sell-out in past years, but this year showed signs of a slowdown. I asked several hallyu fans why they hadn't attended and they admitted that they had already seen the movies in copies that had to be pirated because the titles were recent releases in South Korea and hadn't come out here yet at all.

Networks are clamping down on pirating by going after the bigger targets, and local affiliates are keeping tabs on who in their town is taking part in pirating. The most ideal and simple way to eradicate the practice, though, is for fans to support legitimate retailers. If we reduce the demand for pirated material, the stores cutting corners will eventually go out of business.

THIS WEEK'S K-DRAMA SYNOPSES

'BRIDE FROM VIETNAM'

EPISODES 27 AND 28

Tonight at 7: Sung-il runs into Jin-ju at Yewon, and asks her about her father and mother. Sung-il also asks his aunt for information on Jin-ju, and orders a background check on Jin-ju and her in-laws. In-kyong jokingly asks Jun-wu out on a date, and Jun-wu just shrugs it off. Tonight at 8: Sung-il asks his aunt to teach Jin-ju about rice-making and offers to sponsor her secretly. But she turns him down and questions his motive for trying to help Jin-ju. Sung-il looks for ways to secretly help Jin-ju's in-laws.

'KING & I'

EPISODES 7 AND 8

Tomorrow at 7:50 p.m.: Chi-gyeom offers to allow Chu-seon an audience with the king in exchange for becoming his adopted son. But Chu-seon refuses, saying he can't betray his mother. With Chi-gyeom's help, Chu-seon is able to deliver So-hwa's letter to the king. Tuesday at 7:50 p.m.: Han Myong-hwe asks Chi-gyeom whom the queen mother has in mind for the king's bride, but Chi-gyeom feigns ignorance. Han Myong-hwe tells Chi-gyeom there will be confusion and trouble in the land should So-hwa become the queen.

'LOBBYIST'

EPISODES 1 AND 2

A new series starring Hawai'i's favorite hallyu star, Song Il-gook, is an action series partly filmed in the U.S. This series is going head to head with the new period- piece drama that stars Bae Yong Joon in Korea.

Wednesday at 7:50 p.m.: Joo-ho moves from Seoul with his army-officer father to a small coastal town where So-young lives. Tae-sung, So-young's father, is a taxi driver who discovers a submarine left by a group of spies. His hopes are high as everyone tells him he'll get a big reward for his discovery. Thursday at 7:40 p.m.: Officer Kim, Joo-ho's father, finds the spies hiding out in a house, and a bloody shootout begins. Joo-ho's father is killed in the crossfire, and So-young, who witnessed the scene, is traumatized. Joo-ho and his sister Susie, orphaned after their father's death, go to live with their aunt in America.

'TIME BETWEEN DOG & WOLF'

EPISODES 1 AND 2

Recent guest of the Hawai'i International Film Festival, Lee Jun-Ki is back on TV in this new drama series. Friday at 7:50 p.m.: Kyong-hwa, Soo-hyun's mother, is a prosecutor in Thailand, where she's investigating a crime organization. Ji-woo's father is Mao, a killer working for the same mob. Ji-woo's mother wants to leave her husband for her lover Young-gil, who's more of a father to Ji-woo than her real dad. Saturday at 7:59 p.m.: Joong-ho introduces Soo-hyun to Min-ki, and tells him they'll be living together. Soo-hyun and Min-ki start to develop a friendship after a fight at school. Soo-hyun has become an NIS agent, and Ji-woo is also training to become an agent.