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Re: The Korean Wave


classblockquoteccwf wrote:


Yes. Rather guttural.
Ahh. Now, I understand fully.
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Wow, even though Uzkbekistan may like Korean dramas, they sure aren't following the South Korean democratic example. Yesterday, Uzbek government police shot upon almost 200 peaceful protestors whom they fear are "Muslim extremists" in the heavily Muslim east of the country.
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Re: The Korean Wave


(Part I)classcenterAddicted to loveclasscenterSoap operas from South Korea
are catching on with non-Koreans
in Hawaii and the mainland
On television
classcenterBy Gary C.W. Chun
[email protected] - July 2004

You don't often hear the word "love" used without irony when speaking about a TV station, but viewers of the local Korean-language KBFD truly love that station with all their hearts, specifically when it comes to serial dramas.

Ever since Kea Sung Chung started the independent UHF station in March 1986, KBFD's viewership, thanks to the growth of cable, has stretched beyond its intended Korean audience to include non-Korean female fans of English-subtitled dramas such as "Stairway to Heaven," "Phoenix," "The Marrying Type" and "One Million Roses."

Chung's son Jeff and daughter Yun Hee now manage the station, and fans have found the Chungs friendly and approachable whenever they've visited the downtown TV station.

So popular are these shows that KBFD also markets DVDs of earlier series here and throughout the mainland (more on that later), as well as CDs of the dramas' original soundtracks.

Korean dramas reach millions of daily viewers in China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia. The Seoul government estimates that 200,000 Asian tourists visited South Korea last year to see the studios and locations where the shows are shot. Several series were sent by the Korean government to Iraq to preserve the morale of Korean troops stationed there.

U.S. audiences for Korean television drama, while small, are vocal and devoted. In addition to KBFD, stations in Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and New York City offer several shows daily.classcenterImageclasscenterCOURTESY OF KBFD
Among the popular Korean serials creating a stir with Hawaii viewers is "Phoenix."


"We knew that most viewers of the dramas were first-generation Korean Americans, but we worried about the second generation, who were losing the language," said Kwang Dong-jo, vice president of the Chicago station. "We started subtitling to reach those younger people, and we asked viewers a year ago for feedback to see if they liked the subtitles.

"We got nearly 500 e-mails from English-speaking Americans," Kwang said. "We never expected non-Koreans to write, and it was a shock to us. I know these dramas are becoming popular even in Latin America - but in the U.S.? We are still surprised."

HARD-CORE LOCAL FANS refuse to take phone calls or speak to family members while their favorite dramas are playing.

Cheryl, from Kalihi (no last name, please, but she will say she's of Japanese ethnicity), was channel surfing one day several years ago when the English-translated drama "Propose" caught her eye.

"I started to tell my friends about the show, and a few became interested as well," she says, "and through the KBFD Web site and message board, I became more interested when I met more people through the message board group."

When asked how American soap operas fare against the Korean serial dramas, the responses were all the same.classcenterImageclasscenterCOURTESY OF KBFD
American fans of Korean soap operas say they are glad for the absence of sex and
violence in the storylines. Above is the recently concluded "Stairway to Heaven,"
 which will be released on DVD in the fall.


(continued in Part II, below)
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Part II (cont.)

"I can't watch American ones anymore," Cheryl says. "They don't have an end to their stories. Also, American soap operas have a lot of violence, and, of course, they have sex. That's not common in Korean dramas, plus I like the fact there will be an end to the story."

TO A MULTIETHNIC population here in the islands, ain't no big thing. We all share the stuff of our native cultures with one another with a sense of aloha - so why not TV dramas?

The community of Korean serial drama fans eagerly share their views with each other via KBFD's message board on its Web site, meet quarterly as part of the Hawaii K Drama Fan Club, learn more about the language and culture through special classes and, like their Asian counterparts, go on specialized South Korea tours that address their No. 1 passion.

The buzz on Korean serial dramas can be heard by men and women in offices, shopping malls, supermarkets, hair salons. And to think it all started with the airing of one English-translated drama, "Paper Crane," on KBFD back in 1988.

"We did it at first for better understanding of what Korea is culture-wise," says Jeff Chung. "Our dedicated viewers have always been the former Korean nationals, who only make up 2 percent of the population. But the overall popularity of our dramas started blooming three to four years ago. That's thanks to finding the right people to translate these dramas, which at times can be difficult because they have to have an understanding of both the culture and language."

In addition to the Chicago station, Chung says, "any subtitled dramas that are airing on the mainland more than likely came from us. No doubt, subtitling started in Hawaii. What has also helped with the growing popularity of the dramas here is that we're basically a free, local UHF station. On the mainland, Korean programming is aired either on strictly cable channels, pay channels or leasing time off a local channel.classcenterImageclasscenterCOURTESY OF KBFD
"One Million Roses"
"Here, it's come to the point where we consider requests from the serial drama fans. And our ad income has been steadily growing to include clients apart from the usual Korean businesses, thanks to the additional number of viewers these dramas pull in."

Pam Amii, a First Hawaiian Bank employee, says that family values are stressed in the Korean dramas, "as opposed to the torrid romances on American shows. Also, the romances are portrayed very slowly - it takes what seems ages for the couples to hold hands and get a peck on the cheek, which can be frustrating at times for an American audience."

While Joyce Lee, of Kaneohe, admits to watching the occasional episode of "The Bold and the Beautiful," "if I had a choice, I always watch the Korean one. ... The story lines are really good, we non-Koreans learn about the country's cultural background, plus they've got handsome guys and beautiful girls. I even got my friend's 65-year-old husband hooked by lending him my tapes."

This form of cultural outreach is made possible through accumulation of personal libraries of DVDs and CDs, attendance at special concerts, and meet-and-greet sessions with beloved stars here or in South Korea. The Hawaii K Drama Fan Club is an offshoot of longtime fan Phyllis Aana's original club for "Propose" star Ryu Shi-won.

The ethnically Chinese Aana might be considered an honorary Korean because of her love for the dramas and music.

"I love the music," she says. "I buy a lot of Korean CDs, even though I don't understand the language. My friends and I even go out to local Korean activities, because of the TV ads.

"I've befriended the staff at my favorite Korean restaurant, Sorabol on Keeaumoku, where one of them has become my hanai grandson. In fact, on our tour in October, we're going to Inchon, where I'll finally meet his family."classcenterImageclasscenterDENNIS ODA / [email protected]
Yong Ho Song, foreground, and Jun Hyon work in KBFD's production room. The station
provides subtitles for the popular soaps, a task that can require several hours per show.
THE LEADER of the tour is one of the six translators on KFBD's staff. Crystal Suh also teaches adult-education classes in "Learning Korean Through Korean TV Drama" at Moanalua and Farrington Community Schools.

"Translating is very time-consuming and labor-intensive," she says. "In my case, each episode of 'The Marrying Type' that I work on takes about 212 hours to complete."

Even though the translators have been lauded by fans for their work, Suh says that "some things cannot be translated, like some of the verbal nuances. But the classes help them better understand the culture. I think we've received the most feedback here because these family-oriented dramas brings out more emotions in people."

Fan club member Janet Oi said Suh "taught us how to understand the honorifics, and she tried to teach us some of the alphabet and the common terms and phrases. We also got to watch a drama without subtitles, and I've come to find out that Korean is really, really hard to learn."

Luckily, basic human emotion can be easily understood on a visual level.

"I'm Korean American myself," says Amii, "I learned a lot about my native culture through these dramas, since I was brought up more American as a third-generation Korean. My mom and all my aunts from church watch these shows. ... They're very addictive and habit-forming."

Take, for example, her breathless description of the just-completed "Stairway to Heaven," a viewer favorite. (Be warned that the following is without the all-important emotional nuances.)

"It's about a girl and her stepbrother who grew up together, and the gal is mistreated by the stepmother, and, years later, the villainous stepsister accidentally runs the girl over with her car, which leaves the girl with amnesia. And her stepbrother, her former first love, is engaged to the stepsister, but he can't forget her. The stepmother gets diagnosed with eye cancer, and in the process of donating one of his eyes, the stepbrother dies. The girl is now married to someone else, but then she gets sick and dies at the end."

And somewhere in there, Amii says, there's a beautiful love story.

Sandy Matsumoto, secretary by day and serial drama enthusiast by night, knows Amii and says "her brother's girlfriend is from Korea, and I watch these dramas more than her. It seems that everywhere I go, like the hairdresser's or out shopping, I hear how these dramas have caught on through word of mouth. You can end up watching four different shows a week. And when my family makes fun of me sometimes, I tell them, 'Well, at least I'm home!'"

Fan club member and teacher Karen Sonstegard, of Mililani, says she's a romantic at heart and appreciates the chasteness of these serial dramas.

"They're clean, pure love stories, with good-looking actors and actresses that talk about family situations and true-to-life things. I admit that I don't care for some dramas, but my friends say I'm picky because I've been watching these shows for 12 years now, and the story lines sometimes are so similar to one another, and there's always a love triangle.

"But I've become so addicted to these dramas that my older son calls me a groupie for some of these handsome actors," she says with a laugh. "So many of us schedule our activities around these dramas, to the point that if I'm asked if I want to go out any particular evening, I tell them I have to be home to watch my shows."

Sonstegard also speaks for all the other fans when she says, "I want to thank KBFD for giving us the opportunity of discovering these dramas."

F.N. D'Alessio, of the Associated Press, also contributed to this story.

[Note: Even though this article is from last year, I found particularly interesting how well the writer has caught the feeling so many of us have towards K-drama, not to mention how labor intensive it is to translate episodes into English.]

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Re: The Korean Wave


classblockquotenchristi wrote:

The community of Korean serial drama fans eagerly share their views with each other via KBFD's message board on its Web site, meet quarterly as part of the Hawaii K Drama Fan Club
Synchronicity. I just created an account on the Hawaii K-Drama Fans site last night, where I posted about Rooftop Room Cat/Rooftop Romanc/Attic Cat starting Tuesday, and was in the middle of posting links to it and the KBFD board (and chatting with you and Hiroshi66 and talking on the phone and starting to cook lunch) when you wrote this, nchristi. I'll have that K-Drama links post up soon.

---
ccwf
CJKDramas.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/charlescfu
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Re: The Korean Wave


nchristi THANK YOU! Enjoyed reading every word, and, of course, seeing the lovely pics Ahhhhh--the OMR couple!


This I could not believe: "Here, it's come to the point where we consider requests from the serial drama fans. And our ad income has been steadily growing to include clients apart from the usual Korean businesses, thanks to the additional number of viewers these dramas pull in."

Kudos to the sensitive, compassionate and generous family running that TV station; their viewers are very fortunate to have such intelligent, caring people at the helm.

Maybe someday, CA TV stations will acknowledge their vastly integrated viewing population and reward their viewers in much same manner by " . . . consider requests from the serial drama fans." What a novel idea! It's nice at least to see the aloha TV station reward it's great fans and acknowledge their role in keeping them afloat! Now I know why HI gets some of the great SBS dramas WE DO NOT. They have a station who listens and respects their audience.

I, for one, have tried communicating w/local stations, only for the most part to be told, "We show what we get. The station purchases and we don't know what we're getting." How's that for 'fan appreciation'? NOT!




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Re: The Korean Wave


Here it is, nchristi -- the real origin of the KW -- The Coat !!!

Note: Ah no -- this is not a pic of me, but is from Blue Skys (Canada) Catalog, and these are just a few looks/colors of The Coat.
http://www.blueskys.com/Catalogue/PSA_Listone.asp?ProdID=152&catidx=0&cat=16

BTW, Bae also wore The Coat in Winter Sonata.

 Comes in many colors, popular are neutral/earthy colors, but Dusty Rose or Mauve is pplr w/females. There are also versions in shorter lengths. Because of The Coat's unique Microcroft, Thinsulate, Water Repellant, Windflaps, 2-way Zipper, slash pockets, removable hood, etc., it is very pricey, beginning in low $300's to upwards $500+. . .
it is Essential if you live in freezing climates . . . or . . . on the ice! Thanks to Kr. skaters/parents for bringing The Coat to USA !

ImageImageImage



Last edited by star1, 5/16/2005, 12:19 pm
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Re: The Korean Wave


Thanks for posting the pictures of The Coat, star1. It looks great, with minimal bulk. Having come from a freezing clime myself, I remember as a child having on so many layers that we all looked (and felt) like the Michelin Man. Oh, to have had such wonderful clothing materials then!

ccwf, juggling all that at one time, you win the Synchro Man of the Year award!
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Wonderful article, nchristii!

Interesting that the government of South Korea sent dramas to Iraq to raise the moral of the Korean troops stationed there..
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Guess everyone's heard Hollywood's concerned about decreasing revenues from movie theatres, etc., guess now they're going to get real . . . and, . . . guess our message is slowly making its way OUT of their wallets, eh?! . . . could we be seeing Sad Sonata on the big screen, soon? . . . God! I hope they never touch the likes of that beautiful drama; makes me shudder to think of what would happen to it w/their foul language, etc. Actually, I still think Hollywood does not get it!
 
Credits: The Korea Times
David H. Franzoni, the producer and screenwriter of the Academy Award-winning epic blockbuster ``Gladiator,’’ will make his film directorial debut with a remake of the hit 2000 Korean movie ``JSA (Joint Security Area).’’

Image
poster for JSA
 
According to Thursday’s issue of the Hollywood Reporter, an American daily magazine specialized in the entertainment industry, Franzoni has purchased the rights to adapt the film, but will modify its political and geographic setting to appeal to a wider audience.
 
Thus, the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas, the setting for the original film, will be changed to the U.S.-Mexico border region, the daily reported.
 
The magazine also added that it is the first case of a copyright deal between an individual Hollywood film director and a Korean film production company.
 
Previously, remake rights for Korean films were sold to U.S. studios through contacts between U.S. and Korean film companies.
 
So far the remake rights of over 10 Korean films have been purchased by U.S. film companies, including the comic action film ``My Wife Is a Gangster’’ and melodrama ``Il Mare (Siwolae).’’ The latter has been filming in Chicago since March, with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock cast in the main roles.
 
Originally made by acclaimed director Park Chan-wook, also well-known for his 2004 Cannes Grand Prix award-winning film, ``Old Boy,’’ ``JSA’’ depicts the growing friendship between South and North Korean border guards and drew over 5 million people on its domestic release.
 
The film was also a hit in Japan upon its release in 2003, earning $10.8 million on ticket sales of 825,000.
 
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05-13-2005 17:29
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