Popularity Wanes As ’Anti-Korean Wave’ Sentiment Sets In

[kobe23]

Exports of South Korean TV dramas have decreased for the first time this year. According to data announced by the Korean Broadcasting Institute on December 18 ...

[Full Article at Twitch]

This should send a clear message to k-drama producers and writers that people are getting sick and tired of typical melodrama's and a change in style is imperative to regain the attention of the non-korean audience.

As much as I love k-drama, I have to say that the relentless use of 'flashbacks' to drag out a series for a few more episodes and the use of terminal diseases has grown old despite having watched k-dramas for only 6 months or so.

Let's hope for more creativity from the writers and a better 2007!

[groink]

Let's hope for more creativity from the writers and a better 2007!

More likely wish for a better 2008. Because the Korean TV market consist only of three seasons (versus four seasons in Japan), the majority of Korean dramas for 2007 have already been written - well before this data was released. So you'll be stuck with probably the same business through the end of April, if not through all of 2007.

It is interesting though that they mentioned CSI is very popular in Asia, as I've known for quite some time now. Crime dramas are always a sure thing in entertainment because of the single-plot-per-episode format allows viewers to go in and out of a series without actually missing anything. There are tons of cop dramas airing in Japan, and most of them are 15-plus points for the season (remember there are many more networks and time slots in the Japanese market, hence 15-points being very good.)

I still at a loss as to why the Korean industry keep sticking to the "formula". They should have known the melodrama novelty's going to eventually wear off.

--- groink

[yt_toshi]

I still at a loss as to why the Korean industry keep sticking to the "formula". They should have known the melodrama novelty's going to eventually wear off.

I guess they're either just "milking" the "formula" for all it's worth or maybe "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Who knows?!

[Néa Vanille]

I was actually VERY satisfied with the KDramas of 2006. The majority of them was comedies or more lighthearted dramas, and though I haven't watched all of them, I didn't see a single terminal disease except for in Snow Queen this year. Another thing that made KDrama great in 2006: the rise of cable network dramas and our first more 'daring' KDrama (Hyena). Though, on the plus side, Korea sold its first drama to the US this year, the very Hyena I just mentioned.

It's probably the very fact that very few melodramas were produced this year that has resulted in poorer sales to Asian countries. Comedies are still not as popular it seems (except for Goong), and the one really sappy drama of 2006 I can think of was Spring Waltz, which was arguably the weakest of the Season series. I personally think that the sentiment stated in the article ('same type of melodrama etc.') is wrong, for there were definitely more comedies than anything else this year. I saw more people die in JDrama than KDrama this year.

I guess a lack of Hallyu-Stars could also be a reason. Son Yeh Jin did star in one drama, but it wasn't very exportable, focusing on a divorced couple and their mixed feelings towards each other and having a very unusual, bittersweet storyline.

There's also the fact that there was no real mini-drama hit this year with no drama recording 30+ ratings as far as I know (there was Jumong, of course, but it's an epic period drama, not a mini-drama - speaking of which, I hope it will be just as popular as Dae Jang Geum, it's certainly better). Anyway, there was no Kim Sam-Soon or Autumn Tale or MiSa this year and other Asian countries are apparently just not interested in all the less mainstream KDramas I've seen over the year.

Next year we're getting a Korean CSI version starring Son Yeh Jin written by a cast of well-known movie writers, so I guess that's an attempt to adapt to the new demand for crime series in Asia. The new show with Lee Jun Ki should also generate some interest.

Anyway, I as a KDrama fan am quite satisfied when Korean dramas don't sell quite as well, because as a result less exportable crap, but more comedies intented for Korean viewers with fresher faces are produced. This year, KDramas were much better than JDramas. In 2005, it was the opposite.

@yt_toshi: actually, it already broke and it does need fixing, at least to Koreans. I'm sure you're all familiar with the Seasons series? Yeah, Winter Sonata with that chubby Korean Japanese ahjummas love so much now and the even more popular Autumn Tale, recording like 50+% ratings in Korea. Well, you know what happened to Spring Waltz, the fourth and last installment trying to sell the same story again to the Korean audience?

Like 8% rating. Crashed and burned. Though of course, it was THIS dramas that was sold to 8 Asian countries! Heaven's Tree, the new installment in the 'Heavens' series, also did rather badly in Korea but, as a Korean-Japanese co-production, was aired in Japan and how the new 'Lovers' installment is doing, I don't know, though I know it's a FAR CRY from the overwhelming success of Lovers in Paris a few years ago. And EVEN Snow Queen, which has immense star power with Hyun Bin, is doing poorly rating-wise (last I heard, less than 10%), all because it is a melodrama about a woman with a terminal disease and Koreans, apparently, are so sick of melodramas they even stay away from the good ones (yes, I consider Snow Queen to be a good melodrama because of the art direction and music).

[PJB]

Hmm, hats out to Bad Family, quite probably the most touching KDrama I've seen in 2006 not simply because of the story, but because of the very human character we see in Dal-Gun! I always enjoy something that shows us characters that truely change and learn from it (and we actually see that reflected in their faces). When you see this kind of acting it makes many others pale by comparison (just look at the acting in Spring Waltz). And surely Goong is one of the most popoular to date.

[kobe23]

I
Next year we're getting a Korean CSI version starring Son Yeh Jin written by a cast of well-known movie writers, so I guess that's an attempt to adapt to the new demand for crime series in Asia.

I would love to see a Korean crime series however I do not like the single-plot-per-episode format as it takes away the true definition of a series. I kinda like the fact that at the end of a k-drama episode, you're itching to watch the next one to see what happens.

Do you have anymore information (links) about the K-CSI with SYJ?

[Templar]

The Korean wave is what the industries of all other countries have gone through and, in my opinion, should not be such a surprise. It's just like the HK film industry and the changes, achievements and advancements it has gone through. The initial trend is over, but Kdrama, and the Korean film industry are far from dead. I think that now we will see more of a level playing field where creative input from all countries that have a stake in television and film will become of rising importance. Competition is good. As the watchers of television and film we can only gain from this.

[Néa Vanille]

@kobe, this is all I know...

Son Ye Jin and Sol Kyung Kyu is going to co-star together in a 24 episodes, 2007 new drama " Agent Zero". The drama is said to be the korean version of the police drama "CSI". Famous movie writers of ShilMiDo, Public Enemy, Old Boy, Crying Fist.. are going to work together for this drama. The station airing it is still unknown at the moment.




There's also another crime drama going to air in 2007. Jo In Sung is a good movie actor, so here's hoping:

Jo In Sung will be acting in a drama from a japanese comic adaption "Shaking Land Mine" (Jiraishin) in 2007. His role will be a cold heart cop who goes after criminals with an iron hand.


There are also rumours that Jeon Ji Hyun and Song Hye Kyo are fighting for a role in a drama, so we might actually see one of them in a drama again.
Since I was already browsing that site I thought what the heck, so here are some other 2007 dramas that I'm personally anticipating.


MBC will be adapting a Japanese movie "Rainbow Song" into a drama which is mostly to be broadcast in 2007.
"Rainbow Song" is about a pair of man and woman who met and come to understand each other through a movie club. But only after their separation without confessing their love, they realise how important the other party is to them.
[img]http://img.news.yahoo.co.kr/picture/94/ ... 7894_0.jpg[/img]



Also:
Park Si Yeon and Park Keon Hyeong will be playing a pair of con-men who will pit their skills against each other but falls in love in the process in KBS new 2007 drama "When Spring Comes" which is to be air after Snow Queen ends.

[img]http://file2.cbs.co.kr/newsroom/image/2 ... 800030.jpg[/img]



Actress Hwang Soo Jung who was caught on a drug offence some years ago, is going to make a comeback to the small screen with SBS new 2007 friday drama "Memories". Memories will be about a woman who has to spend a night with a wealthy man to get money for her husband's medical treatment after his business failed as well.
The drama will be aired on 5th Jan. at 8:55.

[img]http://imgnews.naver.com/image/117/2006 ... 1110_1.jpg[/img]



All of this taken from the news/announcement thread at the With S2 board. Credit to yeohweping and purpletiger86 and With S2 as a whole. I know that most of this stuff sounds like remakes, but then the KDrama Rude Woman was also announced as the Korean version of Desperate Housewives, yet it was very unique, had its own plot and managed to tell a new story from the basic inspiration. So I'd say that even if they're announced as remakes or 'Korean versions', things might turn out more original than previously thought.

I'm also looking forward to Time of Dog and Wolf and City of God, but I didn't include the previews for those because they are better-known. I'm also looking forward to this Hip Hop drama that got announced a while ago (wonder where it's gone, no new infos on it..), but I think that's more of a personal bias of mine.

Well, I'm looking forward to all these dramas and a few more that I didn't mention. There's no doubt that some other dramas will stink (among others a drama starring Yoon Eun Hye about a fashion designer caught between two men... urghs!), but I'd say 2007 doesn't look too bad. Even better than 2006 from what I can tell, but we'll see.

[Sakari]

As much as I love k-drama, I have to say that the relentless use of 'flashbacks' to drag out a series for a few more episodes and the use of terminal diseases has grown old despite having watched k-dramas for only 6 months or so.

Let's hope for more creativity from the writers and a better 2007!

Here is a partial list of this year's KDramas
Goong
Which Star Are You from?
Alone in Love
Bad Family
Really Really Like You
One Fine Day
Smile Again
Mr. Goodbye
Come Back Soon-ae
Jumong
Rude Women
Stranger than Heaven
Cloud Stairway
Fantasy Couple
Lovers
Queen of the Game
90 Days

Yes, among the 17, there are a few flashbacks and terminal diseases. But surely those are not any kind of dominating feature?

[PJB]

I'd like to see something come out of Korean TV that's like Lost.. Or something set in the future. But nothing stupid or silly with aliens and weird stuff, a realistic future. Doesn't need to be in space, or anything to do with space - Though a space-style one would be interested. I.E The first Korean lead space mission into orbit, about their lifes, the moments and events leading up to and after such an event.... It can be done on a budget too. The problem with those genres is they tend to be portrayed as cheesy, but as we've seen with some of the lesser known shows out there, they can be the most inspiring. Like Solaris, it's weird, but works.

[Chidori-Chan]

i agreed some kdrama are getting abit dragging ... it was ok in the beginning..as it's fresh...at least MY GIRL was quite good ... and Goong becos of the manga ... overall, i think i liked my girl better...

abit sick of those childhood sweetheart type ..hehe...

i was a big kdrama fan but now just so so .. now i'm more into manga and anime ...and also start watching some jdrama too ....

[captain-nippon]

as well as anti-Korean wave sentiment in Asian nations.

What a ridiculous statement. There is NO REASON why Asian nations should be Anti- Korean on anything, there's nothing to be anti korean about. The korean media are blaming on the Anti-Korea sentiment istead of blame on Shitty DRAMAS.

Do the korean expect other Asian nations to watch 2 boys 2 girls dramas over a 1 000 times and love them every times?

When you eay the same food over and over and OVER again, do you get bore with IT? YES U DO.

[Néa Vanille]

i agreed some kdrama are getting abit dragging ... it was ok in the beginning..as it's fresh...at least MY GIRL was quite good ... and Goong becos of the manga ... overall, i think i liked my girl better...

abit sick of those childhood sweetheart type ..hehe...

i was a big kdrama fan but now just so so .. now i'm more into manga and anime ...and also start watching some jdrama too ....

Eh, if you like shows like My Girl, why do you complain about childhood sweethearts? Comedies generally don't feature those, bad melodramas do. *glares at Spring Waltz and One Fine Day*

You should watch Fantasy Couple, it's from the same writers as My Girl, but it's better than My Girl. Funnier and it's absolutely drag-free even in the middle part as the story is quite fresh. What's Up, Fox is also an excellent comedy without childhood sweetheart or dragging, but it's a little 'daring' and a little sexual, so if you're uncomfortable with that kind of stuff, it's probably not for you. But yeah, sounds like Fantasy Couple is a must-watch for you.

[BOGCHI]

Bad Family.
Korean dramas were pretty good this year.. well it LOOKS good (I've only seen one).
There wasn't as much melodramatic dramas as they exaggerate.
Maybe people just found alternatives on getting korean dramas.. like you know.. pirating or downloading it off the net, which can also be considered as pirating. OR less people got introduced to dramas could also be a possibility. OR maybe people have gone broke. There are a lot of possible reasons, but I really don't think it's because they produced too much melodramas. There are actually a lot of alternatives, a lot of Korean comedies or romantic comedies were produced, so I really don't think that's the problem.
Well I hope sales goes back up. I mean, I'm not really into Korean dramas.. but I like watching them. Less sale, could also mean less budget. Same with ratings.