By Rhena Imamura
It was recently made public that the Korean actor Bae Yong Joon who gained popularity in the Korean drama Winter Sonata earned 32.9 billion won (about ￥4.3 billion) last year. Ninety percent of his income was earned in Japan. The fees for TV commercials such as LOTTE and SECOM amounted to ￥19.5 billion. These impressive numbers clearly show his amazing popularity in Japan.
Bae Yong Joon and Choi Ji Woo starred in Winter Sonata, which was produced by KBS and was broadcasted on Japan's NHK, from December 2003 to 2004. The weekly ratings for the program made the top-ten chart in the drama division, and 'Huyusona' (Winter Sonata) and 'Yon-sama' (Bae Yong Joon) got the grand prize as the best vogue words of the year and the show became a social phenomenon. Because of its success, every television station has begun to broadcast Korean dramas.
Nowadays, 'Hanryu' (Korean Wave) is well-established in Japan along with Hollywood movie as a genre. Before the success of Winter Sonata, there was a Korean enka boom in the late 1970s, the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988, and the FIFA World Cup in 2002, but the term 'Korean Wave' wasn't coined yet.
'Korean Wave' refers to the success of Korean pop culture across Asia. Korean national policy aims to make Korea a culture exporting country. Korean dramas began telecasting in East Asian countries in 2000 or thereabouts and Korean film, music and fashion became popular. Thus, the 'Korean Wave' was created and it first spread to Taiwan, and then to China and Japan and other East Asian Countries.
The chief factor why Winter Sonata became a hit is that it is different from Japanese dramas. For example, the story is longer and it progresses slowly, and the plot is more old-fashioned than modern Japanese dramas. As a result, this drama has fascinated middle-aged women the most because the dramas remind them of a gone-by era. These dramas also seem to be accepted by the younger generation, too.
There are five key points about the plots of Korean dramas. The first one is about the circumstances around the main character's birth, which is revealed as the drama progresses and it adds suspense to the story. The second is familial bonds. Confucian ideas are deeply ingrained in Korean society and the relationship between parents and children are more important than other relationships. This is connected to the first point, and parents play a roll in watching over the main character who struggles against fate.
The third is a point to have a big accident in the story which creates a turning point and changes the hero's life dramatically. The fourth is to include some kind of incurable disease. It seems that the more unhappy the hero is, the higher the ratings for a program rises. The fifth is bullying by the hero's rival. Korean dramas distinguish between good and evil clearly. Viewers can empathize with the main character who endures the bullying and they cannot watch with dry eyes. These five points interact together to create a dramatic story.
The economic ripple effect of the 'Korean Wave' helps remove many years of deep-rooted mistrust and prejudice between Korea and Japan, and it can be seen in a wide range of areas and contribute to create friendship and goodwill. Bae Yong Joon's popularity is proof of this. Former Prime Minister Koizumi once mentioned Winter Sonata at a conference with Korean President Roh Moo Hyun, and in this way the 'Korean Wave' has made its presence felt even in the political arena.
As for foreign language study, the sales of the NHK Hangul course textbook sold 90,000 copies in 1984 when it started. However, over 200,000 sold in 2004. In the field of tourism, in 2004 when the Korean Wave was new, the number of Japanese travelers who visited Korea was about 2.4 million, which was an increase of 35.5 percent from the year before. Japanese have shown an interest not only in Korean dramas, but also in the language and culture which is good for the relationship between the two countries.