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Hubei Shiyan: Dressed in traditional South Korean-styled garb, two women are about to sit for photos. According to a staff member at this studio, many customers posing for wedding photos or a self photo album like to also pose with wearing South Korean garb. |
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At the end of 2005, after a one-month run on the TVs of China, the South Korean series Dae Jang Geum finally delivered to its legions of enthusiastic fans their anticipated reward: a happy ending. The conclusion was deemed ideal and viewer numbers were high. According to a survey from CVSC-Sofres Media, since its first presentation on mainland TVs Dae Jang Geum’s ratings have steadily climbed, ranking the show among the top within its time slot.
It has been 13 years since South Korean TV productions entered the mainland market. From Envy, the first show to be imported in 1993, to Full House and Miss Mermaid, which were aired frequently on mainland screens in recent years, what draws Chinese audiences to the South Korean production is their basic unadorned quality and unique charm.
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Lee Young Ae, heroine of Dae Jang Geum, appears in a press conference for promotion of Dae Jang Geum in China.
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Successful Signals
Besides advanced technology, sophisticated marketing and support from the South Korean government, the nation’s shows succeed in China largely because they feature characters cast in the mold of everyday modern life. It is due to these qualities that the South Korean series strike a responsive chord in the hearts of Chinese audiences, especially with younger viewers.
So accurate are they in the depiction of real life, some South Korean TV series may seem to some to be a bit overloaded with trivial details. However, it is just such trivialities that draw people in with the familiar. Almost every series touches upon the relationships and conflicts of parents and children, seniors and juniors, and the same generation in a family. Chinese audiences find similarities with the images and dreams of their own when they were young. And, to some extent, they draw a certain satisfaction not readily obtainable in the real world.
Moreover, since the long history of friendship and communication between China and South Korea began, China’s Confucianism has cast a certain influence over South Korean culture. Confucianism in South Korea not only affects modern society, but also the relationship between family members and even social members. Thus, it is not hard to understand why Chinese audiences have some advantage in grasping the cultural connotations of South Korean series while absorbing the main themes of these TV series.
For young people, a major fan base in China, South Korean series spare no effort in catering to their preferences. Breath-taking scenes, exquisitely-designed plotlines, and melodic music are all employed to move the audience. Moreover, since the earlier What is Love to later Full House and Winter Sonata, producers have aimed to portray true-to-life stories conceived primarily for youngsters, thus turning them into loyal audiences.
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South Korean TV series are in a sense a new way to promote communication between South Korea and China. Yang Mi Kyung, who is popular in China for her roles in some South Korean series, visits the Shanghai Food Fair as an envoy for South Korean export food and agricultural products.
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Feverish Fans
Li Ke, 22, a student at BeijingNormalUniversity, has for years been a fan of South Korean TV. “I began to watch when I was still in junior middle school. The stories are vivid, for they could happen to any one of us in everyday life. Also, traditional virtues and ethics, such as obeying your parents, respecting proper formalities between young and old, unity and fraternity between brothers which are advocated in the South Korean TV series have also been called for in today’s Chinese society,” she says.
Mr. Liu, a 32-year-old lawyer, often returns home from work late at night. He says that he was introduced to South Korean shows by his wife. “You will feel relaxed and like you are experiencing real life when watching them. You may also gain some philosophical insights from their portrayals of the lives of ordinary people,” he says.
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South Korean actress Choi Jin Woo, known for her role in Winter Sonata.
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Cultural Coexistence
Among applause, there are also some criticism. A renowned Chinese screenwriter who has several scripts for popular TV shows has a different take. “It is beautifully produced, with a lot of popular market elements and gorgeous actors and actresses, but the structure and the plot may be a bit too old-fashioned ... always Cinderella is becoming a princess. Thus in terms of depth, they cannot match Chinese TV series,” like Lovers from Paris, a South Korean TV series which recently hit the screen, he says.
Even one of those in charge of importing South Korean TV series in China Central Television (CCTV) admits, “Those imported are carefully selected and are surely to get a high rate of viewership. However, never take a part for the whole and assume that all TV series produced by South Korea are high-quality.”
In fact, in today’s rapid process of globalization, there are no nations or cultures free of the influences from others. And, in fact, they should welcome further international cultural exchanges. In China today, beside the boom in South Korean series viewership, there have emerged other cultural phenomena that would have been difficult to predict 10 years ago. Posting self-taken pictures on the net, leading a Nono (From “No Logo”) styled life, Cosplay, and other emerging trends have opened China and encouraged fruitful co-existence with various cultures.
