Since the beginning of this year, major video platforms have successively launched a number of Korean dramas: Mango TV has broadcast "Shi Ren Tang: Light's Diary"; iQIYI has broadcast "Beautiful Sister Who Often Asks for Meals" and "Why is Secretary Jin like that"; Station B has put on the shelves of many Korean dramas such as "Queen Inhyun's Man", "It's Oh Haeyoung Again", "Witty Prison Life", "Witty Doctor Life 2" and "Innocent Love".
From "Blue Life and Death" to "Dae Jang Geum", from "Reply 1988" to "Descendants of the Sun", from "The Witty Prison Life" to "The Witty Doctor's Life"... Korean dramas have detonated China several times before. The "Korean Wave", this time, are you optimistic about the "comeback" of the Korean drama?
Why these shows?
"Top-notch" Korean drama director
Among the Korean dramas introduced this year, there are two TV dramas directed by Shin Won-ho - "Witty Doctor Life 2" and "Witty Prison Life".
There is a saying in the Korean industry that "Shen Yuanhao's product must be a high-quality product".
In the classic "Please Answer" series directed by him, "Please Answer 1997" scored 8.9 points on Douban, "Please Answer 1994" 8.7 points, and "Please Answer 1988" 9.7 points. There are also a large number of fans in China.
After the "Please Answer" series ended in 2016, Shen Yuanhao devoted himself to the shooting of the "Witty" series.
"Witty Prison Life" quickly became a hit after its premiere on tvN in 2017.
The drama tells the story of professional baseball player Kim Ji-hyuk in prison after being imprisoned for murder by mistake.
The play presents the warm side of the prison by portraying the unique personalities of prisoners, prison officers, family members and other characters.
After the play was broadcast, the starring Park Hae-soo entered the ranks of South Korean first-line actors. Last year, he starred in the popular Korean drama "Squid Game" all over the world.
Ding Haiyin, who played Captain Liu, was originally unknown, but through the drama and the hit drama "While You Were Sleeping" that was broadcast in the same year, his popularity soared and he was promoted to a first-line niche student. Night" and "Half of Half" and many other Korean dramas.
In 2020, Shen Yuanhao launched the first season of "The Witty Doctor's Life", which tells the warm story of 5 doctor partners who support each other and grow together while saving lives and helping the wounded.
The broadcast time of the play coincided with the early stage of the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic. The friendship and love between doctors, nurses and patients in the play brought infinite warmth to the audience.
The Douban score of the show is as high as 9.5 points.
In 2021, the second season of "The Witty Doctor's Life" will continue to impress the audience, and the Douban score is also 9.5 points.
It is worth mentioning that the reality shows "Witty Camping Life" and "Witty Mountain Village Life", which starred Cao Jung-seok, Yoo Yeon-seok, Zheng Jinghao, Jin Daming, Tian Meidu, etc. in the play, also received a good response.
TopicKorean dramas have their own strengths
In addition to the high-scoring TV dramas directed by Shin Won-ho, what types of Korean dramas have domestic video sites introduced?
The first category is big production Korean dramas.
"Seimdang: Light's Diary" tells the story of a university lecturer who stumbles upon the diary of the talented painter Shin Shimdang, and uncovers the mystery of Shin Shimdang's art and love.
The total investment of the play is as high as 21.6 billion won (about 120 million yuan). It is Lee Young-ae's return to the screen after 11 years since she starred in "Dae Jang Geum" in 2004. The actor Song Seung-heon is also well-known in China. .
The play has already pre-sold the copyright to China at the beginning of the filming.
The second category is love dramas.
In recent years, Korean romantic dramas have long gotten rid of the tragic routines of ancient Korean dramas, and many sweet dramas have both social topicality and romantic atmosphere.
There are many Korean dramas introduced in the mainland this time. There are many popular sweet dramas in recent years: "Beautiful Sister who often invites dinner" starring Sun Yezhen and Ding Haiyin focuses on the topic of sister and brother love, satisfying the audience's imagination of cross-age love; starring Park Seojun and Park Minying. "Why is Secretary Kim like that" focuses on the romantic story between a boss who doesn't understand love and a secretary who goes with him, and also touches on the topic of children's mental health.
The third category is the drama with fantasy.
"Queen Inxian's Man" starring Liu Renna and Ji Xianyu is a representative of Korea's ancient time-travel drama. With a spell, the hero travels back and forth between ancient times and modern times to change history. The love story between him and the heroine also travels through time and space. gradually generated.
"It's Oh Hae-young Again" starring Seo Hyun-jin and Moon Cheong-hyuk tells the story of the love between ordinary woman Oh Hae-young and Park Do-kyung, a man who can predict the future.
When the show was broadcast in South Korea, the original 16 episodes were expanded to 18 episodes because of the overwhelming response.
"Falling into Pure Love" starring Zheng Jinghao and Kim Soyeon tells the story of the overbearing president's changes after undergoing heart transplant surgery.
Korean drama used to be "sweet pastry"
Before the production and distribution of domestic dramas had grown on a large scale, Korean dramas were once the "sweet pastry" in the Chinese TV drama market.
Especially at the beginning of the new century, Korean dramas once dominated the schedules of major Chinese TV stations.
"Blue Life and Death", "Winter Sonata" and "Stairway to Heaven" are highly sought after by Chinese audiences.
Statistics show that in 2002 alone, as many as 67 Korean dramas were introduced and broadcast in the mainland, and a wave of Korean actors such as Song Hye Kyo, Song Seung Heon, Choi Ji Woo, Bae Yong Jun, and Kwon Sang Woo became popular in China.
Around 2010, the mainland film and television industry began to explore the market value of web-based IP, and dramas such as "Beautiful Steps", "The Palace" and "The Legend of Zhen Huan" caused a sensational effect after the broadcast.
In addition, British dramas, American dramas, Japanese dramas, Thai dramas, etc. have joined the melee.
In order to adapt to market changes, Korean dramas have also begun to innovate comprehensively.
At the end of 2013, "My Love from the Star" premiered in South Korea and was subsequently introduced in China.
The play has been played more than 6 billion times on the Internet in China, becoming the first TV drama in history to exceed 4 million in Baidu Index.
"Professor Do" Jin Xiuxian has become the "white moonlight" in the hearts of many Chinese women.
In 2016, two phenomenal Korean dramas sparked a frenzy in China.
One is "Descendants of the Sun" starring Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo.
From the planning stage, the show aimed to launch both China and South Korea at the same time, breaking the habit of filming and broadcasting Korean dramas for the first time and becoming the first drama in the history of KBS dramas to be filmed first and then broadcast.
The show, which was exported to China for $230,000 per episode, caused a stir when it aired on iQiyi.
The other is the representative drama series "Please Answer 1988", which is a Korean-style warm realism. The warm stories of 5 families in Shuangmendong about family and neighborhood love have touched countless Chinese audiences.
In the past five years, the output and quality of domestic dramas have grown significantly, and there are not many phenomenal Korean dramas that can trigger a frenzy in China.
But there is no doubt that China and South Korea will further strengthen exchanges in the field of film and television in the future.
2021 is the year of cultural exchange between China and South Korea. China Central Radio and Television and the Korea Broadcasting Corporation (KBS) signed a cooperation agreement in the form of video on February 22 of that year.
According to the cooperation agreement, the two sides decided to establish a cooperation mechanism based on the principles of equality, mutual benefit and friendly consultation, to carry out comprehensive cooperation in program content, media technology, industrial operation, etc., to promote cultural exchanges between the two countries, enhance friendship and mutual trust, and promote the South Korea's strategic partnership has reached a new level.
2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea, and cultural exchanges between the two countries are continuing.
Reporter Gong Weifeng