Moran and Keane (2004) brings up Korea as being yet another media giant in the Asian region. Like Taiwan, Korea has lifted its ban in 2003 for Japanese cultural products and to many, it would seem that Korea is rife with Japan-inspired programming. Lee Dong-Hoo has argued that Korea, which lacks financial resources, is choosing to imitate Japan programming as a way as banking in on the success of Japanese dramas. However, a discussion on cultural attitudes towards copying of program structures show that Korean producers tend to favour American media.
How true is all this? Well, speaking as an audience of such media, Korean dramas tend to have either really sad stories and fiercer female leads. But this may be true.
Remember Meteor Garden and Hana Yari Dango?
Say hello to Boys Over Flowers, which was released only this year, which is yet another adaptation of the same thing, only Korean. And perhaps arguably better looking.
The new preppy makeover.
Interestingly, previous consumers of Meteor Garden were interested in watching the story being retold from a different view.
Some of the differences are outlined here.
Something much commented on were the lack of passion in love scenes. Which brings about the main difference that sets Korean dramas apart from Taiwan and Japanese ones – the risque factor involved is lower.
This shows that once again, another culture is attempting to emulate what has been done before and localizing it in a country-specific context. This seems to be the winning formula in Asian media, given the presence of Japan, Korea and Taiwan. While Boys Over Flowers may show this rather clearly, Korean dramas also have offerings on dramas which have a local flavour: Dae Jang Geum (which is based off Korean history) comes to mind.
The fine balance between copying and localization is what makes each country – Taiwan, Japan and Korea distinct in Asian media. However, Moran and Keane feel that Japan and Korea are more competitive as a whole rather than Taiwan. For example, Japan’s dramas focus on more issues other than romance and therefore tend to have a little more edge – for example, 2005’s Nobuta Wo Produce was a drama themed around the issue of bullying.
