If they're like the telenovelas, they're kind of like soaps. But in Korea they might be shown as prime time programs, yes?
I think there's a huge Korean community in Seattle, so probably also Vancouver, right? I'd love to live in Vancouver. Or Victoria, on Vancouver Island. I spent a few days there once...a gorgeous, gorgeous city.
Also, pitterpatter, a bit OT on this thread, but is there a huge Korean community in Vancouver? Obviously Vancouver has a lot of Asians (I remember being amazed that I appeared to be in a majority when I visited there) but I can't seem to recall how large the Korean community was. I know there's a large Chinese-Canadian and Vietnamese-Canadian population, particularly in Richmond.
BTW, I love Vancouver. I visited there a lot when i first moved to WA -- it is about a 5 hour drive for me -- but haven't been in a few years.
There's a sizable Korean community here, but in the frame of Vancouver as a whole, I wouldn't call it huge - probably comparable to the size of the Japanese community. Wikipedia says the 2006 census puts the population at around 1.5%, but I think it's grown since then. It's hard to speak for the entire city though, because there are a lot of Korean students in Vancouver, some of whom are local and many of whom are from Korea and here to study. I also think the influence of Korean culture is disproportionate to the size of the population group, which can be said for a lot of the other Asian cultures too. K-pop, K-dramas, and Korean food are very popular among young, non-Korean Vancouverites, and there are Korean supermarkets, lots of Korean restaurants, Korean kareoke establishments, etc etc. Asian communities are very well established in Vancouver, but I think part of what makes this city so cool is how it not only has large Asian populations, but fully embraces the cultures as well. There are probably more Vietnamese restaurants in my vicinity than burger joints, and Japanese food is super popular - people in Vancouver look at you funny if you tell them you've never had sushi before.
Well in general, Korean culture has grown greatly among non-Korean -- hence the Hallyu Wavehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_wave (not to be mixed up with the Hanyu wave, LOL bad joke ).
LOL! Nice one, although I think Hanyu could totally pass for a K-pop idol, he's definitely got the looks for it. Yuna should consider inviting him to one of her shows in Korea
As for the spread of the Korean wave, economic growth probably plays a part, but I think the increasing prominence of the commercial music industry in Korean culture itself is a big reason. Pop culture is big in Korean society, I visited S.Korea briefly a couple of years ago, and they were way more into K-pop than I imagined. It's the trend among Korean youth, likely similar to the situation in American culture back when boybands were all the rage. The internet and the global thinking of modern times probably also has a lot to do with it; people are much more open to foreign ideas and can access it easily.
Wow didn't realise there are so many kdrama watchers here.
CaroLiza_fan:
If you are big fan of Korean historical drama, Dae Jang Geum aka "A jewel in the palace" is a total must seet!
It is the EPIC drama that started the Hallyu wave in Asia and then took it beyond. It will also makes you craving for Korean food. Watch it and you will see what I mean. IMO, nothing has surpassed it since even if we are almost an decade on.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409546/combined
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dae_Jang_Geum
Right, I just read the Wikipedia article, and it definitely sounds like the kind of thing I am interested in. So if I can find videos of it with English subtitles, I will look it up.
And, it doesn't matter that a programme is 10 years old! As long as it is good, that is the most important thing. For goodness sake, my favourite programme of all time is over 50 years old!!! ("The Phil Silvers Show")
Out of the Korean dramas I have seen, I would definitely recommend “Franceska” (also known as "Hello, Francesca"). Although it is a “modern” drama, it is not your typical love-triangle story that so many of the dramas seem to be about.
This one is a comedy about vampires! And, unlike a lot of comedies nowadays, it is actually very funny!
CaroLiza_fan
Anyway, the drama I'm watching now is Flower Boy Next Door, which is currently airing on one of Korea's cable stations (I'm watching it on Drama Fever). It's actually a wonderful story about a girl who is very introverted and is happy just being locked out from the world in her apartment, but is forced out of those confines with a wacky group of neighbors including a video game designer who arrived from Spain.
The character development is wonderful and there are none of the cliches you see with other dramas. I highly recommend it!
I'm watching that show too. It's AWESOME There's no typical evil characters that Korean dramas often display. Each of characters is so lovely. Most of Korean dramas on public tv channels have trouble with delayed scripts coming out on the shooting day, which makes the quality of dramas sloppy as it towards the end but because this one is on cable they don't seem to have such problems. So sad that it's not popular enough because it's on cable though. My sister and I are recommending this to our friends.
And tomorrow the 11th episode is coming :yay:
Anyway back to Flower Boy Next Door -- it's getting quite good -- I love the character development in this show. I especially like their work on the female lead and the actress work on that role. Often time the female leads in dramas tend to be over the top. I like that we have a door into someone who is the exact opposite -- introverted and closed to the world.
In Korean dramas, the young people never roll their eyes or act sassy to their elders. If they disagree, it is because they feel firmly about an issue or right and wrong, not that they want to get their ears pierced because it's cool. There is a clear definition between parent and child, young adult and elder. It is missing on most shows aimed at kids 7 and up on networks like the Disney Channel.
For those of you who haven't watch Flower Boy Next Door, you've got to watch it!
For once there is no over dramatic scenes where there is some crazy misunderstanding which could be solved by simply having faith in the other person and not jumping to conclusion. I think this was only possible because of the sheer optimism and confidence exuded by Enrique's character. The character development for Dok Mi's character was good too and seemed almost realistic given the length of the drama.
The ending was the best ending of any K-drama that I've watched. For me it didn't leave anything hanging.
Loopy what do you mean by the "respect" issue between child and parent?