Looks like my prediction came true that Korean dramas could potentially break into the huge Indian soap opera and film market. Here´s an excerpt on my reply to Popseoul´s survey on 20 June 2007: “…I am swayed by Hallyu! That´s why I think Kdramas have done well in Latin culture, i.e. issues revolving around family, love, beauty, etc… and if properly marketed Kdramas would do well in the Indian subcontinent as well!”
I made this assessment last year and wrote about it in my article on the quiet invasion of Hallyu during the 4th quarter of 2006 that I have republished in my blog; www.kwfong.com.
Source: The Star, 15 July 2007
NEW DELHI – Korean films and soaps are the rage in India’s north-eastern Manipur state and when young romancing couples SMS each other, they write “No-rul sarang ha” – Korean for “I love you,” a newspaper report said on Saturday.
A militant call to ban Hindi films in Manipur has led to the growing popularity of Korean films which are possibly closest to the high action and drama of Bollywood flicks, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported.
Posters of reigning Bollywood stars such as Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai have been replaced by Korea stars Gweon Song-woo*, Cha Tae-hyun, Jeon Ji Hyun and Jung Da Bin.
Young Manipuri men and women are messaging snatches of Korean like ”Cho ah hey yo (I like it)”, or “Kwen chah nah yo (Its okay).”
“I love using such phrases because our elders won’t know what we’ve written,” 16-year-old Gary Th was quoted as saying.
Korean hits in Manipur include the films My Girl and I, You are My Sunshine and Wolf’s Temptation.
Korean television shows on cookery, culture and music are also popular.
The DVDs of Korean soaps and films are usually smuggled across the state’s border with Myanmar.
Note:
Manipur is an Indian state located in the North East of the Indian sub-continent bordering Myanmar
* I think they mean Kwon Sang Woo!
hehe, gorgeous stars & cry-a-bucket melodramas shouldn’t be alien to indian audiences. all the better they’re a fresh change from the same-old.