[heygingersnap]

i found this really interesting, and just wanted to see other people's opinions on it too.
so respond if you feel inclined to do so. x)

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Korean Wave Waning in Asian Nations

12-26-2006 17:47
By Seo Dong-shin
Staff Reporter

Asians are not as satisfied with Korean pop culture as they used to be, according to a report released Tuesday.

Citizens of four Asian countries are becoming more discontented with South Korean films, pop music and dramas, the Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange (KOFICE) said, citing results of a survey it commissioned. A total of 2,109 citizens in Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Taipei, aged 15 to 59, responded to the survey conducted from early September to October.

Chinese respondents who said they were satisfied with the content of Korean dramas decreased from 72 percent in 2004 to 63.3 percent, while in Taiwan the figure dwindled from 62 percent to 57.9 percent. The dissatisfied increased from 5 percent to 5.4 percent in China, and from 1 percent to 3 percent in Taiwan.

Korean films also seem to be losing ground, according to the report. Those who were satisfied with Korean films dwindled from 60 percent to 54.6 percent in Japan, from 75 percent to 59.7 percent in China, and from 49 percent to 42.1 percent in Taiwan.

``The Korean wave seems to have passed its peak and has started to slow down in growth,�� the report said. ``We need to develop an advanced strategy for cultural products and to seek ways to spread universal cultural values instead of relying on a few celebrities.��

Stars who first launched the Korean wave, however, seem to enjoy continuing popularity. Actor Bae Yong-joon, who is affectionately called Yonsama in Japan, topped the lists of ``best-known Korean stars�� and ``Korean stars whom I liked for the first time�� in Japan. Actress Kim Hee-sun, meanwhile, was widely popular in China, topping the two lists.

Singer Rain, who is also known by the name Jung Ji-hoon when acting, came in first in the list of newly favorite Korean stars, with 3.8 percent in China and 6.3 percent in Taiwan.

Consumers of the Korean wave in other Asian countries are mainly made up of educated people in their 20s or conservative people in their 50s, the report said. ``We need to establish strategies that can appeal to the refined city sentiment of the trend-spotting people in their 20s as well as those in their 50s who are interested in humanism based on traditional Confucian values,�� it said.

original article: The Korea Times

[cindel25]

It's called "Oversaturation".

[iSNT LiFE JUiCY]

wasnt there a similiar "wave" of japan before? then it went to korea. maybe the korean time is up.hahaha..i wonder when the china wave will come.

[Agashi]

wasnt there a similiar "wave" of japan before? then it went to korea. maybe the korean time is up.hahaha..i wonder when the china wave will come.

Hmm before the korean wave started it was before the 1997 Imf. So back then koreans were always consuming hongkong and american films, music and media but not japanese. So I don't get the Japan wave. But I do do remember one chinese friends saying something about japanese music, but i didn't think much or care, I thought she just had foreign tastes, I didn't know it was the japan wave.

I guess people get sick of something when it's redundant.

But to me I don't think it's dying though, but just more of turning into a small steady stream than a big torrent river. And all our great actors all stolen away by acting in foreign films. I haven't seen choi ji woo make any native dramas lately.

[Dah_jOkA]

gahh its cuz korea is losing its flare, its own unique flavor, korean entertainment is too americanized these days

[tokio]

ahh this is what happens, i dont think it matters. K industry has established itself and now they just need to continue on.

[unleashing_x]

where there are fans the "wave" will follow

[LaBelle]

But still I Love all bout Korean...the music the films the drama the artists hahahahaha

[uruchai]

interesting article.

ironic that it's described as waning. I just caught the wave this year; so everything Korean right now is very much interesting for me still.

[chewy_cookie]

The wave is bound to slow down one day, but it's surprising that it's now.
I still love korean music, movies, dramas though.

[dbsk_star]

interesting article.

ironic that it's described as waning. I just caught the wave this year; so everything Korean right now is very much interesting for me still.

^ lol same with me^^

"So back then koreans were always consuming hongkong and american films, music and media but not japanese. "

i always knew about the Japan wave, but i never knew about a HongKong wave....im cantonese so it was natural for me to know about hongkong stuff lol

[COREAN]

i see how the dramas are decreasing but the korean movie industry is constantly improving and is currently one of the best in the world...

[sillyvivian_yo89]

it's a wave.... a wave cant be high forever... i feel like it's a bit... weird... like ppl are asking for too much o.o the time that Korean films started to mesmerize the audiences around Asia, too many compliments were made and stuff like that... and now.. in my opinion, the korean dramas are still interesting to me and such.. but according to ppl's too high expectations where they dont see Korean films reach it, so they started to disgrace it... there used to be a Hong Kong wave, and it had kinda settled down too i guess.. but no one really said anything.. but y 'blaming' Korean films now... they just worry for their own entertaining needs and not care about how hard the ppl in the entertainment world work their butt off to entertain the audience.... it's a bit too much....

also.. it's called ENTERTAINMENT.. it would base on taste.. ppl's taste change.. it doesn't mean Korean films are worse than they used to be...

plus... the age of surveying is from 15-59... Korean dramas nowadays, from my point of view, tend to be more fore the younger ages... it's obvious that those elders wudn't like it now.... so it doesn't mean Korean entertainment ended its peak

[apple-snapple-YUM]

hmm that sounds really interesting...but yah something like that is bound to happen

[gurly-yang]

I agree. To me it seems like korean singers are kinda losing their touch. I mean their are still many good and talented korean singers but for me, I'm just not as interested as before. I don't know why. I'm starting to get into the Japanese music.

[mandi_]

yeah, i think there was the 'hong kong wave' then the 'japanese wave' then 'korean wave'? Hong Kong wave with all the martial arts stuff, jackie chan etc...then japanese wave with their anime, remember 'pokemon'? haha and yeah, their music and everything was really popular then..and now korean wave... haha i think it is 'waning' but the 'wave' is still VERY 'high'.

[saranghae ... mimi]

heehee i remember the pokemon age^^ seems like forever ago ....
anyways ...
its true that the "wave" is getter smaller but ... its only getting smaller for the people who got hit by it first.
think about it .. like a real wave, the first to get hit by it are overwhelmed by its power ... then after a while those same people get over it ...
but the wave keeps going after that ... it might not be as big but its still kind of big.
then there are other people who get hit by it.
and the cycle ... like the japan wave ... gets repeated where korean stuff will be imported and be americanized and it`ll be a big source of income for the sellers.

but ... i have to admit that i do think that the korean dramas arent as good as they were a while ago ... but i dont think its the actors/actresses or directors faults ...
its more that the korean actors/actresses are going into more and more foreign films ... like in china.
same with singers ... most are getting ahead of themselves and trying to make it big in the american entertainment area ... and i dont really like that ...

so the wave isnt dying down ... its just focusing on other areas to hit.

[Yoomi_AH]

I do agree the craze is dying down but I still like Korean movies and dramas and music. Just not as much. I'm more into taiwanese stuff now.

[genna]

It's inevitable. I knew thiis would happen sooner or later, regardless of whether the article is accurate or not, I knew the Korean wave would die down as people watch more Korean dramas. We all know how repetitive they get and most of the time things don't even make sense, to tell the truth. As for the singers though, well I haven't really noticed any popular ones besides Rain and maybe Se7en to begin with.

[ohchells]

It's an interesting article.
All "waves" reach their peak and begin to die down as people have higher expectations for it :X