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发表于 2006-10-28 12:48
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Here's the Singapore article
Hallyu, ASIA
New Korean drama set to take region by storm
By Maureen Koh
September 28, 2006
JUST like a first date, no expense was spared in introducing new Korean melodrama Lovers to the region's media.
DESIGN: LYNETTE CHIA
Nearly 30 journalists from China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia were flown to Sanya, Hainan Island in China, where the series was being shot, last week.
Lovers is the third series, after the highly successful Lovers In Paris (2004) and Lovers In Prague (2005).
It is believed that this is the first time a Hallyu (Korean wave) production has kicked off with such a big bang.
Especially since the Hainan setting takes up only about three episodes of the 20-parter that will air from 1 Nov in Korea.
The trend of shooting a Korean TV series overseas is not new. It started with the phenomenal success of the Las Vegas-filmed All In three years ago.
Lovers series director Shin Woo Chul, 37, told The New Paper: 'Before All In, filming was confined to within the country. Venturing abroad was unheard of, but All In busted that 'myth'.
'It transcended all boundaries to make the impossible happen and, in doing so, it opened up a whole new dimension of opportunities.'
As the director behind the successes preceding Lovers, Woo Chul should know.
HIGHLY RATED
Newbie Yeon Mi Joo heats things up on the set of Lovers. -- MAUREEN KOH
Lovers In Paris, shot in the romantic capital of France, captured an average rating of 42.5 per cent, while Lovers In Prague garnered 30.3 per cent at its highest.
So why Hainan Island this time?
Woo Chul said: 'The first two instalments took place in Europe. (Writer Kim) Eun Sook and I wanted a setting that would showcase the romantic allure of the story - somewhere exotic.
'It occurred to us that Hainan Island was the perfect location. After all, it is known as the Hawaii of Asia.'
So it was amid the lush setting of the Sheraton Sanya Resort that several key scenes from Lovers were filmed.
The story revolves around Ha Gang Jae (Lee Seo Jin of Phoenix and Damo fame) and Yoon Mi Joo (Kim Jung Eun, who also played the lead in Lovers In Paris, and was last seen on Princess Lulu on Starhub Cable TV.)
Gang Jae is a member of a Korean mafia family while Mi Joo is a pragmatic plastic surgeon.
Their paths cross on Hainan Island - Gang Jae had come here to settle a mob score and Mi Joo, at the invitation of suitor Kang Se Yeon (Jung Chan of Typhoon In That Summer).
Throw in a sultry love rival played by newbie Yeon Mi Joo and the wooing begins in earnest.
WOOING THE MEDIA
Lead actor Lee Seo Jin playing the son of a Korean mafia family in Lovers. -- MAUREEN KOH
But the chase was not limited to the star couple. The regional media was wooed with equal zest.
The itinerary for the media tour on Hainan Island was packed as we were whisked from ballroom to ballroom for interviews, a press conference and a sumptuous lunch.
The media was also treated to behind-the-scenes glimpses of the cast and crew in action.
Complaints, if any, would be the nagging 'lost in translation' feeling that the non-Korean speaking journalists had.
Often, long replies peppered with laughter in Korean became stiff answers in English.
The language obstacle was magnified after a mini 'crisis' with the Hong Kong media.
One of the Korean-speaking reporters, it seemed, had bombarded the stars with relationship-related questions, spawning a 'strictly no personal questions' directive from the public relations company handling the event.
The remaining journalists were then forced to have their questions screened.
It got so bad that a question like: 'What attributes would your dream lover have?' was met with a firm no.
And even when a question was finally put across to the cast, the replies were less than forthcoming.
MISSION: ASIA
Yet, the mission here was clearly to lure the Asian audience in a bid to sustain the Hallyuwood buzz - Hallyuwood being, of course, the Korean equivalent of Hollywood.
In a report released by Korean Broadcasting Institute last year, Japan took the biggest share of the Hallyu export pie with about 60.1 per cent or US$66.4 million ($106m).
Taiwan was second followed, by China and Hong Kong. Showbiz exports to Singapore were 1.1 per cent.
South Korean media company KDream director David Kim said its aim was to attract some 4 millions of viewers across Asia.
Mr Kim, 37, said: 'We've introduced Europe to the Koreans. It's time now to concentrate on Asia.'
Set up two years ago, KDream has a lofty vision - to become the leading production company in Asia by 2008.
Mr Kim, whose fascination with film began when he was only 6, said: 'Lovers is our debut effort to introduce emotion and adrenaline-filled visual stories to the region.
'For the past few decades, Hollywood has given us the American dream - where most of us grew up mimicking gunmen in Western movies, eating, sleeping, wearing and thinking like the main characters.
'I feel it's time for us to realise our own dreams, the Asian dream.'
And to do so, said both Mr Kim and Woo Chul, it is vital to retain the successful K-drama formula - by staying down-to-earth.
'You have to connect through the workings of the daily lives of the ordinary people,' said Woo Chul.
Added Mr Kim: 'You have to weave in the element where the viewers can identify with the characters. They have to be able to feel for them and, most of all, feel like them.'
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story/0,...,114486,00.html? |
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发表于 2006-10-28 13:06
