A scene from the Korean drama “Autumn in My Heart” which has swept television viewers in some Middle East countries like Egypt off their feet. – Courtesy photo.With an increasing economic power, Asian broadcast channels are starting to bite the “lucrative pie of Arab viewership” after the Western channels launched Arabic networks - BBC Arabic, France 24, DWTV and Euronews, The trend is easily noticeable.
“The trend of ‘reaching out’ in Arabic via broadcast channels is no different in motives. Part of this new trend in globalization of culture is aimed at building a positive image of Eastern societies. The other part is economically driven,” said Obaid A. Al-Modaf, Ph.D and dean of the Sociology Department at the King Abdul Aziz University.
He said the newly developed technologies in telecommunications and transportation provide efficient and low-cost opportunities for television networks to go global.
The motives “are primarily political - but economics also play a pivotal role. The state of one dominant culture is over,” Al- Modaf said.
Rana Rayes, 20, an undergraduate student of economics. finds that the basic dissimilarity between the two is that “while Western channels focused on news programs, the Eastern ones are centering their attention on entertainment and educational content”.
“When I first saw Chinese news anchors speaking Arabic, it certainly seemed Martian! Of course I was impressed by their impeccable Arabic,” said Rayes.
China Central TV, widely known by its acronym CCTV, inaugurated its first Arabic-language international channel in July 2009 to reach 300 million people in 22 Arabic-speaking countries. CCTV is said to have spent over $8 billion in developing its Arabic version.
The CCTV channel in Arabic has programs in the four categories –news, feature stories, entertainment and education.
Wang Xiao Shan, who has been working in Jeddah for two years, speaks of ‘visible’ differences between China and Saudi Arabia.
“The traditional clothing in KSA is certainly different from China,” he says. “It seemed exotic at first!”
“Both the Chinese and Saudi people are genuinely helpful but the way they express their nature are different. People over here are usually outgoing,“ he said.He also talked about differences in work attitude. “In China,” he said, “the attitude towards work in general is very serious; they like to be efficient. Here, people usually like to do things in a leisurely way. “
Besides China, its economic rival India has a channel that has dominated the Middle Eastern airwaves much ahead.
Zee Aflam, a free-to-air channel from Zee Networks, is patronized by Arab fans of Bollywood. The channel features Hindi films with subtitles customized for Arab family viewing.
Before the Bollywood ‘flu’ became global, Middle East caught the cold decades ago. As a result, the region has developed a niche of dedicated and fervent fans of Bollywood.
However, Noora Amer, a 23 year-old anthropology student, says Bollywood and Hollywood movies no longer appeal to her. She has learned to like “something different.”
Noora and her family enjoy Korean drama, fashion, music and language. Their new passion is part of what is known as “Hallyu” or “The Korean Wave” in English.
“The term is used to describe the international phenomenon of Korean popular culture – and includes appreciation for Korean dramas, popular music, fashion, internet games and movies,” she said.The Korean Wave started in the 90’s when Korean dramas rapidly occupied prime-time slots on major broadcast channels in countries like Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.
South Korea is one of the top ten cultural exporters in the world and televised dramas has been the primary driving force. In 2008. The country’s cultural export earnings is estimated at $1.8 billion.
Egypt and Iran has been the center of the “hallyu” phenomena in the Middle East for a few years now. While Egypt went crazy after the dramas “Autumn in my Heart” and “Winter Sonata,” Iran went gaga when its state television aired “Emperor of the Sea” and “Jewel in the Palace”.
Saudi Arabia has a small but growing niche of “Hallyu” fans. Samira - a senior high school student - is one of them.
“My first introduction to Korean drama was back in 2001. It was much unexpected,” she said, “I mean - I didn’t intent to switch on my television and watch a drama in a language I didn’t understand!
“But I was intoxicated with the attractive and elegant production - amazing storyline, engrossing acting, idyllic location, excellent soundtrack, refined camera shots - if you have all these elements, would you bother which language you’re watching? “
In an effort to strengthen the “hallyu” phenomenon in the Middle East and North Africa, Korea Global Media Group has launched “Korea TV” in 2008.
“Middle Easterners and North Africans cherish family values and also enjoy love stories. As a result, many of the programs are about these themes,” said Lee
Kyu-chung, president of Korea Global Media Group and Korea TV, in a press release.
”When you look carefully, there are many similarities ? emotionally and culturally. We hope to bridge the gap between us.” Lee said.
As Asian countries strengthen their muscles in the air lanes of Middle Eastern countries, there’s a fundamental question that needs to be addressed:
Shouldn’t Middle Eastern media take the initiative to produce broadcast programs with subtitles for viewers in Asian countries as well?
Most Middle Eastern channels provide subtitles in Arabic, English, Persian and Kurdish, but there are no such initiative in Chinese, Hindi, Korean and Japanese.
“Asian cultures as well as Latin American cultures are becoming global. And there is a great chance for Middle Eastern countries to take advantage and work on spreading their local cultures through all means, especially media,” said sociologist Al-Modaf.
The outcome will be of a great benefit for the Middle Eastern countries, politically and economically, she believes. – SG
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