KOREAN TV DRAMAS AND THE JAPAN-STYLE KOREAN WAVE LAURA MILLER In 2003 the Korean TV series Winter , Yoon Seok-ho, South KoSonata ( rea 2002) first aired in Japan, drawing at least 20% of prime time viewers. Winter in Japanese) was soon Sonata ( elevated to cult status, and the DVD of the series sold out within four hours of its release. Thereafter, newspapers published denigrating reports about how female fans responded to the lead male actor in the series, Bae Yong-joon. He was fondly nicknamed Yon-sama, and his image flooded Japanese media spaces. Yon-sama fans were portrayed as hordes of hysterical, nymphomaniac old biddies (Connell). Thousands of overexcited women were said to have besieged and swarmed Narita and Haneda airports during Bae’s visits to Tokyo, causing ministampedes, sort of like buffalo.1 The old girls were reported on with much contempt for buying expensive memorabilia and for holding group birthday parties in yakiniku (grilled meat) joints to celebrate Yon-sama’s birthday. An example of this sneering genre was an article entitled “Japanese Cellphone Charm Soothes Post-Menopausal Passions” (Levenstein). Famous film director Beat Takeshi asserted that the “Yonfluenza” of the Japanese “hags” was no different than their husband’s sex tourism to Korea (Onishi). Volume 27, No. 3 But Yon-sama fever and the “Korean Wave” are important for numerous reasons besides the juicy opportunity for journalists to poke fun at female fans. The New York Times called Bae the $2.3 Billion Man (Onishi). There was obviously an unavoidably huge economic impact to acknowledge, as well as the fact that fans did not simply watch Korean soap operas, they participated in fan culture in many other ways. The Korean Wave also put a formerly denigrated and neglected market segment, women over thirty, into the public limelight and presented them as active cultural agents.2 The Japanese concept of “Korean Wave” (kanryû or hanryû in Japanese) can encompass more than the popularity of Korean TV drama. Scholars have noted that there was already a mounting interest in Korean popular culture among young people prior to the Winter Sonata explosion, one that dates back to the 1990s and is seen in World Cup soccer mania, travel trends, and food culture. In my own research on the Japanese beauty industry, I found numerous instances of Korean Wave in that realm as well, in such things as kimchi diets and tourism to Korea for mugwort saunas and akasuri massages (Miller). The term Korean Wave most likely originated in Taiwan in 1999, and later surfaced in Japan in 2001 via 17 Post Script the Asahi Shimbun, well before Winter Sonata came on the scene (Oguro). If it were only female fandom that was a stake, interest in the phenomenon would have passed quickly. But the cultural and economic impact could not be ignored. It is claimed that Yon-sama changed Japanese willingness to give donations, once it became known that he donated 300 million won to the victims of the tsunami disaster in South- Fig. 2.1: Bae Yong-joon onthe covers of Japanese fan magaeast Asia and other causes. zines Shûkan Josei Jishin and Hanryû Fan. (Photo: Laura Sales of electronics went Miller) up as women bought or had their families buy DVD players. They also bought new scanners, computers, printers nations for why he was destined to become and internet service in order to join fan a mega-star. Hundreds of new Korean langroups online. Winter Sonata generated bilguage texts were also published, many uslions in revenue and Bae became the object ing excerpts from the drama in each lesson. of intense media output, his face appearing The number of new Japanese language on countless magazine covers. He adorns magazines and “mooks” (magazine-book) the front of my April 5, 2005 copy of Shûkan devoted entirely to the Korean Wave inJosei Jishin, a popular women’s magazine. creased dramatically. Only a few of the The issue included a special pull out feabestselling titles include It’s KOREAL, ture, a TV drama filming location guide to Hanryû Fan (Korean Wave Fan), Aishiteru! use while touring Korea. Following Winter Kankoku Dorama (I Love It! Korean Drama), Sonata, travel to Korea saw a huge increase. and Kankoku Dorama NOW (Korean Drama From January to October 2004, two million Now) (Fig. 2.1). Japanese visited Korea (up 40% from the Fans gobbled up Winter Sonata and prior year). Fans flocked to shooting locaYon-sama mercandise: scarves, accessories, tions and began to wear out the topograbags, post cards, cell phone straps, puzzles, phy, and eventually settings had to be calendars, letter sets, photo books and roped off. This form of tourism also became memorabilia. Polaris, a theme in the series, fodder for comics and gags. Travel debecame the motif for desired jewelry. creased in 2006 but shot up again in 2007 Incheon International Airport in Seoul crewith the release of a new Bae Yong-joon TV ated Korean Wave sections, and goods such series. as Yon-sama socks, Winter Sonata chocolates Biographies and testimonials were and treats, and a Taster’s Choice coffee set, published as well, including an edited volfeaturing Bae’s face on an enclosed mug, ume entitled Ways to Love Yon-sama (Kim became big sellers. Other products that Yongho). The essays, contributed by twenty emerged are worth noting because there women and men, recount past experiences was frequently, underneath it all, a genuine of being Bae’s male friend or gushing explasense of humor (seemingly oblivious to most Japanese male critics) that was never lost on the “old biddy” fans, who enjoyed the obvious camp and parody aspects. They also relished being the center of media attention. Yon-sama juice could be bought from street vending machines. The Yonsama Teddy Bear, priced at about US$291, went on sale in 2005. One is now proudly enshrined in the Hida Takayama Teddy Bear Eco Village, a museum housing more than eight hundred teddy bears. Winter Sonata Moisturizing Hand Cream, produced by an Australian company named Advance Pharma Developments, sold well all over Asia. How could pundits not recognize that the Winter Sonata Pachinko machine was intended to be deliciously silly? Players of the machine could view key scenes when they hit the jackpot. On a “nail art” blog readers were given tips on how to create “Winter Sonata nails” decorated with tiny snowmen and snowflakes. In 2005, Tokyo Station heralded the Winter Sonata Boxed Lunch, described as a Korean Wave lunch that included bulgogi, gyoza dumplings stuffed with kimchi, and “Korean okonomiyaki,” a type of savory pancake. Restaurants and cafes with Winter Sonata themes in their names or offerings opened. For example, a Korean restaurant in Shinjuku named Madan advertised a special on its menu called “Yon-sama cuisine,” claiming that it highlights foods that he likes and always eats. A photo of Bae sits next to a sign accompanying a plastic food model in their shop window that says “You can always eat together with Yon-sama nearby.” One fan created the ultimate camp homage (Tsukutchaimashita!): On top of a sculpted nose and face made of rice, she used dried seaweed to make Bae’s eyebrows, glasses and hair (Fig. 2.2). She added that she really wanted to present it to Bae, but had to just give it on to her husband instead. Winter Sonata and Yon-sama had an enormous impact on fashion and hairstyles, as young men began to dye their hair exactly the same caramel color as Bae, and wore similar mufflers draped and tied in his Volume 27, No. 3 style. Optometrists began marketing frames for glasses that are just like the ones he wears. The famous comic storytelling (rakugo) artist Katsura Utamaro performed a Yon-sama spoof on TV that became a YouTube favorite. Couples held Winter Sonata weddings, and there was talk about the Winter Sonata Divorce (Fuyu-sona rikon), a result of women’s disenchantment with fuddy duddy husbands who didn’t compare well to kind and handsome Yon-sama. Fig. 2.2: The Yon-sama box lunch. (Photo: It's KOREAL, Nov. 2007, p. 93) Politicians took note: During elections for the House of Councillors of the National Diet, Former Prime Minister Koizumi Jun’ichirô said “I will make great efforts so that I will be as popular as Yon-sama and be called Jun-sama” (Onishi). In 2008 a Korean-Japanese anime version of Winter Sonata began production. The media has offered various theories for the popularity of Winter Sonata. Many 19 Post Script people suggested that Yon-sama’s middlehad always ignored. Viewers in Japan recaged female fans were attracted to qualities ognized Chinese cultural elements such as he exhibited that were lacking in Japanese the writing system, Confucian norms, and men: that he was sincere, pure, giving, pasChinese medical theory. People also loved sionate and soothing (Ito). In one of the the malicious palace intrigue and the spitemore in-depth attempts to understand the ful tactics of the wicked court ladies. In boom, Môri interviewed fans, including his Japanese popular culture the series’ evil own mother. He did not find any easy genLady Choi became the equivalent of the vileralization that could characterize why fans lainous Cruella de Ville in US culture. are drawn to the series. Some liked the story Jewel in the Palace blended several but didn’t really like the actor; others got genres so was able to reach different audicrushes on the actor and thought the narraences. Fans in Japan had many reasons for tive was sappy but watched it anyway. liking it. They loved the lush food and cookThey said they liked close ups of the hero ing scenes, the busy plot and fast story, the straightforwardly confessing his love. Some politicized court schemes, and the unique made copies of the tapes for friends and got characters. They also discovered unknown hooked on the series by accident. Others looked at the aesthetic quality of beautiful snow scenery and the original soundtrack. Let me now turn to another popular Korean TV series, Jewel in the Pal, Lee Byeongace ( hoon 2003), which offers additional ideas for why Korean dramas became popular in Japan. The show focuses on the life Fig. 2.3: Dae Jang Geum cultural production: anime, manga, of Jang Geum, played by TV series. (Photo: Laura Miller) Lee Young Ae, and set during the years 1494 to 1544. Jang Geum is a real historical figure totally reinvented as a aspects of Korean history that resonated modern role model. Jang Geum’s family, with Japan’s early civilization. There was an friends and Lord Min (Ji Jin-hee), the object appealing mix of historical drama, romanof her affections, encourage and assist her tic story, and information about Chinesein reaching her ambitious. Eventually she derived culinary preparation and herbal becomes the first female imperial physician medicines. In the narrative Jang Geum in Korean history. In Japan it was titled graduates at the top of her class in spite of Kyûtei Jokan Changumu no Chikai (The Vow prejudice against her non-elite background of the Palace Court Lady Jang Geum), and and gender. These ideas are reassuring to first aired in 2005. It held great historical inJapanese viewers raised on the myth of a terest for Japanese viewers of all ages, male meritocracy free of nepotism, class privilege and female. A former high-ranking member and corruption. The story fit perfectly with of the Japanese Foreign Ministry told me Japanese self-help ideology. The inspirathat he and his wife were avid fans, fascitional tale of personal struggle and success nated by the rich history of a society they was presented in an ideal universe of egali- Volume 27, No. 3 20 Post Script nent. Finally, in the anime series Shôjo Changumu no Yume he is a full-blown beautiful man or bishônen with huge orbs for eyes and long brown hair. In addition to spurring production of anime and manga, the series generated renewed interest in herbal medicine and Chinese medical practices. Bookstores saw a rise in sales of books on Chinese medicine or kanpô, as well as books and DVDs on Korean cooking. In 2005 NHK released Study Court Cuisine with Jang Geum’s Oath (Yan). In 2006 a rumor circulated that a Japanese film company had hired lowbrow Korean actors to star in an erotic parody of Jewel in the Palace. In this version Jang Geum supposedly doesn’t prepare palace cuisine but rather uses food items as sex toys. Other popular products include health and beauty goods, such as Dae Jang Geum themed placenta tablets and face masks. I purchased the Dae Jang Geum dried seaweed, putatively more healthy because it is made with extra virgin olive oil and bamboo salt. One may order the official kitchen lady white apron online at YesAsia.com for US$69.00. Similar to Winter Sonata, fans made pilgrimages to the filming location for Jewel in the Palace, which is now a theme park in Yangju where you can walk through the shooting location’s village and palace, and even rent clothing to dress up in. When I visited the former set in 2005, I saw many Japanese tourists, but rather than middleaged women they were mainly young women and couples under thirty. A new TV drama series also staring Bae Yong-Jung was released in 2007, Legend , Kim Jong-hak and Yoon Sang( ho, 2007). This one is a hybrid historical/ fantasy story about King Gwanggaeto the Great, the 19th ruler of the ancient Kingdom of Koguryo (Goguryeo in Korean). Because some of the territories of the Koguryo polity today extend into China, it has recently become a contested domain of nationalist ideology. Although symbolically Koguryo has functioned as a core piece in Korean national ethnic identity for centuries, in 2002 the Chinese government instituted the tarian competition in which someone like Jang Geum can succeed by studying hard, just as the Japanese educational system promises. After the success of the TV drama, spin off versions in manga and anime forms appeared with new story lines and characters. These also emphasized the virtues of selfdetermination and mighty effort. In the anime Shôjo Changumu no Yume (2006), Jang Geum is a twelve-year old girl with an enduring dream to prepare food that will make people happy. She acquires several new friends and companions not in the TV series, including an adorable pet turtle, ostrich and puppy. Jang Geum is a sweet child who displays optimism and strong determination that allows her to eventually enter the royal kitchen as an apprentice. The endless cooking contests in the anime version are the equivalent of school entrance exams or nyûgaku shiken. This new Jang Geum possesses a modern girl’s traits of strength of will and defiance in the face of unfair authority (Fig. 2.3). The portrayal of a modern feminine character bestowed a redeeming glance back at a historical woman about whom we actually know very little. Jang Geum and the other strong female characters in the drama have some traditional gender traits—they work hard, are obedient, well schooled, and attractive in appearance. But they are also rather modern: they want to be professionals who embody scientific thinking and independent decision making, thus addressing modern sensibilities.3 In addition; the series included the impossibly perfect man, Lord Min, who risks his own life and career for the woman he loves. The progression of Lord Min imagery in the various cultural products is worth noting. In the TV series Lord Min, played by actor Ji Jin-Hee, represents a dignified masculinity with traits of sincerity, loyalty, and steadfastness. The figure of Lord Min evolves into a younger and cuter type of male in the manga series, Manga Dae Jang Geum (Kim Young Hyun). His eyes become slightly larger and his nose more promi- Volume 27, No. 3 21 Post Script “Northeast Project” and began to represent Koguryo as only a minor ethnic tribal state within the ancient Chinese empire. The Korean response has been to highlight Koguryo as a topic or art motif in new TV dramas, musicals, and mass commodities. Although the Korean-produced Koguryo dramas are banned or censored in China, they are welcomed in Japan where consumers became interested in this new angle on regional history. Rather than viewing Koguryo through their own fixation on the ancient Yamato state of Japan, they could see Yamato in a new light as part of a wider East Asian cultural history. There is buoyant hope that this new Yon-sama TV series, named Taiôshijinki in Japanese, will also create an economic windfall when the Japanese version of the DVD box goes on sale in May 2008. In addition to a DVD trailer, a bestselling soundtrack for the series, a perfume related to a scene in the drama, and guidebooks for understanding the complex story, hundreds of new Japanese books, magazines and websites devoted to understanding Koguryo history have recently been published. Koguryo style “costume play” (kosupure) also became popular, and magazines began providing patterns and suggestions for how to make the historical outfits. Shooting for the drama took place on Jeju Island, and between March and April 2006 the total number of Japanese tourists to the filming location skyrocketed to more than 40,000. Most recently renowned girls’ manga artist Ikeda Riyoko has produced a comic version of Taiôshijinki (2007). Ikeda said in an interview that it is understandable that fans of her incredibly popular manga series, The Rose of Versailles, would have the same warm feelings about this romantic and epic Korean historical drama (Yon-sama, ‘Berubara’). Her good friends told her that it would be awful if anyone else but her were to draw the series in comic form. The Korean Wave generated its share of negative backlash, including mean-spirited parodies and a horrifically racist bestseller, Kenkanryû (Yamano). The book is Volume 27, No. 3 a dishonest assortment of manga and essays on the general theme of hating Korea and is not fully focused on the Korean Wave. There are now three volumes of this hateful manga. Optimism had been expressed that Japanese fascination with things Korean might ease the political tensions between the two countries with a troubled past or cure discrimination against Koreans in Japan (Brasor). However, most analysts now believe that the Korean Wave has not changed the political situation much, nor the treatment of Japan’s resident Korean population or zainichi. Even so, the Korean Wave had a positive effect on people’s general image of Korea and is reflected in their wide-ranging interest in Korean culture and history. There is greater demand for Korean foods and products, and a revitalization of small Korea-towns. For example, the Shinjuku Korea Town near JR Shin-Ôkubo station is now promoted in Japanese domestic tourism magazines as a fun destination. Korean restaurants and business in the area that sell Korean DVDs and goods include Korean Plaza and Hanryû Store. One development is a linguistic strategy for avoiding prior negative connotations and to sidestep the issue of association with South Korea or North Korea. Rather than using the Japanese term kankoku for Korean goods and businesses, many restaurants, bookstores and other businesses are now using the borrowed English word koria. For example, a new Korean restaurant opened with the name Koria Hausu (Korean House). The Korean Wave is now a stable part of cultural consciousness and one finds its trace in many surprising places. Consider “Korean Food Divination,” an amusing website that shows you how to determine your personality type and forecast based on an assigned Korean dish.4 The way the divination works entails finding your food type by consulting a chart based on your birth month. The chart cross-references your Chinese zodiac sign and blood type, providing a number that directs you to another list of twelve Korean dishes with associated 22 Post Script 4 Korean Food Divination (Kankoku fûdo uranai) is found at <http://www.k-plaza. com/life/life_uranaitop.html> 22 Jan.2008. divinations. For example, if one were born in December they would check that month’s chart. A December person with blood type A born in the Year of the Snake would be Food Type 8, which is a biminbap type. This type is said to be fashionable and someone people notice right away even though they themselves have strong complexes. Best jobs for this type are stylist, model or something related to the clothing industry; their best color is light blue, and best flower is red or pink rose. Less easy to measure but nonetheless significant has been the Korean Wave’s ability to mobilize popular opinion. The Japanese Cabinet Office survey of public opinion found that in 2004 friendly feelings towards South Korea rose to 56.7% of those polled, a record high for the third consecutive year (Asahi Shimbun 4). In closing, although the Korean Wave did not radically change political troubles or ease international tensions, there has been a substantial seeping of things Korean into Japanese mass culture and popular consciousness. This phenomenon is much broader than snide media reporting suggests, reaching beyond interest in pretty boy actors to include enthrallment with Korean food, history, costumes, language and culture. Works Cited Asahi Shimbun. The Asahi Shimbun Japan Almanac 2006. Tokyo: Asahi Shimbun, 2005. Brasor, Philip. “Korean wave may help erode discrimination.” Japan Times 27 June, 2004. Oct. 5 2007. <http://search. japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fd2004062 7pb.html> Connell, Ryan. “Yongsama laughing all the way to the bank thanks to cash cows with a yen for his won.” Mainichi Japan 2 Feb. 2007. 2 Nov. 2007. <http://mdn. mainichi.jp/culture/waiwai/face/ archive/news/2007/20070202p2 g00 m0dm030000c.html> Dae Jang Geum (Jewel in the Palace). Dir. Lee Byung Hoon. Munhwa Broadcasting, 2003. Gyeoul Yeonga (Winter Sonata). Dir. Yoon Suk-Ho. Korean Broadcasting 2, 2002. Ikeda Riyoko. Komikku-ka Taiôshijinki 1 (The Comic Series of The Four Guardian Gods of the King 1). Tokyo: Kôdansha, 2007. Ito, Kinko. “Middle-Aged Japanese Women’s Love Affair with Winter Sonata and Its Social Implications.” Japan Studies Review 10 (2006): 59-72. Kim Yongho, ed. Yon-sama no aishikata (Ways to Love Yon-sama). Tokyo: Kosaido, 2007. Kim Young Hyun. Manga Dae Jang Geum 1 (The Manga of Dae Jang Geum 1). Tokyo: Banseisha, 2005. Levenstein, Steve. “Japanese Cellphone Charm Soothes Post-Menopausal Passions.” InventorSpot.com.18 Aug. 2007. 11 Nov. 2007. <http://inventor spot.com/articles/winter_sonata_ yongsama_cell_phon_6321>. Lin, Angel and Avin Tong. “Re-Imagining a Cosmopolitan ‘Asian Us.’” East Asian Pop Culture: Analysing the Korean Wave. Ed. C. B. Huat and K. Iwabuchi. Hong Kong: Hong Kong UP, 2008, 91-125. Notes 1 Estimates given in news reports and in scholarly articles vary widely between 3,000 and 6,000 fans and often confuse the two visits and airports. On his first arrival to Haneda Airport in April 2004, Bae drew 5,000 fans, while his second visit in November of that year brought 3,000 fans to Narita Airport. One point that often gets lost in descriptions of the “middle-aged” mobs of women is that in Japan, “middle-aged” refers to anyone over thirty. 2 This point is also stressed by Môri. 3 Lin and Tong discuss Dae Jang Geum’s modern femininities and how these are understood by viewers in Hong Kong and Singapore. Volume 27, No. 3 23 Post Script “Tsukutchaimashita! Yon-sama kaoben” (I made it! A Yon-sama face boxed lunch). It’s KOREAL Nov. 2007, 93. Yamano Sharin. Kenkanryû (Anti-Korean Wave). Tokyo: Shingûsha, 2005. Yan Migyon. Changumu no chigai de manabu Kyûtei ryori (Study Court Cuisine with Jang Geum’s Oath). DVD. NHK, 2005. “Yon-sama, ‘Berubara’ Ikeda Riyoko ga kaku Taiôshijinki komikku-ka kettei!” (Yon-sama, it is decided that The Four Guardian Gods of the King comic series will be illustrated by ‘Berubara’s’ Riyoko Ikeda.) Hanryû Fan Dec. 2007, 112-114. Miller, Laura. Beauty Up: Exploring Contemporary Japanese Body Aesthetics. Berkeley: U California P, 2006. Môri Yoshitaka. Nisshiki kanryû (Japanese Style Korean Wave). Tokyo: Serika shobô, 2004. Onishi, Norimitsu. “What’s Korean for ‘Real Man?’ Ask a Japanese Woman.” New York Times 23 Dec. 2004. Oguro Kizo. Kanryû impakuto (The Impact of the Korean Wave). Tokyo: Kôdansha, 2005. Shôjo Changumu no Yume (Jang Geum’s Dream). Prod. Rhee Eun Woo. Munhwa Broadcasting 2006. Taewangsasingi (The Four Guardian Gods of the King). Dir. Kim Jong-Hak, Yun Sang-Ho. PMP Entertainment, 2007. LAURA MILLER is Professor of Anthropology at Loyola University Chicago. She is the author of Beauty Up: Exploring Contemporary Japanese Body Aesthetics (University of California Press, 2006) and co-editor of Bad Girls of Japan (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. She is currently working on a new book entitled Girl Power Japan: Gendered Domains of Cultural and Linguistic Vigor. Volume 27, No. 3 24 Post Script