Korean drama (Hangul: 한국드라마; RR: hanguk drama) or K-drama refers to televised dramas (Hangul:

드라마; RR: deurama) in the Korean language, made in South Korea.

Korean dramas are popular worldwide, partially due to the spread of the Korean Wave, with streaming
services that offer multiple language subtitles, adaptations throughout the world, as well as behavioural
and cultural impact on other countries.[1][2] Some of the most famous dramas have been broadcast via
traditional television channels; for example, Dae Jang Geum (2003) was sold to 91 countries.

Format

South Korea started to broadcast television series in the 1960s. In the 1990s traditional historical series
transformed into present miniseries format, creating the notion of fusion sageuks.

Korean dramas are usually helmed by one director and written by one screenwriter, thus having a
distinct directing style and language, unlike American television series, where often several directors
and writers work together.[3] Series set in contemporary times usually run for one season, for 12−24
episodes of 60 minutes each. Historical series may be longer, with 50 to 200 episodes, but they also run
for only one season.

The broadcast time for dramas is 22:00 to 23:00, with episodes on two consecutive nights: Mondays and
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and weekends. Different dramas appear on each of the
nationwide networks, Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), Munhwa
Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) and on the cable channels, Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company
(jTBC), Channel A, tvN, and Orion Cinema Network (OCN).

The 19:00 to 20:00 evening time slot is usually for daily dramas that run from Monday through Friday.
Dramas in these slots are in the telenovela format, rarely running over 200 episodes. Unlike the
American soap operas, these daily dramas are not also scheduled during the day-time. Instead, the day-
time schedule often includes reruns of the flagship dramas. The night-time dailies can achieve very high
ratings. For example, the evening series Temptation of Wife peaked at 40.6%, according to TNS
Korea.[4]

Korean dramas are usually shot within a very tight schedule, often a few hours before actual broadcast.
Screenplays are flexible and may change anytime during production, depending on viewers' feedback,
putting actors in a difficult position. Production companies often face financial issues.

Sageuk

Main article: Sageuk

Sageuk refers to any Korean television or film drama that is either based on historical figures,
incorporates historical events, or uses a historical backdrop. While technically the word sageuk literally
translates to "historical drama," the term is typically reserved for dramas taking place during Korean
history.[5] Popular subjects of sageuks have traditionally included famous battles, royalty, famous
military leaders and political intrigues.

Since the mid-2000s sageuks have achieved major success outside of Korea[citation needed]. Sageuks
including Dae Jang Geum (aka Jewel in the Palace), Yi San, and Jumong enjoyed strong ratings and high
satisfaction ratings in countries such Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Fiji and Iran. Jumong, which aired
on IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) in 2008 had 85% viewership.[6]

Contemporary

Often centered on a love story, series set in contemporary times put family ties and relationships in the
focus. Characters are mostly idealised, with Korean male protagonists described as handsome,
intelligent, emotional and in search of "one true love". This has also been a contributing factor to the
popularity of Korean dramas among women, as the image of Korean men became different from that of
other Asian men.[3][7][8][9]

History

Actress Lee Young-ae played the titular Dae Jang Geum in the series of the same name.Radio
broadcasting, including the broadcasting of radio dramas in Korea, began in 1927 under Japanese rule,
with most programming in Japanese and around 30% in Korean.[10] After the Korean War, radio dramas
such as Cheongsilhongsil (1954) reflected the country's mood.[11]

Television broadcasting began in 1956 with the launch of an experimental station, HLKZ-TV, which was
shut down a few years later due to a fire. The first national television channel was Korean Broadcasting
System (KBS), which started up in 1961.[12] The first Korean television film was a 15-minute piece titled
The Gate of Heaven (천국의 문, Cheongugui mun), on HLKZ-TV.[13]

The first television series was aired by KBS in 1962. Their commercial competitor, Tongyang
Broadcasting (TBC), had a more aggressive program policy and aired controversial dramas as well.[14]
The first historical TV series aired was Gukto manri (국토만리), directed by Kim Jae-hyeong (김재형),
depicting the Goryeo era.[15][16] In the 1960s, television sets were of limited availability, thus dramas
could not reach a larger audience.[17]

In the 1970s, television sets started to spread among the general population, and dramas switched from
portraying dramatic historical figures to introducing national heroes like Lee Sun-shin or Sejong the
Great.[17] Contemporary series dealt with personal sufferings, such as Kim Soo-hyun's influential
Stepmother (새엄마, Saeeomma), aired by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) in 1972 and
1973.[18] As technology and funding was limited, Korean channels could not make series in resource-
heavy genres like action and science fiction; American and other foreign series were imported
instead.[19]

The 1980s saw a turn in Korean television, as color TV became available. Modern dramas tried to evoke
nostalgia from urban dwellers by depicting rural life. Kim Soo-hyun's first real commercial success, Love
and Ambition (사랑과 야망, Saranggwa yamang), aired on MBC in 1987 is regarded as a milestone of
Korean television,[20] having recorded a 78% viewership. "Streets became quiet at around the airing
time of the drama as 'practically everyone in the country' was at home in front of the TV", according to
The Korea Times.[11] The most outstanding classical historical series of the era is considered to be 500
Years of Joseon (조선왕조500년, Joseonwangjo 500 nyeon), a serial that ran for eight years, consisting
of 11 separate series. The serial was produced by Lee Byung-hoon, who later directed one of the biggest
international successes of Korean drama, Dae Jang Geum.[15][17][20]

The 1990s brought another important milestone for Korean television. As technology developed, new
opportunities arose, and the beginning of the decade marked the launch of a new commercial channel;
Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), which facilitated and re-initiated a race for catching viewers'
attention.[21] The first real commercial success among Korean television series was Eyes of Dawn
(여명의 눈동자, Yeomyeongui nundongja), aired in 1991 by MBC, starring Chae Shi-ra and Choi Jae-
sung. The series led the viewers through turbulent times from the Japanese rule to the Korean War.[21]
New channel SBS also produced successful series, one of them being Sandglass in 1995. Sandglass was a
"trendy drama", which the Korean Culture and Information Service considers an important milestone,
having changed the way Korean dramas are made by introducing a new format.[21] In this decade, the
new miniseries format became widespread, with 12 to 24 episodes.[22] This era marked the start of
export for Korean dramas, setting off the Korean Wave.

The beginning years of the 2000s gave birth to a new genre, called "fusion sageuk", essentially changing
the ways to produce historical series, with successful pieces such as Hur Jun, Damo and Dae Jang
Geum.[15]
Korean dramas have an interesting story and fun to watch. Korean drama also preferred for teenagers
and youths. The teenagers love Korean Drama because they can watch their favorite actors or actresses.
Korean drama is the best popular drama in Asia, more than Indonesian drama.

Korean drama or K-Drama refers to television drama in the Korean language. The Korean drama is made
in South Korea, and mostly in a miniseries format with distinctive features that set it a part from regular
Western television series or soap operas. Korean drama can set in contemporary times or in historical
settings, and we can say it with sageuk. Different genres apply to these two types, from romantic
comedies and action series to fusion science fiction dramas.

Are you know the impact of Korean drama? We usually know about the positive impact of watching
Korean drama, but the Korean drama can give us the negative impacts. If we always watch the Korean
drama and forget to study, we will not focus on studying the lesson, because we like to watching it
everyday. The another negative impact is in the culture. Now, many people like us forget about our
culture. For example, many teenagers wear Korean’s fashion. Korean dramas also make we spend our
money easier. If we want to watch it, we need a lot of money to using internet.

Korean drama have some negative impact, that are Korean drama makes some people addictive with
the drama, because the drama director written the unpredictable story, and the Korean drama story are
not far from the everyday life, especially the teenagers who watched the drama. Korean drama also
affected in fashion’s lifestyle. In Korean drama, we usually see many girls wear hot pants. I think it is not
a good choice for girls use it, because in our real life, wear hot pants means the girls surrender theirself
to crime accident. If we. If we argumented to wear hot pants because it is a trendy style.

The other negative impact is Korean drama makes some people love with Korean culture than
Indonesian culture. Some scenes in Korean drama are dangerous to watched by children or teenager.
For example like kiss scenes, so in that way they need parental guidance.

Korean Drama or K-Drama can give us many impact to our life, positive impact and negative impact can
be persuated our life to do bad things or good things. We need to smart to chose what we watch.
Korean drama in our life style makes changes in our life, but must we know about everything in our life
are not same like a Korean drama’s story.

What must we do to not get stuck in bad effect of Korean drama? First, we must be smarter to choose
what we watch, because the things that we now can be impacted to our lifestyle. Second, choose good
friend that can give you good impact in your life. A good friend makes you to do good things in your life,
but a bad friend makes you to do bad things in your life. So, you should choose the best choices that
change in your life.
By: Yosefina Tobing

Korean dramas or Koreanovelas have become regulars of Filipino primetime TV. The first Korean-drama
aired in the Philippines was Bright Girl; it was followed by more famous shows – Descendants of the Sun,
Love in the Moonlight, and My Sassy Girl are just three of the many K-dramas that stole the country’s
heart. The Asian drama trend in the Philippines began with the airing of Taiwanese show Meteor Garden
in 2003. But it was Korean series that eventually overtook the airwaves. But why? What makes Korean
shows so popular? Here are five reasons:

City Hunter 2011 (Lee Min Ho, Park Min Young)

Descendants of the Sun 2016 (Song Joong Ki, Song Hye Kyo)

1. Theme

Korean dramas contain family-friendly themes such as romance, friendship, history, and family values.
All values that Filipino viewers share. These themes make it easier to watch Korean dramas as a family.
While there are some action-themed series such as City Hunter, they only show a small degree of
violence.

Healer 2014 (Ji Chang Wook, Park Min Young)

Moonlight Drawn by Clouds 2016 (Kim Yoo Jung, Park Bo Gum)

2. Storyline

The storylines of Korean dramas are not as easy to predict as local dramas and the pacing of the plot is
much faster compared to local dramas. The Korean way of story-telling is new to Filipino viewers.

Goblin 2016 (Kim Go Eun, Gong Yoo)

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo 2016 (IU, Lee Joon Gi)

3. Production Design

Production teams of Korean dramas spare no effort in their craft. From the locations, to the set-up, and
to the cinematography, they ensure that their shots come out beautifully on the screen. Scenes are
displayed as if you are watching a full-length film. Take a look at Scarlet Heart Ryeo and Goblin to see
how breathtaking they can be.

W - 2 Worlds 2016 (Han Hyo Joo, Lee Jong Suk)

My Love from the Star 2013 (Jung Ji Hyun, Kim Soo Hyun)

4. Characterization
It has to be said – Korean stars are attractive. Whether on-cam or off-cam, they look cute, especially
combined with their sense of fashion. They make Korea’s fashion shine beautifully on-screen.

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo 2016 (Lee Sung Kyung, Nam Joo Hyuk)

The Heirs 2013 (Lee Min Ho, Park Shin Hye)

5. Hallyu Phenomenon

‘Hallyu’ refers to South Korean culture’s rising popularity worldwide. As one aspect of its culture
climbed, the demand for others, such as Korean cuisine, Korean songs, Korean fashion, and Korean
dramas, increased in fame too.

The popularity of Koreanovelas have stayed strong for more than a decade. And because of these
reasons, they will continue to be staples in Filipino TVs for more years to come.

M2.0 Communications Inc. 2015

#94 Scout Castor, Brgy. Laging Handa, Quezon City

M2.0 Social Media Agency I M2.0 Events Management Philippines