http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200403/200403230026.html
Korean TV Drama Garners Record Media Attention in Japan
Actress Choi Ji-woo and producer Yoon Seok-ho answer questions posed by the Japanese press. / Provided by Mainichi Daily News
TOKYO - With the rising popularity of Korean TV dramas in Japan, Choi Ji-woo, the lead actress of the TV drama “Winter Love Song,” is big news. At the press conference hosted by NHK, a Japanese state-run broadcaster, 160 Japanese reporters posed questions to Choi and the crew of the Korean drama.
Tokyo Shimbun featured coverage on its front-page, noting that cameras were lined up to take photograph Choi, an exceptionally rare occurrence there. The paper also said that NHK chairman Ebisawa Gatsuji was surprised by the extent of Choi’s popularity. Ebisawa said that Korean dramas have stirred a public sensation in Japan drawing the two countries closer.
Mainichi Daily News also put Choi’s interview in its Society section, saying that the crowded media event showed how hard the “the winter sonata phenomena” had hit Japan, especially as 860,000 copies of a book based on the TV series were sold.
The attitude of the Japanese media is similar to the attitude they show when top Hollywood stars visit Japan. NHK plans to air “Winter Sonata” on public television in April, although it has already been broadcast on cable television twice last year. The station’s high expectations and investment is reflected in a special preview program titled “Welcome Winter Sonata,” to be aired Saturday.
(Choi Heup, pot@chosun.com )
Korean TV Drama Garners Record Media Attention in Japan
Actress Choi Ji-woo and producer Yoon Seok-ho answer questions posed by the Japanese press. / Provided by Mainichi Daily News
TOKYO - With the rising popularity of Korean TV dramas in Japan, Choi Ji-woo, the lead actress of the TV drama “Winter Love Song,” is big news. At the press conference hosted by NHK, a Japanese state-run broadcaster, 160 Japanese reporters posed questions to Choi and the crew of the Korean drama.
Tokyo Shimbun featured coverage on its front-page, noting that cameras were lined up to take photograph Choi, an exceptionally rare occurrence there. The paper also said that NHK chairman Ebisawa Gatsuji was surprised by the extent of Choi’s popularity. Ebisawa said that Korean dramas have stirred a public sensation in Japan drawing the two countries closer.
Mainichi Daily News also put Choi’s interview in its Society section, saying that the crowded media event showed how hard the “the winter sonata phenomena” had hit Japan, especially as 860,000 copies of a book based on the TV series were sold.
The attitude of the Japanese media is similar to the attitude they show when top Hollywood stars visit Japan. NHK plans to air “Winter Sonata” on public television in April, although it has already been broadcast on cable television twice last year. The station’s high expectations and investment is reflected in a special preview program titled “Welcome Winter Sonata,” to be aired Saturday.
(Choi Heup, pot@chosun.com )