July 25, 2005, english.kbs.co.kr

Winter Sonata enjoys revolutionary popularity in Japan. The drama ended in Korea two years ago, but it is currently hitting Japan, exceeding the audience rating of 20 percent.

20 percent of an audience rating in Japan is a remarkable record, equivalent to 50 percent in Korea. This success is amazing because no one has expected a Korean drama would gain the feverish popularity like this in Japan, which has been considered a last impregnable market in Asia for Korean dramas.

Bae Yong-jun, a leading character of the drama, is called ¡°Yon sama¡± and is rising as an admirable figure in Japan. The fever of ¡°Winter Sonata¡± has led to economic effects and the contents industry and tourism income related to ¡°Winter Sonata¡± are rapidly growing. The sales of the ¡°Winter Sonata¡± related contents industry are expected to reach 200 billion won by the end of this year. The number of tourists visiting Yongpeong and Chunchon where the drama was filmed surged by 50 percent till April of this year, and expectedly, the number will continue to increase to 200,000 by the end of this year.

Those who are leading the feverish phenomenon are people over 40s, not young people in their 20s or 30s. Why do they adore ¡°Winter Sonata¡±?

In order to cover the feverish phenomenon of ¡°Winter Sonata,¡± ¡°Sunday Special¡± posted a request to share the experience of Japanese fans of Bae Yong-jun on his Japanese fan websites. The message was hit 5,000 times in two days and more than 200 emails poured in.

Japanese people watch ¡°Winter Sonata¡± to see ¡°Yon sama¡± and learn Korean language to watch the drama in Korean. They now understand Korean culture and study Korean history. ¡°Sunday Special¡± vividly delivers the secret lying in the popularity of ¡°Winter Sonata¡± and changes in the attitude of Japanese people toward Korea made since the drama was aired.

1. The heat of ¡°Winter Sonata¡± - on-the-spot coverage in Japan
¡°Winter Sonata¡±- The feverish popularity of ¡°Yon sama ¡° - The producing team posted a message asking Japanese fans to share their experiences on the Japanese website of ¡°Winter Sonata.¡± The message was hit 5,000 times in two days and more than 200 emails poured in. The producing team livelily described the experience of Japanese fans. Satomi in her 30s: She tried suicide three times. Her depression was so serious that she could not cry. But, watching ¡°Winter Sonata¡± has invigorated Satomi and she is now learning Korean language. Michiko in her 60s: She is a former provincial government official and fluent in English. She is a ¡°Winter Sonata¡± buff spending 10 million won on the drama-related activities and collecting more than 4,000 pictures related to ¡°Winter Sonata.¡± Why does Michiko, an elite woman, love ¡°Winter Sonata¡±? -Japanese fan clubs of ¡°Winter Sonata¡±: Six families gathered in an apartment. It is rare that Japanese people hold a meeting with neighbors. ¡°Winter Sonata¡± has brought Japanese people together.

2. Why Japanese people are enthusiastic about ¡°Winter Sonata¡±?
-The appeal of Korean men that Japanese men lack: Japanese women say that they like a considerate and passionate Bae Yong-jun in ¡°Winter Sonata.¡± Finding the appeal that Japanese men lack in the drama, Japanese women recall the hero of ¡°Winter Sonata¡± as the image of Korean men. -Close relationships between family members: ¡°Winter Sonata¡± is rekindling love between family members, which has disappeared in Japan. A family composed of three generations residing in Tokyo talks about what differences the Korean society holds, compared to the Japanese society.

3. The meaning of the fever of ¡°Winter Sonata¡±
As the NHK aired ¡°Winter Sonata,¡± the sales of the drama-related contents will reach 200 billion won by late this year. In addition to economic effects, the number of tourists who visit the site where the drama was filmed has been skyrocketing. After watching ¡°Winter Sonata,¡± Japanese people visit Korea, and learn Korean language and Korean history. Japanese people used to say that they didn¡¯t know where Korea is located and Korea is poorer than their country. But now, they say that they want to be born Korean people if they are re-born in a next life and they envy Korean people. ¡°Sunday Special¡± will livelily deliver the changes in the attitude of Japanese people toward Korea brought by ¡°Winter Sonata.¡±