JUST A THOUGHT: “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” ---Scott Adams
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DISCOVERING K-DRAMA: No thanks to various states of quarantine and long periods of time (more than 100 days) spent at home, doing nothing, Filipino televiewers discovered, or, in the case of many, rediscovered, the magic and charisma of K-drama. Worldwide, it is known as the Hallyu phenomenon.
Every other person I know, based on posts I read on Facebook and other social media, seems to have something to say, or like, or love about South Korean series programs like “Crash Landing on You,” “King,” “Doctor Romantic,” and so many other titles. Many go ga-ga over their actors, memorizing their difficult to pronounce names, knowing their personal histories.
HIGHEST RATING: K-drama shows have become so popular among local viewers that a recent survey showed that they ranked highest on Netflix’s line-up of offerings. Only two Filipino movies made it to the top 10 at the time of the survey.
The finding has prompted director Erik Matti to say that when the lockdown is finally lifted, and all work goes back to normal hopefully, Filipino-made teleseryes may have lost their market. K-dramas may have snatched them away in the time of ECQ.
My own observations on K-drama programs that I have followed (“Hi, Bye Mama,” “Encounter,” “The King: Eternal Monarch,” “Romance is a Bonus Book,” “Love in Sadness,” to name a few) can be summed up thus:
They are plot-driven.
All characters are fleshed out, even the supports.
Sub-stories surrounding the main plot carefully pan out.
All issues are resolved and neatly tied up towards the end. No secrets are left hanging.
Their shows are not loveteam-oriented, so that stories aren’t focused on two or three lead stars alone.
The actors, male and female alike, all look neat and clean, not a strand of hair out of place, skin smooth as silk.
WINNING THE AUDIENCE BACK: After having been exposed to and enamored by the amazing, tantalizing world of Korean drama, how, then, can our own teleseryes lure back the audience that has been rightfully theirs all these years?
Malou Santos, consultant at ABS-CBN, says TV production is still working on it. The veteran film and TV producer acknowledges that it can get a bit trickier now among producers to develop concepts as consumers may be choosier due to their exposure to a lot of K-dramas during the lockdown.
Malou admits she has watched and loved, a lot of K-dramas herself.
She says, “One thing I realized is that we have almost the same storytelling, but, they are more precise and focused in their narrative.’’
Their shows are also more visually enticing as their production budgets are much bigger than ours.