Monalisa Patsani
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Sept 7: For people who have the experience of staying in the north-east, watching Korean movies or TV soaps and dramas is not a new experience. In the north-eastern states, apart from youngsters, adults too remain glued to Korean serials aired through KBS World Channel or downloaded from the internet. Many teenagers in the north-east are influenced by Korean movies and drama as well as pick up a taste for Korean fashion from films.
But, surprisingly, the craze for Korean dramas or movies is not limited to the north-east anymore; it has been observed that over the past few years youngsters of the city have developed a liking for Korean serials like Boys Over Flowers, Coffee Prince, A Gentleman’s Dignity, Heartstrings, Faith, Heirs, Winter Sonata, Autumn’s Tale, You Are My Destiny, Full House, Sassy Girl and The Classic.
When asked some fans of Korean serials said that the limited episodes of the serials, good storylines and acting minus melodrama like in Hindi serials are some of the basic reasons for the popularity of these series. Most college students either download the serials from the internet or collect them from their friends.
Sanjana Ladhania, a PG student of English of Ravenshaw University, started watching Korean serials when she was a graduate student at Rama Devi Women’s College in Bhubaneswar. “One of my friends introduced me to Korean plays. What I love about them is that apart from good storylines they are full of fantasy, yet are very appealing. With simple stories and good music they offer a memorable experience. There is no exaggeration like in Hindi serials where unnecessary plots are included to stretch a serial. Unlike Hindi serials, Korean serials have a beginning and end wrapped in a 22-25 episode package,” she says.
“Many of the plots are childish yet have a purity which we don’t find in the real world. May be that is the reason teenagers and college students love these serials,” she adds.
The craze for Korean serials is such that we even find youngsters using Korean vocabulary in their daily conversation like ‘Kamsahamnida’ or ‘Komawo (Thank you), ‘Mianhae’ (Sorry), ‘Araso’ (I undersatnd), ‘Sarang hae’ (I love You), ‘Yeoboseyo’ (Hello) and other such simple words.
Sai Krishna who is a big fan of Korean soaps shares she has watched more than 50 Korean serials. “I am a big fan of Korean TV soaps. They are so interesting that you can’t wait to watch the next episode next day, so I mostly finish all the episodes in one day. There is some similarity between Korean culture and tradition and Indian culture. Love for culture, respect for elders, family bonds, and sibling love make Korean culture very Indian.”
“We had a Korean group in RD Women’s College and we often used to discuss about the latest serials, style sense of the actors, the best actor and so on. After joining Ravenshaw University I found there were many students who watched Korean serials and talked about the serials among themselves. We also have a Korean serial fan group in Facebook. I am addicted to Korean serials and this month I have watched 15 series,” says Sai.
Like Shanjana and Sai, Ekta Agarwal from Bhawanipatna College also loves Korean operas, though in the beginning when she started watching them she didn’t like them. “I have started watching them recently but when one of my friends introduced me to Korean serials I found them very childish. My friends often used to talk about them, but I never developed a liking for them. When I watched a serial for the first time I found it boring. But a few months back I watched Coffee Prince, which is a romantic comedy and I never regretted watching it. It was the best romantic comedy I have seen. Now I am watching A Gentleman’s Dignity which is also very interesting.”
Apart from good stories, the style sense of the lead characters often leaves an impact on viewers. Boys mostly love to watch Korean movies and animation series. There are many who even try to follow the fashion statement of their favourite characters like high bun and spiky hair.
