“THE day of the first snow should be a time for fried chicken and beer.” If you’re a fan of TV dramas, this line may not be all that unfamiliar to you. It comes from “My Love From the Star,” a South Korean soap opera currently airing which has become extremely popular in China and some Southeast Asian countries as well.

    A new wave of Korean TV dramas is sweeping across China, with many Chinese women worshipping South Korean actors Kim Soo-hyun and Lee Min-ho like demigods. And a big part of the credit for that goes to “My Love From the Star” and “The Heirs.”

    If one types in keywords related to the two dramas on China’s leading online shopping website taobao.com, pages upon pages of unofficial show merchandise from clothing to bags, accessories and cosmetics will be seen.

    The snack combination often mentioned by lead actress Jun in “My Love From the Star,” fried chicken and a bottle of beer, has become a new favorite among fans in China despite rising fears over H7N9.

    The two TV programs have several common elements: a tall, handsome and rich hero who loves the heroine blindly and always protects her, and an equally handsome man madly in love with the same woman. Both programs portray the purity of love, which is expressed through a kiss or a warm hug.

    2013 could be said to be the year of rebirth of South Korean TV dramas. Shortly after the enormous craze generated by “Great Jang-Geum” in 2003, South Korean dramas lost much of their popularity in other Asian countries thanks partly to better-produced works from the United States and the United Kingdom.

    Many netizens even said at the time that South Korean TV dramas have become passé because of their stereotyped themes: traffic accidents, and cancer and other incurable diseases. Recent works, represented by “The Heirs” and “My Love From the Star,” have shown a change in theme and storytelling methods.

    “The Heirs,” a story about romance and power struggles among the upper-class, points out the harsh truth that if one wants to wear a crown then they must endure a heavy weight.

    Meanwhile, “My Love From the Star,” about an alien who has secretly lived on Earth for 400 years, wins out by having two storylines, a romance and a murder case, developing in parallel, making a good balance between relaxation and tension.

    The resurgence of South Korean TV dramas can be attributed to the joint efforts of the country’s government and TV series producers, Chinese media report. The South Korean Government implemented a policy to help TV productions back in the late 1990s, when the first wave of popular dramas emerged from the country to capture the imagination of people in the rest of Asia. Just before 2000, the South Korean Government issued regulations stating at least 80 percent of the TV programs had to be domestically produced. It also fixed the minimum number of the TV series to be broadcast in the country. That not only helped South Korean TV productions gain a firm foothold in the domestic market, but also laid the foundation for their successful foray into overseas markets.

    Recent years have seen great innovations in South Korean TV productions in terms of themes and narratives. Although aliens visiting Earth is an oft-used theme, the script of “My Love From the Star” remains logical and fast-paced. It mixes the plot with romance and murder and keeps the audience guessing about how the story will unfold. When it comes to love stories, the new South Korean teleplays no longer just rely on the distress card; instead, they intersperse them with whimsy and romantic punchlines.

    The three TV stations, SBS, KBS and MBC, control the majority of the South Korean television market, each specializing in a different area and catering to different demographics. The productions are sleek and use advanced technologies such as high-speed photography and computer-generated effects, creating a strong, realistic visual impact.

    Moreover, shooting for South Korean productions generally starts when the scripts are just one-third ready. Many popular productions have their own websites, where scriptwriters post part of the finished scripts, inviting viewers to leave messages, discuss the plot and come up with suggestions for future episodes. This not only keeps viewers’ interest in the dramas alive, but also helps scriptwriters and directors make changes to the storylines to suit the audience’s demand. (SD-Agencies)