| News from KoreanWiz |
| 6/2/01: Won Bin is a stage name. His real name is Kim Do Jin. In contrast, Ryu Jin's name is real. His surname is Ryu and given name is Jin . . . A fellow Korean drama addict from Singapore reports that she watches Korean dramas on 2 TV stations--Media Corporation (which is currently showing Good Bye My Love) and Channel U (which is showing Invitation with Kim Sang Kyung). She can select whether to watch the dramas with English subtitles or dubbed in Mandarin . . . In case you haven't noticed, I've revised the Listing of Korean TV Dramas . . . Thinking of where to go for your vacation this year? Take a look at my Autumn Story webpage for ideas. 5/18/01: Some of the Korean dramas indicate "English provided by KTE." Who is KTE? KTE stands for Korean Television Enterprises, which is located in Los Angeles. In addition to providing English subtitles, KTE is, more importantly, the exclusive distributor of KBS programs in the U.S. . . . KBS, as you already know, is the Korean Broadcasting System which produces great dramas such as Autumn Story, Snowflakes, Pretty Lady and Stock Flower. KBS dramas are usually shown on KBFD-TV in the 8:00-9:00 p.m. time slot on Mondays and Tuesdays. 5/17/01: A fellow Korean drama addict from Seattle reports that Korean TV shows are shown from 9:30 p.m. till about midnight on channel 17, which is the Home Shopping Channel in her cable area. She saw More Than Words Can Say earlier, and is now watching Tender Hearts (just like in Hawaii) . . . Even though Seattle has a larger Korean-American population than Honolulu according to the 1990 U.S. Census, it appears that they do not have as many subtitled Korean dramas there as in Hawaii. So, although we in Hawaii are not able to see as many Korean dramas as we would like, we still should be thankful to KBFD-TV for the selection of dramas that we do have. It is a much better selection that what is shown in certain parts of the mainland. 5/16/01: According to the 1990 U.S. Census, the top ten cities with the largest Korean-American populations were (in descending order): Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Philadephia, Seattle, Honolulu, Baltimore and Dallas. Honolulu was ranked #8 with 22,646 Korean-Americans . . . Census figures also showed that the Korean language is spoken at home by a whopping 80.8% of the Korean-American population . . . Wouldn't it be great if we could get some of them to help us translate the Korean websites? 5/15/01: The KBS weekend drama, Blue Mist (Peu Leun Ahn Gae), is starting this Sunday on KBFD-TV. It is about Yi Shin Woo, a 23 year old woman portrayed by Lee Yo Won, and Yoon Sung Jae, a 46 year old married man portrayed by Lee Kyung Young, who fall in love with each other. If you want to check out the Blue Mist website (in Korean), click here. 5/14/01: Koreans use the metric system of measurements. Height is usually shown in centimeters (cm) and weight is shown in kilograms (kg). One centimeter equals .394 inch. One kilograms equals 2.205 pounds. For your convenience, the height and weight of the actors shown in my photo albums are now shown using both the metric system and the English system. 5/12/01: The KBS daily drama, Tender Hearts (Woo Lee Gah Een Gah Yo), is about the courtship of an older woman (Park Yoonju, age 32, portrayed by Bae Jong Ok) and a younger man (Han Donguk, age 27, portrayed by Kim Ho Jin). The five-year age difference is a minor problem compared to the bigger problem as to whether Yoonju is in fact Donguk's half-sister. Enquiring minds want to know if Donguk's father is the real father of Yoonju (who is adopted)? If Donguk and Yoonju cannot get married, will Yoonju ever be able to love again? If Donguk cannot marry Yoonju, will he marry Miyun (portrayed by Kim Chae Yun)? To check out the Tender Hearts website (in Korean), click here. 5/11/01: Did you know that movie theaters in Korea are subject to a quota system? That's right. Theater operators in Korea must show Korean movies (instead of foreign films) at least 106 days per year on each movie screen. The purpose of this quota system was to assure the survival of the Korean film industry, especially in the mid-1990's when Hollywood films were very popular in Korea. Nowadays, Korean films are just as, or more, popular than foreign films so the quota system is not really that necessary . . . To get more information about Korean movies, check out www.koreanfilm.org. This well-written website created by an American living in Korea discusses Korean movies with English subtitles (and where to buy them), popular movie actors, etc., and even has a discussion board on Korean TV dramas. You can also subscribe to a free e-mail newsletter about Korean films. So set aside some time to take a leisurely stroll through this beautifully displayed and very informative website. And when you're pau (i.e., finished) browsing that website, e-mail me your thoughts. 5/10/01: I am a Korean drama addict from Hawaii where Korean TV dramas with English subtitles are shown by KBFD-TV, a small, independent TV station . . . A fellow addict from Indonesia reports that Korean TV dramas there, shown on the Phoenix Channel (a cable-TV station), are dubbed in Indonesian. She prefers that the dramas have English subtitles instead of being dubbed . . . If you are a fellow addict from around the world, send me an e-mail. It will be interesting to see how far Korean TV dramas have infiltrated the world. 5/9/01: The Korean surname Lee is pronounced "Ee" as in the word "fee." It can be spelled as either "Lee" (the traditional spelling) or "Yi" (the spelling that more closely resembles the pronunciation). Sharp Korean TV drama addicts picked up this discrepancy when Lee Chang Hoon's surname was spelled as "Lee" in the credits for Pretty Lady, and "Yi" for Stock Flower. 5/8/01: This is a new feature in my website. I will put anything I consider newsworthy here. Check back daily. For today, I highly recommend that you click here to find out about common traits for Korean people. Warning: reading the linked website may lead to uncontrollable laughter and a sore stomach. |
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