韓国軽視論←韓国人の参加、大歓迎

THE NEW YORK TIMES

South Korean dramas and music have started edging out American and Japanese ones in Taiwan, which caught the Korean Wave early this decade.

Five years ago, Gala TV here paid $1,000 for one hour of a South Korean drama, compared with $15,000 to $20,000 for a Japanese one, said the network's vice president, Lai Tsung Pi. Now, a South Korean drama commands $7,000 to $15,000; a Japanese, $6,000 to $12,000.

"Korean dramas are considered more emotionally powerful, and their actors are willing to come here to promote them," Mr. Lai said. "Because of the Korean dramas, Taiwanese people have become more willing to buy their products."

Sales of South Korean consumer goods and cars have risen sharply here in the last five years as well. The number of Taiwanese going to South Korea rose from 108,831 in 2000 to 298,325 last year, even though the overall number of Taiwanese traveling abroad fell during that period.

South Korea has also begun wielding the non-economic side of its new soft power. The official Korean Overseas Information Service last year gave "Winter Sonata" to Egyptian television, paying for the Arabic subtitles. The goal was to generate positive feelings in the Arab world toward the 3,200 South Korean soldiers stationed in northern Iraq.

There have been unintended effects too. Copies of South Korean dramas and music are being increasingly smuggled from China into North Korea. One popular drama in the Communist North was "All In," the true story of a South Korean gambler who went to Las Vegas with only $18 and became a millionaire.

North Korean women began copying the hairstyle of its lead actress, Song Hae Kyo, prompting the authorities there to crack down on "untidy" hair, said Kim Yang Rae, director general of the Korean Foundation for Asian Culture Exchange.

In mid-June, a 20-year-old North Korean soldier, Yi Yong Su, defected across the demilitarized zone into the town of Chorwon in central South Korea. The private said he had grown to admire and yearn for South Korea after watching its television programs, South Korean military officials told reporters.

But the worry of a possible backlash - Taiwan, for instance, is considering levying a 20 percent tariff on Korean programs - impelled the Culture Ministry two years ago to form the cultural exchange foundation, to prevent Southeast Asian countries from feeling that they are regarded only as markets.

"We've never had this experience of seeing our culture spread outside our country," Mr. Kim said about Korea's modern history. "I'm very proud, but also very cautious."

At the New Fantasy Travel agency here, about 80 percent of travelers to South Korea pick television theme tours, visiting spots where their favorites dramas were filmed, said the general manager, Louis Wang.

Mr. Wang himself is not a huge fan. But his children, who are, now feel closer to South Korea than to the country that considers Taiwan a renegade province. "They've been learning the lifestyle of Koreans, their fashion and their food," Mr. Wang said. "So now they're more familiar with Korea's lifestyle than China's."