한류가 일본사회에 미친 영향연구

Abstract

In recent years, entertainment boom called 'Hallyu' or the 'Korean Wave' has spread across many nations in Asia, such as Japan, China, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries. This shows that South Korean pop culture has gained great popularity in many Asian nations. 'Hallyu' had already begun to spark little by little even before the revitalization of the Korean entertainment industry following the 2002 World Cup soccer games hosted by South Korea and Japan. Before 2002, most Japanese had no interest in, and were ignorant of, both Korea and Korean culture. 'Hallyu' has overwhelmed the whole of Japan and reached its peak when NHK televised the Korean Broadcasting System's (KBS) Television melodrama Winter Sonata in 2003. The show became a kind of boom gaining enthusiastic support from both middle-aged and elderly women in Japan, becoming a trend in its own time. In my research I examined how Winter Sonata became so successful in Japan and why Bae Yong-joon is known as 'Yon-sa-ma' among many people in Japan and was able to steal innumerable the hearts of many middle-aged and elderly women. This demographic was not considered the mainstream in Japanese society. In my research, I wrote about how these women, who were neglected by the mainstream of Japanese society, were responsible for such a huge boom, as well as the limitations of their influence, from a Japanese perspective. There have been numerous books and research articles written about the "Winter Sonata Boom," but most dealt primarily with the apparent differences aspects of middle-agedand elderly women who traveled to the shooting locations of Winter Sonata to see the show's lead actor Bae Yong-Joon. I however, would like to explain this from the perspective of an International Japanese student in Korea. It might be difficult for Koreans to understand the reasoning of Japanese women who learned about their not-too-distant neighbor Korea through the drama Winter Sonataand became big fans of Bae Yong-Joon and, consequently, liked the ideal of the Korean man he created. However, if Koreans were to examine the mindset of Japan's middle-aged and elderly women and how they live, they would realize the origin of this fascination with this Korean ideal type. The television drama Winter Sonata featured many beautiful images of romantic love, such as the memory of first love, atmospheric music, dream-like scenery and a story of 'pure' love. Winter Sonata shows some of the cultural differences between Korea and Japan. 'Pure' love is one of the attractions of Korean dramas that current Japanese dramas do not address at all. Winter Sonata expressed views rarely seen on Japanese television shows, such a charming view of love, masculine attraction, the expression of love and 'pure' love. The beauty of the scenery and the melodramatic dialogue only increased the show's attraction to viewers. The mentality of the characters, the patterns of human interaction, and Korea's interesting landscapes were the substances that drew people to this drama and other Korean entertainment. Themes like that of 'pure' love also helped to make them acceptable to younger generations of Japanese. Other examples of this include such dramas as Shout Love in the center of World, which also has become very successful in Japan. The Korean Wave has spread all over Japan, to include younger generations of Japanese, not just middle-aged and elderly women. The interest in Korea started by Winter Sonata in Japanhas spun off in a variety of directions, such as a growing interest in Korean food, cosmetic salons, and is clearly visible in an increasing number of tourists visiting the country and international students learning the Korean language. This impressive change, which started with middle-aged and elderly Japanese women, continues to affect the interest of younger generations of Japanese in Korean culture and entertainment, and has permanently changed the perceptions of Koreaheld by many people in Japan.