'Delicious' Boys Leads Hallyu

It all started with a TV drama series - "Winter Sonata." In 2002, one of Indonesia's TV stations aired the series, introducing one of Korea's cultural products to a wide public in this part of the world. Later on, another TV station, Indosiar - which specializes in Asian dramas from Japan, Taiwan and Korea - aired about a dozen Korean dramas. The latest favorite was "Princess Hours" in 2006.

"The rating is not constant. It depends on the drama. When we air a TV drama that is very popular in Korea, the rating of Korean dramas subsequently rise above other Asian dramas," Gufron, a public relations officer at Indosiar, said.

Gufron said the highest rating in Indosiar is held by local reality shows, followed by local TV dramas. Asian dramas came fifth after feature-length movies produced for TV and music programs. Among Asian dramas, Korean dramas' ratings fluctuate, depending on the popularity of each series being aired at a certain time.

"We now air reruns of the Korean drama 'Full House.' Many viewers asked for reruns," Gufron said. "We have bought some new series. We're holding them for now. Right now our leading Asian drama is from Taiwan."

Korean dramas' popularity might not be as huge as local TV series or reality TV. However, Korean cultural products have gained certain fans, mostly girls and young women.

Many fans say they love Korean products because they were bored with products from the West. Indonesia has always been open to foreign cultural products, mostly from the United States and Western Europe. Indian, Taiwanese and Hong Kong products have also gained their own fans in the country, but Korean cultural products started gaining attention early this century.

"I like Korean pop music, TV dramas and movies because I'm tired of music from the West and Indonesia. I wanted something different and it turned out Korean music works for me," a fan of Korean music, Lia, said.

Another fan, Celcilia Ros, said she loves Korean movies and dramas because she finds that Korean lifestyles are closer to Indonesian culture than other Asian countries. "From the way they talk, to their food, they are close to Indonesian culture. We joke about it: Their ancestors were probably of Padang descents," Celcilia said. Padang, a city in West Sumatra, is famous for its spicy dishes.

Meanwhile, a Korean movie buff, Shanne, also known on the internet as Blue Sunflower, said she liked Korean movies because she was bored with Hollywood movies.

"I love seeing the beautiful images and cinematography of K-movies. The plot also makes sense. Perhaps it's because Korea and Indonesia are both Asian countries. There is a similar approach and tradition in handling issues," Shanne said.

She continued: "The endings are sometimes thought provoking, at the same level with Hollywood or European movies. Compared to Japanese or Hong Kong movies, Korean movies are more beautiful."

In particular, Korean cultural products gain the most attention from women in Indonesia, who generally like the appearance of Korean actors. "If we are asked what we like about Korean dramas, most of us would say the boys," said Celcilia, adding she loved Korean dramas the most.

However, the interests extend to other things - like Korean technology, food, traditional culture and the country itself.

The growth of Hallyu in Indonesia is connected to the growing popularity of other Asian cultural products in the country. The Taiwanese TV drama "Meteor Garden" paved the way for East Asian penetration to the hearts of many Indonesian women. The men, on the other hand, seemed to be more indifferent than their female cohorts, although there are some Korean movies that attracted both women and men, like the popular movie, "My Wife is a Gangster."

Regarding Japanese products, manga (illustrated books) and anime attract the interests of a broad section of Indonesians - children, teenagers and adults. Japanese dramas and movies have been replaced by products from Korea and Taiwan.

Among Japanese, Taiwanese and Korean cultural products, Koreans are the most recent to enter the market. Consequently, most fans of Korean products were first fans of Japanese or Taiwanese products. Many of them still like all Asian products, but some have grown more focused on Korean goods. The fans said they like Korean dramas and movies because they showed both sides of tradition and modernity.

"They still uphold their traditional culture and customs, despite their modernized country. That's what makes Korean products attractive to me. We can see it through their TV dramas, where their cultural values are upheld. Perhaps it's a bit different with Japan's current generation, who seems to have been lost - as indicated by lifestyles portrayed in dramas," a fan, Yui Chan, said.

Fans who love Korean products subsequently have a desire to see Korea. Several interviewed fans of Korean cultural products said they had gone to Korea, others who haven't expressed hope that they would someday make the trip.

Those who had the chance to go said their visit was at least partly prompted because of their passion for Korean cultural products.

Lanny Tricya, was one such avid fan. Before she went to Korea, she said: "I rewatched Bae Yong-joon's "Winter Sonata," memorizing all the beautiful scenes. I bought five woolen shawls, a neutral-colored sweater, and an overcoat in a boutique."

Spending six winter days in the country, Lanny asked the tour guide to show her locations where the "Winter Sonata" scenes were taken.

Taking about 150 pictures, of which 70 were taken at drama locations, Lanny then added captions that indicated the location and in which episode of the drama it appeared.

"I like Korean dramas. I have posters, soundtrack records, 'Polaris necklace' and more," Lanny said.

In 2005, Korean dramas had already gained much popularity. Besides being aired on TV, fans could watch dramas by renting videos from rental stores. For example, to rent "Full House," the most popular video in 2005, one had to go on a waiting list. A marketing officer at a rental store in Jakarta said in that year, Korean dramas were more popular than Taiwanese dramas.

However, Indosiar's Gufron said that no Korean dramas ever beat the popularity of Taiwan's "Meteor Garden," which is the most popular Asian drama ever in the country. Once the hype on "Meteor Garden" subsided, Korean TV dramas have competed almost head-to-head with Taiwanese dramas here.

Hallyu in Indonesia is concentrated on TV dramas, while pop music and big-screen movies have yet to make a significant presence here.

Apart from TV stations, the availability of Korean cultural products through legal means is not high, however. Pop music and movies are still rarely seen on Indonesian TV.

So far, only one band, Paran, has ever come to Indonesia. There was no hype, no screaming girls and no glitzy limousines - especially when compared to the huge hype created during the Taiwanese F4 visit six years ago.

Large commercial cinemas in Indonesia also rarely screen Korean feature-length movies, save for "My Wife is a Gangster" and "My Sassy Girl." Meanwhile, fans of Korean pop music said they mostly get the songs by illegally downloading them.

One of the major challenges facing Korean producers is piracy in Indonesia. In the last two years, piracy has dominated the distribution of Korean cultural products. Along with other cultural products from the United States, Europe, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan, products from Korea are also on any pirated-DVD vendor's menu.

On bootleg vendor said that Korean dramas take up about 40 percent of all dramas he has in stock. "We have two rows here for Korean dramas, two rows for Taiwanese, and one row for Japanese," a vendor said, pointing to rows of DVDs in shoe boxes.

A fan of Korean dramas and movies could enter any pirated-DVD shop in the city and ask for the most popular current Korean drama and have no problem finding it.

Korean TV executives have mostly been the primary marketers of Korean cultural products in Indonesia. In 2005, they came to Jakarta to market their products, toting sneak peaks of dramas, cartoons and documentaries - as well as business commodities.

The visit to Jakarta was a part of the program called Korea TV Showcase 2005, which continued to Thailand and India.

Putting a nice touch on the marketing attempt, the Korean Broadcasting Commission appointed one of the country's TV stars to carry the mission to expand Korea's charm.

Twenty-four-year-old Kim Jae-won, who has starred in 12 TV dramas and movies, went to the three countries to help promote Korean programs as honorary ambassador for the TV Korea Showcase 2005.

"The grand mission is to introduce things about South Korea to the world. The particular mission is to introduce Korean dramas to the world," Kim said in the press conference for the program.

Outside the press conference room, dozens of girls waited for the actor, holding posters with endearing statements for the actor.

That was 2005. Three years later, the situation has not changed much. The concentration is still on TV dramas, not so much on music and movies.

Although the charm that some Indonesian fans hold for Korean music and movies has not quite reached the hype stage, there is a general support base.

Some even make blogs to share their fondness for Korean cultural products.

Besides the blogs and the mailing lists, there are several internet forums discussing Korean movies, dramas and pop music. Many fans are indeed young women who always tend to be at the forefront of trends.

"My references are certainly from the internet, especially from Soompi (www.soompi.com). I also get information from forums. On Star Asia Village we share info about the newest movies, music and dramas," Lila said.

Discussions often show that the fans develop a certain feeling for Korean cultural products that they could distinguish from other East Asian products.

"The last reason for loving them: All the boys are handsome. Korean faces are delicious. Different from Mandarin faces," Cinthia said.