Christmas is over, 2011 is looming ahead, and that means year in review list for everything created, ever. As far as Korean entertainment is concerned, Asiancorrespondent.com contributor Lee Yoo Eun does a satisfactory job, covering some issues that haven’t been done to death, noting an interesting trend in Korean dramas:

4. Romance in Abroad, but Political dramas went strong in the country.

While Korean soap operas armored with strong romance, continuously gained a huge popularity in Asian countries, even in several Arabian countries, in homeland politics soaps were on fire, especially on the second half of the year. The Giant showed a process of an ordinary man becoming a construction business mogul in a whirlpool of corrupted politics and chaotic business situations. The Dae-mul, (Big Fish, or Big Things in Korean) is a story of the first female president in the country. The President which deals with a president as the name tells is also a political drama which now marks high ratings in South Korea.
Although there are not many serious analyses on Korean soap’s marketability in its homeland, discussions in length are made in other countries. The Diplomat, a Japan-based online media, said the reason of Korean soap’s popularity is a demonstarion of emotional side of the male characters

Men can cry, who knew?.

(asia correspondent)