Differences in taste shown at Seoul Int’l Drama Awards

The SDA 2013 held at Seoul National Theater on September 5. (Photo : AP/NEWSis)

The explosion in global popularity of the Korean entertainment industry was well highlighted by the biggest ever Seoul International Drama Awards(SDA), which were held at the National Theater of Korea on September 5.

For the first time since these awards began in 2006, the voice of Korea’s growing army of international fans could be heard through online voting for Korean Outstanding Drama, Actor and Actress. And perhaps the most surprising aspect of the results of this voting was that it showed a remarkable difference in taste between local Korean audiences and the growing international netizens who take an interest in Korean entertainment. Voters were from 135 countries and the countries with the most votes were China, South Korea, Japan, US and Indonesia in this order.

The natural hope of any individual star or drama production is to make it to the top position, both in Korea and internationally.

Such a feat was achieved by actor and singer Jung Yunho, who topped both the international vote through soompi.com, and local voting through Daum, with 294,259 international votes and 469,050 “K-Netizens” votes — a huge 42.54 per cent of total votes. The figures prove that Jung is highly popular both in Korea and internationally. But, the numbers for other entertainers show a remarkable gap between the two.

The original broadcast of the series Arang and the Magistrate received an average AGB Nielsen rating of just 12.80-14.00% in Korea when it first screened on local TV. But overseas, Arang’s popularity proved much stronger. Firstly, it broke the record for the highest price paid for a series when it was sold to Japan, and international voting at Soompi further proved its popularity – Arang and the Magistrate won 115,901 votes or 63.86% against 12 others that were nominated for Outstanding Korean Drama.

Meanwhile Nice Guy, which was the number one drama in Arang and the Magistrate’s time slot with an average AGB Nielsen rating of 15.30-16.80%, received less than 5% of the total votes. Seo Young, My Daughter, a family drama hugely popular on Korean screen with an average rating of 33.30% and the best-episode rating reaching 47.70%, received a mere 201 votes, less then 1% of the total votes.

A total of 48 countries participated in the 2013 awards, with 225 entries. But international fans did not just watch the awards on TV or the Internet. Some, like Belakoul Nada and Ikran Dilas, traveled all the way from Morocco to attend SDA after winning two tickets in a giveaway from soompi.com.

They admit they were slightly disappointed to find out when they arrived in Korea a week ago that Korean netizens have different responses to Hallyu stars who enjoy great popularity in their country and vice versa. “As international fans, we never get to be heard, it’s very disappointing. With (SDA) international voting, now what we said counts. We get to support dramas and actors we love directly.”

South Korean actress Kim Yun-jin poses for photographers. (Photo : AP/NEWSis)

‘Hallyu’ affects tourism industry

And fans of Hallyu, the Korean Wave, have not just affected the TV industry. The Korean tourism industry also received a boost. As Miss Hong Jung Nim, owner of a Korean handicrafts shop in Sokong underground shopping center said, many of her customers belonged to Korean drama lover groups back in their home countries.

“They come here many times, sometimes twice a year from Hawaii, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, many countries — from all over the world. They love Korean dramas, so they come here for a holiday.”

Susan Kang, the founder of soompi.com, was approached back in April by the organizing committee of the Seoul International Drama Awards to run the international portion of the voting. “It was such a huge honor to be asked, so we jumped at the opportunity,”

Susan said. “Domestic voting is hosted by Daum, one of the major portals in Korea, so we were so excited to be able to join such a company.”

Susan started Soompi back in 1998 as a place to discuss her fascination with her favorite K-pop band. Her creation, soompi.com, has become the largest English language news portal for all Korean entertainment related news. Soompi’s forum has become home to many non-Korean speaking fans.

Israeli actor Assi Cohen, left, gestures after winning the Grand Prize at the SDA. (Photo : AP/NEWSis)

Televised live, the SDA show started with some of the biggest names in Korean entertainment walking the red carpet. Fans waited on the side from early in the day to catch a glimpse of their idols and cheer for them. Bae Suzy not only co-hosted the event with actor Lee Sung Jae, but also won the title for outstanding Korean actress.

Israeli drama Prisoners of War 2 took home the grand prize for the night, and Israel also won Silver Bird Prize for the TV movie, Welcome and … Our Condolences. Adi Ezroni, the leading actress in Prisoners of War 2, was pleasantly surprised at the extent and popularity of the Korean entertainment industry. “After this, the Israeli public will be more aware of the Korean culture,” she said on stage after the ceremony had ended.

Also performing on stage among others were 4Minute, K.Will, and Kara. The awards ceremony ended as the winners of SDA 2013 took their last bow on the stage.