hankyoreh

at which the Hallyu Expo are held.

Exports of South Korean TV dramas have decreased for the first time this year.

According to data announced by the Korean Broadcasting Institute on December 18, exports of TV dramas garnered about US$85.9 million this year, a 15.5-percent decrease from last year’s $102 million. This is the first decline since the institute began to gather related data in 1998.

The average unit sale price of a drama dropped 11 percent to $4,378, compared to last year’s $4,921, also a first-time decrease since the numbers were tallied. The annual export of TV dramas had previously recorded an average increase of 89.7 percent since 2001, riding the ’hallyu,’ or ’Korean wave’ of popular culture sweeping Asia.

As for reasons behind the sudden drop, the broadcasting institute mentioned insufficient efforts to improve the quality of TV dramas, as well as anti-Korean wave sentiment in Asian nations. Yun Jae-sik, an official of the institute, said that "since last year, the U.S. CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) series has won popularity in the worldwide market. Viewers’ tastes have changed, but most South Korean TV offerings are still melodramas, without making any attempts at different styles, and viewers have become fed up with them."

The declining export of Korean TV dramas has been notable in Japan, China, and Taiwan. In Japan, which last year had a 60-percent share of the "hallyu" export market, bringing in more than $66 million in Korean TV dramas last year, this figure declined to about $49 million this year. TV exports to Taiwan fell sharply to $2.4 million this year from last year’s $12.5 million. In the meantime, China nearly halved the amount of permits given for "hallyu" drama imports to be shown on domestic small screens this year. Such registered drops are due to anti-hallyu sentiments in those nations, according to sources.

Jeong Un-hyeon, a director at MBC-TV, said, "I think the hallyu, which depended on a small group of actors and actresses, has reached its limitations. It is important to understand exactly the tastes of overseas buyers and to improve the quality of dramas."

Meanwhile, exports of all Korean TV shows reached about $162 million, a 31.1-percent increase from last year’s $123 million, bolstered by foreign demand for Korean documentaries and cultural shows. By region, Korean TV exports to Mexico, Brazil, and Jordan have been on the rise.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]