All About The Beautiful Korea: Korean Drama & Music

South Korean mainstream culture including televised dramas, films, and popular music has generated significant financial revenues for the South Korean economy. The phenomenon known as "Korean Wave", has swept many countries across Asia making South Korea a major exporter of popular culture and entertainment, rivaling many Western nations such as the United States and the United Kingdom.

Korean dramas are popular worldwide, partially due to the spread of the Korean Wave, with streaming services that oﬀer multiple language subtitles. Diﬀerent dramas appear on each of the nationwide networks, Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) and Channel A, tvN.

SAGEUK literally translates to “historical drama”, the term is typically reserved for any Korean television or ﬁlm dramas taking place during Korean history. Sageuk may be longer, with 50 to 200 episodes, but they also run for only one season, The famous typical for Sageuk is Dae Jang Geum (aka Jewel in the Palace), enjoyed strong ratings and high satisfaction ratings in countries.

Actress Lee Young Ae played the titular Dae Jang Geum in the series of the same name.

Series set in CONTEMPORARY times usually run for one season, for 12−24 episodes of 60 minutes. They are often centered on a love story, with family ties and relationships being in the focus.

The biggest stars may earn as much as 100 million per episode. Bae Yong Joon, the star of Winter Sonata reportedly received 250 million per episode for The Legend in 2007.

The most famous scriptwriters include the Hong Sisters, who together wrote popular romantic comedies such as

You're Beautiful (2009)

The Master's Sun (2013)

My Girlfriend Is A Nine-Tailed Fox (2010)

Kim Eun Sook wrote the popular television dramas:

Secret Garden (2010)

The Heirs (2013)

The Descendants of the Sun (2016)

Lee Kyung Hee is a South Korean television screenwriter, known for her critically acclaimed dramas, such as

The Innocent Man (2012)

Uncontrollably Fond (2016)

Choi Wan Kyu' s last drama was the good effort but not quite all there MBC drama Triangle, almost all with a very strong male-centric focus.

Triangle (2014)

K-drama screenwriter Noh Hee Kyung has won me back to her good graces completely after It's Okay, That's Love and her few dramas such as That Winter, The Wind Blows is a romantic melodrama television series.

It's Okay, That's Love (2014)

That Winter, The Wind Blows (2013)

Park Ji Eun wrote the hit korean dramas My Love from the Star and The Producers. Her next project will reunite with My Love from the Star lead actress Jun Ji Hyun, with Lee Min Ho as the lead actor. Tentatively titled The Legend of the Blue Sea. The drama is expected to air on November 2016.

My Love from the Star (2013)

The Producers (2015)

The Legend of the Blue Sea (2016)

Actress Jun Ji Hyun

Acknowledged TV directors include Lee Byung Hoon, who directed Dae Jang Geum and Pyo Min Soo, the director of Full House.

Lee Byung Hoon

Dae Jang Geum (2003)

Full House (2004)

Contemporary South Korean music can be divided into three diﬀerent main categories: Traditional Korean folk music, popular music or K-pop, and Western-inﬂuenced non-popular music.

Folk music represents the soul and sound of traditional Korean villages with an eclectic array of music forms including numerous folk songs, various forms of instrumental pieces, pansori, sanjo, and nongak.

Korea's Folk Music Tradition

Contemporary K-pop is dominated by dance groups featuring young entertainers with the latest looks and dance skills. Contemporary Korean music and pop stars are very popular across Asia, and the spread of contemporary Korean culture designated a word to reﬂect this fact.

Although it comprises all genres of “popular music” within South Korea, the term is more often used in a narrower sense to describe a modern form of South Korean pop music covering arrange of styles including dance-pop, pop ballad, electropop, R&B, and hip-hop music. electronic inﬂuenced songs.

The emergence of the rap group Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992 marked a turning point for South Korean popular music, also known as K-pop, Many K-pop stars and groups are well known across Asia and found ability to secure a sizable overseas audiences using YouTube.

Seo Taiji and Boys

South Korean music artist PSY became an international sensation when his song "Gangnam Style" topped global music charts in 2012.

PSY - Gangnam Style

Some of the most famous Kpop groups include EXO, Apink, SHINee, T-ARA, Super Junior, BIGBANG, BTS, and Girls’ Generation. There are also co-ed groups where both genders are present.