The Winning Formula

Recently I read two articles which sang praises for Korean drama. I have to admit that I am pretty convinced by what I've read, having experienced several great drama series first hand.

Gone are the days when the male and female leads fall in love only to find out that they are actually related by blood. Also missing are those star-crossed lovers separated by memory loss and *sigh* terminal illnesses. They will not be missed. Not by me, at least.

Nonetheless, the major themes and plots still exist. Forbidden love, feuding families, sibling rivalry, Cinderellas (both male and female) and the triumph of the good over the bad. These remain and they will always be, being the universal and unchanging essence of a successful story. So, besides the common standards of a good plot and a strong cast, what makes Korean drama so appealing? Here's my take at the Korean's winning formula.

1. An exciting plot with smart twists and unexpected turns which leave the audience guessing, wondering, anticipating and applauding and teary-eyed(me).

2. A strong cast. Nevermind that love nowadays comes in all shapes, triangles, quadrants or even pentagons, as long as they can act, they are all made morally and logically valid. The supporting cast is very important too, in fact, some of them are seen in more series than those leading actors and actresses. And they steal the limelight sometimes!

3. Soundtrack with catchy songs which match the plot and characters. There will be a particular song or two dedicated to scenes of specific characters and songs for different moods. So it works like this- I hear a song and flashes of certain scenes and characters immediately come to my mind; or it could be I am quickly thrown into the designated mood once the scene enfolds because the song in the background compels me to. Bottomline is, the drama and the soundtrack complement each other and are crucial to each other's success.

4. A competent behind-the-scene crew which handles all the technicalities of filming. Shooting a scene is never simple, there's much aesthetics involved, be it the handling of the camera or the customising of the effects in post-filming stage. These people add points to the script and cast, many points if they are good at what they do.

5. Each episode ends at a climax. I remember a teacher once said that a good story should be cyclical, made up of alternate peaks and troughs so that the audience's attention will remain focused on it. The peak/climax is where the tension is high and conflict is sharp. The trough is event time set aside for the building up of tension and sharpening of conflict. The Koreans know when to end an episode and this, is a valuable asset for it ensures that the viewers will definitely catch the next episode when it airs one week later. Very smart of them indeed.

From my observation, Taiwanese idol dramas are fairly capable of the first 3 points. The Hong Kong TVB dramas are competent at points 1,2,3 and 5. As for our local dramas.....ahem, errr, hmmmm..... enough said.