One could argue half of the merit (or blame) for starting the Korean Wave, the one which made money anyway, goes to Bae Yong-Joon and his 겨울연가 (Winter Sonata). It sent a nation of okasan into Showa nostalgia, purging their wallets at the first sight of anything Yonsama-related, be it films or accessories like Pantene Pro-V or white scarves. But the other half goes certainly to Lee Byung-Hoon's sageuk 대장금 (Dae Jang Geum). This jewel in the palace not only recorded humongous ratings of over 50% at home, it traveled anywhere from Asia (a huge hit in Japan and Hong Kong), the US and now even Europe and Iran, where the guy reading the Quran on TV is complaining of unfair competition from Lee Young-Ae and Co. But they couldn't stop there, could they? Oh yes. A film will be made.
Studio999, the Korean company who bought the rights to turn the popular TV Drama into a film, is currently under negotiations for funding, but that's not all. It appears they also approached director Zhang Yimou about the possibility of directing the film. Zhang and his production company are currently examining the script, and according to Korean media are showing strong interest in the project. Zhang, who will produce the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is said to be a fan of the show, and if he indeed accepts, it certainly would be a killer ap in the Asian market. Still, we should consider this an informed rumor for the time being, as sources close to Zhang say the director is now fully immersed into preparing the Olympics Ceremony, and any future project will have to be discussed after that. We'll stay tuned on this in the coming months.
SOURCES
[Star News], [DongA News], [163.com], [News Open World]
Woah, thats crazy. Zhang Yimou is such an amazing director, definitely looking forward to this.
What so damn ' special ' with the guy reading a Quiran that you had to mention it ?
The fact Dae Jang Geum is scoring ratings in the 80% range over there, and that it's broadcasting when one of the other national channels airs the guy who reads the Quran.
And don't forget: in Iran it's a pretty ingrained tradition to watch the guy reading the Quran. Same as watching the evening news with all the family.
The fact that a historical 'soap' (no disrespect intended) draws such a huge section of the population does seem to support the theory that people are the same everywhere...
;-)