Why are people crazy about Japanese-Korean stuff

Japanese and Korean soaps 哈日韓與羅曼史

Many Taiwanese seem to be fond of everything from Japan, including comic books, fashionable clothes and accessories, and Japanese TV programs. Whenever you turn on your TV set, you see nothing but Japanese or Korean soap opera shows on almost every channel. Japan has become a target city of fashion and many Taiwanese have become japanophiles as well.

As one of my friends told me, she can't imagine life without the imported soap operas. When she watches the love stories imported from Japan or Korea, she enjoys the idea of dreaming, wandering into another kind of existence. She imagines herself to be the female character in the story who is chatting intimately with her Mr. Right. This kind of love story provides her with a space for imagination and it also satisfies her desire for fantasy. Besides, she thinks the plot is really attractive and the love stories are never corny, unlike the Taiwanese ones.

Actually, everyone knows very well that the plot in the soaps is unlikely to happen in the real world, but we still want to believe it will be true one day. In that sense, the fever for Japanese and Korean soap operas only reflects our desperate need for something out of the ordinary, and our thirst for excitement and love. Perhaps, people never get tired of romantic stories exactly because we haven't got enough romance in our own lives.

better quality 日韓產品品質優

 瑩

Why are people crazy about Japanese-Korean stuff? Well, it is because their products are very nice and made in interesting forms. 

Take the Japanese and Korean soap operas for example, the actors are all handsome and the actresses are all attractive. They not only create new styles in modeling but also attract their audiences with twisted plots. In addition, they are so much better than Taiwanese productions that nowadays Taiwanese soap operas copy Japanese and Korean productions. The most popular Taiwan-made soap these days is the Shooting Star Garden; it is modeled upon a Japanese comic book and they did not even bother to change the names of the characters.
I think the main reason why people prefer Japanese and Korean things is that the quality of things made in Japan and Korea is really higher.　

Japan fever then and now 三代愛日本
培

Taiwanese have had a long history of craze for Japanese stuff and different age groups have their own reason. 

The elders cherish memories of the Japanese occupation. Faced with the chaotic society nowadays, old people prefer Japan's strict and harsh government. "At least public security was much better," they say.

The middle-aged people are fascinated by Japanese household electrical appliances for the products are made with precision and ingenuity.

As to those teenagers who have a crush on Japanese fashion, the textbooks may have explained the atrocities that the Japanese soldiers inflicted upon Taiwanese people during those occupation years, yet the young people did not experience the disasters and they don't have any bad feelings toward Japan. What they see is the superior quality of Japanese products, fashions, and performances. No wonder they are crazy about Japanese stuff.
Another important reason is that Japan's economic influence is so wide-spread that nobody can claim that they don't have anything from Japan.

cultural blending 文化混雜

葉

The popularity of Japanese culture is manifested everywhere in Taiwan. TV programs are full of Japanese dramas, and recreational TV shows from Japan have become a norm. Japanese restaurants substitute McDonald's to become the major hangouts for teenagers. 

In the past few years, when Japanese culture was budding in Taiwan, members of the older generation would remind the teenagers of the historical suffering that Japan had inflicted upon Taiwan to discourage the trend of Japanese culture. Obviously, such reminders did not take root with the youngsters. 

While social critics fought with one another to find an explanation for this phenomenon, I cannot help wondering: are we really attaching too much importance to this trend? In my opinion, it's nothing but a by-product of internationalization and advanced technology. In the past, we can only watch Taiwan-produced TV programs and listen to music of Taiwanese singers. Now, we have a bunch of choices and some of us have become devout fans of Japanese dramas, while others are impressed by alternative music from France, and still others see watching Hollywood movies as their sole pastime. 

I know there are a lot of people who view this "Japanese frenzy" as a moment of identity crisis. Yet, when Hollywood films arrived in Taiwan, no one bothered to call it the Hollywood craze even though the size of audience of Hollywood movies far outweighs that of the fans of Japanese culture. I believe the blending of all kinds of cultures creates diversity in Taiwan. I personally appreciate this phenomenon, coz I can be abreast to a variety of cultures and have more options for recreation. 

Why are people crazy about Japanese-Korean stuff 日劇和韓具

禎

I think the popularity of Japanese and Korean stuff comes from their obvious superiority, with the help from the media and the entertainment industry. 

Japanese TV dramas abandoned the exaggerated performances to focus instead on those elements that can really touch people. The simple story about ordinary people makes the audience feel very close to the characters. As they project themselves unto the characters, people can satisfy their imagination with those fantastic and romantic plots. This kind of production is a revolution to traditional drama playing and has successfully brought in great profits. Compared with Taiwanese local actors, honestly, the performances of Japanese actors are indeed superior. This is because in Japan, the big competitive environment makes them develop young and excellent actors. 

As to Korea, their government encourages and supports industries to become innovative and competitive. That is why Korean PC games are so successful in the global economy. In contrast, our computer technology has been slipping back and consumers have turned toward overseas imports. Still, our government seems not to be too concerned.

The majority of those people who are crazy about Japanese-Korean stuff are teenagers. They are crazy over not only the stars but also the characters the stars played. Teenagers overflow their exceeded energy into imitating the fashion styles of the characters to memorizing lines from the play. As young people make up our biggest spending age group, the media and the press also focus on what most young people like in order to get profits. Therefore, the public has an impression that Japanese-Korean stuff are the top. But I believe this is mainly a result of the collaboration between the media and the entertainment industry.

Japanese and Korean cultural impact 日韓的文化霸權

潔

Some people will wonder why Japanese and Korean cultures are so popular in Taiwan. But if you take the continuous popularity of western cultures into consideration, you will find it's very natural for Taiwanese people to go crazy about those stuff. In fact, there are many reasons. 

First of all, people tend to prefer foreign stuff to local ones. Therefore, people take local culture for granted while foreign stuff is always held as an imperial edict. This lack of confidence in our own culture is a serious problem.

Secondly, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan belong to the same geographic region and share some similarities in culture. They are easily affected by one another and are likely to accept innovative concepts from one another. 

Finally, it cannot be denied that Japan and Korea have both come up with many amazingly creative and diverse ideas that have made significant impact on the popular cultures of adjacent countries. No wonder people, especially adolescents who pursue uniqueness and novelty, are all crazy about Japanese-Korean stuff.

Japanese and Korean superiority 日韓風

儀

I think there must be a lot of people like me who wonder why so many persons are crazy about the Japanese and Korean stuff. I'm not a member of any fan clubs, but I can see how crazy the teenagers are for the Japanese and Korean hot idols.

I think this trend is fueled by the Japanese and Korean dramas. People are just crazy about all the stuff in these dramas. Even the lines that the actors said and the places where the actors met will become popular tourist spots. Some people even learn Japanese in order to better understand the lines. In addition, because the Japanese and Korean idols are well commercialized, so they become the symbols of high fashion. The teenagers like to imitate these idols' style of clothing, their hair styles, so as to become popular among their peers. 

Actually, I have to say that the entertainment business in Japan and Korea is really better managed than in Taiwan. Unless we enhance the image of our show business to establish people's confidence, we will surely lose out to the Japanese and the Koreans.

Japanese-Korea dramas 日韓劇大流行

Have you counted how much Japanese or Korean stuff you have in your backpack? Several pens are made in Japan, notebooks are all from Korea, you even have an MP3 player from Panasonic. And think about your cosmetics and the electronic appliances at home, are they all made in Japan or Korea, too? Yes! We, Taiwanese, are surrounded by Japanese-Korean stuff all the time without knowing it. 

Take the series TV drama for example. TV channels are overflowing with Japanese and Korean drama today. Japanese-Korean drama is much more popular than Taiwanese ones. I think there are 3 reasons: first, the Japanese-Korean drama is not very long, and Taiwanese ones often are pretty long with very low pace; secondly, the plot of Japanese drama usually focuses on the story of common people, unlike Taiwanese dramas that concentrate on great people in history; lastly, Japanese-Korean drama is always well-packaged and well-promoted just as Japanese-Korean products are. And because we all love exquisite things, Japanese-Korean stuff get to be extremely popular in Taiwan.

TV dramas 日韓劇和美劇比較

In my opinion, Japanese-Korean TV dramas are popular because they have made the dramas close to the heart of the audience. Let me explain. 

Most of you have seen American TV drama series such as "E.R." or "L.A. Law." The plots of these TV series are usually based on professional life and very rational subjects. Even though they also have their touching moments, the dramas ask the audience to think. American soaps have been known to be sentimental, but even they often portray things that need the characters to think rationally about. 

Japanese-Korean dramas, on the other hand, demonstrate a sense of warm stability, in which the characters struggle to manage their inner conflicts. Somehow Asian people prefer this way of subtle communication. Instead of arguing about their philosophy of life or the logic of things all the time, most people need something close to their genuine heart. And that is where Japanese-Korean stuff gives them space to free themselves. I think that is the reason why Japanese-Korean dramas are popular almost everywhere. 

Japanese and Korean stars 日韓熱潮

嫻

Are V6 more attractive than F4? Is 藍色生死戀 more touching than any other Taiwanese plays? Why are people so crazy about Japanese-Korean stuff ? In my opinion, there are 3 reasons for this: 
First: Japanese show businesses are more professionalized. The agency would choose prospective stars from thousands of teenagers and carry out strict trainings for a long time. Unlike the simple and short-term courses in Taiwan, all the courses in Japan are multiple and time-consuming. 
Second: The booming of Taiwanese media needs more ready-made shows. In the past when Taiwan had only three TV stations and limited channels, foreign shows are few and limited too. But now, teenagers could indulge themselves in every kind of shows whenever they want. The more access you have to different cultures, the more likely that you will be fascinated with them.
Third: The mystery of the Japanese-Korean stars makes them more charming. Due to the difference in language and culture, teenagers are not familiar with these icons. They could only use their imagination to glorify every detail of the idols. On the other hand, Japan and Korea are not far-away places like America or Europe, and thus have some similarities with other Asian countries. That's why they are attractive among teenagers in Taiwan. .