It may not be a real illness but K-drama fever is sweeping Asia with as much force as an infectious disease. The latest hit show to come out of South Korea has already claimed over 440 million victims in China alone, where it's being simulcast. Many millions more are glued to their screens across the continent.
‘Descendants of the Sun’ is the latest in a long line of TV dramas to come out of Korea which have taken Asia by storm. The usual theme of star-crossed lovers is still very much there but there's a twist which many of its fans say gives this drama a distinctive flavour. It's a military romance which is set in a fictional European country.
Ms Gao from Beijing said, "The military theme does not usually appear frequently in TV shows so combined with the romantic theme, this is not like other Korean soap operas."
The female lead, played by Song Hye-kyo, is a surgeon, while her male counterpart, played by Song Joong-ki, is a special forces captain.
"Unlike most Korean dramas which are about a rich guy who falls in love with a poor, golden-hearted girl, the story feels more like the love story of two evenly-matched adults," says Chen Yuanni, from Beijing.
But it's not just Asia which has seen a boom in the popularity of foreign-language TV dramas in recent years. Since the Danish crime drama, The Killing, was first aired on the BBC in 2011, the nation has been gripped by so-called Nordic Noir. What surprises some is that it's not only thrillers, such as The Bridge, which have captured the imagination of British viewers. There have also been ratings successes for shows such as Borgen - about coalition politics – and 1864 – a drama about an obscure 19th century war between Denmark and Prussia.
So why do these international dramas appeal when the cultrual references are so remote from the experience of the viewers? Perhaps the answer lies in this piece of advice for aspiring scriptwriters from the BBC's Writersoom: "Engaging characters are at the heart of all good drama, no matter how mainstream or unusual your idea may be." So if the characters are strong enough, it doesn't matter if they're from Sichuan, Seoul or Sweden.
词汇表
K-drama 韩国电视剧
(something) fever （事物）热，火
a hit show 非常受欢迎的片子
to simulcast （和电视台）同步播放
the latest in a long line of 一系列（韩剧）里最新的一部
to take (somewhere) by storm （在某处）大获成功
star-crossed lovers 不幸的恋人们
a twist 变化，出乎意料的情节
a flavour 特色，风格，体验
a military romance 发生在军队里的爱情故事
to be set (somewhere) （以某处）为背景
a soap opera 肥皂剧
to resonate 产生共鸣
a lead 主角
a counterpart （职能或地位）相对应的事物或人，男主角
crime drama 犯罪剧
to air 播出，播放
Nordic Noir 北欧犯罪推理小说或片子
a thriller 惊悚片
to capture the imagination 抓住想象力，令人神往
a ratings success 高的收视率
an engaging character 吸引人的角色