When exploring Japanese pop culture and entertainment, it’s easy to think of what is considered “popular”: anime, manga (comic books), fashion, etc. Yet, these things target a youthful audience of teens and young women. The population I wish to investigate is the one who will swoon at one word - “Yon-sama.” The Korean television and movie star, Bae Yong Joon,37, is colloquially known as “Yon-Sama” in Japan. Don’t expect legions of teens to be following his every move, you are more likely to find him adored within the middle aged female population. Rather than asking why a movie star’s fan base mainly consists of an older generation, the more interesting question to ask would be why a Korean actor is so popular in Japan.
Briefly, Yon-sama’s rise to fame originated with the Japanese broadcast of the Korean television series ‘Winter Sonata’ (Korean: 겨울연가 Japanese:冬のソナタ) in 2002. Since then, the popularity of the series, and consequently the actor’s, exploded with commercials, television series, and more in subsequent years.
Who could I ask to better understand Yon-sama’s popularity? The answer: a fan. My host mother fits in within the ideal demographic. I was able to ask a few short questions (with my limited Japanese) to her in order to analyze his popularity. My host mother answered that the portrayal of his character lets her think about an idea of true love, and that his character’s sweet, thoughtful, and attractive qualities are some of the things she adores. Her fan girl pleasure is expressed through her book, which contain the script of the series, pictured below:
Then why is this character so popular among the middle aged population and not with the modern youth? According to a few female Kansai students, these women are reminded of their first love. Though they could not give a reason to why they did not like Yon-sama as much as their older counterparts, their answers to why the older women may adore him are the same.
One wonders who the next “Yon-sama” will be, or will there be anyone else who can supercede his success in Japan? Can one of the series in this aisle below contain the answer?
Great topic for your post on pop culture. The Korea "boom" began a few years ago and it still seems to continue. Many of my friends of all ages are really into Korean dramas. They seem to have something that Japanese dramas have lost. But I wonder is Yon-sama is still so popular. He was recently in Japan and was greeted by a large number of obasans at the airport, but not nearly the same sort of mob that greeted him years ago. I would like to hear how you became familiar with Yon-sama and why you are interested in this topic.
ReplyDeleteThe relationship between Japan and Korea has been problematic to say the least going way back in history. I think it is a good thing that this Korea boom remains.