Korean Dramas Help Japanese TV's Bottom Line

Appealing Imports: Korean TV dramas are helping Japanese networks cut costs while maintaining ratings.

Last month’s protests around Fuji TV’s Tokyo headquarters called attention to the visibility that Korean TV dramas have achieved in Japan since Winter Sonata heralded the start of the Korean Wave.

In 2003, when the popular drama series first took Japan by storm, the total contract value of South Korean programming in Japan was a mere $6.28 million (480.7 million yen). That figure had multiplied thirteen-fold to $81.62 million as of last year, according to Asahi Shimbun.

The protesters were apparently concerned that Korean TV programming amounted to a form of cultural imperialism. However, the TV networks see it as a matter of simple economics. It’s far cheaper to buy Korean dramas to help fill daytime slots on satellite channels than to incur the cost of producing domestic ones that won’t be covered by shrinking advertising revenues. What’s more, the Korean shows provide good ratings, boosting networks’ bottoms lines in a difficult economy.

The Korean dramas aren’t exactly taking over Japanese TV. In July Fuji TV’s programming for the Kanto region — covering the Tokyo area — had only about 38 hours of South Korean programming. Rival Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) had only about 20 hours. With the exception of the big-budget Korean action drama Iris — which is enjoying high prime-time ratings in Japan — most of the Korean dramas shown on Fuji TV and TBS are broadcast during daytime hours.

The success of Korean programming in Japan owes partly to the close cultural and ethnic similarities between the two nations and partly to the sheer size and wealth of Japan’s consumer market. Japan accounts for 60 percent of the value of Korean TV drama exports.

Another factor is Japan’s lack of protectionist regulations against foreign programming. Little need for such regulations was seen because during the postwar era Japanese programming had no trouble getting far higher ratings than imports from even the United States. Japan rapid growth and prosperity of the Japanese economy created a strong sense of shared national identity which drew audiences to domestic programs.

Unlike Japan, Taiwan’s National Communications Commission recently asked a major TV station to reduce its ratio of South Korean programs after it was revealed during a January parliamentary debate that most of the shows on three drama channels came from S. Korea. Tighter programming restrictions were deemed necessary to protect Taiwanese culture.

Similarly, the European Union restricts imported programming in member nations to less than half the broadcast hours.

Now that major export-oriented Japanese corporations are being squeezed by increasing competition from Korean, Taiwanese and Chinese rivals, they are less willing to lay out large sums to sponsor quality domestic programming. Ironically, this has subjected Japan’s entertainment industry to the kinds of inroads from efficient, lower-cost rivals from Korea being suffered by Japan’s auto and electronics industries.