BY NESTOR CUARTERO
JUST A THOUGHT: “You can observe a lot by watching.” – Yogi Berra
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WHY THEY CLICK: My own observations on Korean drama programs that I have followed (“Hi Bye, Mama,” “Encounter,” “Eternal King,” “Romance is a Bonus Book,” “Love in Sadness,” to name a few) can be summed up thus:
They are plot-driven.
All characters are fleshed out, even the supports.
Sub-stories surrounding the main plot carefully pan out.
All issues are resolved and neatly tied up towards the end. No secrets are left hanging.
Their shows are not love team-oriented, so that stories aren’t focused on two or three lead stars alone.
The actors, male and female alike, all look neat and clean, not a strand of hair out of place, skin smooth as silk.
Their actors are quite good.
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WINNING THE AUDIENCE BACK: After having been exposed to and enamored by the amazing, tantalizing world of Korean drama, how, then, can our own teleseryes lure back the audience that has been rightfully theirs all these years?
Malou Santos, consultant at ABS-CBN, says TV production is still working on it.
The veteran film and TV producer acknowledges that it can get a bit trickier now among producers to develop concepts as consumers may be choosier due to their exposure to a lot of K-dramas during the lockdown.
Malou admits she has watched a lot of K-dramas herself.
She says, “One thing I realized is that we have almost the same storytelling, but, they are more precise and focused in their narrative.’’
Their shows are also more visually enticing as their production budgets are much bigger than ours.
