Good News: Ikorlov masuk Korea Herald 2008.02.15

Kurang lebih satu bulan kemarin gw diwawancara oleh seorang wartawan Jakarta Post (Mba Evi Mariani), katanya sih untuk bahan buku yang akan ditulisnya dan kelak akan dirilis di Korea. Eh, surprisingly, setelah sekian lama nggak ada kabarnya setelah diwawancara, instead of hearing information about her book, gw malah menemukan nama ikorlov dalam artikel Korea Herald di purseblog forum.
Even cuma sejentik kata tertuang disana dan juga tertohok mantap oleh kata "ilegally downloading" (abis susah sourcing legal K-pop, impor mahal!) tapi gw tetep seneng. And of course, many thanks to mba Evi karena telah memberikan salah satu bentuk apresiasinya terhadap ikorlov. Note: mba, saya koleksi yang legal teuteup punya koq...

Dan ini dia, artikel yang ditulis mba Evi pada Korea Herald tanggal 15 Februari.

[THE HIGH TIDE OF THE KOREAN WAVE(9)] 'Delicious' boys lead Hallyu in Indonesia

Hallyu in Indonesia is concentrated on TV dramas, while pop music and big-screen movies have yet to make a significant presence here.

Apart from TV stations, the availability of Korean cultural products through legal means is not high, however. Pop music and movies are still rarely seen on Indonesian TV.

So far, only one band, Paran, has ever come to Indonesia. There was no hype, no screaming girls and no glitzy limousines -- especially when compared to the huge hype created during the Taiwanese F4 visit six years ago.

Large commercial cinemas in Indonesia also rarely screen Korean feature-length movies, save for "My Wife is a Gangster" and "My Sassy Girl." Meanwhile, fans of Korean pop music said they mostly get the songs by illegally downloading them.

One of the major challenges facing Korean producers is piracy in Indonesia. In the last two years, piracy has dominated the distribution of Korean cultural products. Along with other cultural products from the United States, Europe, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan, products from Korea are also on any pirated-DVD vendor's menu.

On bootleg vendor said that Korean drams take up about 40 percent of all dramas he has in stock. "We have two rows here for Korean dramas, two rows for Taiwanese, and one row for Japanese," a vendor said, pointing to rows of DVDs in shoe boxes.

A fan of Korean dramas and movies could enter any pirated-DVD shop in the city and ask for the most popular current Korean drama and have no problem finding it.

Korean TV executives have mostly been the primary marketers of Korean cultural products in Indonesia. In 2005, they came to Jakarta to market their products, toting sneak peaks of dramas, cartoons and documentaries -- as well as business commodities.

The visit to Jakarta was a part of the program called Korea TV Showcase 2005, which continued to Thailand and India.

Putting a nice touch on the marketing attempt, the Korean Broadcasting Commission appointed one of the country's TV stars to carry the mission to expand South Korea's charm.

Twenty-four-year-old Kim Jae-won, who has starred in 12 TV dramas and movies, went to the three countries to help promote Korean programs as "Honorary Ambassador" for the TV Korea Showcase 2005.

"The grand mission is to introduce things about South Korea to the world. The particular mission is to introduce Korean dramas to the world," Kim said in the press conference for the program.

Outside the press conference room, dozens of girls waited for the actor, holding posters with endearing statements for the actor.

That was 2005. Three years later, the situation has not changed much. The concentration is still on TV dramas, not so much on music and movies.

Although the charm that some Indonesian fans hold for Korean music and movies has not quite reached the hype stage, there is a general support base.

Some even make blogs to share their fondness for Korean cultural products.

Some Indonesian-made blogs dedicated to Korean cultural products include ikorlov.blogspot.com and koreatic.tripod.com.

Some blogs are dedicated to Asian pop-culture in general include koreakaja.wordpress.com.

Besides the blogs and the mailing lists, there are several Internet forums discussing Korean movies, dramas and pop music. Many fans are indeed young women who always to be at the forefront of trends.

"My references are certainly from the internet, especially from Soompi (www.soompi.com). I also get information from forums. On Star Asia Village we share info about the newest movies, music and dramas," Lila said.

Discussions often show that the fans develope a certain feeling for Korean cultural products that they could distinguish from other East Asian products.

"The last reason for loving them: All the boys are handsome. Korean faces are delicious. Different from Mandarin faces," Cinthia said.

By Evi Mariani
The writer is a journalist at The Jakarta Post, the largest English newspaper in Indonesia. She can be reached at xxxx@gmail.com (sengaja ikorlov hapus). -- Ed.

Syalalala, syenangnyah...
Kalo mo wawancara, kabar-kabarin aja lagi ya Mba (halah!) hihihi..
By the way, sebenernya untuk memberantas pembajakan di Indonesia itu harus berantas dulu koleksi yang beredar di internet. Soalnya, kebanyakan pedagang glodok yang up to date selalu dapet videonya lewat download internet. Antara lain dari d-addicts, clubbox, dll. Nggak salah juga kalo kenapa banyaknya bajakan, karena nunggu yang originalnya lama. Sedangkan para 'fans' korea di Indonesia kan ganasnya minta ampun.

- siPoeth -