揭祕韓劇何以在中國大受歡迎
China’s obsession with a South Korean television show about a 400-year-old Harvard-educated alien who falls in love with an arrogant actress reached such a frenzy last year that online streaming companies here began racing to snap up licensing rights for other South Korean television programs, inflating their prices almost tenfold。
一部講述受過哈佛教育的400歲外星人愛上傲慢女演員的韓國電視劇，在中國引發癡迷的熱潮，導致中國在線流媒體公司開始競相搶購其他韓國電視節目的播映權，令價格翻了幾乎十倍。
Then China’s entertainment regulators stepped in, imposing greater limits on foreign television content as part of a broader campaign to rein in China’s fast-growing market for online video, which has become a popular alternative to Chinese broadcast television. (According to official statistics, there were 433 million viewers of online video — TV shows included — in China by the end of 2014, making it the largest streaming market in the world。) Many in the online video industry in China suspect the new guidelines were issued at least partly because of the popularity of “My Love From Another Star。”
中國娛樂監管機構隨後着手對外國電視內容施加了更大的限制，並且採取了更廣泛的措施來約束中國的網絡視頻市場。這個市場正在快速增長，已成爲了電視臺節目的一個廣受歡迎的替代選擇。(中國官方統計數據顯示，在2014年底，包括電視節目在內的網上視頻共獲得4.33億觀衆，使其成爲全球最大的市場)。中國網絡視頻業的很多業內人士都覺得，新準則的出臺至少部分上是《來自星星的你》引發的。
Faced with the limits, popular streaming websites like Sohu, iQiyi and Youku want to develop their own Korean-inspired content to sate the country’s appetite for the programming, part of a broader fascination with Korean popular culture. That has meant trying to tap into South Korea’s secret sauce — the magic formula that has turned the country into a pop-culture juggernaut that churns out viral exports like the singer and rapper Psy, the singer Rain and hits like “My Love From Another Star。”
面對這些限制，搜狐、愛奇藝和優酷等人氣流媒體網站想要推出自己製作的韓國風格內容，以滿足國人對這類節目的需求，因爲韓國流行文化在中國引發了廣泛迷戀。這意味着嘗試利用韓國的祕密武器，一個讓韓國變成流行文化大國的神奇配方：大量打造出在國外廣受歡迎的藝人和節目，比如說唱歌手Psy、歌手Rain，以及《來自星星的你》這樣的熱播劇。
“We share the same culture and cherish similar social values,” said Sophie Yu, director of international communications for iQiyi, the online video streaming website affiliated with the search giant Baidu. “So Korean content naturally is easy to be understood and accepted by the Chinese audience。”
“我們有着共同的文化，珍惜類似的社會價值觀，因此韓國的節目很容易被中國觀衆理解和接受。”愛奇藝的國際傳訊總監索菲·於(Sophie Yu)說。愛奇藝是搜索巨頭百度旗下的一個流媒體視頻網站。
For Chinese companies, part of the strategy includes making Chinese versions of popular South Korean fare, particularly variety and reality shows. Some of the hottest Chinese programs, like Zhejiang Television’s game-variety show “Running Man” and Hunan Television’s reality show “Where Are We Going, Dad?,” were based on South Korean formats. Nearly all of China’s top online video websites have signed agreements with South Korean television stations and production companies to co-produce television shows tailored for Chinese audiences。
對於中國企業，這個戰略的部分內容是製作人氣韓國節目的中國版本，尤其是綜藝和真人秀節目。中國當前最火爆的一些電視節目，如浙江電視臺的遊戲綜藝節目《奔跑吧兄弟》，湖南電視臺的真人秀節目《爸爸去哪兒》，都是以韓國節目爲模版製作的。中國幾乎所有的頂級在線視頻網站都已與韓國電視臺及製作公司簽訂了協議，聯合制作專門針對中國觀衆的電視節目。
But after the success of “My Love From Another Star,” Chinese companies are setting their sights higher. Millions of viewers in China last year tuned in to watch the 21-episode mini-series, which originally aired on the Seoul Broadcasting System, a leading South Korean network。
但《來自星星的你》大獲成功後，中國公司把目光投向了更高的地方。去年，數以百萬計的中國觀衆收看了這部21集的韓劇，它最初是在知名韓國電視臺首爾放送(Seoul Broadcasting System)播出的。
The show ignited a nationwide frenzy. Fans were hospitalized for binge-eating fried chicken and beer (the star actress’s favorite food on the show)， and even the first lady of China, Peng Liyuan, became swept up in the fever. She was quoted by the state-run People’s Daily commenting on the physical resemblance between the lead actor, an extraterrestrial heartthrob with a mop of jet-black hair, and her husband, President Xi Jinping, in his younger years。
該劇集引發了全國性的狂熱。因爲暴食炸雞和啤酒(該劇中的女演員最喜歡的食物)，一些粉絲進了醫院，甚至第一夫人彭麗媛也未能免俗。該劇男主角是一個來自外星的萬人迷，頭髮烏黑濃密，官方媒體《人民日報》援引彭麗媛的評論說，她丈夫習近平年輕時與這名男主角的外形有些相似。
The target audience for dramas like “Star,” as is it known, consists mostly of women in their teens to early 40s who prefer to watch shows known as naocanju, or “brain-dead dramas,” instead of popular series from the United States, like “Game of Thrones” and “House of Cards。”
《來自星星的你》這類電視劇的目標受衆主要是十幾歲到四十歲出頭的女性。相比於《權力的遊戲》和《紙牌屋》等熱播美劇，她們更喜歡看這種被稱爲“腦殘劇”的節目。
Maggie Xiong, senior director of international acquisitions at Youku, the streaming service, said the show “brought Korean content to the mainstream。” It was streamed more than 2.5 billion times in the first three months after its premiere in December 2013.
流媒體服務優酷網的國際採購高級主管熊淑琴表示，這部劇“將韓國內容帶給了主流觀衆”。該劇在2013年12月首播，前三個月的觀看量超過25億次。
“ ‘My Love From Another Star’ was a very exceptional show, just like ‘Friends’ in the 1990s and early 2000s,” said Grace Guan, who manages Sohu’s Korean content strategy. “We would all love to make a show like that, but there are so many elements involved。”
“《來自星星的你》是一部非常棒的電視劇，就像20世紀90年代及21世紀初的《老友記》(Friends)一樣，”搜狐韓國內容策略負責人關詠說。“我們當然希望能做出這樣的劇，但這涉及很多要素。”
For years, entertainment industry observers in China have sought to explain Korean television’s foothold in China. They say it comes down to packaging。
多年來，中國的娛樂行業觀察人士試圖解釋韓國電視業佔據中國市場的原因。他們稱，歸根結底在於包裝。
“The Koreans continue to do well because of the details,” said Fan Xiaojing, a Chinese journalist and long-term analyst of the Korean entertainment industry. “China just can’t capture the romance。”
“韓國人一直能做的比較好是因爲他們注重細節，”中國記者、長期關注韓國娛樂業的分析師範消靜說。“中國就是無法捕捉到那種浪漫。”
Unlike in China, where experts say up to 70 percent of a production’s budget can be spent on actors’ salaries, both Korean and Chinese producers say that Korean shows tend to spend more on production sets and screenwriters, avoiding fake props, brands and backdrops in favor of the real things. And since in Korea shows are broadcast soon after they are filmed, scriptwriters and directors can get feedback quickly, allowing them to make tweaks according to audience demands。
專家稱，中國多達70%的製作預算都花在演員身上，韓國和中國的製片人都表示，與中國不同，韓國的節目往往在製作佈景及編劇方面花費更多資金，避免假道具、品牌及背景布幕，使用真材實料。由於韓國的電視劇在拍攝完畢後立即播放，編劇和導演很快就能得到反饋，使得他們能夠根據觀衆的要求做出調整。
Actors in Korea are also groomed from a young age and taught how to walk and dress, said Ms. Guan, who previously worked at an artists’ management agency in Seoul. They are taken in for plastic surgery, and as part of their training are instructed on how to “let just one teardrop fall。”
之前曾在首爾一家藝人經紀公司工作的關女士表示，韓國的演員也是從很小開始培養的，他們學習如何走路、穿衣。他們接受整容手術，作爲訓練的一部分，他們還要學習如何“只流下一滴眼淚”。
The Chinese are catching on, producers on both sides say, as they also learn what content resonates most with Chinese audiences. According to producers, the show must be fast-paced, and if it is a drama, it should be a love story。
中韓兩國的製片人都表示，中國人正在迎頭趕上，他們也在瞭解什麼內容最能讓中國觀衆產生共鳴。這些製片人表示，節目必須是快節奏的，如果是電視劇的話，應該是愛情故事。
“Chinese people think the good dramas are ones with nonrealistic themes,” said Ma Xue, a cultural critic and producer. “All involve a Cinderella who falls in love with a prince。”
“中國人覺得，好電視劇就是那些講非現實主題的，”文化評論人、製片人馬雪說。“講的都是灰姑娘與王子戀愛的故事。”
As for love, the expression of it is usually restrained. In “Star,” when the alien character, Do Min-Joon, and the star actress, Cheon Song-yi, even so much as kiss, Do Min-Joon falls violently ill。
而愛的表達通常是剋制的。在《來自星星的你》中，外星人都敏俊和女明星千頌伊即便是接吻，都敏俊都會出現嚴重的不適。
According to the new regulations, which were issued in September, foreign television shows cannot constitute more than 30 percent of TV content on Chinese online video-streaming sites. In addition, all foreign television shows must be reviewed by censors before they can be streamed。
根據去年9月公佈的新規定，中國各流媒體網站提供的外國電視節目內容不能超過其總量的30%。除此之外，所有外國節目在上線播出前，必須經過審查機構的審查。
Korean production companies are still finding ways to take advantage of the fast-growing online market in China. HB Entertainment is partnering with a Chinese company to produce two new dramas similar to “Star” specifically for the Chinese market, one in Chinese and one in Korean with subtitles。
韓國的製作公司仍在想辦法利用中國快速發展的網絡市場。 HB娛樂公司正在與一家中國公司合作，特別針對中國市場製作兩部與《來自星星的你》類似的新劇，一部是中文的，一部是韓語的，但都會加上字幕。
“China is a big part of our strategy now,” said Bomi Moon, head of the Korean company HB Entertainment, which recently opened a Beijing office. “Many Chinese companies want to work with Korean partners because we’re good at writing scripts。”
“中國現在是我們的戰略的重要組成部分，”韓國HB娛樂公司負責人文普美說。“很多中國公司都希望與韓國公司合作，因爲我們擅長寫劇本。”該公司最近北京開設了辦公室。
