韓劇《來自星星的你》火熱的背後

Beer and fried chicken-this seemingly unorthodox combo has been the most sought after late-night snack recently in Yang Xiaoqian’s dormitory on the campus of Central China Normal University.

炸雞和啤酒，這個看似怪異的搭配，最近竟成了華中師範大學學生楊曉青（音譯）宿舍裏最受追捧的夜宵。

“All of a sudden, on the tables of many dorms and in Weibo and Weixin (or WeChat) updates, the combo went viral,” says Yang, 19, a Chinese literature major at the university in Wuhan, Hubei province.

“突然間，宿舍的桌上、微博和微信上，這種吃法一下子火了。”華中師範大學中文系學生、19歲的楊曉青這樣說道。

Thanks to a South Korean drama currently on air, Man From the Stars, this new mix-and-match junk food trend has become popular among young audiences, despite its unhealthy nature.

因爲正在熱播的韓劇《來自星星的你》的關係，這一垃圾食品的全新混搭組合儘管有害健康，但還是受到年輕觀衆的追捧。

Indeed, South Korean TV dramas, or K-drama for short, have been a major force in the South Korean pop-culture wave that has captured the hearts of young Chinese audiences.

的確，韓國電視劇（簡稱：韓劇），已成爲推動韓國流行文化潮流的主力軍，成功虜獲了中國年輕觀衆的心。

According to iQiyi, a video website that features Man From the Stars, by Feb 15, the number of views for the TV drama hit a whopping 370 million in China, where the drama claimed four out of five hot topics spots on TV and on Sina Weibo on the same day.

來自播放《來自星星的你》的視頻網站愛奇藝的數據顯示，截止到2月15日，該劇在國內的累計播放量達到3.7億次，與此同時，電視和新浪微博上五分之四的熱點話題都被該劇佔據。

Yan Feng, professor of Chinese literature at Fudan University, in an interview with Shanghai Morning Post, believes the new wave of South Korean drama is trying to attract a wider audience.

復旦大學中文系教授嚴峯在接受《新聞晨報》採訪時表示，新一輪的韓劇風潮正在吸引更多的觀衆羣體。

“It is interesting to explore what elements of those dramas appeal to audiences. It’s obviously more than just pretty faces and cool poses,” says Yan.

嚴峯表示，“探尋這些韓劇走紅的因素是個有趣的過程。顯然，韓劇的背後不僅僅是俊男美女和帥氣造型”。

Echoed by audiences, culture critics, academics and insiders of the industry, youth fantasy, creative storylines, cultural proximity, and well-organized production all add up to K-drama’s recipe for success, along with, of course, those handsome and cute faces dressed in the latest fashion trends.

從觀衆、文化評論家、學者以及業內人士的口中我們可以瞭解到，青春幻想、創意劇情、文化相似以及製作精良都是韓劇的成功祕訣，當然，更少不了衣着時尚光鮮的俊男美女。

Pretty faces and fashion

俊男美女與時尚的組合

“Everyone fancies a perfect partner, handsome or beautiful,” says Zhou Ying, professor of TV production at Chongqing Technology and Business University. “The South Korean TV industry is feeding this need.” After Lee Min-ho entered the spotlight for his hit show The Inheritors and appeared on CCTV’s annual Spring Festival gala, he became the most famous South Korean in China. Only weeks later, Kim Soo-hyun, lead actor in Man From the Stars, swept the country.

來自重慶工商大學影視製作專業的周穎（音譯）教授說：“每個人都幻想着完美的另一半，希望TA是俊男或美女。韓國電視產業正是滿足人們的這一需求。”韓星李敏鎬因熱門劇集《繼承者們》而大放異彩後，又現身央視春晚的舞臺。如今他已成爲中國最知名的韓星。而僅僅幾周之後，《來自星星的你》主演金秀賢再次風靡中國。

“It reinforces the fantasy among young people with faces designed for viewers across the spectrum: the next door girl; the rebellious, sophisticated woman; the mature gentleman; little-brother faces. You name it,” says Zhou. “Idol making keeps updating the fantasies among fans and it intentionally caters to each generation’s tastes.”

“劇中的人物滿足了不同觀衆羣的審美需求，從而進一步迎合年輕人心中的浪漫情節：鄰家女孩；精幹熟女；成熟紳士；正太面孔，總有一款適合你”，周穎說。“偶像製造不斷刷新着粉絲們的幻想，同時也刻意迎合着每一代人的喜好。”

Apart from pretty faces, fashion is another highlight of the series. Each time actors from the series wear a new set of outfits, similar clothes experience a sales spike online, according to Xiao Yi, a Taobao store owner based in Beijing.

除了俊俏的面孔外，時尚是該劇的另一個亮點。演員每次出場都如同“換裝秀”。來自北京的淘寶店主肖逸（音譯）表示，同款衣服在網上十分熱銷。

Zhou says that besides economic gains for South Korean appliances, make-up, food and fashion items, those pretty faces are re-constructing South Korea’s national image.

周穎認爲，一方面韓劇帶動了韓國家電、化妝品、食品和時尚用品的熱銷；另一方面，俊男美女們也重塑了韓國的國民形象。

“South Korea is imagined in accordance with those depictions in TV dramas, which is good national branding,” says Zhou.

“人們會根據電視劇裏的描寫來設想韓國，這是很好的國家品牌宣傳。”周穎說。

Creative narrations

創造性的劇情

With love triangles, incurable diseases, and Cinderella tales, storylines in South Korean dramas may seem a bit commonplace. The Man From the Stars challenges this norm by integrating aliens and time travel into these existing narrations.

三角戀、絕症、灰姑娘，這些韓劇劇情似乎顯得太過老套了。而《來自星星的你》將外星人和穿越融入到劇情當中，顛覆了韓劇劇情的定式。

Peng Sanyuan, a Beijing-based screenwriter, says a focus on detail is a key factor in the success of these dramas.

來自北京的劇作家彭三源表示，專注細節是這些劇集成功的關鍵因素。

“In order to accurately target audiences and find emotional resonance with them, more and more female writers are emerging in the industry,” says Peng about her experience of exchanging ideas with South Korean colleagues.

彭三源談起自己曾與韓國同事交流想法：“爲準確定位觀衆，找到與觀衆的情感共鳴，電視編劇行業不斷涌現出女性作家的身影。”

Ma Ke, from , compares K-drama and Japanese drama. “Dramatic twists are more frequent in K-dramas, while urban love stories, a common theme, are often innovated by, for example, adding an alien,” says Ma. “That gives a sense of freshness to people who just want to know how everything is sorted out in such an impossible plot.”

來自搜狐網的馬可（音譯）對韓劇和日劇進行了一番比較。“峯迴路轉的劇情在韓劇中更常見，而都市愛情故事這個‘老生常談’要想出新的話，就可能會加入外星人等元素，”馬可說。“這給人一種新鮮感，觀衆僅僅是想知道在如此不可思議的情境下劇情是如何發展的。”

According to both experts, South Korean writers somehow make sense of these plots, no matter how unlikely it seems.

以上兩位專業人士都認爲，韓國編劇總是有辦法讓這些看似離譜的劇情變得合情合理。