Bridge over Eastern waters

By Xiong Yuqing Source:Global Times Published: 2014-12-21 18:03:01

A look at China’s entertaining relationship with its neighbors


Promotional material for The Admiral: Roaring Currents Photo: CFP

The cast of Under One Roof Photo: CFP



With the similarity in aesthetic tastes and shared historical background, Chinese audiences seem to accept cultural exchanges from our eastern neighbors rather easily. The year 2014 has seen an increase in cooperation between South Korea and China, as well as between Japan and China when it comes to the entertainment industry.

Honeymoon with South Korea

Starting from the moment South Korean idol Lee Min-ho performed at the Spring Festival Gala at the beginning of this year, the South Korean heat wave in China has still not cooled down. The incredibly popularity of You Who Came from the Star in China meant that you could see the show's main actor Kim Soo-hyun's face almost everywhere: bus-stops, subway walls, bakeries and even boxes of milk. The main character's tradition of having fried chicken and beer also kept Korean restaurants and fast-food chains busy throughout the year.

Although after 10 months people might finally be getting tired of Kim's face, the power of the South Korean entertainment industry in China continues to grow. After the success of You Who Came from the Star, the broadcast rights to South Korean TV series continue to be sold for ever increasing prices to Chinese streaming sites. Pinocchio, a popular show broadcast on South Korea's SBS TV every Wednesday and Thursday since November 12, sold its online broadcasting rights to Chinese streaming video giant Youku-Tudou for a record price of $280,000 per episode. 

This popularity isn't limited to imported shows, but also adaptations of South Korean shows. The second season of Where are We Going, Dad? and I am a Singer have brought a group of stars back into the spotlight, while Zhejiang TV's newest adaptation Running Man has also been a great hit in the country.

This year has also witnessed deepening political and economic links between the two countries. For instance, leaders from both China and South Korea held talks on establishing a bilateral free trade zone, while in July, Chinese authorities signed an agreement with South Korea allowing co-productions by Chinese and South Korean studios to side-step import limitations on foreign films. This move has encouraged more communication between the two countries' entertainment industries. South Korea directors, visual effect teams and other film crews have been warmly welcomed by Chinese studios. Meanwhile, this year saw a number of South Korean films performing well at the Chinese mainland box-office such as Snowpiercer and The Admiral: Roaring Currents, two films that were also well received on social media in China.

Although things may be a bit rocky on the music scene with Wu Yifan and Lu Han, Chinese members of the boy band EXO, accusing South Korea's SM Entertainment of unfair treatment, this does not change the fact that Korean pop music is still winning over Chinese audiences. Meanwhile, the winner of this year's The Voice of China was none other than female singer Zhang Bichen, a former trainee in South Korea whose hair and dress are still very reminiscent of South Korean styles.

The bow to tie everything off probably comes in the form of Chinese actress Tang Wei's marriage to South Korean film director Kim Tae-yong, which was described by some media outlets as symbolizing how the relationship and cultural exchanges between the two countries have entered a brand new "honeymoon" period. 

Japan still hanging on

Compared to China's relationship with South Korean, the country's cultural communication with Japan is much more complicated. On the one hand, Japan's strong positioning in animation, comics and games (ACG) industry and high quality of the country's TV series means Japanese culture has a strong fanbase in China. But on the other hand, the sensitive political relationship between the two means cultural development is more likely to grow at a grassroots level, rather than through any large scale support by either government.

The death of Japanese actor Ken Karakura in November made many Chinese TV watchers reminisce about the popularity of Japanese movies and TV series in China a generation ago. Starring Karakura, Kimi yo Fundo no Kawa wo Watare was the first Japanese movie introduced to China after the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). During the 1980s, a Chinese dubbed version of Japanese TV series Moero Atakku was broadcast. Coming in after the glory days of China's female national volleyball team, the TV series became surprising popularity in China. Akai Giwaku, another extreme popular Japanese TV series in 1980s China, could still be seen on TV in 2007.

Although no Japanese TV series or films have been able to gain such nationwide popularity in China in recent years, but there are still a great number of passionate fans. When Japan's First Lady Akie Abe sat down with university students in China about Japanese TV dramas during the recent APEC meetings, students were more than happy to talk about their favorite scenes from Japanese series currently on air.

Looking online, Chinese streaming sites have started focusing on cooperating with teams from Japan to self-produced shows. Drawing on high quality Japanese TV dramas that have performed well in China, Tudou produced its Midnight Taxi series based on Japan's late-night eatery drama Shinya Shokudo, while iQiyi cooperated with the producers of Japan's Tales of the Unusual to produce a Chinese version of the show. Another more recent show, Under One Roof, is also an adaptation of a popular early 1990's show in Japan that focuses on the bond between brothers and sisters.

For the first time ever December 13 has been set aside as a National Memorial Day for victims of the Nanjing Massacre, a tragedy that occurred during China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45). This year, several high quality Chinese TV dramas set during the war have graced TV screens, such as The Red, The Battle in Changsha and Red Sorghum.

Japanese actor Keiichi Yamazaki has played an invading Japanese officer on numerous occasions, including his latest role in Forty-Nine Days Memorial. In an interview with qq.com he commented: "These art productions carry human civilization. We are filming a story that portrays war, one of the main destroyers of human civilization... This TV drama presents all the things I think about: cherishing life and maintaining peace."

He admitted that playing an "abnormal" Japanese officer has not made people in his motherland happy. "We need to raise understanding and recognition between China and Japan... It's like there's a river lying between these two countries. I'm just a tree besides this river, but I would like to lay down and become a bridge." 



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