Asia is crazy about Korean male stars

[yoMAMA]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/30/AR2006083002985_2.html

Japanese Women Catch the 'Korean Wave'
Male Celebrities Just Latest Twist in Asia-Wide Craze

By Anthony Faiola
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, August 31, 2006; Page A01

TOKYO -- Thin and gorgeous in a slinky black dress, Mikimoto pearls and a low-slung diamond Tiffany pendant, 26-year-old Kazumi Yoshimura already has looks, cash and accessories. There's only one more thing this single Japanese woman says she needs to find eternal bliss -- a Korean man.

She may just have to take a number and get in line. In recent years, the wild success of male celebrities from South Korea -- sensitive men but totally ripped -- has redefined what Asian women want, from Bangkok to Beijing, from Taipei to Tokyo. Gone are the martial arts movie heroes and the stereotypical macho men of mainstream Asian television. Today, South Korea's trend-setting screen stars and singers dictate everything from what hair gels people use in Vietnam to what jeans are bought in China.

[raacluse]

The part that I find most interesting is near the end of the article, where the image of Korean male romance is explained and deflated:

Entertainment industry leaders in Seoul credit the phenomenon to good marketing coupled with an uncanny response throughout Asia to the expressive nature of the South Koreans -- long dubbed the Italians of Asia. A hearty diet and two years of forced military duty, industry leaders and fans insist, have also made young South Korean men among the buffest in Asia. Most important, however, has been the South Korean entertainment industry's perfection of the strong, silent type on screen -- typically rich, kind men with coincidentally striking looks and a tendency to shower women with unconditional love.

"It's a type of character that doesn't exist much in Asian movies and television, and now it's what Asian women think Korean men are like," said Kim Ok Hyun, director of Star M, a major star management company in Seoul.

"But to tell you the truth," she said. "I still haven't met a real one who fits that description."

[SunWuKong]

umm... there's a 2-year mandatory military service in Taiwan and Singapore, too. and Malaysia has a lottery system to pick young men to serve 3 months.

[mr. x]

umm... there's a 2-year mandatory military service in Taiwan and Singapore, too. and Malaysia has a lottery system to pick young men to serve 3 months.
Yes but Singapore doesn't have pan-asian rappers and movie stars who shoot guns while expressionlessly crying