When will Chinese TV dramas play their part?

In this sense, South Korean TV dramas also owe their success to the effective implementation of Seoul's "culturally-oriented" national strategy. On the one hand, the South Korean government has implemented policies and pumped in funds for the development of the cultural sector. On the other, it has taken measures to introduce non-governmental capital to the sector.

South Korea has also reframed its cultural industrial model and value chain, forging a "cultural industrial community" made up of the government, businesspeople and academic circles, which has helped establish a cultural pattern in which scriptwriters form the core of the series-making teams and TV dramas drive the development of related industries.

The Chinese government, too, attaches great importance to the development of the cultural industry, but some outdated concepts of decision-makers in China's TV play section, their conservative management style and the generation gap between them and the audience at large, especially youths, prevent the vitality and energy of Chinese TV plays from being fully released. And TV dramas made under obsolete concepts cannot gain market favor.

Scientific orientation and guidance have also contributed to the success of South Korean dramas. For example, South Korean cultural research institutions, subsidized by the government and businesses, are focused on studying the market for cultural competitions and offer data support for devising policies for the cultural industry, as well as for the changes it requires. These measures are like an effective guarantee for South Korean TV plays to realize their expected goal both at home and abroad.

TV dramas have become a special cultural commodity in these times of ever-deepening market segmentation. To engage with and influence the specific groups in different countries or regions, TV plays must base their contents and marketing tactics specifically on subjects the targeted audiences like. This gives hope to Chinese people who love South Korean TV dramas that Chinese TV plays can also play a similar role in improving our national image among the international community.

The author is a professor in communication studies at Hainan Tropical Ocean University, China.