Watching Korea drama has become the 'latest' indulgence, however, it's limited to the holidays :)
It's pretty interesting to see how the Japanese and Korean have taken turn to be the entertainment scene/ landscape, at least in Asia... hm... so far, not aware of the influx from China... hm... probably because we have been 'immersed' in it already?
Undeniably, Korean dramas does have its magical elements... I think the look of the actor/ actress would be the first 'entry' point - if their look has not caught the attention, why one bothers to follow? Isn't that what the first survival element of this profession? Hm... We would have to recognise the fact that different kinds of look appeals to different kinds of audience. Basically, they are pretty and charming :) and their look is quite 'enduring'... over time... haha... (I would not have thought of using the word 'enduring' here!)
The other thing which I notice that fans look out for the kind of image their idols portray, that is "healthy" and "kind". Well, who is not attracted to internal beauty, and now what's more, it's both external & internal beauty that come together! Haha... Sometimes, I guess that's the 'image' that the artistes' companies would work hard on in order to open the market of their artiste beyond the country. One observation is, the role the actor/ actress play has a common trait to enforce the fans' liking of them: righteous, courageous and romantic :) Of course, "flowery" news could be damaging to the artiste too! Of course, not forgetting the storyline, too!
For example, since a couple of years ago, I started following 权相宇 Kwon Sang Woo 's dramas. Though roles he played has been pretty consistent in enforcing good image of a romantic guy. the story line has been quite different and varied - as such I would keep an eye on the latest drama/ movie, and I enjoyed; especially the more recent drama (2011) Dae Mul. Unfortunately, when I watch the latest drama, Yawang, it's like watching a 2-in-1 drama - from the "Cinderella Boy" and "Dae Mul"! Of course, the not too long ago news about the artiste for car accident had of course discounted their image, too. In another note, there were also artistes who ran into the less desirable news had got tarnish their image amongst their friends too.
On another note, last year, since watching "Can you hear my heart" another Korean drama, this actor金载元 Kim Jae Won caught my attention, too! It started off with the character he played, and coincidentally another drama started to run, and I followed... that's where I got to learn how he was like through the thoughts and sharing of his fans! Interesting... and it's the first time I started 'digging' the dramas that he played a role, dated all the way back to the ones as old as 2001! Interesting trace! That's where we see how a beautiful face turned into a charming one as one ages... and I think it came through the national service that he went through over the period of about 2 years. I can image how much the artiste company has put in to ensure their artiste maintain the popularity, as well as the effort that the fans put in to keep everyone in the loop of what he does... basically, there's at least one posting everyday! Really want to salute these fans! Of course, have to thank these fans for uploading the clips of the old dramas that has enabled me to catch up with the my new idol's past projects :)