IN APRIL, South Korean star Bae Yong-joon arrived in Hong Kong to hordes of screaming fans on a promotional visit for the film Untold Scandal. Last week, a similar scene erupted when Jang Hyuk and Jun Ji-hyun, the stars of Windstruck, arrived to attend the film's premiere.
These are just a couple of examples of how Korean idols are edging in on the territory formerly reserved for Chinese and Japanese idols. As far as fads go, this one has turned out to be a real winner. Some three years since it first hit, hon lau - which means 'Korean trend' in Cantonese, but also sounds the same as 'cold front' - is showing few signs of cooling.
VCD and DVD box sets of popular Korean TV drama series and movies, as well as CDs of original soundtracks and K-pop, are on sale everywhere from major music stores to Ladies Street and Sino Centre in Mong Kok. TV, computer and mobile-phone markets are no longer dominated by Japanese brands such as Sony and Panasonic, but also Korean brands such as Samsung and LG.
That Windstruck, a Korean romantic comedy directed by Kwak Jae-yong, opened on 30 screens suggests this cold front is still gathering force and isn't likely to blow over soon.
Which is a surprise, given how quickly Hong Kong usually moves from one craze to another (Taiwanese boy band F4, anyone?). So, what's been keeping the Korean trend from being a passing fad?
According to Audrey Lee Yuk-lan, general manager of sales and acquisitions at Edko Films (which co-produced Windstruck with South Korea's i Film), the number of Korean movies her company has bought for local release has trebled since 2000. The Broadway Circuit, owned by Edko Films, has shown about 20 Korean imports in the past 12 months.
