Fuji TV’s program “Hallyu Alpha” (Mon-Fri 2:07~3:00), which started airing on January 11 in hopes of creating ‘a new Hallyu generation,’ has been receiving positive feedback. Back in 2004, Fuji TV had arranged a program called “Saturday Hallyu Wide Hour,” airing dramas such as “Stairway To Heaven” and “Sad Love Song” but had cancelled it due to low ratings. This time, “Hallyu Alpha” tried to differentiate itself from other programs by playing uncensored versions of dramas, providing bilingual broadcast (in Japanese and Korean) and adding special features such as exclusive interviews with the cast and behind-the-scenes footage. MBC TV series “My Name Is Kim Sam-soon” kicked off the program, followed by KBS’ “Woman In The Sun” in February.
Viewers responded to the show somewhat later — “The Shining Inheritance,” starring Lee Seung-gi and Han Hyo-joo, made bigger splashes than expected during its month-long run in March. According to local media reports, the premiere episode of “The Shining Inheritance,” broadcast on March 2, scored a mere 5.3 percent in viewership ratings. But the figure constantly climbed, peaking at 9.7 percent on March 24 and the final episode aired on March 30 scoring a rating of 8.0 percent. Considering that the average viewership rating around 2 p.m. on weekdays — which is when “Hallyu Alpha” airs — is approximately four to five percent, the figure is the highest among all the dramas that have aired in the same time slot for the past ten years. Rumor has it that local television executives were very surprised by the ratings for “The Shining Inheritance.” Lead actors Lee Seung-gi and Han Hyo-joo made headlines when they visited Japan in time with the show’s airing in the country. Han, who plays the female lead Go Eun-sung, was particularly showered with attention as her telecinema movie “Postman to Heaven”, co-starring TVXQ member Hero Jae-joong, had also opened in Japan.
Reporter : Im Da-ham (Tokyo correspondent)
Editor : Lynn Kim lynn2878@, Jang Kyung-Jin three@
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