I was looking at the surge of popularity of K-Drama has defeated J-Drama. The blame can't go to K-Drama but to Japanese companies who are trying to become more exclusive to Japan (such as I feel Toei Ltd. is DOING THAT). However, I decided to Google the 20 most spoken languages in the world and you'll find Korean at the bottom part. The second most spoken language today in the world is MANDARIN and not Korean. That's what probably caused the Pinyin system to get popularized as it's easily more accessible than the traditional BOPOMOFO. Instead of learning new characters, people start to learn BOPOMOFO as bpmf with an entirely new table. True, misreading happens AT FIRST (such as how Ken Zhu and Vic Zhou's names were often misread) but one can understand pinyin with practice. Filipino speakers may even notice the use of tones kind of similar to the Tagalog language subject.
As the Chinese New Year approaches this January 22 (and it's the year of the rabbit, Cream from Eto Ranger), I've decided to write this post as my first post of the year. I hope this will build awareness to make Chinese entertainment more accessible. It's so there'll be a stronger interest in learning the Mandarin language. Of course, one can go to Taiwan instead of China or pick Taiwanese shows over Chinese shows if one has some bad sentiments towards the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Then again remember some Chinese entertainment companies are also victims of the CCP's dictatorship like what happened to Jack Ma.
It all started with Taiwan and China hitting the global market
I remembered falling in love with the Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden. I feel the whole tendency for Japanese entertainment to be JUST FOR JAPAN can be annoying. If it wasn't for Meteor Garden - I would've never known Hana Yori Dango existed! If it wasn't for F4 and the Internet - I don't think I'd be able to learn how to read pinyin. Of course, one needs the pinyin table since letters that kind of sound alike are read either softer or harder. A good example is that d is read a softer t and t is read as a harder t. Ken Zhi and Vic Zhou have their names written alternatively as Chu and Chou presumably to avoid getting misread. Yet, anybody who knows pinyin will be quick to raise how their surnames are written in the pinyin. Meteor Garden was what would've made some people see how the Mandarin language subject is very important. Yet, some people may have had ZERO interest (especially in Chinese schools in the Philippines) until they started to see Chinese entertainment.
Maybe, they tasted it like how xiao long bao (小籠包) and wanted more. Maybe, some people who wanted to taste authentic Chinese food went to some parts of China, and discovered they couldn't communicate or read in Chinese. Well, that's where interest really starts to develop. Sure, there are Taiwanese-owned businesses here and there. You might see Taiwanese milk tea companies provide English translations for locals. Some might get a spark of interest in reading the Chinese characters provided in the menu or the logo.
I could remember how F4 started the craze. F4 (and in extension, 5566) was my portal to Chinese music. I had no interest in Chinese music until I heard the song, "Can't Lose You" by F4. It was on MYX and I started to sing along to it. At first, I thought F4 was a Japanese boy band due to the Anime-ish hairstyles. There was also 5566 which they showed My MVP Valentine. Both rival networks, ABS-CBN and GMA-7, started showing several Taiwanese shows. Both competed for the top timeslot. Some people preferred My MVP Valentine over Meteor Garden (2001). I even remembered when Sandara Park also hosted an afternoon Chinese drama theater. This really made me have an interest in learning Mandarin all over again.
I'd say F4 and 5566 were just the beginning. I ended up discovering music from DEAD PEOPLE. I only developed an interest in knowing who the late Teresa Teng was because Jerry Yan sang "The Moon Represents My Heart" in an F4 concert. Seeing Magic Kitchen introduced me to Andy Lau. Seeing Aaron Kwok in an F4 Pepsi commercial introduced me to him. This was also the time I got to know more about the Cantonese language. At first, I had no idea that Cantonese wasn't Mandarin. I ended up listening to Teresa's music on CD. I really felt, "What have I missed?" Then I watched some other new series. Some people were stuck with F4 for a time. For me, it was time to expand my library yet I couldn't even speak Mandarin until now!
Then came the Hallyu wave with really hit faster than expected competing with Chinese entertainment
I originally had some bias toward South Korean entertainment. I did have a bad impression because Autumn in My Heart was too sad. Even worse, Jan Di nearly ruined my experience with K-Drama for life. I grew to enjoy Korean food a lot while I still preferred Japanese and Chinese entertainment more. I did start to see some attractive Korean women. I guess I confessed it out loud too late that I actually wanted to marry Kim Tae Hee like any stupid fanboy. That secret attraction made me think of Paul Anka's song Diana when he fell for a woman five years older. Tae Hee is five years older than I am. I was a 20-year-old college student and she was a 25-year-old actress at that time.
Recently, Korean entertainment became more popular than Japanese entertainment. The main reason is because of the participation rate in the international market. Apparently, some Japanese entertainment companies think that their shows are meant only for their locals. Meanwhile, South Korean entertainment companies had a bigger eye for the international market. This still makes me wonder why Korean is on the lower list of the Top 20 most-spoken languages in the world? Instead, it seems Mandarin still remains more dominant than Hangul in that list!
For TV dramas, it seems TV stations are keen on airing Korean dramas dubbed in multiple languages. I remembered some K-Drama DVDs contained alternate audio such as Mandarin. Netflix-owned K-Drama may even contain other language options such as Filipino (which is, unfortunately, teleserye quality) and English. Though, I'd prefer to read the subtitles listening to the original audio. However, it seems that Mandarin still persists as a second language!
This is where I think Chinese entertainment companies (whether from democratic Taiwan or Communist China) can learn from the Hallyu wave. Right now, go to Netflix and you may find a lot of Chinese dramas. Yet, Chinese dramas don't seem to be as promoted as Korean entertainment. Mandarin is becoming more and more spoken. Why not make more Chinese entertainment accessible with translations as to help boost the interest in learning Mandarin?
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