From the mouth of a playwright, we find that Korean TV dramas are different, and this difference is exactly what we have lost.
Our reporter Chen Jing is from South Korea.
During his visit to Korea, a TV series Poseidon featuring Li Shunchen, a famous anti-Japanese figure in the 6th century, was being broadcasted, and even in the subway, advertisements for the film appeared frequently.
Wankui Cui is the screenwriter of Poseidon.
Although Wankui Cui's works have not yet been broadcast in Chinese mainland, he is one of the top ten most active TV writers in South Korea.
Many of his works have been broadcast in Hong Kong and Taiwan, such as Shang Dao and All in (translated from Chinese as Love in Los Angeles). His most famous work, Medical Way, has just been broadcast on Hongkong Emerald Channel and Taiwan Province Kazuki Watanabe musician Channel recently. It is a long historical drama as popular as Dae Jang Geum in South Korea. At present, in South Korea, idol dramas are gradually declining, while historical dramas reflecting political wrestling are quietly popular.
On the afternoon of April 27th, 2005, we went to his company in Ruyi Island, a typical apartment, but there were many shoes at the door. It turns out that there are more than 20 writers gathered here, and Wankui Cui should guide them in addition to his own writing. Our visit seems to have chosen the most inappropriate time. He is racking his brains for a TV series to be broadcast next week. Yesterday was the day to submit the manuscript to the TV station. Today, he had no choice but to postpone it, but he couldn't bear to cancel our visit from afar mercilessly, so he made an exception. We can feel his inner anxiety and anxiety, and he is constantly disturbed by telephone calls.
Wankui Cui is wearing an orange T-shirt, baggy pants and barefoot. He seems to be buried in the sofa, smoking constantly, and his voice is sometimes as weak as a filament. Locks of my hair hang down in front of my eyes. I haven't bathed or slept for several days, and I'm on the verge of collapse. He said that this is the normal state of Korean playwrights, and the next TV series will continue this state for several months.
As a screenwriter of Korean TV series, he is very lucky. By chance, I participated in the selection of a TV screenwriter, and my work was selected at once, so I became a screenwriter. And as a newcomer, one year later, he created a long "General Hospital" with 100 episodes, which received a good response and quickly gained a foothold. From 1993 to the present, his creation has never stopped 10 years, and his main works have exceeded 10.
In Korea, the income of TV writers is quite high. According to the data he provided, the highest income of a screenwriter of a 50-episode TV series is about 65.438+0.5 billion won, while the monthly salary of a white-collar worker who has worked in a big company for more than 5 years is only 5 million won. With diligence and talent, Wankui Cui has stood among the highest paid screenwriters. However, his answer to whether he is happy or not is surprisingly frank: "I am not happy at all. I need a rest. I am over 40 years old, not married, and I have never been in love. I can only express my feelings through TV dramas."
The creative way of writing while broadcasting
People Weekly: The shooting method of Korean TV series is to shoot and broadcast at the same time, and the screenwriter also writes while shooting. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this creative method?
Wankui Cui: We don't want to shoot at the same time. Because the production conditions of Korean TV dramas are not good, and the writers are not good, there is no condition to perform them after filming, such as China, Japan and the United States, which is the best. I'm very busy now, and I'm writing a story for next week. But the advantage of this way is to see which characters the audience is interested in during the playing process, so that the following stories can be written around these characters. The "medical mode" has hardly changed, which reflects well; The ending of All in turned out to be a tragedy. A person had to die, but the audience said no, so it was changed to a happy ending.
People Weekly: How does the screenwriter know the audience's reaction?
Wankui Cui: You can watch online audio-visual news and some media reports. Some TV dramas even let viewers vote online, hoping that the protagonist will have an ending and then make a choice.
People Weekly: One thing that Korean dramas are often criticized is that the rhythm is too slow. Is this caused by the frequent prolongation of the plot?
Wankui Cui: There is something wrong with the Korean TV series. There are many things that have been extended because of fashion. For example, miss mermaid, which was shown in China, was extended a lot because of its popularity, and was later criticized. The road to medical care has also been extended from 50 episodes to 64 episodes. But if the TV station asks, we can only do so.
People Weekly: In your personal opinion, what do you want to do most?
Wankui Cui: What I want to do most is to shoot all TV dramas and send them to TV stations, just like China. South Korea's is relatively long, with 50 or 60 episodes, and it is more difficult to deliver one-time shooting. I think the short TV series of 16 ~ 20 episodes can be finished and handed over to the TV station first; For a long TV series, you can finish watching part of it first, unlike now, you should prepare next week's content.
People Weekly: How does the screenwriter handle the contradiction between the original idea of the work and the audience's reflection?
Wankui Cui: Both are very important. The writer's initial intention is to convey, but more importantly, the audience's requirements. If the audience is willing to watch my TV series, I will be very happy. There is tension between the writer's intention and the audience's idea, which must be balanced.
People Weekly: Many domestic TV dramas are adapted from novels. Are there any TV writers in Korea who specialize in this field?
Wankui Cui: There are people who write TV plays in Korea. It is difficult to associate writing novels with writing TV plays. People who used to like writing would like to write poems and novels, but now most people like to write radio dramas and TV plays and want to be playwrights. As far as I know, the highest fee for a screenwriter in China is 2.5 million to 3 million won (about 20,000 yuan), while that in South Korea is 10 times. Of course, the income gap between playwrights is also very large, which is the gap between the rich and the poor in capitalist society (laughs).
People Weekly: Business ethics is already a novel. What's the difference between TV adaptation?
Wankui Cui: In South Korea, the original novel is adapted into a TV series, not copied from the original content. For example, in Shangdao, 15% of the content comes from novels, and 85% of the content is self-created, which is called "coloring" in Korean. This can be regarded as a brand-new creation, and the final work and originality have been equally recognized. The hero of Shangdao is a historical figure. The TV station decided to film him first, and then found such a novel, so it made a reference. Moreover, the novel is not a best seller, and after the TV series is broadcast, the novel becomes a best seller.
In my opinion, Miss Mermaid is a failure.
People Weekly: I have heard a saying that "Koreans can't live without TV dramas". What is the attitude of ordinary Koreans towards TV dramas?
Wankui Cui: Korean TV plays the most in the world. The highest ratings in Korea Week are TV dramas. But the current production conditions are not very good. Most playwrights want to have a rest, replenish energy and learn some new theories, but they have no time, so the quality of their works will also decline.
People Weekly: Korean dramas are very popular now. What is the development process?
Wankui Cui: Before 15, South Korea, like China, also introduced Japanese dramas. Of course, many Korean dramas have been introduced into China. We watch Japanese TV dramas for inspiration. At present, the influence of the Korean Wave makes most Korean TV dramas exported to China cultural circles, such as Chinese mainland, Taiwan Province and Hongkong. There are many excellent and well-received works here, but there are also some bad works. I am worried and ashamed that such works will affect the image of South Korea. In order to maintain the status of Korean TV series in China cultural circle, the production conditions must be improved.
People Weekly: Korean dramas are very popular in Chinese mainland, Hongkong and Taiwan Province. What do you think is the reason for their success?
Wankui Cui: I can't answer such a question. However, the current situation is that Korean dramas have been welcomed by everyone and achieved certain success. Recently, I have been traveling between Japan and South Korea, and All in has released two episodes in Japan, which received good response. I think the success of Korean playwrights will last for a while, but not for a long time. After China is influenced by Korean TV dramas, the quality of TV dramas will also be improved, forming a certain competitiveness.
People Weekly: Korean TV dramas have narrow themes, such as love dramas and life dramas, and now there are some historical dramas, but there are few themes that reflect the real society.
Wankui Cui: The taste of Koreans is "not satisfaction". They regard themselves as people in the play, fantasize that they are Cinderella or successful people, and generally don't want to see the real thing. I think this is also the reason why the TV series Meteor Garden in China is popular. It is similar to the taste of Koreans, and there is no question of good or bad.
People Weekly: Korean dramas have similar plots. For example, rich women are bad women and poor beautiful girls are sick. what do you think?
Wankui Cui: What you saw was only a part of Korean TV series. In addition to the theme just mentioned, there are also good works in Korea. Most of the works exported to China cultural circle are popular. But popularity and good works are two different things. In my opinion, "Miss Mermaid" is a failure, unreasonable and has been greatly criticized. I prefer to export comfortable works like Dae Jang Geum to foreign countries.
People Weekly: Do you know China's TV series?
Wankui Cui: I seldom come into contact with mainland TV dramas, but I know a lot about Hong Kong. I know that actors like Chow Yun Fat and Leslie Cheung don't like martial arts series very much, although I have written many historical plays. The latest project is to write the Japanese TV series "10 1 proposal", which will be re-created by "coloring", and then the script will be given to China, which will be produced in Shanghai soon. The production cost of China is relatively cheap, and the design and layout of the scene are also better. It is important that China has a vast market. I believe many Korean playwrights will go to China in a while.
People Weekly: Korean drama writers come to China to create works, but they don't know the national conditions of China. Can they be recognized by the audience in China?
Wankui Cui: It won't be a big obstacle. Ordinary playwrights create their works according to the theory of universal values, which are recognized by both Koreans and Koreans, rather than belonging to a certain country. Even under such special circumstances, some adjustments will be made in the process of translation according to China's values.