The Asian TV Drama Conference organized by the Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange(KOFICE) was held in Kita-Kyusu, Japan for five days from November 4(Wed.) to November 8(Sun.). The conference which marks its 10th anniversary this year was attended by celebrities who played a leading role in popular TV dramas from 7 Asian countries. launched in 2006 with Korean, Japanese and Chinese TV script writers as core members, the Asian TV Drama Conference has since grown into one of Asia’s biggest TV conferences. A multitude of TV script writers, actors and producers attend the conference annually.

The theme of the conference this year was “Factors Influencing Popularity and Trends in Asian TV Dramas.” Accordingly, approximately 200 representative script writers and producers from Korea, China, Japan and Vietnam presented major trends in the Asian drama industry and discussed ways to cooperate to elevate the competitiveness of Asian soap operas in the global market. 

In celebration of the conference’s 10th anniversary, an award ceremony was held. Conference organizers awarded honors to Korean director You Chul-Yong of the shows ‘All In’ and ‘Swallow the Sun,’ to actor Ji Sung, to the late Japanese writer and producer Ichikawa Shinichi, to actress Fueki Yuko who actively builds her acting career in Korea and Japan, to Chinese director Ye Xiaowen and finally to actor Hu Ge who received Netizen’s Choice Award in ‘Seoul Drama Awards’  for their contributions to Asian TV. The special commendation awards were given to them for their efforts in the development of Asian dramas.

During the conference, presentations were given by Korean writer Yoonjung Jung, Chinese writer Yi Liu, Vietnamese TV director Nguyen Anh Vu and Japanese writer Koshimizu Yasuhiro. They spoke about the influence of popular TV in their respective countries. In particular, Scriptwriters of the Korean show “Misaeng” and of the Japanese show “Partner” also personally gave talks about their projects.

Chief Director Yun Go-un from Pan Entertainment, Korea, Chinese producer Shengtian SHI from Chinese Drama Production Industries Association and Japanese producer Tooru Kagata from NHK Japan shared their opinions on current trends, history and the industry as a whole. This year’s event offered a variety of views of Asian countries on the drama industry and suggested ways to go global with Asian soap operas in the future through in-depth discussions among experts from several Asian countries.