Popularity and Reception
Winter Sonata is credited with causing the second wave of the Korean Wave and extending it to Japan. It improved the image of South Korea among the Japanese and set fashion trends throughout Eastern Asia. The series was a commercial success, 330 thousand DVDs and 1,200,000 copies of Winter Sonata novels were sold. The series yielded more than 27 billion USD when taking into account the profit of tourism it had accelerated. The number of visitors to the island of Namiseom, where the series was shot grew from 250 thousand to over 650 thousand after the series was aired. A statue of the main characters can also be found on the island at the spot where they first kissed.
The series shot actor Bae Yong Joon into stardom in Asia, and he became especially popular among middle-aged Japanese women. When he first visited Japan in 2004 more than 3000 women guarded by 350 policemen gathered at the airport to welcome him. Junichiro Koizumi, the prime minister of Japan at the time, was quoted saying that Bae was more popular in Japan than himself.
The series was a success in a number of other Asian countries as well.
Later on a musical version of Winter Sonata was staged in Seoul.
In episode 5 of Da Capo II's first season (aired October 29, 2007), two main characters go to a movie called 'Fuyu no anata' (冬のアナタ), which is clearly 'Fuyu no sonata': the same font and the characters of 'Fuyu no anata' also look exactly like the ones in 'Fuyu no sonata'. One of the 'Fuyu no anata' posters visible in the Da Capo anime episode looks exactly like the first 'Fuyu no sonata' manga cover.
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