TEST YOURSELF: K-wave is here to stay

Photo © NETFLIX
Photo © NETFLIX

Korean TV has gone global

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Read the following story by Tatat Bunnag from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.

The K-wave is unstoppable. Korean content and pop culture has made it on the world stage thanks to an Oscar win by Parasite (2019) and the success of musical groups like Blackpink and BTS.

This year is the fifth anniversary of Netflix entering South Korea. Since then, we've seen people all across the world fall in love with Korean-made content. This includes the success of the horror series Sweet Home; a rom-com about a love affair in Crash Landing On You; the K-zombie invasion in Kingdom and #Alive; teenage life with Extracurricular; and the country's first space blockbuster Space Sweepers. Music fans also had documentaries like Blackpink: Light Up The Sky.

Here are some upcoming shows to look out for in 2021.

D.P.
The show is based on a webtoon by Kim Bo-tong and follows the story of army private who ends up becoming a member of the "Deserter Pursuit" unit that tracks down military deserters and encounters the realities of confused young soldiers.

Squid Game
A story of people who decide to become players of a mysterious survival game that has a 40-million-dollar prize at stake.

The Silent Sea
A sci-fi mystery thriller set in the future in which Earth has undergone desertification, the series follows members of a special team sent to an abandoned research facility on the moon.

All Of Us Are Dead
It follows a group of students trapped in a high school who find themselves in trouble as they seek to be rescued from a zombie invasion.

My Name
This series follows a mobster's daughter after she joins a cartel and becomes a mole to seek the truth behind her father's death. The series is directed by Kim Jin-min of the series Extracurricular.

So Not Worth It
The sitcom follows the youthful adventures of students with multicultural backgrounds in a college dorm, and stars K-pop group GOT7.

Kingdom: Ashin Of The North
This special episode from the Kingdom series shares the backstory of the mysterious character Lee Chang's group encountered on their journey north to discover the origins of the infected.

Carter
The action-packed film follows a man after he wakes up in a hotel room with no memory of who he is except for a voice in his ear that calls him "Carter". As he follows the voice's orders, Carter goes on a mission to save a kidnapped girl.



Section 1: Write the correct answer in the space provided.
1. How many years has Netflix been working in South Korea? …………….
2. Which new show is about a crime family? …………….
3. Which show is about a person who doesn’t know who they are? …………….
4. Which two new shows feature students? …………….
5. Which story first appeared on the internet?…………..
6. Which show is not set in the present day? …………….

Section 2: Read the following passage. Then, fill in the blanks with the correct words from the choices given.
“We've seen a huge …7… in interest in Korean content, …8… amongst our Asian audiences. When …9… 2019 to 2020, the number of people watching Korean content has grown four times. The K-wave, or Hallyu as we call it here in Korea, is a huge moment of …10… pride.”

7. __A. surge             __B. surgery                __C. surf
8. __A. however             __B. especially               __C. despite
9. __A. compare            __B. compares               __C. comparing
10. __A. nation            __B. national                __C. nationality

       
Section 3: Find words that match the following definitions.
11. a low-ranking soldier ……………
12. a place that no longer has any people ……………
13. difficult or impossible to understand ……………
14. taken (someone) away by force …………

Answers: 1. five. 2. My Name. 3. Carter. 4. So Not Worth It, All Of Us Are Dead. 5. D.P. 6. The Silent Sea. 7. a. 8. b. 9. c. 10. b. 11. private. 12. abandoned. 13. mysterious. 14. kidnapped.

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