Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nate1983]

I started watching some K-dramas recently (before you rip on me, just for language practice haha) and one thing that stood out was how bad the foreign actors are. Are they just trying to make us look dumb lol...I've only watched about two hours since yesterday, and already a few incidents come to mind. The last one prompted me to write this post as I just started the 1st episode of "101st Proposal" - some white woman with an accent (Russian?) who misses her line in English, then speaks French with a dreadful accent...after 5 minutes of that I'm gonna try something else. There was another pretty bad American-seeming actor who had a few lines in something I was watching last night...then there was a scene of an elementary school classroom (shot from overhead). This one takes the cake, cause it was clearly a Korean woman with dyed hair/blond wig with the thickest Korean accent ever apparently pretending to play a NET.

I also notice that whenever the Korean actors/actresses speak English, it seems really poor...like worse than the average college student. Singers tend not to be horrible, so why can't drama actors be better, considering they've had tons of resources at their disposal to get the accent tuned up?

[PEIGUY]

maybe they're told to speak that way?

[r122925]

[KimchiExplosion]

I think the horrid acting in Kdramas (from the Korean actors as well) is just part of the charm, like an Ed Wood movie.

[cert43]

Russian, huh? Well, that doesn't really surprise me, as they're not REALLY known for that industry, but sure there is some hidden agenda for Korea behind having a foreinger casted in thier movies( kinda along the same reason they will hire a NET for a public school)

and a blond Korean?! See this is the problem with the media and thier constant on screen manipulation..and they do notice,but just want to use them for International presence ( like everyone else)..and they probably do make $$$..

The world is gonna learn the hard way about this, but by then its' going to be too late..I mean what are they gonna do? Keep running these and doing this when shes dead? Guess that is thier plan. Oh well, at least, she is still more famous then ANY of those people.

Yeah, I bet they wouldn't even put her suicide on tape.

[Steelrails]

Yeah you'd never have anything like a Chinese person portraying a Japanese person in a major Hollywood movie.



Welcome to being a minority.

No there isn't some agenda. It's just budget and you take what you can get because your audience doesn't care whether they're French/American or Chinese/Japanese as long as they look white or Asian.

[Kaypea]

It's just weird that they couldn't rustle up a Kyopo and have a Kyopo foreign English teacher. Or even just go by a university and grab a prof. (I mean, instead of a korean lady in a blonde wig and heavy accent playing 'foreign english teacher').

It reminds me of some communist variety show I saw on Chinese tv where people were portraying Lenin's friends by dancing around in blonde wigs. I mean in that case, it makes sense... as if foreign teachers are going to take part in that.

[r122925]

[RangerMcGreggor]

[pkang0202]

I had a friend in Korea who did some acting gigs. He was an American and had experience acting. The script he was given was bad. He was not allowed to veer off the script.

When he tried to "act" he said the director would start yelling at him. After a few hours of that, he just went through the motions as rigidly and awkwardly as possible. That is when the director finally praised him and said it was perfect.

[bekinseki]

If you're a good actor, you'll probably move into the voice acting industry. If you can't act, you'll gravitate toward TV.

I know a few people (mostly East Europeans and Russians) who've been on Surprise, by far the most hilarious show with foreign actors. Apparently that show grants you a six-month entertainment visa (or something similar) for performing in just one show, and lets you go on your way for the remaining six months.

[fermentation]

[blm]

[weso1]

I've discussed, at length, before about how difficult it is for foreigners to do entertainment work here. The "performer" visa has as many hoops to jump through as the E2 and it's only good for the gig you have at that time. As soon as the gig is up, so is the visa. So most of the actors and models need to fly back and forth for work. Most companies just aren't willing to spend half their operating budget for the foreigner that only has one line.

The back door to this is get foreigners that are here and married to Koreans. Well then, the pickings are going to be slim. Most males that come here and marry Koreans aren't that attractive and come off as "goobers" to the rest of us. Most females that marry Koreans are Russian. So that's who you get to choose from. A Russian girl that looks American but can't speak English and a scrawny white dude with bad skin and an ill fitting off-the-rack emart suit. But hey, they're cheap!

[edwardcatflap]