Endless Love (TV series)

Infobox kdrama/Header
title_name = Endless Love
size = 200px
caption = Infobox kdrama
genre = Drama
producer = Yun Suk Ho
network = KBS2
first_aired = 2000 (as Autumn)
last_aired = 2006 (as Spring)
num_episodes = 76 (16 for Autumn and 20 for each succeeding season)
timeslot = -

Endless Love was the unofficial title for a set of four Korean Drama series produced by KBS stations. It featured four parts, with each named after the seasons of the year. Each part of the series had its own plotlines, characters, and actors. The series was widely viewed in Asia and continued a Korean Cultural Fever that has gripped the region since the early 2000s. Later on, as the series progressed and was marketed outside of Korea, the moniker 'Endless Love' stuck and was used to identify all the series as one.

The four parts of the 'series' are:
*Autumn Fairy Tale (also known as Autumn In My Heart) (2000)
*Winter Sonata (2002)
*Summer Scent also known as "Scent of Summer " (2003)
*Spring Waltz (2006)

The series was widely known in Korea as Producer-Director Yun Suk Ho's pet project, dealing with four different seasons of love. In Korea, however, it is not totally put together as a series but is arranged as four separate shows. All the seasons run 20 episodes except for the first which ran only 16. All were shown in KBS2. The show's endings not only have evolved with the times (tragedy used to be the trend ,but now lighter, happy endings are the more preferred.), but have kept with the theme, getting progressively more positive as 'Spring' approaches. A few of the actors who portray the show's supporting characters return in different roles as the series progressed, such as Kim Hae Sook, but only Song Seung Heon played 2 different characters, both as leads for Autumn, and Summer.

Running Similarities

Many elements of the 'formula' of Korean drama are evident in the shows, but are retained even more clearly in all four shows. The shows mainly begin with a love that began at some point in the early childhood or teen years and continues on until adulthood, usually after a long separation. This is slightly bent in the 3rd series as the main character's first loves are not the main characters, but still goes by 'first love' involving the heart of the main male character's first girlfriend having been transplanted onto the main female lead. The shows also seem to emphasize the scenery, making it into one of the main characters (the gate in Autumn, the lake in Winter, the tea garden in Summer and the island in Spring). The show also follows a pattern of having a 'third-wheel', the second male lead; and the jealous girl, the second female lead. There was also a 3rd 'couple' in each show, mostly to provide comic relief from the otherwise dreary situations presented in each show (leading to 3 couples- the leads, the second leads and the 'funny' couple). Also, all the characters in all the series have had the leads endure the disagreement of the parents of both leads. As for the soundtrack, main instrumental themes for all the series are known classics such as 'Romance' in Autumn, 'Moonlight Sonata' in Winter, 'Serenade' in Summer and 'Clementine' in Spring.

Endless Love as a series

Sold as Chinese-dubbed DVDs, the series bears the title 'Endless Love' but still has no noticeable similarities to each other. However, being acquired by the Philippine network GMA 7, Autumn In My Heart (Endless Love) and Winter Sonata (Endless Love II) were marketed as 1 series with two differing 'seasons', both with identical title screens and with their main sounds sung by one artist 'Faith' (then known as Carmela Cuneta). The dramas were aired primetime. The marketing continued with their Original Soundtracks (under XAX Music) and VCDs sold simultaneously with identical (and with inverted -colored) packaging. The soundtracks were followed up with 'Endless Love' the remix album with 2 cds, acoustic and club remix , both CDs having a mix of songs from the two series. Also a Karaoke 'Endless Love' VCD was released. Endless Love was most widely known as what had started the 'Koreanovela' phenomenon in the Philippines, which followed after the broader 'Asianovela' genre begun by ABS-CBN 2 with the Taiwanese drama 'Meteor Garden'. See also Endless Love soundtracks.

After the Endless Love frenzy ran its course, the 2nd series, Winter Sonata was released 'Uncut' with its own new title screen bearing the logo for 'Winter Sonata' as its larger piece. The third series then opened, Endless Love 3: Summer Scent. It was also released with a soundtrack album also with songs by Faith (Carmela Cuneta). The series wasn't as well received mostly because it was aired on the late afternoon slot where fans of the previous series were still just coming home from work or school.

ABS-CBN 2, the rival company of GMA 7 who had acquired the first 3 seasons, has acquired the rights to the 4th season, Spring Waltz. The broadcasting company did not capitalize on the 'Endless Love' franchise, but rather kept the original title.

Production and Telecasting

Telecasting: KBS
*Executive Producer: Kim, Jong Sik
*Chief Producer: Moon, Bo Hyun
*Producer: Lee, Jae SangProduction: [http://www.yoonscolor.com/ YOON'S COLOR]
*Director: Yoon, Suk HoDistributor: [http://www.yoonscolor.com/ YOON'S COLOR] (email: [e-mail])

ee also

*List of Korean television shows
*Korean drama
*List of Korea-related topics
*Contemporary culture of South Korea

External links

* [http://www.kbs.co.kr/drama/springwaltz/ Spring Waltz Official Homepage] (Korean)
* [http://contents.kbs.co.kr/program/program_dview.php?contentsUid=80 Spring Waltz Official Overview] (English)
* [http://tv.media.daum.net/program/springwaltz/index.html/ Daum Spring Waltz Zone] (Korean)