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Until the Azalea Blooms

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Until the Azalea Blooms
Also known asRed Azalea
Hangul
진달래꽃 필 때까지
Revised RomanizationJindallaekkot Pil Ttaekkaji
Based onUntil the Rhododendron Blooms
by Shin Young-hee
Written by
  • Yoon Hyuk-min
  • Park Young-sook
  • Jung Sung-san
Directed by
  • Yum Hyun-sub
  • Lee Won-ik
  • Hong Sung-duk
  • Kim Yoo-chul
Starring
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producerEom Hyun-sup
ProducerLee Won-ik
Running time70 minutes
Original release
NetworkKBS2
ReleaseJanuary 5 (1998-01-05) –
January 27, 1998 (1998-01-27)

Until the Azalea Blooms (Korean: 진달래꽃 필 때까지; RR: Jindallaekkot Pil Ttaekkaji) is a South Korean miniseries starring Yum Jung-ah and Yoo Tae-woong. It aired on KBS2 from January 5[1] to January 27, 1998.[2]

Based on the 1996 essay by Mansudae ballerina Shin Young-hee Until the Rhododendron Blooms, which portrays North Korean society during Kim Il Sung's regime, the show dramatizes her life in the north of the peninsula, the public execution of Woo In-hee, a mistress of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, which she personally witnessed, and her defection to South Korea.[3] One of its three writers, Jung Sung-san, was also a defector from North Korea, and the series was his first work in South Korea.[4]

The first two episodes achieved a viewership rating of 16–21%, but the series was criticized for being overly sensational, ridiculing North Korea and distorting the original work.[3][5][6] The author herself, in early October 1997, tried to stop the show from airing, filing an injunction against KBS for copyright infringement and asking for a halt of the production of the drama.[7] On January 5, 1998, the same day the series began airing, the Seoul Central District Court rejected the injunction, saying "There is no reason".[8]

Until the Azalea Blooms, remembered nowadays as one of the first entertainment programs that portrays North Korea without propaganda purposes, was negatively received by North Korea, which threatened to kill the staff and bomb KBS headquarters if the channel aired it,[9][10] as the drama deals with corruption in the North.[1] Listeners in North Korea, however, sent letters to encourage the producers to expose "the atrocities of dictators".[11] North Korea banned it as well, but it has nevertheless circulated and people have been punished and executed for watching it.[12][13] The series was extremely sensitive in North Korea, as it revealed the very existence of Kippumjo (pleasure group).[14]

Cast

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References

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  1. ^ a b "[체널톱]KBS2 '진달래꽃 필때까지' 귀순무용수 일대기". Jungan Ilbo (in Korean). January 5, 1998. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  2. ^ "진달래꽃 필 때까지" (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 17, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "드라마「진달래꽃 필때까지」，체제비판 뒷전 선정성 지나쳐". www.donga.com (in Korean). January 12, 1998. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  4. ^ ""김정일 정권, 없어져야 할 악의 본질(本質)"". Frontier Times (in Korean). August 15, 2009.
  5. ^ "리뷰 KBS-2TV 「진달래꽃 필 때까지」". PD저널 (in Korean). January 23, 1998. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  6. ^ "[방송가] KBS '진달래꽃 필 때까지' 시대착오적 제작 '비난'". hankyung.com (in Korean). January 14, 1998. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  7. ^ "귀순무용수 신영희씨 KBS에 방송중지 소송". Media Today (in Korean). December 3, 1997. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  8. ^ ""'진달래꽃...'방영금지 이유없다"-서울지법". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). January 5, 1998.
  9. ^ "KBS 홍성덕 제작위원 고백 "내 관리명은 '대둘'이었다"". tvdaily.co.kr (in Korean). September 18, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  10. ^ De Nicola, Giuseppina; Del Corona, Marco (2006). L'impero del mai: Corea del Nord, realtà, immaginazione e rappresentazioni. Milano: O barra O. pp. 25–26. ISBN 9788887510331. OCLC 123900880.
  11. ^ "북한주민이 KBS 앞으로 격려편지 보내와". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). December 10, 1997.
  12. ^ "North Korean Authorities Punish Students for Watching South Korean TV Drama". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  13. ^ "North Koreans floored by news of secret executions for illegal cell phone use". Refworld. November 18, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  14. ^ Jang, Won-jae (July 2020). "북한요지경] 진화하는 북한의 韓流 열풍" (in Korean). Retrieved February 10, 2024.
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