Winter Sonata
In 2002, "Winter Sonata" (produced by Korean channel KBS2) became the first drama to equal the success of the 2001 Taiwanese adaptation of the manga, "Hana York Dango", called "Meteor Garden". "Winter Sonata" attracted a cult following in Asia, and sales of merchandise, including DVD sets and novels, surpassed US$3.5 million in Japan. This drama marked the initial entrance of the Korean Wave in Japan. In 2004, former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi noted that the male protagonist of the drama was "more popular than I am in Japan". Other Korean dramas released in subsequent years such as "Dae Jang Geum" (2003) and "Full House" (2004) saw comparable levels of success.