Boy-meets-girl is just the start

The TV miniseries: “Winter Sonata.”

The dialogue: “I don’t want to apologize because you already have the most precious thing. Because you have occupied my entire heart.”

The concept: A 20-episode South Korean soap opera (“k-drama”) about bittersweet, eternal first love.

The plot: Boy (Sang-Hyuk) loves girl (Yu-Jin). But girl falls for a mysterious new boy (Joon-Sang) who transfers into her high school -- on a secret quest to find his biological father. Just as Yu-Jin and Joon-Sang’s love begins to blossom, Joon-Sang is killed in a truck accident. Or is he? And that’s just Episode 3. Various wrenching conflicts in this 10-year love triangle include that boy and girl are actually brother and sister, or that boy and boy are brothers. Yes, there’s an amnesia plot line.

The atmosphere: Snow falling over white hills. Sentimental piano music.

The back story: “Winter Sonata,” now out on DVD, is Part 2 in a quartet of k-dramas airing on the Korean Broadcast System. Korean dramas, with their heart-rending love-hate plots and classic tales of convoluted relationships, are setting ratings records all over Asia, fueling a growing fervor for all things “kim-chic.” The “Sonata” cycle began in 2001 with “Autumn Story” and is KBS’ highest-rated drama. Although the race to cast the next tear-jerker is on, the lead male heartthrob is set to be drafted into the real-life Korean army. Feel the tragedy. Feel the pain.

-- Gendy Alimurung