Korean Drama Popularized in Asia, even Palau

25 years ago I taught high school English on a tropical island in the Republic of Palau. That was an exciting year, and my memories have been stoked by a few students suddenly getting in touch with me via Facebook. It's amazing how small the world has become! When a couple of my former students found out I'm teaching in Korea, they immediately asked about Korean dramas (soaps). I knew soaps were popular in many parts of Asia but it just never occurred to me that people in Oceania too would be avid watchers. According to them, housewives (and others too) watching Korean dramas sometimes for hours on end and not accomplishing other work has become a big social problem in Palau and other islands like Guam and Yap [probably others but they only mentioned these nearby islands]. One guy who obviously disdains the waste of time wrote, "My god, I even saw one grandmother looking up words in the dictionary so that she would know what was being said!!!"