Boy it sucks to be a Japanese man these days!

[astro]

All things Korean now popular in Japan

Koreans have a harsh history in Japan. Their homeland was under Tokyo's colonist yoke for 35 years, and in Japan they still face discrimination and cruel stereotypes. But thanks to the mega-hit South Korean soap opera "Winter Sonata," Koreans these days also face something quite different in Japan: adulation.

On visits to Tokyo, the show's two main actors -- Bae Yong-joon, 32, and Choi Ji-woo, 29 -- are mobbed by swooning fans, and sales of chewing gum and chocolates they advertise have surged.

Japanese are filling Korean language classes, crooning Korean pop songs at karaoke clubs and buying out flights to Seoul to visit places featured in the drama.

Ayumi Udagawa, 30, has gone a step further. Like thousands of women in recent months, she has registered with a matchmaking agency for the ultimate hot-selling item: a Korean husband.

"When I watched the drama, Korean men were so attractive and different from Japanese men," she gushed. "I want to meet a masculine, passionate Korean man."