Fortune teller Choi Cheonjung could have told you what is in a name!
I may not be a brand or marketing expert, but if you asked me “What’s in a name?” I will tell you, “A lot”. And does it have to be consistent? Absolutely!
It is the very identity of one’s existence and differentiates one from the others. In a product such as a drama, it defines what the product is all about and what it represents. So it has to be right, right from the very beginning. Particularly in this day and age, when news spread in nanoseconds, once the button is clicked, there will be no turning back!
Or if there is a possibility to rewind, it will be a most costly exercise, as a lot of effort, time and money, all finite resources, would have been put into promoting the brand. When a wrong has to be righted, it will mean a lot more effort and resources, maybe even more than what have been put in, to correct the mistake.
Park Sihoo-ssi’s TV Chosun historical drama is brilliant in its production. We are all loving it. However, it suffers from having a confusing name. “바람과 구름과 비” in Korean. Sounds straightforward right? It means “Wind, Cloud and Rain”, even Google says that. No one can dispute that.
The Korean poster
But when the writer was playing with words, using one with a double meaning, and the typographer tried to cleverly present it visually, they assumed everyone will understand. No need to explain and so no explanation was extended. So where does this leave us? Everyone interpreting it differently.
“Wind, Cloud and Rain 비”, “Wind, Cloud and Tombstone （墓）碑”, “Wind, Cloud and Monument（纪念）碑” and even “King Maker: The Change of Destiny” or “King Maker: Change of Destiny” (the latter two totally different from the Korean title). No one would use that last name without inside knowledge of what the drama is about or maybe the production company has decided to name it that but only shared quietly with some but did not openly declare? 🤔
So everyone went their merry ways to use whatever name they thought correct. We all knew there was a problem when it resulted in so many name variations but nothing official ever came. But I have no doubt they saw an issue.
Eleven episodes aired, more than half of the series, so the drama was promoted under whatever names. Then the straw that broke the camel’s back, my guess, is when KNTV Japan decided to use “Wind, Cloud and Rain”. They are the kingpin of Korean drama broadcast in Japan. And they went ahead to spend major dollars to promote it.
KNTV’s printed monthly broadcast schedule with WCR on the cover
Then suddenly someone in the production company woke up in horror! This name issue has and will be a major problem! We have got to stop this! Hence the notice on Thursday, 24 June 2020!
But hello, it is way too late to change when the drama is at more than the half way mark! The issue should have been nipped in the bud when discovered immediately, right from the start! You can’t erase mistakes made earlier without losing the goodwill that has been built to-date! Nor can you force anyone to embrace your now “official name”.
You just have to live with all the names that have been used so far and hashtag all of them to your benefit, if you care about the franchise that has been built!
“Wind, Cloud and Rain 비”, “Wind, Cloud and Tombstone （墓）碑”, “Wind, Cloud and Monument（纪念）碑”, “King Maker: The Change of Destiny”,“King Maker: Change of Destiny”…
What’s in a name? A whole lot in marketing and branding…and a huge learning lesson!
One last word for us Park Sihoo-ssi fans: We have one consistency, regardless of whatever name we have used to support his drama. And that is #박시후, #parksihoo! Oppa, we are with you every step of the way! Wind, Cloud and Rain!
Instagram Post from Victory Content on the Official Names, 24 June 2020
WCR 风，云和雨： 名字有什么含义
我不是什么品牌或营销专家，但是如果你问我“名字有什么含义？” 我会告诉你，“很多”。而且必须一致吗？ 绝对！
这是一个人的存在的真实身份，让一个人与另一个人有区分。 对产品诸如电视剧，它定义了产品的全部含义和代表性。 因此，从一开始名字不可以含糊，必须正确。 特别是在当今时代，新闻传播时间在纳秒之内，一旦按钮，就不可后退了！
或者，如果可以退的话，将会花费大量的精力，时间和金钱，所有有限的资源来推广更改的名字，将会是非常昂贵的举动。 而且，任何错误纠正都会花费更多的精力和资源，甚至可能比已投入的更多。
Chinese fan group: Wind, Cloud and Rain
Chinese fan group: Korean drama Wind, Cloud and Rain
施厚君的朝鲜电视TV Chosun的古装历史剧的制作非常出色。 大家都非常喜欢。但是，它的名字令人困惑。韩文的“바람과 구름과 비”。 听起来很直接吧？ 意思是“风，云和雨”，连谷歌Google也是这么翻的。 没有人可以对此表示疑问。
但是，当作者在玩单词时，使用具有双重含义的单词，而设计师试图在视觉上巧妙地呈现双重含义的单词时，他们假设每个人都会理解。无需解释，也无需扩展说明。 那么，这导致了什么问题呢？每个人对它的理解都不一样。
“风，云和雨”，“风，云和（墓）碑”，“风，云和（纪念）碑”，甚至“造王者：命运的改变”（与韩文的剧名完全不同。）最后的名字，没有人会想到，除非有内幕，或者制片公司已决定这名字，但不公开，只是暗里告诉了几方？🤔
因此，每个人都使用他们认为是正确的名称。 我们都知道名称变化太多存在问题，但是官方从未表达过。 我相信他们肯定看到了问题。
Popular Chinese translation service
播出了11集，以各种名称宣传了这部电视剧。 我猜，就因为日本电台KNTV也开始用“风，云和雨”，制作公司才急了。 对韩剧在日本的播出，KNTV是有特高影响力的。而KNTV已经花费巨资去推广这名字。
然后突然间，制作公司的某人惊恐地醒悟了！ 名字的不同用法是个大问题！ 必须得停止！ 因此，在2020年6月24日星期四发了贴子通知大家官方的名字！
但是，当电视剧已经播出了超半时，要改变已经太迟了！ 先前的任何错误是改不了的，而改变会失去已建立的商誉！ 也不可能强迫任何人使用你现在宣布的“官方名称”。
你只需要保留迄今为止使用的所有名称，并为所有名称加上标签即可。
“风，云和雨”，“风，云和（墓）碑”，“风，云和（纪念）碑”，“造王者：命运的改变” …
名字有什么含义？ 对市场营销和品牌推广特别重要，所以这回是极大的教训！
给施厚君的粉丝们的最后一句话：我们的表达是一致的，无论电视剧的名字是什么，用来支持偶吧Oppa施厚君的就是＃박시후，#parksihoo！ 偶吧Oppa，我们会一直陪伴你！不管是 风，云或雨！
King Maker: The Change in Destiny by Viki
Credits – Many thanks! TV Chosun “Wind, Cloud and Rain”, Victory Content, 风云碑ParkSihooSsi.com, ParkSihooHongKong.com
2 Comments
In the beginning, I said that 風雲雨 /wind, cloud and rain is not correct translation, it should be 風雲碑/wind ,cloud and monument. But nobody cares about it. In fact, l felt so bad until 6/24.
Alicen, I don’t think it was because nobody cared. Those who knew Chinese have been concerned from the very beginning because there were two meanings – both were correct and people interpreted it differently. And both versions 风云雨 and 风云碑 have been used even before 24 Jun 2020.
Even now, I would say that there is really nothing wrong with using 风云雨. No one really think the drama is about the weather but that it is symbolic of turbulent times which often occur before a new beginning. It is also a more common way of talking about such times and better remembered by audience.
What was sadly lacking was the official confirmation of the name by the production company. They dragged their feet. If the official confirmation had been given at the very beginning, everyone would be using it and we won’t be having this debate 🙂