Today is the fourth anniversary of the K-Drama column's first appearance in The Honolulu Advertiser.

The column was created to provide a better understanding of Korean culture as Korean dramas gained popularity with local audiences. Over the past four years, it has explained various aspects of Korean lifestyles, highlighted celebrity visits and offered synopses of hundreds of episodes. Today, it looks into the future.

I recently returned from the National Association of Broadcasters convention, held last month in Las Vegas, where much of the buzz was about the nationwide transition to digital TV from analog, which was implemented in Hawai'i six months early, with little noticeable difference because most viewers subscribe to cable or satellite TV.

However, one significant difference is that analog signals could be picked up with various portable TV sets. In the digital world, it has not happened yet. New DTV sets have to be programmed and tuned to pick up local channels. If you ever moved the TV set to another place in the home, you may have to reset and retune again.

At the convention, the displays included various handheld devices that could pick up broadcast signals over the air, including cell phones, laptops, GPS systems and portable DVD players. Two LG brand cell phones could tune into a local Las Vegas station, and the picture quality looked pretty sharp with vibrant color. With a chipset, any mobile handheld device can receive over-the-air broadcast signals. Stations that have already transitioned to DTV can expand to multiple channels and more programming options.

It will take some time for the industry to standardize and implement the chipset into portable devices, but in the future, people may be able to view K-dramas on their cell phones around town, on laptops or in their cars. My friends in Japan and South Korea have been using their mobile phones to watch television for the past several years. We could be seeing this happen in the United States in the next few years.

After that, television could become interactive. For example, you are watching your favorite K-drama and decide that you really love the music; with one click you could immediately order the soundtrack to the drama series. Or with a click of a sidebar, you may be able to get more information on the drama celebrity on the screen or order other dramas that the celebrity has done. Future technology must address the issue of subtitles on small screens.

THIS WEEK'S K-DRAMA SYNOPSES

'THE FAMILY OF HONOR'

EPISODES 43 AND 44

Tonight at 7:45: Hyun-gyu rescues Hye-joo from Kim Sun-tae. Hyun-gyu develops feelings for Hye-joo, but Hye-joo keeps him at bay. Dan-ah decides to leave to China and tells Gang-suk the wedding is off. Tomorrow at 7:45 p.m.: Gang-suk persuades Dan-ah, and she resolves to marry Gang-suk. Joo-jeong meets a baby deliverer who knows about Ha family's background history. Afraid that Hyun-gyu might have feelings for her, Hye-joo wants to leave to study abroad.

'GLASS CASTLE'

EPISODES 42 AND 43

Sunday at 6:45 p.m.: Suk-jin turns down the promotion. Yu-ran confronts Hyong-seok. After he tells her he's switched sides, she begs Kyu-song to end it all. Sunday at 7:45 p.m.: Reporters start sniffing around about Sung-ha's real identity. Kyu-song and his father are trying to do damage control. Hyong-seok dies in a car crash. Joon-song's worried that he'll have to keep his promise to his father.

'PRINCESS JAMYUNG'

EPISODES 4 AND 5

Monday at 7:45 p.m.: Jasil orders Chiso, her maid, to follow the boat carrying Jamyung and Ilpum and make sure the children are dead. Choi Li scorns Jasil for killing Jamyung. Choi Li vows to kill Liu Xian and make Mo Haso the mother of the people of Joseon. Tuesday at 7:45 p.m.: King Daemushin asks Song Maeseolsu if she tried to kill Hodong, and she tells him it's the king who made her want to kill Hodong. In a fit of anger, Maeseolsu tries to kill Hodong in his sleep, but Yangdeok, her maid, stops her. Hodong overhears his stepmother praying for his death.

'CAIN AND ABEL'

EPISODES 7 AND 8

Wednesday at 7:45 p.m.: With Cho-in presumed dead, Sun-woo and his mother proceed with plans to build the neurosurgery center. Young-ji makes it to South Korea, yet unaware that her brother Kang-chul died while trying to defect to South Korea from China. Thursday at 7:45 p.m.: To honor her dead brother Kang-chul's wishes, Young-ji lets Cho-in live as Kang-ho.