The latest craze in Korea is virtual golf, or "screen golf." Some reasons for its appeal are that green fees are about $15 to $30 per round, about a tenth of the cost for "real" golf; convenience, as most neighborhoods have an indoor screen golf "course"; and you can play any time of the day and in any weather.

On a recent trip to Korea, while it was near freezing outside, I tried screen golf. Kapalua’s Plantation Course was one of the locales offered, and since I have some knowledge of the course, I decided to play it. Screen golf was generous with the length of my tee shot. On the real course, I would never go that long to get into the out-of-bounds area or even to drive the green.

The most difficult part of screen golf versus real golf is putting. On the real Plantation Course I have scored in the low 80’s, but on the screen-golf version I shot over 100.

THIS WEEK’S SYNOPSES

"It’s Okay, Daddy’s Girl"
Episodes 12-13

Tonight, 6:45 p.m.: Chae-ryung rushes home when she hears that someone reported her father missing. It turns out it was a false report. Loan sharks and police officers show up at Pil-seok’s hospital, putting him in an awkward spot.

Tonight, 7:45 p.m.: Chae-ryung concentrates on work after her father is checked into a nursing home. Hyuk-gi and Wook-gi go to visit Gi-hwan every day. Pil-seok offers to pay off Ae-ryung’s family debts but she refuses his help. Jin-gu’s mother sends Ae-ryung to work at the gallery so she can’t go to see her father.

"Smile, Mom"
Episodes 14-15

Tomorrow, 7:45 p.m.: Shin-yong and Mo-roo look all over for Yoo-ra. Guilt-ridden, Bomi goes back to the scene to look for Yoo-ra. When she finds her, Yoo-ra pushes her away and runs into the street. Bok-hee thinks it’s strange that she keeps seeing Jung-woon around.

Tuesday, 7:45 p.m.: Bomi tells Mo-roo that she overheard Jung-woon say it was his fault that Yoo-ra disappeared. This plants a seed in Mo-roo’s mind. Jung-woon tries to help Shin-yong by going over the surveillance cameras at the fair. But when he goes to her house to tell her, Bok-hee sees them and gets the wrong idea.

"Athena"
Episodes 5-6

Wednesday, 7:45 p.m.: Jung Woo and Jae Hee, once lovers, reunite as members of NTS. Jae Hee gets in danger during the mission and Jung Woo risks his life to save her. Young Gwan sends Jung Woo to Algeria on a special mission with Ki Soo, former intelligence agent for North Korea.

Thursday, 7:45 p.m.: The president of Korea’s daughter is kidnapped. Jung Woo and Ki Soo get hurt while chasing after the kidnappers. Young Gwan and other NTS agents arrive in Italy on a mission to save Su Young, the president’s daughter.

"Secret Garden"
Episodes 19-20 (final episode)

Friday, 7:45 p.m.: Joo-won still can’t remember Ra-im, but can’t help but be attracted to her. And when Ra-im leaves his house, he runs after her to give her a ride. Ra-im tells him what took him so long to come after her, and asks for his car key so she can drive.

Saturday, 7:45 p.m.: Joo-won tells his mother that he’ll never give Ra-im up and will live the rest of his life as Ra-im’s husband. Mr. Park turns in his resignation. Oska finally proposes to Seul.

Jeff Chung is the general manager of KBFD TV, which televises Korean dramas with English subtitles in Hawaii. He can be reached at 521-8066 or jeffchung@kbfd.com.