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Korea to use soap operas for self-promotion

SEOUL - The South Korean Foreign Ministry is set to use popular television drama series to promote the country, ministry officials said on Wednesday.

The ministry recently decided to supply Korean soap operas to many foreign countries free of charge, excluding China, Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries where hallyu, or the vogue for Korean pop culture, is already a factor, according to the officials.

They explained that the ministry had already obtained the copyright on two popular miniseries, Hotelier and All In, and is negotiating broadcasting schedules with TV stations in Middle Eastern states, Russia, and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.

Hotelier was a runaway hit in Japan as well as South Korea, with work and love stories of employees at a five-star hotel. It is expected to run in 10 Middle Eastern nations.

All In was said to appeal to Russians because it uses poker as the subject matter and contains a lot of action scenes.

The ministry said it carefully selected the TV shows through surveys and other methods, and would pick drama series for South American countries.

"This project is aimed at expanding hallyu from Asia to other regions," a ministry official said.

(Asia Pulse/Yonhap)

Jan 22, 2004

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