New Hallyu Markets

[Anchor Lead]

As China has blocked the import of Korean TV shows in retaliation for the placement of THAAD missile defense battery on the Korean Peninsula, Korean contents creators are now advancing into new markets in Southeast Asia. In Thailand, where Korean TV dramas are hugely popular, the country's first hallyu channel will go on air soon.

[Pkg]

This is the Thai version of Korea's hot variety show, "The Return of Superman." The format was exported to Thailand and a local production company created the program. The show has been airing on a terrestrial channel since March. Originally, only 25 episodes were planned, but hot viewer reactions led to the production of the show's second season.

[Soundbite] Sasikorn Chansate(CEO, TV Business at Kantana Group) : "The Korean show was so hot that its Thai version is quite popular, too. The viewers who watched the Korean version online watch the Thai one again on TV."

KBS drama "Descendants of the Sun," which even the Thai Prime Minister is said to have enjoyed, has already been remade into a Thai show and aired. Recently, another KBS drama, "Love in the Moonlight" was aired to Thai audiences. Thanks to the soaring popularity of Korean TV programs, Thailand's first hallyu-exclusive channel will open soon. The channel's key contents will be made up of dramas and variety shows from terrestrial networks KBS and MBC, and from some cable stations. The channel will start pilot broadcasting next month and the official broadcast through satellite and cable channels will begin in November nationwide.

[Soundbite] Kim Seong-ryeol(CEO, K-Wave Channel) : "People of Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries don't have any prejudice against hallyu. We aim to create a sustained hallyu market for those without prejudice."

The export of hallyu programs has stalled recently in the wake of China's retaliation against the THAAD deployment on the Korean Peninsula. However, Southeast Asia has emerged as a new market for Korean pop culture contents.