The number of tourists to Korea from Middle Eastern nations is on the rise.
According to the Dubai branch of the Korea Tourism Organization in early May, the number of Middle East tourists from January to March this year recorded 17,999, which is a 19 percent rise from the same time last year (15,125 visitors).
During this period the number of tourists from Gulf Cooperation Council states - Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates - hit 1,436, which is up 54 percent from the same period last year.
This is a very encouraging sign for the Korean tourism industry, given the ongoing concern about the global financial crisis and new types of influenza around the world, and that Korea is only in the early stage of being discovered by many Arab nations.
The Dubai office of the KTO believes the recent rise in interest in Korea has much to do with Korea's success in winning the bid to build four nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates for 40 billion U.S. dollars. The UAE's Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR) for one expressed its wish to visit a nuclear power plant during a visit to Korea by its officials.
Another big attraction of Korea is the popularity of Korean TV dramas.
The UAE's state-run Dubai TV has been enjoying high rating since screening many Korean dramas since 2005. Titles like "
My Name is Kim Sam-soon", "
Dae Jang Geum", "
Sorry, I Love You" and "
Emperor of The Sea" may ring a bell with many Hallyu (Korean Wave) drama fans in Asia as well. Currently the station is airing "
Single Dad in Love" and is in the middle of dubbing "
Full House", "
Sweet 18", and
"Women in the Sun" into Arabic.
Iranians loved the Korean history drama "Jewel in the Palace" so much that it recorded ratings of a staggering 90 percent. For some the fervor went beyond the drama to actually learning the language. Another history series "
Jumong" did well, with 60 percent ratings on average.
Lee Yong-seok, the head of the international cooperation division at the Korea Communications Commission, said the unusually high ratings could be attributed partly to the local culture. "It's quite common for the whole family to gather around to watch a TV in the evening", he said. "They usually watch things from Hollywood, Turkey and Korean dramas. Korean dramas are noted for high-quality productions and dramatic storylines".
This interest was reflected in the Media and Marketing Show 2008, held at the International Exhibition Center in Dubai. During the show, Arab buyers snapped up history dramas like
"Heo Jun", "
Sangdo" (Merchant), "The
Painter of the Wind" and modern dramas like "
Coffee Prince" and
"Women in the Sun" for high prices. One Iranian media group also showed interest in doing a joint production.
In Egypt there's a whole channel dedicated to showing Korean programs only. The Korea Global Media Group has set up its own Korean channel (Korea TV) through a contract with Egypt's state-run cable broadcaster Nilesat in April 2009. The channel has been beaming Korean programs to 330 million viewers in 32 nations in the Middle East and Africa since then.
The eight-hour schedule of programs is repeated three times a day. Half the shows are Korean soaps and the other half documentaries, variety shows and educational series, shown in both English and Arabic through either subtitles or dubbing.
The Korea Global Media Group first decided to advance to Egypt in 2004 after the runaway success of Korean TV dramas like "
Autumn in my Heart", "
Dae Jang Geum" and "
Winter Sonata" which was aired on the local ERTU channel 2. The Arabic subtitles were produced with the help of the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS), now an organ of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Korea.
"Korean dramas succeeded in striking a chord with Arab audiences. For example, locals can really identify with conflicts between in-laws portrayed in Korean dramas because that is a common thing in Arab culture, too. They deeply value respect toward parents and elders, just like in Korea", said Lee Kyu-jung, the head of the Korea Global Media Group. The channel also runs a Korean language program -- "Let's Speak Korean"– for 30 min per day, after receiving many requests for free Korean lessons.
In Israel, Annaney Communication, one of that country's biggest TV production houses, together with cable channel HOT and satellite channel YES co-produced a program that introduced some of the delicacies from the Korean city of Chuncheon: makguksu (buckwheat noodles) and dakgalbi (chicken ribs). The Israeli-made show s also covered kimchi, gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste) and bibimbap (mixed vegetables and rice).
At the Arabian Tourism Mart (ATM) held early last month from May 4 to 7, the Korea Tourism Organization promoted Korea tourism to the locals, explaining the benefits of Visit Korea Year 2010-2012. The Korean booth gave a grand presentation through colorful video images and Korean TV programs, which will be broadcast to locals soon. Some 70 journalists from over 30 media outlets covered the presentation and stayed to sample Korean cuisines like bulgogi and other traditional vegetable dishes.
"There's no need to worry too much about the language barrier", Kim Bae-ho the head of the Korea Tourism Organization in Dubai said with confidence in his talks with the local journalists at the ATM. "Korea is equipped with Korea Travel Phone 1330, a free interpreting service that operates round the clock. There are restaurants in Seoul that exclusively serve halal meat, too".
By Kim Hee-sung
Korea.net Staff Writer
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Arab Tourism Mart (May 4-7) (Photo: Yonhap News)
