Hong Kongers lured to South Korea by TV soap opera: report

Hong Kongers lured to South Korea by TV soap opera: report

Hong Kongers are flocking to South Korea on holiday after a
popular TV soap opera set in ancient Korea began airing on
television here, Korean officials and a media report here said
Monday.

The number of Hong Kong tourists to South Korea has risen by
around five percent each month to 25,000 since the show "Jewel in
the Palace" started its run here in January, according to Korean
National Tourism Association figures.

The figures also more than doubled in the year to February
from the previous year.

The show was part of the reason Hong Kong travellers were
going to the country, a spokesman at the South Korean consulate
general here said.

"There is a Korean cultural wave going across East Asia," said
C.H. Kim. "Hong Kong has caught that wave."

Consul general Cho Whan-bok told the South China Morning Post
newspaper that "Jewel in the Palace" was bringing "theme
tourists" to his country.

"Theme tours have become very popular among Hong Kong people
-- they want to see the 'Jewel in the Palace' set and try menus
featured in the drama," Cho was quoted as telling the Post.

The costume drama, dubbed from Korean into Cantonese on Hong
Kong television, has also spurred a growing interest in all
things Korean, with Korean restaurants doing a roaring trade and
sales of traditional costumes and dolls doing well, the paper
said.

One restaurant, Lee Fa Yuen in the bustling tourist district
of Tsim Sha Tsui, has created a "Jewel in the Palace" menu
featuring meals on the show.

"Business has gone up 15 percent," a restaurant spokesman told
the paper.

Pirate DVD sellers are also cashing in, with one supplier in
the Wan Chai district telling AFP that bootlegged copies of the
show were his biggest seller.

The series is based on the life of historical character Suh
Jang-geum, the first and only female chief physician to the
Korean king, during the 15th century Joseon Dynasty.

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AFP

GetAFP 2.10 -- APR 11, 2005 11:16:38