Move over, Game of Thrones. Well, at least as Asia is concerned, because even as the world prepared for the launch of Season 6 of the George R Martin series, another phenomenon has been sweeping across Asia in the last few months.
Some are calling it the Harry Potter effect – just-concluded Korean drama “Descendants of the Sun” have gathered legions of fans across Asia and, to an extent, the world.
The characters of the military drama have stolen hearts in China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia since it started screening earlier this year.
Indeed in China, its popularity irked Chinese censors so much that China’s Ministry of Public Security posted a warning on its official Weibo site against watching the show, saying watching too much of it could lead to marital strife and criminal behavior. Of course, that only enhanced its popularity and a Chinese version is reportedly in the making.
The drama also opened eyes of marketers to how to win hearts in today’s mobile Asia – tell great stories through mobile.
Said the article in Asia Times, “When the younger tech-savvy audience in Asia started watching the military K-drama on their smartphones, it went viral. This prompted people in the US and Europe to find out more about the show. When they did, they too were hooked on to Descendants of the Sun.”
No wonder then that Jeju Air and Korea Tourism Organisation have both appointed lead actor Song Joong-ki as their new brand ambassador.
In replacing another actor Kim Soo Hyun, the low cost airline, has China and the rest of South-east Asia firmly in its sights. (The star is so hot now that he’s also appearing in his first TV ad in China with actress Zhang Ziyi.)
Song signed an endorsement deal with Jeju Air last week and the carrier said it hopes to raise awareness of its brand in Chinese-speaking countries by featuring him in commercials for a year
Jeju Air operates regular flights to six Chinese cities including Beijing. To meet demand in the high season, it has been offering irregular services on 20 routes to 10 cities in China and Macao since last month.
Jeju Air said hiring big stars has been well worth the huge outlay since sales soared from W157.5 billion in 2010 to W608 billion last year, said a spokesman.
Since it went public last year, Jeju Air has been on an expansion path – out of the 25 destinations it flies to, 20 are international. It flew more than seven milluion passengers last year and earned revenues of 608 billion Korean won.
Low cost airlines are changing the face of Korea’s travel industry, Low cost seat capacity now forms nearly 55% of domestic air capacity and nearly 15% of international capacity to and from South Korea.
Meanwhile, Korea Tourism Organisation has named the “Descendants of the Sun” star as its Korea Tourism Honorary Ambassador 2016. He was at hand to officiate the o opening of a new K-style hub in Seoul for visitors last week.
The centre, spread over four floors, boasts a new and improved information centre showcasing various experiences ranging from medical tourism to hallyu (Korean wave), Korean food exhibitions and classes and an art market where travellers can browse and purchase top Korean products.
When asked what made “Descendants of the Sun” so addictive, Emma Roberts, the Harry Potter star and a huge fan of Korean dramas, answered on Quora: “Descendants of the Sun has all the elements— a good story, outstanding landscapes (the K-drama was filmed in Korea and Greece), beautiful actresses and handsome actors.”
