Visiting Korea has never looked so good. As if Hallyu fans did not already have millions of reasons to visit Korea, a recent video released by the Korean Tourism Organization (KTO), had more than 20 million views in three months, according to the Korean media outlet Yonhap News.
And the participation of Lee Min Ho has a lot to do with it.
So far, the You Tube video that stars Lee is KTO's most viewed promotional video. The video garnered seven million views in less than three weeks and 22 million views in three months. And since there are different versions for different countries, that number may keep growing, as fans want to view all of the available versions.
The "Korea, let your story begin" video was produced to attract more visitors to Korea by introducing the country's major tourist attractions, traditional foods and attire.
The video first shows various cultural, historical and currently fashionable sites throughout Korea, including villages in Busan and Jeonju, temples in Yeongju and the futuristic DDP Design Plaza featured in k-dramas such as "You Who Came From The Stars."
Lee Min Ho was featured in shots near the Chunggye River, Seocheon and Samcheong areas. The video covers not only the traditional reasons that tourists have for visiting Korea but also offers a heavy dose of Hallyu appeal with the presence of Lee Min Ho.
The actor became a star with his appearance in the drama "Boys Over Flowers." After that he appeared in the dramas "Personal Taste," City Hunter," "Faith: The Great Doctor" and "The Heirs." He recently filmed his first movie "Gangnam Blues" and will soon appear in "The Bounty Hunter."
It's fitting that Lee is the face of Korea. He became the Public Ambassador for the Korean Tourism Campaign in July 2015. He will serve as the honorary ambassador for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. He is known for his involvement in humanitarian causes, having set up the PROMIZ website to raise awareness and encourage donation for social and humanitarian causes. Sales at the site benefit charity projects.
Lee is especially well loved in China. He is so well known in China that his ambassadorship for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics was reported on the Chinese CCTV. He's the most followed Korean star on the Chinese social media site Weibo, with the Sina Weibo Ranking reporting that he had over 27 million followers as of April 2015.
