Actor Lee Min-ho promotes Korean tourism in video

Lee Min-ho

By Ko Dong-hwan

Actor Lee Min-ho features in a new government produced video promoting tourism in Korea that will be broadcast around the world.

The hallyu star managed by Starhaus Entertainment appears in the ad produced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The commercial’s catchphrase is, “Korea, let your story begin.”

Lee, 28, finished shooting the ad in mid-July. The ad will be aired on major TV networks in other countries, including the American TV news channel CNN and Chinese state-run CCTV, starting in August.

The ad features Lee introducing some of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations, including the Cheonggyecheon stream, and a traditional hanok (Korean house) town in central Seoul.

The ad aims to increase the number of foreign tourists whose numbers dropped after the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) epidemic in May and June. The government declared an end to the outbreak Tuesday morning.

“It was meaningful to participate in the ad and promote the nation to the world,” the company said. “We hope the nation’s tourism industry revives with this ad.”