Samsung sitcom aims to 'promote dynamic culture'

"Best Future" / Photo Courtesy of Samsung

At first, “Best Future” seems like many other Korean shows. It features two young, attractive characters ㅡ one played by a K-pop star ㅡ trying to figure out their lives. It weaves love and work into its plot.

However, what makes Best Future different is that Samsung made the show, it takes place in a Samsung office and aims to promote Samsung as a cool, vibrant company.

The industrial giant announced this week that the show will be released on YouTube and other social media sites in October. It follows the Samsung web drama “Infinite Power,” released last year.

According to a statement, the show aims to promote Samsung’s image as a “young and dynamic” company and a desirable place to work.

The plot of the six-episode series focuses on an aspiring singer named Chaego (Korean for “best”), and his female housemate, Mirae, a newbie at Samsung. The company says the show will portray “work, love and human relations that those in 2030 will identify with.”

Scenes take place at Samsung facilities including its headquarters in Seoul, the Samsung Innovation Museum and the mobile research lab R5 in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.

Samsung remains a coveted destination for young job seekers in Korea’s highly competitive job market. However, its image remains mixed due to corruption in the Korean corporate sector as well as poor working conditions at Samsung plants.

While the idea of the show may seem strange, a growing number of companies are seeking to upgrade their image through web dramas, seen as a cost-effective way to reach out to the mobile generation.

Kyobo Life Insurance, for instance, aired a drama called “Love in Memory” last February.

“While people in their 40s and 50s are interested in insurance, young people are not. We needed to communicate with them, said Lee Gwon-hee, a Kyobo representative.

A KT Economics and Management Research Lab report released in August said the shows were a new form of product placement that could take hold in Korea, where dramas were popular.