Gyeongsangbuk-do Province Accelerating its Global Promotion Through Busking Entertainment with Arirang TV

SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Gyeongsangbuk-do Province and Arirang TV have collaborated to produce 'Busqueen', a tourism promotion entertainment program for Gyeongsangbuk-do Province featuring global celebrities. This year's season of Busqueen is a sequel (season 2) for Busqueen first aired in 2021 and the season will begin at Pohang, a city known as the filming location for K-drama such as 'When the Camelia Blooms' and 'Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha', and tour through the province including the remote Ulleungdo Island and Dokdo Island as the program shows the various aspects of Gyeongsangbuk-do Province.

Season 2 will feature beauties from four different countries as they embark on a spontaneous and entertaining busking journey. The cast features Jyunki, returning from season 1 who is a famous singer in China (wanghong) from a K-POP background, NC.A, a Korean singer well known for her OST in 'Reply 1988', Nalu, a hallyu YouTuber with 1.37 million subscribers and Bestie, a popular YouTuber from Thailand.

The background of this season will be Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, which is the origin of traditional Korean culture with its traces of Confucianism, Buddhism and Christianity and home to beautiful nature featuring rich mountains and sea. Season 1 was focused on the traditional culture in Gyeongju and Andong but season 2 will focus more on nature featuring the sea and islands. And it is noteworthy that the program will feature Ullengdo Island and Dokdo Island, which are rather remote locations that foreigners cannot easily access in Korea.

There will be quizzes and challenges throughout the program and the program will induce viewers to guess the answers as they participate in the challenges themselves. There is also joy in obtaining new information through quizzes related to Ullengdo Island and Dokdo Island coming from questions and answers that not even the natives know and may even be confusing to foreigners. And then once in a while, the beautiful singing in harmony by the Korean and foreigner members of the cast will be touching, as the program lives up to its title of 'Busqueen.'

Listening to the cast singing, Ullengdo Island in the background of busking will almost feel like a scene in a movie and allow foreign viewers to discover a new aspect of Gyeongsangbuk-do Province that they have not previously encountered as tourists. Also, a virtual studio will be utilized for two singers to sing with a background featuring Dokdo Island and this showcase utilizes the metaverse to allow everyone across the world to virtually visit Dokdo Island.

Busqueen has already been broadcast worldwide through Arirang TV World Channel and you can also replay previously aired episodes through the official YouTube channel of Arirang TV (https://youtu.be/YCXLMu_2zfU).

Also, the ending scene for the finale of the global sensation 'Squid Game' where actor Jung-jae Lee, this year's winner of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, turns around right before boarding on a plane, was filmed in Pohang of Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. Not long after this scene was filmed, Ullengdo Island subsequently enjoyed its best years in catching squids over the past two years, the first time the island has enjoyed such high number of catches in 10 years. As a program combining busking, tourism and entertainment featuring global one-person media influencers and a K-POP singer in a region currently riding the high tide of positive energy, this program is expected to contribute significantly to improving global recognition of Gyeongsangbuk-do Province and increasing the number of outside tourists visiting Gyeongsangbuk-do Province.