Korea with its vast amount of video games, cartoons, TV programs and online content kicked off its third international media exhibition in Busan, South Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday.
Under the name "Busan Contents Market 2009" the exhibition is a place where buyers and sellers from all over the world come together to make distribution deals for all types of media productions.
[Reporter : reporter: Jang Ji-yun] "Over 150 broadcasting stations from 27 countries including the UK's BBC and Japan's Fuji TV have gathered here today to showcase their most prominent works and to shop for content that could potentially rake in high ratings in their respective countries."
Korea's Culture Minister Yu In-chon and CEOs from more than 40 domestic broadcasting stations attended the opening of the exhibition.
Organizers say they hope this year's market will be a boon for Korean production companies.
[Interview : Koo Jong-song, Executive Committee Chairman
Busan Contents Market 2009] "As you know, the business environment these days is not exactly optimal. From distribution to marketing, everything involved in media production costs a lot. So actually one of our objectives this year is to help local companies attract foreign investors and participate in various forums and seminars."
A seller from France who's looking to license documentaries and dramas to Korean networks says in comparison to previous years buyers this year are being extra cautious due to the economic downturn.
[Interview : Christophe Pecot, International Sales Manager
France Televisions Distribution] "For the moment, you know, there's interest. But people are very careful. Negotiation can be very long and it can take time before signing a deal. But it's okay, we know that the situation is not so good. But anyway, I think that the people who attend the market here are, you know, have some interest about our program so it's a great opportunity for us."
This buyer from Bangkok Broadcasting, attending for the first time, says judging from what she's seen so far, she believes Korean entertainment has great potential in Thailand.
[Interview : Penduean Wattanachatkanun, Intl. Acquisitions Dept..
Bangkok Broadcasting & TV] "I think Korean contents are very good and in Thailand market, we already know the Korean content especially for drama, and right now animation is coming. I will be looking for interesting contents from Korea."
This year the Busan Contents Market is expected to bring roughly 16 million US dollars in deals and participants say it is a precursor to the larger exhibition "Broadcast Worldwide" slated to take place this September in Seoul.
For those interested the Busan event is being held until the 15th.
Jang Ji-yun, Arirang News, Busan.
MAY 13, 2009
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Arirang Town
Tuesday, FEB 09, 2010, (KST) 
