A Korean soap opera has started airing in Argentina, a country located on the opposite side of the earth. The drama is 2011's "Secret Garden," a hit TV show featuring actor Hyun Bin and actress Ha Ji-won.

The first episode of the soap opera, which has been dubbed into Spanish, went on the air on the Magazine TV cable channel on Saturday, January 10. The cable TV channel will continue to broadcast the soap opera at 8 p.m. on Saturday evenings over the next four months.




It is unprecedented for a Korean soap opera to be aired in prime time on weekends in Argentina. Korean soap operas are following in the footsteps of K-pop which already enjoys much popularity in the Latin American country.

The channel Magazine TV mostly airs films, music, entertainment and sports programs from Latin American nations and it can be viewed in neighboring Spanish-speaking countries like Uruguay and Paraguay, too.

The broadcast of the Korean soap opera is attributed to a series of requests made to show the drama by Argentine fans and by the Korean Cultural Center in the country. They made an organized effort on social networks since last September, and over the next three months some 13,000 people had taken part in the movement.



La Nacion, an Argentine daily, also reported on the airing of "Secret Garden" in an article titled, "Korean soap opera 'Secret Garden,' special story."

"A Korean soap opera will start airing on Magazine TV on the weekends for the first time in Argentina. With the broadcast of 'Secret Garden,' which has an original format and a solid storyline, Argentine viewers will be able to watch a range of Korean TV dramas in the future," wrote the newspaper.

By Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos courtesy of SBS
jun2@korea.kr