Lights! Camera! Action?

A Korean production company is eyeing the Northern Marianas as the location of a new television drama series to be syndicated all over Asia.

But for the project to materialize, the CNMI will have to cough up a sponsorship cost of about $750,000 to $1 million. The Marianas Visitors Authority will host elected officials today to discuss and ask them to provide funding for the project.

According to MVA, the proposal by Castle in the Sky Entertainment provides the CNMI a great opportunity to promote the destination not only in the Korean market, but throughout Asia.

MVA reports that Korean TV drama programs are heavily exported to the Northern Marianas’ tourist markets in Asia countries. About 19 percent of the programs are syndicated in Japan, 24.5 percent in Taiwan, 18.6 percent in China, and 3.3 percent in Hong Kong.

There is also demand for Korean TV drama from other countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Sponsoring the new drama series will also open the possibility for the CNMI to develop new tourist attraction sites from the film locale and for tour agents to be able to sell shooting tour packages.

Furthermore, the project will provide the CNMI with exposure when Castle in the Sky organizes media tours to the shooting sites and produces materials promoting the show in Korea.

MVA says the production firm is asking for a sponsorship amount of $1 million. But the tourism agency is looking at negotiating with Castle in the Sky for a $750,000 budget in exchange for rights to use the film as a promotional tool for destination at travel and trade fairs, seminars, etc.

Other players of the local tourism industry have already agreed to support the project. The Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands will offer hotel accommodation for the cast and crew. The Korean Tour Association of Saipan will provide guides and take care of ground transportation. Asiana Airlines has committed to provide free air tickets.

The TV drama series is a 20-episode romantic comedy titled Paradise Dream. Sixteen episodes will be filmed in the CNMI, with each program running 60 minutes.

The program’s producer, Castle in the Sky Entertainment, was formerly known as Showbiz Asia Corp. Among CITS’ previous works are Scent of a Man, South of the Sun, Love in Paris, and Hong Kong Express.