ArirangTV

Global channel ArirangTV's digital original short-form content ‘K-Hotspots, Hidden Gems’(K-Hotspots, Hidden Gems) will expand service to Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and other platforms in response to strong engagement from global viewers.

Introduced by ArirangTV as part of its ‘digital-first’ strategy, the first digital original short-form content ‘K-Hotspots, Hidden Gems’ (directed by Ryu In-kyung) will, leveraging innovative AI technology and the voluntary participation of global viewers, expand service to ArirangTV official SNS channels starting on the 4th.

This program was planned in line with the government initiative titled ‘Great Transformation of Inbound Tourism, Great Leap in Regional Tourism’, which aims for the era of 30 million inbound tourists. Moving beyond formulaic introductions to metropolitan-area attractions, it focused on spotlighting hidden local destinations across the nation as discovered through the eyes of foreigners. Through a prior call posted to the ArirangTV YouTube community, the network collected travel stories about Korea and photos taken directly by viewers from various countries.

What stands out is a ‘production-method innovation’ that combines voluntary participation by global viewers with AI technology. In each episode, an overseas viewer becomes both guide and protagonist, providing personal accounts and photos that are re-created by generative AI into vivid, three-dimensional, and original footage such as dynamic drone shots. As distinctive stories by foreigners tied to Korean local attractions are re-enacted as short-form videos of about one minute with dubbing, the series successfully captures the latest travel trend that pursues not just ‘a trip you simply watch’ but ‘a trip you experience’.

ArirangTV

This innovation is most evident in episode 4, the ‘Busan’ installment. An Italian digital creator with about 200,000 followers naturally embeds across Busan's various landmarks the reason for coming to Korea, anecdotes experienced as a creator, and impressions of Korean people felt while riding Busan buses.

A travelogue that had been added only briefly in text on the creator's own channel has been reborn as a complete story through a ‘re-enactment video’ using AI technology. Beyond this, viewers from various countries also stepped forward as guides. Episode 1 featured a Russian blogger experiencing a haenyeo performance; a traveler from the Philippines introduced the Reflection Pond at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul; an Italian international couple presented Bojeong-dong Cafe Street in Yongin; and a Nepali viewer who serves as a global ambassador for Jinan showcased Maisan in Jinan, North Jeolla.

Through the open call on the ArirangTV YouTube community, multinational viewers from about 20 countries participated. In particular, the voluntary promotion by participants on social media has created a ‘virtuous cycle’ that leads global fans to watch, comment, and submit new stories.

Park Hyun-seon, head of the Content Distribution Team at ArirangTV who planned the program, said, “Taking the expansion of service across diverse SNS platforms as an opportunity, we will continue to solicit viewer stories and more proactively broaden points of contact with the global MZ generation.”

‘K-Hotspots, Hidden Gems’ can be found every Thursday at 4 p.m. on the official ArirangTV YouTube channel and on digital platforms including Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.