Well, the big debut of HIP KOREA is nearly here. Monday night at 9pm on Discovery Channel across most of Asia will see the premiere of HIP KOREA — SEOUL VIBES, a documentary about Jung Jihoon (aka, the pop star Rain) and modern Korean pop culture.
I mention this because HIP KOREA is the first documentary I have been involved with. It was made by the production company Bang Singapore, which has made oodles of documentaries for Discovery and the other top cable channels.
The theme of the program is somewhat similar to POP GOES KOREA, examining the life of a pop star to see how his life was shaped by a culture and how he in turn influences that culture. In fact, I briefly profiled Rain in my book (just a short sidebar, but hopefully people like it).
So when the president of Bang Singapore, Keiko Bang, told me that she wanted to examine Korean culture through some of its top stars, it seemed like a natural opportunity to collaborate.
You can catch the promos here:
The show premieres on Feb. 26 in Taiwan, and in May in Japan. And in the fall in Europe.
May will see part two of HIP KOREA, a look at Lee Byung-hun, which I think will balance nicely with the Rain episode.
