Korean drama series proposal gets support

A proposal by a Korean production company to film a television drama series in the Northern Marianas received support from lawmakers yesterday.

The five members of the House minority bloc who attended the Marianas Visitors Authority’s presentation on the plan vowed to introduce a bill appropriating $750,000 for the TV project.

Rep. Martin Ada, chair of the House Committee on Commerce and Tourism, said the group would tap the Managaha landing fees and MVA’s promotional funds, as well as utilize the governor’s reprogramming authority, to raise the needed funds.

Rep. Benjamin Seman said the bill would be introduced at the next House session, which he said would likely happen next week.

He expressed hope that the measure would be enacted before the CNMI’s early August deadline to come up with the funding.

Castle in the Sky Entertainment, which will produce the drama series, is giving the Northern Marianas top priority in the project, according to MVA marketing manager Wayne Pangelinan.

However, at least six other destinations are currently lining up to sponsor the project in the event that the CNMI passes up the offer. These destinations are France, Canada, Australia, Kenya, Hong Kong, and Guam.

“$750,000 is not a big request, especially if we consider the multi-million-dollar return we can get from this investment,” said Seman. “With the CNMI standing to lose 120,000 airlines seat from the Japan Airlines pullout, we have to be creative in developing other markets.”

Pangelinan added that conventional forms of promoting, such as placing advertisements in the print media, were no longer as effective as before. “TV exposure is now the trend and we have to go along with it in order to stay competitive,” he said.

For his part, Rep. Joseph Deleon Guerrero maintained that the Northern Marianas could reap long-term benefits from sponsoring the TV program.

“This kind of programs will allow us to stretch our advertising buck. Some of the possibilities include spin-offs and commercials of foreign products being shot here. An exposure like this will create demand for our destination. We wouldn’t even have to ask the airlines to fly to the CNMI; they would come because the demand is there,” Deleon Guerrero said.

The two other lawmakers who came to MVA’s presentation at Aqua Resort Club were Reps. Arnold Palacios and Ramon Tebuteb.

South Korea’s Castle in the Sky Entertainment is asking MVA to foot $1 million of the $5-million production cost of its new drama series, titled “Paradise Dream.”
But MVA is planning to negotiate with the production firm for a sponsorship cost of $750,000, plus in-kind support from MVA members and affiliates.

In exchange, Castle in the Sky will shoot 16 of the drama’s 20 episodes and give MVA rights to use the film as a promotional tool for destination at travel and trade fairs, seminars, etc.