Five Korean producers take careers to China

Five entertainment TV producers have left top South Korean networks to realize their "Chinese dreams," the producer who instigated their defections said Monday.

Kim Young-hee, who announced his departure from the terrestrial network MBC last year, said three of his former coworkers and one producer each from SBS and S.M. C&C have joined him in his endeavors to make it big in the Chinese entertainment scene.

The three MBC producers are Shin Jung-soo, who directed "Come to Play" and "I'm a Singer," Kang Gung of "We Got Married" and "Dad! Where Are We Going?," and Moon Kyung-tae who produced "I Live Alone" and "Real Men." All of these shows have been major hits in South Korea.

Nam Kyu-hong of SBS was behind the dating reality show "Jjak" and Lim Jeong-gyu from S.M. C&C, the TV production arm of S.M. Entertainment, directed shows on the cable network tvN and the Chinese version of KBS 2TV's "Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical Education."

Since leaving MBC, Kim has produced an entertainment program on China's Hunan TV. He said the five will soon be signing a contract, presumably with himself, although he didn't clarify.

"A lot of people are worried about Korean producers leaving the country, but if you think about it, it means we get to create content that could not only sell in China but also globally," Kim told Yonhap News Agency by phone. "The content market is not like the World Cup. I encourage you to look at the big picture, and we'll do our best to create a win-win situation for Korea and China."

An entertainment show produced by Kim and Co. will premiere in China sometime in the second half of 2016, Kim said, adding his team will continue to grow in the foreseeable future. (Yonhap)