Creative idea promotes beauty of Norway’s fjords

The Norwegian Embassy is running one of the most creative tourism promotions ever seen on these shores.

On June 17, a ship sailed out of Bergen Harbor in Norway heading for the very north of the country on a five-day journey.

Along with the regular passengers, a camera crew is filming every second of the journey and broadcasting it live directly to Samgakji Station in Seoul.

“This means 134 hours of continuous live filming sent halfway around the world, from the jagged Norwegian coast to Samgakji Station, in what will be one of the world’s longest television shows,” said Norwegian Ambassador Didrik Tonseth.

Behind this project is the Norwegian Broadcasting company NRK, who is no stranger to the idea.

Even though the ship departed from the city of Bergen on the evening of June 16, which is the middle of the evening in Korea, the show debuted here on June 17 to the surprise of many commuters.

The show will continue to run until 4:45 p.m. on June 22 on the platform for Subway Line No. 6, where the Norwegian Embassy has placed television monitors as part of a larger presentation on Norway.

The time difference between Norway and Korea will mean that, during the busy morning-hours at Samgakji Station, the Norwegian Coastal Express travels at nighttime in Norway.

“But no worries about it getting dark: The midnight sun ensures that the viewers can enjoy the Norwegian fjords even at night,” he noted.

The Norwegian Coastal Express has sailed up and down the Norwegian coast since 1893 when it was used to transport people, cargo and mail; a purpose it serves even today.

“But the tour is also one of the most beautiful tourist routes in Norway,” Tonseth said.

The sea voyage goes from Bergen, the old Hanseatic city in the south, across the Polar Circle and ends in Kirkenes in the uppermost north of Norway.

Along the way it stops at 34 different harbors, from grand historic places to tiny fishing villages with a couple of hundred inhabitants. Today, 14 different ships sail for the Coastal Express and a wide array of extra guided tours are offered.

The show is a successor to another, almost ridiculous idea that turned into a huge success in 2008.

When the railroad that stretches between Bergen and Oslo, from the west coast to the east, turned 100 years old, NRK decided to film every minute of the trip and broadcast it. Then it was 7.5 hours ― nothing compared to the 134 hours they are broadcasting now.

“At first people thought the show was an absurd idea, and it even hosted a bit of laughter in the media,” said Tonseth. “But what might have sounded like a small program for those few with very special interests, turned out to capture the hearts of thousands of Norwegians.”

A total of more than 1.2 million Norwegians watched all or parts of the show.

“This might not sound like much in a country like Korea, but bear in mind that this is about 24 percent of Norway’s population.

“In a world of constantly accelerating speed, where we often are bombarded by so many flickering images at any given time, this was something completely different ― this was slow-TV,” he said.

One Norwegian at the embassy explains: “I was home for Christmas and zapping restlessly through the channels when I accidently stumbled across this program. I zapped on, but somehow I kept returning to this strange program. In the beginning it was unexpected, and even a bit uncomfortable, as I kept waiting for something to happen. But then the peace and quietness got to me, and I just enjoyed the ride and the nature.”

The journey can also be followed at www.nrk.no/hurtigruten.

For more information about The Norwegian Coastal Express (http://hurtigruten.co.uk/norway), contact the Norwegian Embassy’s Linn Helen Kornerud at lhko@mfa.no, call (02) 727-7141 or visit the embassy’s site at www.norway.or.kr.

By Yoav Cerralbo (yoav@heraldcorp.com)