Singapore Tourism Board and Studio Dragon Corporation forge a three-year partnership to jointly promote Singapore through branded content

Singapore, 9 December 2020 - The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Studio Dragon Corporation - one of South Korea’s leading drama production, marketing and distribution companies - signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) yesterday to promote Singapore as a destination in South Korea and other regions through the production of Korean dramas in Singapore.

The MOU was signed by Mr CK Kang, Chief Executive, Studio Dragon Corporation and Mr Keith Tan, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board. This is the first time that Studio Dragon - the company behind global hits such as Crash Landing on You and Guardian: The Lonely and Great God – has entered an MOU with a National Tourism Organisation.

This partnership forms one of the key pillars of STB’s marketing strategy in South Korea, which is to heighten the destination attractiveness of Singapore through branded content.

When travel restrictions ease, Studio Dragon will be filming Korean dramas with Singapore as a backdrop in its productions. STB will also play an advisory role and work closely with Studio Dragon to determine the various locations, products and cultures of Singapore to be featured.

In addition, the two parties will collaborate on joint marketing and promotional activities related to the drama productions filmed in Singapore. These will be rolled out in phases, depending on consumers’ readiness to travel and prevailing travel policies.

Mr Keith Tan, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board said, “We are excited to work with Studio Dragon to co-produce high quality content that showcases the visual beauty of Singapore’s cityscape and our rich culture. Korean dramas are immensely popular around the world, and we hope this will generate more interest and conversations about Singapore. We are confident that this partnership will help to boost the recovery of our tourism sector and inspire more people to visit Singapore when the time is right.”

Mr CK Kang, Chief Executive, Studio Dragon Corporation said, "We are pleased to establish our first relationship with the Singapore Tourism Board despite being in a difficult situation due to COVID-19. While it will be not easy to come together at this moment due to challenges brought about by the pandemic, we hope to be able to expand our partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board not just to feature Singapore as a travel destination for future visitors but in various other IP-related projects focusing on dramas in future as well.”

South Korea is an important visitor source marketing for Singapore, ranking 9^th out of 15 top visitor source markets in 2019. Singapore received about 646,000 South Koreans last year, a 3% increase over 2018.

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About the Singapore Tourism Board

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is the lead development agency for tourism, one of Singapore’s key economic sectors. Together with industry partners and the community, we shape a dynamic Singapore tourism landscape. We bring the Passion Made Possible brand to life by differentiating Singapore as a vibrant destination that inspires people to share and deepen their passions.

About Studio Dragon

Studio Dragon is South Korea’s largest scripted television studio whose businesses involve everything from planning and development to financing, production, and distribution. The company was founded in 2016 as a division of CJ ENM Media Content and has created over 197 series with its team of 211 creative professionals, consisting of writers, directors, and producers. In the end of 2020, Studio Dragon will have produced28 series for both Korea’s terrestrial and cable broadcasting networks, and Netflix.

In addition to its recent global hit Netflix series, Crash Landing on You (2019), Studio Dragon is also credited in the creation of The Arthdal Chronicles (2019), Mr. Sunshine(2018), and Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016). The New York Times listed Stranger (2017) in The 10 Best Shows of 2017, while Mother (2018) was included in the official competition selection of the Cannes International Series Festival. The 10 Best Korean Dramas to Watch on Netflix, an article recently published by Time magazine, listed five Studio Dragon series: Crash Landing on You (2019), Mr. Sunshine (2018), Hi Bye, Mama! (2020), Signal (2016), and Stranger (2017). Studio Dragon, having established its US branch in early 2020, hopes to collaborate with leading global production companies to plan and produce local TV series for the global audience.