Let's go to that special place

The Yomiuri Shimbun of Japan reports (in English) about travel agencies cashing in on weepy melodramas. It turns out the South Korean TV drama series Winter Sonata is big in Japan. (What's with that phrase? Even Tom Waits wrote a song about it.) So big that thousands of people have traveled to South Korea to visit shooting locations. This has been going on for more than a year, and the tours are said to be sold out.

Another show called Autumn in my Heart (also known under a couple other names in English) is likewise getting a lot of attention from audiences in Malaysia and Singapore, with related travel opportunities to boot.

No doubt Kim Jong Il, an avid blogger and movie buff, will find similar ways to attract tourists to North Korea. The Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang is ready to host them.