Programmes made through international co-productions between Welsh public service broadcaster S4C and South Korean TV channel JTV have already attracted millions of viewers and won a number of awards.
And now the two channels, along with the Government’s Korean Communications Agency, expressed the intention to work on more co-productions, by signing a fresh Memorandum Of Understanding today (Friday, 9 June 2017) in Cardiff.
Representatives from JTV and KCA came to the S4C headquarters in Llanishen to sign the MOU and to meet members of the channel’s executive and commissioning team.
The three organisations are hoping to work on their fifth coproduction since 2014, by co-funding a planned television series to be produced by Rondo Media. The series will be unveiled in the near future.
Llion Iwan, S4C Head of Content Distribution and International Co-productions said, “We are delighted to welcome representatives from our two South Korean partners, JTV and KCA, to our channel's headquarters for the very first time. The signing of this Memorandum Of Understanding shows our intent to build on a highly successful relationship which has led to some of the channel's most engaging documentaries in recent years, to huge audiences in South Korea and a Royal Television Society nomination to silver prizes in the New York Film and Television Awards. It's an honour to host them here in Wales after receiving such a warm welcome in South Korea last year.”
S4C have commissions broadcast in 2015 and 2016 and another six-part documentary series Mynyddoedd y Byd - 6 x 60 (Mountains and Life) which is set to start on S4C on Sunday 18 June. A Green Bay Media production, it has already won the prestigious Deauville Green Award.
Previous productions include two documentaries about the experiences of Welsh soldiers during the Korean War, Dagrau o Waed (Tears of Blood) 1 x 60, and Gohebwyr - John Hardy (Correspondent: John Hardy), 1 x 60, and another in the Gohebwyr (Correspondent) series saw the broadcaster and author Jon Gower looking at the history of the Welsh missionary Robert Jermain Thomas who brought Christianity to Korea. Last year, a documentary about the highly respected war photographer Phillip Jones Griffiths, Philip Jones Griffiths: Ffotograffydd Fietnam was broadcast to great acclaim.
The two Korean organisations will also be visiting important industry event, Sheffield Docufest.
