SOUTH KOREA. Lotte Duty Free has trailed Season 2 of its blockbuster web drama ‘Secret Queen Makers’ (or ‘queen-ca’ in Korean English – literally meaning the most attractive female) with a live-stream teaser video.
Season 1, featuring many of South Korea’s top hallyu (Korean Wave) stars, attracted an extraordinary audience of over 100 million views. Season 2 kicks off on 4 June.
The Korean retailer giant said that the new series will continue to promote the country’s tourism industry through hallyu marketing.
Lotte Duty Free noted that the drama’s second season was inspired by improving Korea-China relations post the 2017 THAAD dispute and the “Korean Wave that transcends the generations of the world”.
Season 1 featured male stars Lee Min-ho, Ji Chang-wook and Lee Jong-suk. The heroine was model and actress Ko Won-hee. She played a travel agent who (unlikely as it seems) lacked confidence in her appearance, only to be encouraged by the male “messengers of beauty” she met at Lotte Duty Free stores.
[Click on the YouTube icon above to view the teaser video]
Season 2 continues in similar superstar vein with appearances by actors and/or music stars Lee Joon-gi, 2PM’s Changsung, Super Junior’s Leeteuk, Hwang Chi-yeul, EXO’s Chanyeol and Sehun, with Ms Ko once again cast as the star of the men’s attention.
Lotte Duty Free launched Season 2 on 25 May as a live-stream show instead of the traditional finished production format. The live broadcast featured Super Junior members Leeteuk, Eunhyuk, Shindong and Kim Hee-Chul plus popular Korean beauty creator and influencer Ssong Yang. The teaser video can be viewed on multiple above).
Lotte Duty Free is running a series of promotional events to coincide with the web drama launch. From 1 June shoppers spending over US$400 at the Myeong-dong Head Office, Lotte World Tower and COEX stores in Seoul will receive a free mini pouch and a Secret Queen-ca Maker sticker featuring Ko Won-hee.
Prizes of Prada fragrance and Lancôme Teint Miracle Liquid Foundation are also being offered for selected social media comments about the teaser video (Lotte Duty Free’s Facebook page has already attracted 500 comments).
Lotte Duty Free Chief Marketing Officer Kim Bo-joon said, “We will continue to produce cultural and tourism content that the world loves and will do our best to attract foreign tourists to South Korea.”
