South Korea's second-largest TV network MBC said Friday it plans to make a sequel to smash-hit epic series "Daejanggeum," which is largely attributed to have triggered the latest Korean culture boom in China and elsewhere in Asia, for a possible release in the first half of 2015.

"We're planning to make Daejanggeum Season 2," Kim Jong-guk, president of the network, said in his opening speech at a cultural contents forum in Seoul. "We'll push for the production in the first half of 2015 after a year of pre-production period."

Starring A-list actress Lee Young-ae, the 2003-4 drama series also known as "Jewel in the Palace" tells the tale of an orphaned kitchen help who went on to become the first female physician for the king.

The show drew nearly 46.2 percent of viewers in South Korea and was later exported to about 90 countries, heightening the popularity of Korean pop culture the world over.

"I think a TV series about a character who succeeds by overcoming all difficulties casts a message of hope to the people all over the world," Kim said during the global forum hosted by the company.

He expressed hope that the sequel can be made soon to reach the audience. (Yonhap News)