Music Bank, a weekly pop-ranking show on state-run broadcaster KBS, will dedicate this Friday’s edition to hallyu, or Korean pop culture fever.

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of KBS World, the satellite broadcasting division of the broadcaster, “Music Bank World K-Chart!” will unveil who is the most popular K-pop star overseas. The short list includes Psy with “Gentleman,” SNSD’s “I Got a Boy,” SHINee’s “Dream Girl,” INFINITE’s “Man In Love” and 2PM’s “Come Back When You Hear This Song.” The candidates were selected by an online survey of KBS World viewers. 

Also as part of the program, hallyu stars will fly to Japan to meet their fans in person. The program will be aired live to an estimated 52 million viewers in 88 countries.

KBS World, established to provide a “home away from home” for 7 million Koreans living overseas and promote Korean culture to people in other countries, will also air a series of debate and documentary programs as well as entertainment and informative shows to mark the anniversary on Saturday. Boy band 2PM recently released a theme song for the station which has reportedly attracted more than 1.2 million Twitter followers and 95,000 YouTube hits around the world.

“KBS World has become a window showing Korea to the world. It topped viewer ratings among cable channels in Japan and became one of the most viewed channels in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. It has also become an effective tool for Korean language education,” said Jason Jeongsu Kim, director of the station’s global strategy center and content business office.

The station, whose programming previously relied mostly on reruns of popular programs from KBS’ 1TV and 2TV, has recently started producing its own programs including “World Date” where hallyu stars invite their foreign fans on a short trip around Seoul, and “Song for You,” where K-pop stars serenade upon requests from their fans.

KBS has designated July 6 as “Hallyu Day” to promote not only KBS World but Korean pop culture in general.

“It is because we believe that ‘soft power’ comes from not only KBS content but the power of the country’s cultural content,” said Oh Se-young, managing director of Global Korean Wave Center.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)