Feature: A "Super China" story told by S. Korean broadcast journalist

A veteran South Korean broadcast journalist, who even as a young student has always been interested in China, has produced a documentary, entitled "Super China," which has now set a viewership record in South Korea.

Because the documentary has also become popular even among Chinese netizens, the producer, Park Jim-bum, is now a celebrity and has been interviewed by South Korean and Chinese journalists. This is a reverse role for him since as a broadcaster he has always been the interviewer instead of the interviewee.

While working as a KBS correspondent in Beijing several years ago, Park had covered several big events in the Chinese capital including the annual National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Fluent in Chinese, Park has been able to develop close working relationship with his Chinese counterparts and top Chinese officials.

Park can remember vividly the first time he was accredited and allowed access to the media gallery on the second floor of the Great Hall of the People in March 2011. He said he could not forget the excitement and the sense of fulfillment that he felt on that day. He felt the same excitement when he covered the succeeding two sessions of the NPC in 2012 and 2013, respectively. "During the sessions of the NPC and CPPCC, foreign journalists like me had the opportunity to witness the workings of the Chinese government and how their decisions affect the Chinese people. The reports from various ministries gave us valuable inputs that we reported to our respective audiences,"Park said.

Park said like other journalists, he had to prepare for the NPC and CPPCC sessions in advance. He had a distinct advantage compared with other foreign journalists because he is fluent in Chinese.

Park, 46, has a long story to tell about his love for China. He said he was influenced by his father who loves reading classical Chinese literature and writing Chinese calligraphy. Park said he first became interested in China when he was just a teenager.

In the 1980s, even when China and South Korea did not have diplomatic relations, Park chose to pursue a bachelor degree in Chinese literature in Seoul National University.

After the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and South Korea in 1992, there had been extensive exchanges between Chinese and South Korean citizens, particularly among students. Feeling that it was urgent to know more about China, Park went to Beijing to pursue a master's degree in news and communications in China's top Tsinghua University in 2008. "My studies in Tsinghua helped me get a deeper understanding of China. I also have improved my Chinese and made a lot of Chinese friends,"said Park.

After graduating from Tsinghua University, Park worked in Beijing as KBS correspondent for four years. In addition to the annual sessions of the NPC and CPPCC in Beijing, Park has also covered some events in the rural areas of Henan province and the earthquake in Yunnan province. He has visited nearly all China's provinces and districts. "The role of media is quite important, especially television. Programs aired on TV can affect the views of citizens of one country towards another,"Park said.

In producing"Super China,"Park said that his main objective is to help his fellow South Koreans know more about China. The work that he is doing right now in South Korea is obviously in line with his goal. He was one the three producers of the hit seven-episode documentary"Super China"aired on KBS early this year. The program set the record high of 10 percent audience rating. The average rating for a South Korean documentary is only around 5 percent. "Super China"presents different topics in seven episodes, including China's demographics, economics, resources, geography, military, diplomacy and cultural soft power. It is the first ever comprehensive South Korean documentary about China made from the point of view of a South Korean broadcast journalist.

Many South Koreans see the documentary as an "encyclopedia" on understanding China. Some viewers think that it is about time for South Koreans to understand China because of its rise not just as a regional but also as a global power.

Most Chinese citizens think"Super China"is more objective than other documentaries made by Western media because of their built-in bias against China and its people. "Our initial aim of production was to provide a framework for deeper understanding of China and to eliminate misconceptions among South Korean citizens about China,"Park said, adding that the high rating of the program shows that the South Korean people are eager to know more about China and its people.

Park said his work also benefited from the increasingly close relationship between China and South Korea as well as frequent exchanges among their peoples.

He said he is planning to make another documentary focusing on how China's economy would affect South Korea in terms of manufacture, telecommunications and other sectors. Endi