KOREA: TV audience rating for summit high

Public interest grows for the second time that leaders of North and South Korea have met since the Korean War ended in 1953

The Korea Times
Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Amid growing public interest in the ongoing 2007 South-North Korean summit, the audience ratings for South Korea's television coverage of the encounter between leaders of two the Koreas turned out higher than usual.

According to a survey, conducted by local TNS Media Korea, the combined rating for three major South Korean public networks, including the state-run KBS, was 14.5 percent during the greeting session on Tuesday afternoon between South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang.

The rare moment has stolen limelight from domestic and international media outlets as it was the second time leaders of the two countries have met in person since the fratricidal Korean War of 1950-53 ended in a truce rather than a peace accord.

The rating for the second inter-Korean summit turned out higher than during normal hours, proving increasing public interest in the summit, amid expectations for the promotion of peace and reconciliation on the Korean peninsula.

Date Posted: 10/3/2007