This week Conan O’Brien travelled to South Korea to film some material for his show. Just a few months ago, he visited Armenia with his assistant Sona where her family hails from. That trip was extremely successful as he filmed a lot of good material while there. Conan decided to visit South Korea because a fan from that country sent him a nice letter and some Korean snacks. Many people have said Conan’s comedic strength comes from his remotes, which might explain the two major trips in less than twelve months.
Conan took several of his staff with him this time, not just Sona, including Aaron Bleyaert, he of the Clueless Gamer fame. From what I’ve read Conan’s show actually isn’t broadcast on any South Korean channels at all. Yet one would find that hard to believe given the reception he was given at the airport when he arrived. In the video above, it appears that hundreds of people showed up to meet Conan, along with South Korean media. It’s the type of reception reserved for rock stars, not a talk show host that has a show that doesn’t even air in that country. From what I’ve read, Conan gained his popularity through the Internet where clips from his shows have been put on YouTube and the like, sometimes with Korean subtitles.
We often hear the Internet has changed the world but here’s another example of that. It’s a shame that the success of Conan’s show is only measured by the now antiquated method of “TV viewer ratings”. Do those ratings take into account what you see above? I don’t think so.