Top Korean actor Lee Min Ho wants you to come to Korea to gamble, but only if you're not Korean yourself.
The hallyu (Korean Wave) star, who has broken records as the face of South Korea's Tourism Organization, recently became the face of a foreigner-only South Korean casino. For a year, Lee Min Ho will represent Seven Luck Casino.
"Lee's identity asa hallyu star matches well with the brand image that the casino seeks," an official of Grand Korea Leisure said.
The actor is widely popular throughout Asia due to his appearances in multiple Korean dramas and films, such as "Boys Over Flowers" and "The Heirs."
Grand Leisure, the state-run operator of Grand Luck Casino, is co-owned by the Korea National Tourism Organization.
Seven Luck Casino, like all but one South Korean Casino, is only open to clientele with foreign passports due to strict Korean gambling laws.
The Seven Luck Casino deal is not Lee's only foreigner-related ad campaign.
Last year, following the MERS outbreak in South Korea, the country's government reached out to Lee Min Ho to serve as an ambassador for the country to boost tourism. By the end of the summer, a video ad featuring Lee Min Ho titled "Korea. Your Story" became the most well-received ad campaigns ever launched by the Korean Tourism Organization.
Last September, Lee Min Ho was announced as an official ambassador for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Lee Min Ho was a breakout star in the iconic Korean drama "Boys Over Flowers." His next roll is in the Korean-Chinese production, "Bounty Hunters."
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Tamar Herman is a multi-media journalist and the co-founder of KultScene. She is a freelance writer and copy editor, and has written for MTV Iggy, Noisey and Paste Magazine.
