A talent agency and an online retailer have joined forces to launch an online store targeting Chinese.

Korean management agency KeyEast has teamed with online retailer Pandakorea.com, which sells Korean products to foreigners, to market direct to mainland Chinese.

KeyEast represents high profile Korean actors including Bae Yong-jun, Han Ye-seul (pictured) and Kim Su-hyun and markets TV dramas, films and electronic games. The company has invested US$2.99 million in the venture and benefits by gaining a reliable distribution network in China.

The two companies will work together to develop private brand products featuring Korean stars, promoting K-dramas and K-games in China, and publicising movies and TV series starring Korean actors and actresses.

Pandakorea will benefit from its right to exclusively sell private brand items featuring Actor Kim Su-hyun, who has a huge number of Chinese fans, through its website.

Pandakorea.com is a website already selling popular Korean items to Chinese customers since it launched in October.

With growing success in China, the company plans to expand into Vietnam and Thailand next year, both markets with growing fascination with Korean culture and entertainers.

“Pandakorea.com can be an example to show that small Korean companies are able enough to achieve success in the global market. Based on the agreement with one of the best star agencies in Korea, we will become a Korean version of Alibaba by providing popular Korean items featuring a variety of Korean celebrities to foreign consumers,” a spokesman said.