With Slovenia becoming an increasingly popular destination for Korean tourists, the shooting will be a huge stepping stone to promote Piran to the Asian market.

The romantic TV series Dear My Friend will be shot by a crew from the South Korean television network TVN, according to the Portorož Tourism Board.

The series is also set to be shot in Ljubljana and Bled, but Piran will be taking its spotlight. The series will bring together the Slovenian Tourism Board and the Happy Tours travel agency, which has been active on the Korean market for a long time, the Slovenian Tourism Board said in a press release.

The first episode is said to be released in May 2016, coinciding with the release of a new Lonely Planet tourist guide to Slovenia. A picture of Piran will appear on the guide's cover for the first time, boasting Slovenia's charming Mediterranean coast.

The Slovenian Tourism Board said the Korean film crew was enchanted by Slovenia's natural beauty. The Portorož Tourism Board, on the other hand, sees South Korea as a market with great potential.

Korean tourists boosted the number of overnight stays in Slovenia in the past decade. Last year, more than 92,000 Korean tourists made over 99,000 overnight stays, a 72.4% rise, compared to 2014.

Piran itself recorded more than 1.38m overnight stays last year, a 2.5% rise from 2014. A large share of these stays, 80%, were spent in hotels, putting Piran in the top of the country's overnight stay charts, according to the Slovenian Tourism Board.

This year also began quite well, as Slovenian hotels recorded more than 85,000 overnight stays, 3% more than last year. The Slovenian Tourism Board said that Korean tourists search for destinations with unspoilt nature, one of Slovenia's main assets.

About 45% of Korean tourists visit the mountainous regions of Slovenia, followed by Ljubljana and other towns. The number of Korean tourists spiked between April and July last year.