South Korea opened a three-day exhibition of the "Korean Wave" of pop culture and products on Thursday in the Chinese city of Shanghai.

More than 100 Korean firms came up with their products to attract Chinese middle class consumers, whose disposable income is growing, by capitalizing on the rising popularity of Korean TV dramas and pop music.

The exhibition in Shanghai is also aimed at commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japan's colonial rule, organizers said.

Shanghai was a base of Korea's provisional government during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the peninsula.

Organizers expect deals worth $100 million to be negotiated at the exhibition.

Lee Min-ho, head of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency's office in Shanghai, said the exhibition is aimed at "boosting sales of Korean products in the Chinese market by using the popularity of hallyu (Korean Wave)."  (Yonhap)