South Korea's all-English television channel, Arirang TV, will become available on a major U.S. satellite service starting as early as the first half of next year, Seoul's broadcasting regulator said Monday.

DirecTV, the largest U.S. satellite-television provider, recently added Arirang TV to its lineup of public interest channels, the Korea Communications Commission said.

It is the second foreign broadcaster to be chosen by DirecTV as a public interest channel, following China's state-run CCTV. The satellite operator currently has 20 million and 16 million household subscribers in the United States and Latin America, respectively.

"South Korean TV channels are being shown in various countries around the world, but with mostly ethnic Korean viewers, they have experienced limitations in gaining popularity among mainstream communities of the countries," the watchdog said.

It expressed hope that the addition will help hallyu -- the global boom in Korean TV dramas and pop music -- reach mainstream audiences in the United States. (Yonhap News)