Hallyu stars fly to meet Chinese fans

By Kim Ji-soo

Rising Korean actor Kim Woo-bin hosted his first overseas fan meeting in Hong Kong, Sunday, attracting nearly 1,700 people to the Sunshine City Plaza. The 24-year-old former model-turned-actor leapt to stardom for his role in “The Heirs.”

“Kim’s potential for success in Asia was proven by the event,” said an official of his management agency SidusHQ. Kim will soon host fan meetings in Taiwan and China, before going on to Thailand.

Three top actors ― Jo In-sung, Lee Min-ho and Lee Jong-seok ― went to Shanghai also to meet their fans.

Jo starred in the drama “That Winter, the Wind Blows”; Lee in “The Heirs”; and Lee Jong-seok in “I Can Hear Your Voice.” The three dramas that were highly successful with Korean audiences are receiving attention from Chinese drama viewers.

Actor Lee Jun-ki, who has 12 million Weibo followers, was in Guangzhou, China, over the weekend as part of his Asia tour.

Leading K-pop stars such as super rookie EXO appeared on a special entertainment program on Chinese Funan Satellite Television; another K-pop group Crayon Pop also made an appearance.

The top Korean group Big Bang met with Hong Kong fans on Friday in a “Be My Valentine” meeting, while Girls’ Generation began the final stage of its Asian tour in Macao the same day.

China is the second largest cultural content export destination for Korea where it accounted for 27.6 percent, or $1.2 billion, out of the total of $4.4 billion in exports.