Kim Soo-hyun evokes explosive response in China

Actor Kim Soo-hyun take part in the Chinese program “Super Brain” in this captured image. / Korea Times

By Kim Ji-soo

Actor Kim Soo-hyun seems poised to grab Chinese drama fans with his recently-ended “My Love From the Stars,” akin to the fashion his mentor Bae Yong-joon won the hearts of Japanese women with “Winter Sonata” (2002).

Kim is affiliated with the talent agency Keyeast, which is led by Bae who is known as “Yon-sama” among Japanese fans.

Kim flew on a chartered flight to Nanjing Saturday to appear on Jiangsu Satellite TV’s “Super Brain.” News reports had it that the audience at the recording was asked to wear name tags and no cameras or drinks were allowed, to protect the star. Kim reportedly received 400 million won for his appearance on the program. Chinese entertainment media reported that expensive illegal tickets circulated off and on-line for those who couldn’t obtain the tickets for the taping.

“My Love” is evoking intense interest from fans, the Chinese media and even the government. A Washington Post report from Beijing for its March 7 edition detailed how the Korean drama has taken China by storm, and that members of the People’s Political Consultative Conference debated why China could not make such soap operas. The Chinese state CCTV television recently carried a nine-minute special on the drama, while the China Daily, in its op-ed piece in February attributed the Korean drama’s success in China to “great innovations in South Korean TV productions in terms of themes and narrative patterns.”

Fellow “My Love” star Jun Ji-hyun, otherwise known as Gianna Jun, will visit Shanghai on March 21 and then Kunming on March 23.

The success of the drama in China follows in the heels of “The Heirs.” The latter’s star, Lee Min-ho, is also popular in China, where he recently held a two-day meeting in Huangzhou, Zhejiang Province on March 8.