'Descendants of the Sun' next hallyu hit in China

Scenes from the fourth episode of KBS's "Descendants of the Sun" /Courtesy of KBS

By Kwon Ji-youn

“Descendants of the Sun” is a huge hallyu (Korean wave) hit, according to a Chinese online media company.

The entertainment arm of Sina on Thursday used figures to describe the drama series’ growing popularity in China. It said “Descendants of the Sun” has become the most mentioned Korean drama series on social media, and compared it with huge hit “My Love from the Star,” which starred Jun Ji-hyun and Kim Soo-hyun.

According to Sina, the drama series last week alone garnered more than 470 million click-throughs on social media platform Weibo. Views on Chinese online video platform IQiyi reached 120 million as of Thursday.

“Descendants of the Sun,” set in the fictional war-torn country of Uruk, features hallyu stars Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo. It began airing in Korea and China last month.