Chinese Travelers to Korea in Summer of 2016 Pick Kim Soo Hyun, Jeon Ji Hyun, Lee Min Ho, and Park Shin Hye as Faves

At this point, the list of Korean actors popular in China is so consistent in the last two years, I’m actually waiting for one of the stalwarts to do something stupid and drop off the chart, or for another crazy breakout moment when a contender edges off a longtime fave. During the summer months of 2015, the Korean and Chinese tourism agencies joined together to conduct a Youke Korea Satisfaction Index survey, with Youke meaning traveler. The Chinese travelers visiting Korea during those months were asked their favorites among singers, actors, dramas, variety, and sports stars.

I’m only interested in the acting and drama categories and the results are not surprising at all. The fave acting talents were Kim Soo Hyun, Jeon Ji Hyun, Lee Min Ho, and Park Shin Hye, in no particular order among them. And the favorite dramas were Producer, Who Are You: School 2015, Kill Me Heal Me, and Scholar Who Walks the Night. Once again Kim Soo Hyun impresses me, the Chinese love for him remains no joke not to mention he really did deliver the Chinese viewers to Producer as the meta look at Korean variety as a subject matter did not interest the Chinese viewing audience at all, other than people watching for him.

With the unflagging popularity of Kim Soo Hyun, Lee Min Ho, Jeon Ji Hyun, and Park Shin Hye in China, as confirmed time and again among polls of Chinese viewers, K-ent might as well package these two in various pairings at lease once a year for a drama. One blockbuster drama hit a year does wonders for the waning K-drama industry, witness Heirs and You From Another Star still being watched two years later. It’s not even worth discussing whether it will be good, sometimes having the popular and not so good dramas bring in the dough allows money to be spent on the critically acclaimed pet projects. It’s basically the indie versus blockbuster movie balance in Hollywood, both can co-exist as it appeals to different viewing audiences, and one needn’t cancel out the other and can in fact form a useful synergy.

Comments

Chinese Travelers to Korea in Summer of 2016 Pick Kim Soo Hyun, Jeon Ji Hyun, Lee Min Ho, and Park Shin Hye as Faves — 38 Comments

Ren on October 7, 2015 at 8:45 PM said:

How is the K-drama industry waning? Can someone explain?

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- czak on October 7, 2015 at 9:52 PM said:
  
  Ratings.Ratings has been a slump this year. Its like a big foot sighting feat to see 20% rating in korea for primetime dramas. Thus Yongpal getting 20% was really great to see, even if I was disappointed in that drama. Hoping to see great numbers especially with pairings like ShinMinah-SoJisub, SongJoongki-SongHyekyo, and KimMyunmin in 6flying dragons.
  And also Yoo seungho seems to be making a comeback.
  
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  - Oodles on October 7, 2015 at 11:52 PM said:
    
    Totally agree that the drama was a big disappointment. Was ok the start off with but omg…by midway I was skipping parts and the extended episodes didn’t help at all. I was surprised that it got over 20% to be honest but then again maybe there won’t any good dramas or anything else to watch so everyone tuned in to that drama in Korea, which is quite sad actually.
  - nuna on October 8, 2015 at 1:02 AM said:
    
    This drama is not a total disappointment. It far from perfect, but still good. If it is a disappointment, how come it got 20%?
queen on October 7, 2015 at 9:10 PM said:

too consistent. yeah right

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yoppie on October 7, 2015 at 9:16 PM said:

Actually, there is a particular order in the votes.

Actors
1. Kim Soo Hyun
2. Park Shin Hye
3. Lee Min Ho
4. Jun Ji Hyun

Drama
1. Scholar Who Walks The Night
2. Kill Me, Heal Me
3. producers
4. Who Are You: School 2015

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- ailee on October 7, 2015 at 11:58 PM said:
  
  So korea just need to make a drama with kim so hyun and park shin hye as the lead, i bet it will be huge hits in china
  
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  - nice on October 8, 2015 at 1:27 AM said:
    
    I don’t want the agency of kim sohyun to rush her doing projects back to back… give her a little space to breath Let her first experience to act different genres of dramas… IMO give first the spotlight to park shin hye and jun ji hyun this time
  - queen on October 8, 2015 at 3:20 AM said:
    
    but shin hye want to finish her study first…
  - nice on October 8, 2015 at 3:43 AM said:
    
    oops wait I think you are talking about kim “soo” hyun as in the actor instead of the kim “so” hyun the actress haha if its kim “soo” hyun the actor then dont mind my comment ?? ?
- Anna on October 8, 2015 at 4:02 AM said:
  
  If you referred to the box in this post, it was not an order in the votes. It was just the Korean alphabetical order of the mentioned names. It was written in the box.
  
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dramakid on October 8, 2015 at 12:07 AM said:

Yea,cos I remember PSH being in second and JJH in 4th.but PSH’s popularity in China really is no joke.her name has been attached to 3 or 4 dramas there.plus,only she held fanmeetings in 7 different cities all at once.surprised LJS and KWB weren’t on the list despite being qiute popular there.

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thomas&lisa on October 8, 2015 at 12:19 AM said:

Hope next year will be better for dramaland because we have King and Queen of Saeguk, Song il kook and Lee young ae in new KBS and SBS dramas.

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munda on October 8, 2015 at 12:22 AM said:

What about this then. Lee Jongsuk and Lee Minho won here http://www.soompi.com/2015/10/07/lee-min-ho-and-lee-jong-suk-selected-as-top-hallyu-stars-by-china/

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- yoppie on October 8, 2015 at 12:55 AM said:
  
  The poll you’re referring to was an online survey and anyone can vote, even if you don’t reside in China. The one in this article targeted Chinese tourists who visited Korea between June and September.
  
  Lee Jongsuk and Lee Minho were part of the top 10 who got the most votes, they did not disclose the order in this one. They were specifically mentioned because they relied thanks to fans who voted for them.
  
  The top 10 stars selected by Chinese consumers included Lee Min Ho, Lee Jong Suk, Kim Soo Hyun, Super Junior, EXO, BIGBANG, Lee Kwang Soo, Yoo Jae Suk, Girls’ Generation, and CNBLUE. (This is misleading because I live half way across the globe from China and I was able to vote).
  
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  - yoppie on October 8, 2015 at 1:00 AM said:
    
    http://www.allkpop.com/article/2015/08/chinese-people-choose-the-top-ten-most-influential-hallyu-stars
Xxx on October 8, 2015 at 3:16 AM said:

I’m still surprised Kim Soo Hyun and Park Shin Hye hasn’t paired up yet considering they belong to the same age group and the same popularity ranks. They’ll most likely be super awesome together.

Happy to see School getting recognition in China. I loved that drama and felt the ratings didn’t reflect how good it actually was. Eventual 8% wasn’t bad at all though. Not sure why Scholar is even in a Top 10 of anything let alone #1.

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- haha on October 8, 2015 at 11:28 AM said:
  
  LJK is loved in China
  
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  - Xxx on October 8, 2015 at 6:00 PM said:
    
    If that was the reason, then he would be in the actors top list. He’s not. There are a lot of factors that make Scholar rank first – like Changmin etc, but in terms of quality, there’s nothing to write home about.
  - Melody on October 8, 2015 at 11:36 PM said:
    
    Not suprisingly, its definitely LJK factor! He has almost 17 million followers on weibo after all!
queen on October 8, 2015 at 4:02 AM said:

shin hye and soo hyun has been friends for a long time already. i saw an interview of go ara cheering for cyrano agency and shin hye during it’s vip movie premiere back in 2010 and there was soo hyun sitting beside her in the cinema. that’s so nice of friendship they have considering that it was before soo hyun breakout role in dream high (2011) i guess their friendship is still going strong based on soo hyun fancam during sbs award 2014. they held hand playfully while talking and even he hugged her. shin hye is just like that with her friends, guy or lady. when the time for their collaboration comes, i just wish she’ll not gain too many anti-fans and i think the collaboration will be taking years later 🙂

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- JI on October 8, 2015 at 6:32 AM said:
  
  Oh! I remember Kim Soo Hyun mentioned to Park Shin Hye to pass her lucky rating of Heirs to him before the start of the drama my love from another star.In the end his drama rating was rocket high
  
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Clara on October 8, 2015 at 10:53 AM said:

Say whatever you want about LMH, but the guy hasn’t done a drama in like 3 yrs yet he still extremely popular in China, I hope he comes back with a good drama before enlisting, give us something better than the producers please, that was a disappointment that even KSH couldn’t save

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sstme on October 8, 2015 at 1:29 PM said:

Actually Lee min ho got 25% ,Jun ji hyun got 24.1% and Kim soo hyun got 20.9% votes on this survey. I don’t remember about PSH but these were the top 3 most liked. Oh yeah and Lee jong suk was 4th with 14.9%. Don’t confuse the readers Please…

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Checki on October 8, 2015 at 2:41 PM said:

Not that I’m doubting you, but where is the source for those percentages? All the Chinese media is reporting KSH came in first. Regardless, they are both very popular in China and have their own group of supporters.

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Clara on October 8, 2015 at 2:56 PM said:

i don’t get the wars, they both have fans, they’re both huge there, LMH came 1st, and has been able to stay on the top spots for years,despite the heavy competition, and KSH is the newer guy,both deserve to be where they are

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Checki on October 8, 2015 at 3:15 PM said:

Agreed, both are huge there. But why so sure LMH came in first? Koala’s article states no particular order, all others lists 1. KSH 2. PSH 3. LMH 4. JJH. I’m actually surprised PSH got more votes than LMH.

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haha on October 8, 2015 at 4:15 PM said:

Meanwhile, people thought Shinhye isn’t that popular as her fans make it out to be and doesn’t deserve to be the 2nd JJH haha
Shinhye doesn’t really need to be the 2nd of anyone. She owns her name and popularity rightfully so. One year with no acting project but she is still everywhere in and outside Korea. Tell me which actress can do so at her age range? Thank you!

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- scarbar99 on October 9, 2015 at 10:04 AM said:
  
  You sooo right.Agree paring Shin Hye and Kim So Hyun in a movie or drama.
  
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lea on October 8, 2015 at 4:40 PM said:

I think this is what sstme saying. https://mobile.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=173355893003154 maybe a different poll?

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lea on October 8, 2015 at 4:53 PM said:

PS. no park shin hye in the list so I guess it’s a different poll. wow, Kim Soo Hyun and Lee Min Ho are very consistent. Love the both actors! Doesn’t matter who’s #1, seeing them in the list is just enough. ^^

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misha on October 8, 2015 at 5:57 PM said:

Checki, i think she meant LMH came 1st in the hallyu wave, then KSH, LMH started what 2008?? and he still in the top spots,and now of course KSH is also up there

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washa on October 8, 2015 at 8:42 PM said:

I just checked naver and Ibtimes who are reporting completely different thing.. I most say the mediaplay has taken its toll korea..

LMH and LJS won this one and other rumors are saying that the brand award and this one were the same.. its confusing

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- Xilem on October 8, 2015 at 10:39 PM said:
  
  No need to confuse over such polls. U should just think these people will be on the top list of the polls when there is any poll for hallyu star. I’m not even checking this kind of poll anymore because the result is obvious n predictable
  
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JI on October 9, 2015 at 1:45 AM said:

I think koala is referringhttp://www.kdramastars.com/articles/99782/20151005/iconic-hallyu-stars-and-and-dramas-of-2015-according-to-chinese-audiences.htm to this :-

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JI on October 9, 2015 at 1:45 AM said:

The lihttp://www.kdramastars.com/articles/99782/20151005/iconic-hallyu-stars-and-and-dramas-of-2015-according-to-chinese-audiences.htmnk

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JI on October 9, 2015 at 1:46 AM said:

http://www.kdramastars.com/articles/99782/20151005/iconic-hallyu-stars-and-and-dramas-of-2015-according-to-chinese-audiences.htm

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Yaiphaba on December 26, 2015 at 8:43 AM said:

Why shin hye always time u forgot about healer???
Park min young is better then shin hye…
It must be perfect if soo hyun and min young paired up…

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