China Denies Ha Jung Woo Visa and Scuttles C-movie Filming with Zhang Zi Yi

Oh dang, clearly being super famous and critically acclaimed isn’t enough to gain a reprieve or special dispensation from the ongoing Chinese ban on Hallyu. Upcoming Chinese thriller movie Sheer Cliff was set to start filming starring Zhang Zi Yi paired with K-actor Ha Jung Woo and now the movie is a no go. At least a no go for now unless and until Zhang Zi Yi recasts her male lead, or films the movie entirely outside of China which will be hard to do since the movie is about the search for a Qin dynasty mask with immortal grass. Both Zhang Zi Yi and Ha Jung Woo are movie star top dogs in their own countries and wield quite a lot of clout but that’s not enough for Ha Jung Woo to overcome the ban as his agency stated that Ha Jung Woo was denied a travel and work visa by the Chinese government this week and cannot go to China to film the movie. Double bummer all around.

It’s not just Ha Jung Woo not getting a filming visa, K-variety travel show Journey to the West which is filmed in China concluded its recent season with a note to viewers that the next season will not be filmed in China and will instead feature a new locale. Hopefully it’s also to the West of Korea otherwise even the title of the show will need to be revised.


Comments

China Denies Ha Jung Woo Visa and Scuttles C-movie Filming with Zhang Zi Yi — 17 Comments

  1. It shouldn’t be a problem to cast another male lead. There is plenty Chinese actors who are able to fit the bill. Tbh, I’m one of those who are not keen on seeing K-actors in C-dramas/movies. Personal taste.

      • to deedee:

        the chinese actors lip movements match, but the korean actors who dont bother to learn the language have lip movements that don’t match at all and ruin the movie/shows . Unless it’s a non speaking role hahahaha

      • @J

        Exactly. As far I as I know, Korean actors, they use Korean in the dialog. So, the obviously, the lip movements and the sounds aren’t sync.

  2. Wow, this is getting pretty bad. China is becoming is huge in the film industry, example, H Brothers from China is producing Hollywood length films. When you go to a see a Hollywood film and H Brothers appear as producer, you definitely feel the huge audience China is starting to attract. So getting rid of the Korean buzz wouldn’t affect China much. Good for China, not so good for Korea.

  3. Yes, dubbing nice Korean voices with Chinese ones makes me cringe…it’s just me, but I don’t like the tone. Most of the time, they don’t suit the actors! Why don’t they just caption their dramas, one of the reasons I only watched 1 Chinese drama. Their voices are a turn off.

  4. I understand why China is pissed but I’m pretty sure what China is doing is blatantly violating WTO rules but nobody dares call them out. Sigh. Such is the state of the multipolar world today.

    • Which is why Chinese government vehemently deny of any ban going-on whenever they were asked by journalist/reporter. At the same time, they are within every right to deny visa to anyone.

      Clever, really.

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