Another Korean drama wins the hearts of Chinese women

“Descendants of the Sun,” a Korean drama that shows a military uniform can make a man sexy, has soaring popularity. It is about romance between an officer of special operation forces sent to a fictional country of Urku (starring Song Joong-ki) and a female doctor (Song Hye-kyo). What is more unrealistic than the plot itself is the appearance of the hero. Even the uniform and the sizzling sun cannot mask Song’s shining skin. On top of that, his pick-up lines: “Should I apologize for kissing you without permission or confess my love?”

The production of the Korean drama was completed in advance for export to China. As China increased the scope of the pre-production screening system from television dramas to the Internet from January last year, the producer had to complete the production three months in advance. As a result, there were no more last-minute scripts and the quality of the drama improved. In addition, the first and second episodes of the drama streamed on the Chinese version of YouTube IQIYI attracted more than 400 million views. If the trend continues, it will be only a matter of time to surpass the 3.7 billion views of “My Love from the Star.” A Chinese media outlet said, “As soon as Chinese women woke up from a drug called Kim Soo-hyun (of My Love from the Star), a stronger drug has emerged.”

Last weekend, the Chinese police issued the so-called “Song Joong-ki alert." A female college student who watched 18 episodes of Korean dramas including Descendants of the Sun is now about to go blind due to acute glaucoma. Chinese police warned on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, that Korean dramas could cause a legal problem, saying a majority of tens of millions of fans have become lovesick since Descendants of the Sun began.

Some people get divorced or undergo plastic surgery because of the Korean drama. A 20-something Chinese man who went to a photo studio was reported to police for harassing the photographer by demanding him to take a picture just like Song to impress his wife who is fascinated by the Korean actor. The conclusion of Song’s magical power is this: Nothing would be better than a well-made drama if it can revive the popularity of the Korean pop culture, which has been losing steam due to the Chinese government’s regulation and the anti-Korean sentiment in Japan.”

정성희기자 shchung@donga.com