Drama 'Scarlet Heart' exported to China at 0K per episode

The SBS Monday-Tuesday drama “Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo,” directed by Kim Gyu-tae and starring Lee Joon-ki and IU, has been exported to China at a record 400,000 U.S. dollars (4.5 million won) per episode.

The production company “The Wind that Carries Wishes” said on Thursday that it exported the drama at over 400,000 dollars per episode to Chinese video website Youku Tudou. The amount exceeds by 250,000 dollars per episode of the former hits “Descendants of the Sun” and “Uncontrollably Fond.” Given the current Chinese contents market tightened by the deployment of THAAD in Korea, the contract came as a meaningful result.

As the first Korean drama invested and co-produced by Universal Studios, “Scarlet Heart” will be on air both in Korea and China starting next Monday.

Based on the original Chinese novel with the same title, the drama gained huge popularity when it was aired on the Chinese Hunan Television network in 2011. Instead of remaking the original drama, the production company, which acquired the publication rights, adapted it into a Korean version, and portrayed a 21st century woman Goh Ha-jin (IU) who is possessed by the spirit of Goryeo girl “Haesu” and princes of the Goryeo Dynasty competing for the royal seat.