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Airing of drama featuring ‘Lee Young-ae’ delayed till January due to THAAD conflict

Airing of drama featuring ‘Lee Young-ae’ delayed till January due to THAAD conflict

Posted September. 29, 2016 07:03,   

Updated September. 29, 2016 07:21

한국어

Planned concurrent airing in Korea and China of the new soap opera "Saimdang, Light’s Diary," which stars top actress Lee Young-ae, the star of hit drama "Daejanggeum," has been postponed as a result of conflict over the terminal high-altitude area defense (THAAD) system.

“We have put off airing of ‘Saimdang…,’ which was planned to air concurrently in Korea and China in October, to January next year," SBS TV said lately. "We are waiting for the result of review (in China).”

Hunan Satellite TV, which is one of major TV stations in China, would advertise in advance broadcast schedules of the drama on its website until recently. Insiders in the Korean broadcasting community now even predict that the soap opera could end up only airing in Korea.

Another SBS’ drama “Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo," which started airing concurrently in Korea and China in August, is making strides by recording more than 1 billion page views in the Chinese video sharing platform Youku, but Korean actors and actresses’ appearance in China, which was planned, has hit a snag.

The drama "Hwarang: The Beginning, Entourage” that has been produced this year for planned concurrent airing in Korea and China, also faces an uncertain future. “Chance for airing is obviously slim as that China is boycotting, although they produced the show targeting the Chinese market,” observers said. “Using this as an opportunity, they should stop being wary of China, and instead focus on Korean viewers.”



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