Chinese Newspaper Reveals 2017’s Most Anticipated Korean Celebrities

Despite the Chinese government’s restrictions on the importing of Korean culture, this newspaper decided to poll its readers on their most anticipated Korean celebrities.

Earlier this month, the Chinese newspaper, People’s Daily, revealed the results of its survey that involved over 300 000 participants. It seems that, despite the Hallyu ban, fans of Korean culture are just as fanatical as ever!

Here is the list of Korean celebrities that Chinese fans are dying to see in 2017!

1. Kim Soo Hyun

Kim Soo Hyun
Kim Soo Yun promoting The Producers in Shanghai.

In 2015, Kim Soo Hyun visited China in order to attend a fan event which ended up being extremely successful. Later that same year, he was named the most expensive Hallyu celebrity in China. His popularity has been rising since the release of My Love From Another Star which converted a huge number of Chinese citizens into fans.

 

2. Jeon Ji Hyun

Jeon Ji Hyun in a fashion photoshoot
Jeon Ji Hyun for Harper’s Bazaar China in May 2014.

As the female lead of the aforementioned My Love From Another Star, Jeon Ji Hyun cemented her place as a leader of the Hallyu waveHer popularity, beauty, and charisma roped fans in from all over the continent and earned her a place among China’s most anticipated Korean celebrities of 2017.

 

3. Song Jong Ki

Song Jong Ki
Song Jong Ki for Harper’s Bazaar China in May 2016.

This Descendants Of The Sun lead actor has garnered attention on a huge scale and is not only a Korean celebrity but a pan-Asian star as well. He is said to have made 3.4 billion Won (~$3 million USD), just from fan meets in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

 

4. Kim Heechul

Super Junior's Kim Heechul
Super Junior’s Kim Heechul in Chinese magazine CHIC in May 2016.

Heechul is known to be a very active idol – he sings and appears on both TV and radio. His hard work paid off and earned him popularity beyond South Korea.

 

5. Im Yoo Nah

Im Yoon Ah
A poster of her first fan meeting in China, May 2016.

Girls’ Generation member Im Yoo Nah is confirmed to be one of the most popular Korean celebrities in China as online search results showed. She even surpassed Song Jong Ki. It’s no surprise that she made this list!

 

6. BIGBANG

Big Bang
BIGBANG at a premiere of Big Bang MADE: The Documentary.

BIGBANG has established its position as a top K-Pop group over the last 10 years, selling two million copies of their “MADE” album in China alone! It would have been a surprise if they didn’t make this list!

7. EXO

EXO
EXO in Chinese Season’s Greetings Calendar.

These young and talented performers couldn’t go unnoticed and proudly hold a place on this Top 10 Celebrities list! EXO’s Lay is, in fact, Chinese and a member of the Hunan Communist Youth League of China.

8. Red Velvet

Red Velvet
SMEntertainment’s girl band Red Velvet made their debut in 2014.

This visually stunning and talented group has certainly grown popular! In fact, the group has long been popular in China where the music video for “Dumb Dumb” from their album, The Red, made it to #1 on YinYueTai‘s MV Chart.

 

9. NCT Dream

NCT Dream
NCT Dream members sport adorable and classy look in Oh Boy magazine September 2016 Issue.

NCT Dream (an NCT sub-unit) made its debut earlier this year with the hit song “Chewing Gum” and can already be called a Chinese top celebrity!

10. NCT 127

NCT 127
NCT 127’s  avant-garde look really made an impression in the K-Pop community and China, apparently!

This more mature and manly sub-unit of the NCT project made a huge impression with their single “Fire Truck”. It looks like Chinese fans felt the impression as well!

 

Source: Newsen