Which Drama Won Over "Empress Ki" in China?

Before it aired its first episode, the drama "Bride of the Century" was already a trending topic in China. And this week, it topped China's Korean drama charts. In China, the drama has become more popular than South Korea's number one drama, "Empress Ki," despite the fact that the saeguk is filmed in China. It is even more popular the mega-hit "The Heirs," which stars Lee Min Ho and Park Shin Hye.

This week the Chinese site QQ.com revealed that "Bride of the Century" leads the Korean Drama Charts with 2,080,000 views. MBC's historical drama "Empress Ki" had 610,000 views, while "The Heirs" had 420,000.

The drama, in which Lee Hongki plays an heir afflicted by a curse, was not only being viewed. It was a leading topic of interest. The drama's title also ranked number one on China's Weibo search engines.

One reason for the drama's popularity may be that its star Lee Hongki is a member of the well-loved group F.T. Island.

F.T. Island was the first Korean band to hold a large concert in Taiwan and they perform songs in Korean, Japanese and Chinese. The band's albums sell well there.

Lee Hongki is also popular in China because of his previous drama "You're Beautiful." The 2009 comedy was so well received in China that it was remade into a Taiwanese version titled "Fabulous Boys." In that drama, former child actor Lee Hongki played the role of Jeremy, a musician who gets confused when he discovers he likes Park Shin Hye disguised as a boy.

Chinese fans also loved the "We Got Married: Global Edition" in which Lee Hongki was paired up with Japanese actress Fujii Mina. It became the most watched variety show on Chinese video site iQiyi.

And the storyline of "Bride of the Century" is said to appeal to Chinese audiences. "Bride of the Century" is about a family that is cursed. The first wife of the first son is doomed to die. So, when a family wants to marry their daughter with Lee Hong Ki's coldhearted chaebol, they employ a girl who looks like their daughter to marry him in her place. They hope she will fulfill the curse and die so their real daughter can marry into money. But the heir and the stand-in, played by Yang Ji Sung, fall for each other. Fortunately, true love may be able to break the curse and thwart the evil plans of those who put money above all else.