Will Lee Min Ho Spend More Time In China?

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Lee Min Ho
Lee Hongki
Kim Soo Hyun
Kim Tae Hee
Song Hye Kyo
Gangnam Blues

Lee Min Ho is in high demand in China. Chinese fans just can't see to get enough of the popular actor after his hit series "The Heirs."

If fans thought that that China's interest in the actor peaked when he became the first Korean star to appear on China's CCTV "Spring Holiday Celebration," they were wrong. He was recently chosen as the most wanted star to appear on a Chinese television show.

The mobile site Tencent said that Lee Min Ho earned 29 percent of the vote with 130,864 people voting for him. In second place is FT Island singer and actor Lee Hongki, whose most recent drama "Bride of the Century" was a hit in China. He earned about 100,000 votes.

According to Chinese media, Lee Min Ho has become the face of the Hallyu in China and his fans are eager to see him on television again. And it's rumored that he may soon return to film another program.

His dramas "Boys Over Flowers" and "City Hunter" were already hits there but his appearance as the reluctant heir Kim Tan in "The Heirs" propelled his stardom even further.

When he recently filmed the Mobile Messenger Line mini-drama "One Line Love," it hit 20 million views even though it was only a three-part 15-minute advertisement. If it were up to his Chinese fans, Lee Min Ho would just move to China.

Fans are so enthusiastic when he goes to China he is mobbed at the airport and finds it difficult to leave his room. But his fans' enthusiasm has also shown positive results in China.

Minoz fans plan to build libraries in poor areas of China. His fans also donated money to UNICEF and sent rescue supplies to earthquake victims in China's Ya'an province. They provided free lunches for poor children and helped build clean water wells.

Lee Min Ho said he is genuinely touched by his fans efforts on his behalf.

The actor is currently in Korea filming "Gangnam Blues," which takes place during the 1970s and concerns the land grab for the yet-to-be-developed Gangnam area of Seoul. Political powers and gangsters face off in an attempt to acquire the real estate. Lee Min Ho will play the leading role.

Lee Min Ho and Lee Hongki are not the only Hallyu stars in demand in China. Kim Soo Hyun, Jun Ji Hyun, Lee Jong Suk, Park Yoochun and Jang Geun Suk are also very popular there. More Hallyu stars are being cast in Chinese productions. Kim Tae Hee will appear in a 40-episode Chinese drama about a famed calligrapher. Song Hye Kyo appeared in John Woo's film "The Crossing."

Some have called this recent surge in popularity the "second Hallyu wave."

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