Gu Hye Sun's next project will be a Chinese drama. Gu will play the wife of a Chinese film magnate Run Run Shaw in the drama "The Legendary Tycoon."
The news that she was considering the role first surfaced in September but her management finally confirmed her casting on November 6, the same day she left for Hengdian, in eastern China to start filming. She is expected to spend the next three months in China, working on the drama, returning to Korea only for her first concert on November 21.
The drama will focus on the life of the film industry tycoon Run Run Shaw, who founded Shaw Brothers Film Studios in the 1960s. The media mogul popularized Chinese Kung Fu movies in the west and worked in the entertainment industry for 80 years. Known as The King Of Asian Entertainment, Shaw died in 2014 at the age of 107.
The legendary tycoon will be portrayed by actor Zhang Han, known for his roles in the dramas "Let's Watch The Meteor Star," "Fairy Tale" and "Braveness of the Ming."
Gu will play only one of the women who were important in Run Run Shaw's life. The other women will be played by Taiwanese stars Guo Zi Qian and Chen Qiao En, and the Chinese actress Song Yi.
Gu Hye Sun has worked in China before. In 2012 she appeared in the drama "Absolute Darling," with Taiwanese actor Wu Chan. That drama was produced by Huace Media, which is also producing "The Legendary Tycoon." One of the reasons that Huace Media reportedly cast Gu Hye Sun is because of her ability to cope with the language barrier.
It doesn't hurt that she has been popular in China since she first appeared in "Boys Over Flowers" with Lee Min Ho. Gu Hye Sun's last k-dramas were "Blood" with Ahn Jae Hyun and "Angel Eyes" with Lee Sang Yoon. The vampire drama was so popular in China that Gu's previously released self-composed piano piece, "Rain," topped China's QQ music chart in April 2015, six years after it was originally released.
