Park Hae Jin's Chinese drama "Far Away Love" was filmed in 2013 but will only air for the first time this March.
The actor currently stars in the drama "Cheese in the Trap," which is very popular in China. The drama reached first place on China's Weibo Drama Popularity Chart during its fifth episode, attracting 350 million views. The next day, it had 400 million views.
But then just about every k-drama the actor does is likely to be a hit in China. Partly because of his participation, "Cheese in the Trap" was sold to China's largest video websites, Youku and Tudou, for $2 million, the highest price in the history of Korean cable drama exports, reported the Korean media outlet Korea Times. The second priciest was his drama 'Bad Guys."
The actor has been popular in China since he appeared in the 2006 k-drama "Famous Chil Princesses," then his popularity grew with his role in "East of Eden." His popularity skyrocketed after his roles in "My Daughter Seo Young," "You Who Came From Another Star," and "Doctor Stranger."
And it is not just k-dramas that have cemented the actor's popularity in China. He also appeared in a few Chinese dramas including "Qian Duo Duo Gets Married" and "Another Brilliant Life." " His 2011 Chinese drama "Qian Duo Duo's Marriage Story" had 270 million views in a week and 1.5 billion in two weeks. For that drama Park earned the LeTV Biggest Asian Star Award.
The first episode of "Far Away Love" airs on Guangdong TV and Southeast TV on March 1. In that drama Park plays a restaurant owner who falls in love with the sister of his first love.
Why did the drama take so long to air? One reason might be censorship. Chinese dramas are heavily censored and that's one reason many Korean dramas are being produced in advance. If Chinese censors can screen them in advance, they are more likely to be shown simultaneously in Korea and China.
"Far Away Love," aka "Love's Relativity," however was a Chinese drama. A more likely explanation may be that the success of Park's current drama influenced the decision to finally air the romantic comedy in March.
