More than a month has passed since Descendants of the Sun officially concluded, yet it is still one of the most-popular K-dramas still talked about presently. The drama series, produced by the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), was extremely ambitious, as the risk to create it was monumentally high. Ultimately, Descendants of the Sun not only paid back what was put into it, but paid even more. Its average viewership rating within the Seoul National Capital Area was 41 percent while the nation of South Korea was at about 37 percent. As a matter of fact, Descendants of the Sun was so popular, KBS ordered a three-part special , which featured an epilogue after the finale, to be aired right after the series concluded.
It should also be noted that Descendants of the Sun was not only popular in South Korea, but among the international K-drama fan base, especially in China. To understand how popular the series was, there have been over 400 million views on iQiyi , a video streaming site which streamed Descendants of the Sun , as reported by CNBC . With that in mind, it was a huge event for Chinese K-drama fans when Song Joong Ki, the male lead of the drama, who played Captain Yoo Si Jin, had a fan meeting set for those fans. Fortunately for them, they got more than they asked for as Song Hye Kyo, the female lead, who played Doctor Kang Mo Yeon, made a surprise visit to join Joong Ki.
Song Joong Ki had a fan meeting in Chinaset on Friday, June 17, as reported by Korean news outlet Naver. It was made to show appreciation to the Chinese fans of Descendants of the Sunin which they are responsible for most of the drama’s foreign (to South Korea) or international profit for the series, the cast and crew, and of course KBS. It was also probably made as a means for Joong Ki to establish a more personal connection with his Chinese fan base, and quite possibly promote any Chinese CF contracts too.
While Song Joong Ki was enjoying his time with his fans, he was suddenly met with Song Hye Kyo, who came out wearing a white shirt and denim shorts. She introduced herself in Chinese before talking about her co-star on Descendants of the Sun.
“I had a sense of Song Joong Ki’s popularity through the internet and news articles, but actually coming here and seeing this for myself makes me feel happier and more nervous than him.”
Apparently, the excellent fan reception was met positively because the Chinese Descendants of the Sun fans got to see both Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo together. Joong Ki joked that during his last fan meeting, it wasn’t as welcoming because he came along with Lee Kwang Soo, the Running Man cast member who had a cameo part in the first episode. Also, it is assumed Hye Kyo appeared at a Chinese fan meeting by what Joong Ki states.
“The reaction wasn’t this welcoming when I was here with Kwangsoo last week. This is the first time seeing Song Hye Kyo in China. You’re really pretty.”
According to Soompi , Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo did other various things during the Chinese fan meeting . This includes playing mini-games, hosting mini-talk shows, and providing fan service such as “gazing into each others’ eyes.”
Descendants of the Sun was a very popular 2016 K-drama which concluded back in April. The entire series can be viewed for free with ads, pending region, on both DramaFever and Viki .
[Image via Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) Promotions for Descendants of the Sun ]