Korean stars crossover to Chinese ent

Rather than bore you with a spiel on hallyu; here is a compilation of Koreans in Chinese films proving that the Korean wave is here to stay.

The trend reminds me of Hollywood stars shooting Japanese commercials and I bet they're paid handsomely too. Due to language barriers, actors usually run lines in Korean that is then dubbed in Chinese. 

#1 Lee Min Ho in Bounty Hunters 一諾千金 (premieres Jul 1, 2016). After City Hunter comes Bounty Hunter, a Chinese action flick led by Lee Min Ho, Wallace Chung and Tiffany Tang Yan (Princess Weiyoung). Both the romance and the bromance look promising in this one.

#2. Im Yoona from SNSD Girls Generation in God of War Zhao Yun 武神赵子龙 (2016). She is the sword wielding heroine to Zhao Yun played by Lin Gengxin.

#3 Kim Jeong Hoon from Princess Hours is also in God of War Zhao Yun. So Yoona can have a friend or two because I swear there is one other Korean actress also in the series.

#4 Park Min Young in Braveness of the Ming 锦衣夜行 (2016). Always stunning even in ancient garb.

#5 Park Chan Yeol from EXO in So I Married the Anti-Fan 所以，我和黑粉结婚了 (premieres Jun 30, 2016). A movie based on a Korean manhwa about a top star and his biggest anti-fan.

#6 SNSD Girls Generation Seohyun in So I Married the Anti-Fan as the hot and successful other woman that is bound to lose against Plain Jane.

#7 Lee Min Ho in One Line Romance 一线钟情 (2014). A cross-cultural drama where Lee Min Ho plays a Korean musical producer who meets an ordinary Chinese girl. Brought to us by LINE at 3 episodes and 16 minutes each, it's like a very long advertisement for the messaging app.

#8 Lee Jong Suk in Jade Lovers 翡翠恋人 (upcoming). From the producers of Diamond Lovers, comes Jade Lovers following a similar Cinderella story set in the 1930s. Lee Jong Suk stars opposite Zheng Shuang (Chronicle of Life).

#9 Rain in Diamond Lovers 克拉恋人 (2015). Rain Jung Ji Hoon's first foray into c-drama is in the form of a highly-accomplished executive who meets the ugly duckling played by Tiffany Tang Yan (Princess Weiyoung), that is until she gets a makeover. Rain lends his voice for the opening song, in Chinese!

He also ventured into his first c-movie For Love or Money (2014) where he stars opposite Crystal Liu Yi Fei.

#10 Kim Tae Hee in Famous Calligrapher Wang Xi Zhi 书圣王羲之 (upcoming). It is a 40-episode historical drama following the life of Wang Xi Zhi. Sadly, this is barely on anyone's radar, which is weird since it is Kim Tae Hee, begging the question as to why she took on such a nondescript project in the first place.

#11 Former Super Junior member Kim Ki Bum in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils 天龙八部 (2013) and Lucky Tianbao 吉祥天宝 (2016). Netizens are mixed about casting a foreigner into such an iconic role from one of the most popularized wuxia nonetheless. I actually liked him in this but it's a shame the series wasn't nearly as good. And then, he goes on to star opposite Zhao Li Ying, nice move.

#12 Choi Si Won from Super Junior in Dragon Blade 天将雄师 (2015). You won't often hear the names Jackie Chan, Adrien Brody, John Cusack and Choi Si Won together in a movie and a historical film at that. 

Choi Si Won is also in a number of other c-dramas and movies so it's no surprise that his popularity is skyrocketing in China.

#13 Nichkhun from 2PM in One And A Half Summer 一又二分之一的夏天 (2014). Why did I know that the title would have the word summer in it? Nichkhun has always had such a bright and sunny personality it kind of fits though.

#14 Lee Da Hae in Love Actually 爱的蜜方 (2012). With Joe Cheng (Chinese Paladin 5) and Li Yi Feng (Legend of Chusen) as the two leading men, who needs the plot.

#15 Jang Nara in My Bratty Princess 刁蛮公主 (2005). Did every k-actress back in the day partner up with Alec Su. First Chae Rim, then Jang Nara? Props to Jang Nara for her performance in My Bratty Princess, a quirky drama beloved by many to this day. She sang the opening too, in Chinese!

#16 Chae Rim in Warriors of the Yang Clan 杨门虎将 (2004). One of the first k-actresses to venture into the land of c-dramas.

#17 Cha In Pyo in one of the earlier c-drama adaptations of The Four 四大名捕会京师 (2004).

Given that You From Another Star and Descendants of the Sun has done wonders for Kim Soo Hyun and Song Joong Ki, catapulting them to top star status worldwide, I wonder if and when they will make the leap to c-ent. 

If you know any more, comment below and I'll add it whenever I can. For a couple more k-celeb crossovers that include Park Shin Hye, Choi Si Won and Goo Hye Sun, click here.

First Look: God of War Zhao Yun

Oh God of War Zhao Yun 武神趙子龍, if you only knew how inclined I was to like you. Hint: SNSD's Girls and Peace Concert... I was there, but Yoona or no Yoona, you turned out to be such a tease.

Episode 1 begins with a standard voice over so often used in period dramas to introduce the era. The Han dynasty has reached the end of its life and the king commands Zhao An (Yu Rong Guang) and Li Quan (Zou Zhao Long) to protect the Qing Gang Sword and the Heavenly Sword. 

Hungry for power, Dong Zhuo seizes control of the capital while his subordinate Lu Bu (Godfrey Gao) thwarts any attempts against him. His first order of business as king is to reclaim the legendary swords in hopes of bringing legitimacy to his throne.

Back in Zhao An's hometown, his son Zhao Zi Long (Lin Gengxin) enjoys a day of poems and playful conversation with friends. 

One of them gets captured by Dong Zhuo's men and a fight breaks out, leading to the double suicide of Zi Long's parents accompanied by some cringeworthy dialogue along the lines of "Nooo, I'm not leaving you... thud." Thus commences Zhao Zi Long's fateful journey to become an iron masked hero, thanks to the show's fetish for ugly masks.

First Impressions: God of War Zhao Yun retains the qualities of an old school wuxia from the cake face makeup akin to Chinese opera to the flying action scenes and the quintessential young apprentice who embodies all that is just and noble. However, rather than euphoric nostalgia, comes an unexpected disappointment.

Maybe the budget was used up on casting, after all, it must cost an arm and a leg to bring together Im Yoona, Lin Gengxin, Gu Li Na Zha and Godfrey Gao, what more when adding veteran martial artists Yu Rong Guang and Zou Zhao Long to the mix.

Unfortunately, the prettiness does not excuse the poorly edited scenes that look like a photoshop job gone wrong. For anyone who has seen City of Devastating Love, the CGI tiger makes a comeback, albeit unwarranted. 

Costumes are a hit or miss inasmuch as Gu Li Na Zha is stunning in ancient garb, Godfrey Gao dons a glorious mess of red, gold and purple topped with a little fur ball.

There are also odd-looking masks, plastic props that don't belong and crazy color combinations that scream for attention, which is weird for me to say because I love this genre and its clothes. Lin Gengxin's white robe above, that's classic wuxia.

For what it's worth, my incessant nitpicking seems overly superficial and even though I didn't like the over-the-top acting nor did I connect with the characters, the story of the Three Kingdoms is one that is so complex, engaging and riveting that is too tempting to miss.

The drama is doing really well ratings-wise, which is no surprise given the hype. Nirvana in Fire didn't do as well but word of its awesomeness traveled far and wide so only time will tell whether God of War fares otherwise. In case you were wondering, Yoona appears on episode 2. Eng subs available in Viki.

For synopsis, cast and ratings, see 2016 c-drama listing.

God of War Zhao Yun

There's too much good stuff to watch that I would've been overwhelmed if not for the limits imposed on broadcasting historical dramas. The end result is a long list of Chinese dramas waiting on the sidelines for an air date, one of which is God of War Zhao Yun 武神赵子龙 aka Wu Shen Zhao Zi Long whose filming ended back in May 2015. 

God of War Zhao Yun is a Chinese drama that boasts a collaboration between international artists. It tells the tale of Zhao Yun, one of Liu Bei's loyal generals during the Three Kingdoms era. It's no secret that I like c-dramas and k-dramas so this is kind of the best of both worlds also made more meaningful because it focuses on the Three Kingdoms era, a piece of history that is relevant to Chinese and Korean culture.

Lin Geng Xin 林更新 (14th prince in Scarlet Heart) stars as the courageous warrior Zhao Yun opposite none other than SNSD Girls Generation Im Yoona 林允儿. Wow, it's quite a pointless observation but I just noticed the two leads have the same surname. Gu Li Na Zha (Chinese Paladin 5), Godfrey Gao and Kim Jeong Hoon (the other prince in Princess Hours) also join the cast as supporting characters. Watch with eng subs on Viki.

For synopsis, cast and other info, check out my 2016 Chinese wuxia recommendations.

Source: 3Lian, Viki