Girls' Generation Yoona makes waves in China with role in Chinese drama

SEOUL (KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Girls' Generation member Yoona is garnering attention in China with Hunan TV's God Of War, Zhao Yun, SM Entertainment said.

The 60-episode TV drama series God Of War, Zhao Yun is Yoona's first foray into Chinese TV dramas.

It had a 1.73 per cent viewership rating for its first episode aired on April 3.

In China, a viewership rating of 1 per cent or more is considered high and proves the programme's popularity.

The drama series also had a total of 2.35 billion views on Chinese video streaming websites including iQIYI, Tencent, Sohu, and Mango TV.

Lately, it also recorded 260 million daily hits, said the agency.

The drama, based on the Chinese historical novel Romance Of The Three Kingdoms, depicts the story of Chinese hero Zhao Yun, set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty.

Yoona plays the female lead Xiahou Qing Yi, who loves Zhao but becomes confused after learning that he killed her father.

Meanwhile, she topped a list of popular celebrities in China on April 6, defeating Song Joong Ki who was recently in the KBS2 hit TV drama series Descendants Of The Sun.

The list was by Chinese entertainment data analysis and consulting company Vlinkage.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.