In a survey regarding the newest Hallyu trends, Chinese netizens chose actor Kim Soohyun as their favorite thing about Korea, along with the famous fashion district Dongdaemun and Korea's traditional snack food gimbap, Kpop Herald reports.
The survey was a joint project by the state-run Korea Tourism Organization and the Chinese online portal Baidu.
According to the results of the survey, Kim Soohyun topped the list of the Chinese netizens' favorite Korean celebrities. The actor rose to international fame after starring in the hit SBS drama "You Who Came From The Stars," which was aired in different Asian countries and received numerous awards and recognitions.
In previous post by MSN Philippines, it was reported that Kim has since taken as many as 35 endorsements in China.
Meanwhile, in another report, it was claimed that the one-year modeling fee of the actor is expected to double in a year due to his growing popularity in Asia. The same is true with another Hallyu star, Lee Minho, who starred in the hit series "The Heirs."
Earlier this year, Kim and Lee reportedly received about 2 billion won ($1.8 million) each. This was a two-year contract for a single brand. However, less than a year after, the respective management agencies of the two actor-models are planning to raise their one-year modeling fees to about 2 billion won each.
According to the report, the contract fees are said to be the biggest ever received by Korean celebrities.
Back on the Hallyu trends survey results, the famous Korean traditional snack food "gimbap" was the most common food-related word typed by netizens in the search bars. Other Korean food on the list include "kimchi," "dolsot bibimbap," "bulgogi," "tteokbokki," "budae jjigae" and "naengmyeon."
Also, the survey found out that Chinese women aged 20 to 30 were the most interested in visiting Korea. Their most common itinerary when travelling to Korea turned out to be shopping districts Dongdaemun and Myeong-dong.
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