Chapter 289 Arrival in Korea
【Two evening updates】
Incheon International Airport.
"Brother Kun, hello, I am your fan."
"Director Xu, hello, I'm your fan."
"Hello, Director Xu..."
"Hey hey hey~"
In a corner of the VIP waiting room, Han Geng was pondering over what tone to use when he met Director Xu later, when Kim Heechul patted him hard on the shoulder several times.
Han Geng turned his head and saw Kim Heechul pointing excitedly in front of him and said, "Look, look, it's CJ's President Lee Mikyung. Oh~ She really has a three-star face..."
Although Kim Heechul's voice was already very low, Han Geng still quickly covered his mouth.
"Ashi, do you want to die?!"
Han Geng's palms were sweating from nervousness. Lee Mi-kyung's father was the first prince of Samsung Group, but was later kicked out of the house because of his lack of ability.
Later, Lee Mi-kyung, her mother and her younger brother founded the CJ Group, which is currently only second-rate in other aspects, but it controls one of the largest cinema chains in South Korea.
Therefore, CJ is stronger than SM, the company where Han Geng works, both in terms of its own power and the power behind it.
After Han Geng made his debut at the end of last year, he was discriminated against because of his Chinese identity and was even summoned by the police for "illegal work."
So much so that when he performs outside of South Korea's three major TV stations, he can only wear a mask and a hood on stage. As for being a radio host, acting in TV dramas, etc., forget it.
This time, because of his identity, he was sent by SM to act as a translator and receptionist, which is considered Han Geng's most "high-profile" activity in recent times.
If I screw up...
Thinking of this, he regretted that he could not resist Kim Heechul's request and brought him to the airport to pick him up.
But who could have imagined that CJ's President Lee Mi-kyung would come to pick him up in person?
Of course, the strangest thing is that SM sent me here as a translator - it was clear that Director Xu's visit to Korea had nothing to do with SM.
Although I am the only Chinese artist in Korea, there are a lot of international students, and there are also many Korean translators who specialize in learning Chinese...
At this time, Kim Heechul sighed again, "I know that "The Overbearing Chaebol Loves Me" is very popular recently, and even the heirs have cut their hair like chaebols, but even President Lee Mi-kyung came to pick her up in person, this is too... really a big trend!"
Han Geng glanced at Li Meijing who was standing in the center of the crowd and whispered, "The TV series is only one aspect. The main reason should be that Director Xu's movie sold well in China. It cost about 15 billion won, and the number of viewers in the end exceeded 800 million."
"Ai Mo?!"
Kim Heechul's eyes widened: "Isn't that as good as Welcome to Dongmok Village?!"
"Welcome to Dongmok Village" was the box office champion in South Korea last year, with more than 800 million viewers.
"Not only that, Director Xu also wrote, directed, and acted in the film himself."
At this time, Han Geng was somewhat fortunate that South Korea likes to count the number of moviegoers instead of directly reporting the box office. Otherwise, with the same 800 million moviegoers, the total box office in South Korea might be 3 or 4 times higher.
"Oh, what a great trend!"
Kim Heechul was more and more amazed. The discrimination chain in the Korean entertainment industry is still very strong these days. At the bottom are idols and variety show hosts like them, and above them are singers and hosts, and then TV actors and movie actors...
As for the directors and screenwriters who have produced box office hits, they are even more out of reach for the idols.
After sighing, Kim Heechul shook Han Geng's arm and said, "Then you must seize this opportunity. If you can star in his movie, then SJ will be really popular!"
Han Geng nodded silently, but what he was thinking in his heart was, if I could really seize this opportunity and star in Director Xu's movie, then why would I stay in Korea and be discriminated against?
Although he didn't say anything about having to perform with a mask on, he was actually very angry.
If I could take this opportunity to escape from the fire pit of Korean entertainment...
With this in mind, Han Geng began to concentrate on how he could get closer to Director Xu when they met.
About a quarter of an hour passed.
The VIP lounge suddenly became noisy, and then a man with a chaebol hairstyle shouted, "Translator, translator, ah, where's the translator?!" Han Geng hurried over and bowed, "I'm so sorry!"
Facing Han Geng's apology, the middle-aged man arrogantly scolded: "The two distinguished guests are about to arrive. What are you doing hiding aside? Hurry up and stand in front!"
Han Geng quickly said sorry again, then he carefully straightened up and stood sideways in front of Li Meijing.
He took a deep breath and made up his mind to approach Director Xu as a fan.
Fortunately, Director Xu has only participated in two films in total. He has been cramming for the past few days. I can't say that he knows them by heart, but he has memorized every classic shot.
Especially Director Xu's performance in "Blind Shaft". Although Director Xu became famous for "Lost on Journey", Han Geng still feels that the role of Tang Chaoyang he played when he first debuted was more outstanding.
A moment later, following the announcement in the terminal hall, a group of people emerged into the VIP channel. Leading the group were Xu Kun, who walked with great agility, and a thin man wearing wide-rimmed glasses.
Li Meijing smiled and walked towards him with big strides.
Han Geng also quickly leaned sideways and followed like a crab.
After the two sides met up, Han Geng was about to introduce the airport pick-up personnel to Xu Kun according to the steps that had been rehearsed in advance.
But then Li Meijing stretched out her hand and said in Mandarin that was not quite standard but clear enough: "Vice President Chen Guo, welcome to Korea - I am Li Meijing, the president of CJEM."
Han Geng was immediately at a loss.
Then Li Meijing shook hands with Xu Kun again and took the initiative to say: "Mr. Xu, I am your loyal fan. Your performance in Blind Shaft deserves the Golden Horse Best Newcomer Award more than your friend Wang Baoqiang - especially the last shot in the tunnel, where you were about to kill someone, which left a deep impression on me."
These are all my words!
Han Geng was completely confused. Who am I, where am I, and what am I here for?
Xu Kun complimented gracefully: "President Li, your Chinese is really good. If we had known that we could hear such authentic Mandarin in Korea, we would not have brought a translator."
"Haha, I studied at Fudan University when I was young."
Li Meijing smiled and pointed at Han Geng: "Translation is still necessary. This is Han Geng, a Chinese artist who debuted in Korea. With him as a guide, I believe you two will be able to better appreciate the customs and culture of Korea."
Xu Kun was not surprised by the enthusiasm shown by CJ.
Because long before coming to Korea, he and Chen Guofu and others had guessed that Koreans were not only interested in movies, but also more interested in their own "fan economy".
After all, the Korean entertainment industry has been wanting to fully import Hallyu to China for a long time. Korean entertainment companies with a little ambition have opened branches or offices in the mainland in the past two years.
The foundation of Korean Wave is fan economy.
Now that Xu Kun has become very popular in China thanks to the fan economy, he has naturally attracted the attention of the Korean entertainment industry.
As for this Han Geng...
I have a vague impression of Xu Kun, but I don't remember what he did specifically.
In comparison, he is more familiar with the story of a certain toothpick.
Accompanied by Li Meijing, Xu Kun and Chen Guofu checked into a five-star hotel in Seoul, and then the three of them had lunch together.
In the afternoon, Xu Kun and Deputy Director Chen Guo started to act separately. Deputy Director Chen Guo was mainly responsible for inspecting Korean special effects companies, while Xu Kun, accompanied by CJ Group staff and Han Geng, went to KBS TV station to record a promotional program.
The program is called "Entertainment Agent". The male host is a small-eyed man with a strange figure, named Jin Jidong. He can speak Chinese, although his fluency is not as good as Lee Mi-kyung's, but he has a deeper understanding of many Chinese cultural allusions than Lee Mi-kyung.
Every time he asked Xu Kun a question, Jin Jidong would first answer it in Korean and then in Chinese, while Xu Kun would answer it first and then Han Geng would translate it.
Although it was quite strenuous, the interview atmosphere was good.
The first half mainly interviewed Xu Kun about his experience in the domestic entertainment industry. The middle part began to compare the differences between the Chinese and Korean entertainment industries. At the end, it suddenly turned to the topic of the China-Japan-Korea Free Trade Zone.
Does this have anything to do with the entertainment industry?
Fortunately, Xu Kun was usually quite interested in current affairs news, so he did not show any timidity during the interview.
After finishing the show and coming out of the studio, I saw a staff member from CJ Company arguing with someone using gestures with a middle-aged man who had a 'chaebol hair' - the same textured side-back hair as Meng Hao.
Xu Kun was just wondering what was going on when he heard Han Geng exclaim, "Hey, it's President Lee Soo Man?!"
(End of this chapter)
