A report has come out that Japan’s attitude toward Hyun Bin, one of Korea’s top Hallyu stars, has changed. Though the changes have only been subtle, it’s said that the actor is getting “overlooked” for playing An Jung Geun in the new movie Harbin (literal title).
On Thursday, an official from a mid-level agency said, “Hyun Bin’s popularity soared with the drama Crash Landing on You, which set a new record in Japan, but a strange movement has been detected (in the Japanese entertainment industry) since about a month ago.” Their statement is that many Japanese agencies after Hyun Bin’s fan meeting have changed their position, claiming that demands for the event have decreased.
Another official who organized Cha Seung Won and Kim Nam Gil‘s Japanese fan meeting also added, “Last October, I offered Hyun Bin’s agency a project with a budget of 1 billion won (about $770,000) that includes a fan meeting and publishing of a photobook and have been waiting for their answer. But I was suddenly asked by the Japanese agencies to choose a different actor for the project.”
There have been many cultural conflicts between Korea and Japan over what happened in history. Singer Lee Seung Chul was denied entry to the country after holding a concert praying for Korea’s unification in Dokdo. He isn’t the only one – Song Il Kook, Lee Soo Geun, and Kim Jang Hoon have also experienced disadvantages in promoting in Japan.
Meanwhile, Hyun Bin’s new movie Harbin is the new film by Inside Men and The Man Standing Next director Woo Min Ho. It is an espionage action flick about An Jung Geun’s assassination of Ito Hirobumi, the mastermind behind the invasion of Joseon, at the Harbin Station in 1909.
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