“Descendants of the Sun” actor Song Joong-ki just established an audience record for his Beijing fan meet on Saturday as 11 million Chinese watched the 30-year-old actor interact with his fans. That number was made possible with the live broadcast by iQiyi and Weibo.
The actual live audience at the Olympics Sports Center Gymnasium was around 5,000 fans who paid scalpers as much as 6,800 yuan ($1,040) for a ticket which had a normal price of 1,080 yuan ($165). It was not just the fan meet where scalpers enjoyed a windfall but also Friday’s press conference where tickets sold in the morning at 1,500 yuan ($165) and 800 yuan ($122) in the afternoon.
Nevertheless, whether the fans paid inflated ticket prices or watched it via video streaming, Song Jong-ki and his guest wowed the Chinese audience with his Chinese language skills. Even during the press conference, the Hallyu actor greeted the fans in their native tongue, saying, “Hello, everyone. I am Song Joong Ki. I am happy to be here with you guys today.”
During the fan meet, he sang “Long Time No See” in Chinese language. Song Joong-ki explained his ability to speak Chinese language to his brother studying in Beijing for eight years and being influenced also to learn the foreign tongue.
Together with surprise guest, fellow Korean actor Park Bo Gum, the two performed “A Little Girl” from “Reply 1988” with Song Joong-ki on the vocals and Park Bo Gum playing the piano.
He ended the fan meet by reading a letter saying thank you to his fans in China where he is now the most popular actor.