"The Legend of the Blue Sea" stars Lee Min-Ho and Jun Ji-Hyun continue to make great wavelengths in the entertainment industry. The two Hallyu stars topped the charts for brand power among actors in November.
On Nov. 19, Saturday, the Korea Business Research Institute released their findings regarding the brand reputation rankings in the actors' category. The results were determined based on data gathered from Oct. 17 to Nov 18.
Jun came in first place with a total brand reputation index score of 5,929,440 points, while Lee nabbed the second spot with 3,477,884 points, Soompi reported. Following them are the "Sweet Stranger and Me" lead actors Soo Ae and Kim Young Kwang in the third and fourth place, respectively.
"Running Man" heroine Song Ji-Hyo came in fifth place, while actors Yoo Yeon-Seok and Lim Ji-Yeon are in the sixth and seventh spot. Han Suk Kyu, who currently plays Teacher Kim in "Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim," came in eighth place along with Lee Sun-Gyun and Oh Ji-Ho on the ninth and tenth spot, respectively.
It is said that Jun and Lee reached the top spot in the brand reputation chart due to the immense popularity of "The Legend of the Blue Sea" at home and abroad. The SBS drama kicked off its run on Nov. 16 with impressive national TV ratings of 16.4 percent.
However, the SBS drama, which marks Jun and Lee's small-screen comeback, experienced harsh criticism from fans for blatantly copying certain elements from the British television series "Sherlock," All Kpop reported. The scene being referred to showed Heo Joon-Jae (Lee) interpreting a man's intention by thoroughly examining its body movements. As he assesses each body part, a small overlay text then appears on the screen.
"The Legend of the Blue Sea" airs every Wednesday and Thursday at 10:00 PM (KST). Watch the first episode here: