Gong Yoo attends the 'Train To Busan' photocall during the Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2016 in France. (Photo : Getty Images/Andreas Rentz)
The popularity of the South Korean actor Song Joong Ki has been in high gear since the release of the hit KBS drama "Descendants of the Sun." However, a latest report that ranked the brand value of Korean celebrities has named "Train to Busan" cast member Gong Yoo as its top star, while Song landed on the third spot.
The analysis on the brand or reputation value among South Korea's famous celebrities was conducted by the Korea Institute of Corporate Reputation. The research institute has recently released its August brand value index that covers the period from July 11 until Aug. 12, allkpop reported. Among the 21 Korean stars on the list, Gong has been identified as the actor with the highest brand worth for the said period.
Gong, who rose to stardom in the popular gender bender drama "Coffee Prince," has accumulated a brand score of 7,718,734. The said number consists of the actor's combined points in four categories identified by the institute. The research firm has collated various consumer data to measure a Korean star's brand power through the areas of communication, media, participation and community activities.
For the month of August, the "Big" actor garnered a media index of 386,213 while his participation index level was at 2,242,000. On the other hand, Gong's communication and community indexes were at 1,223,739 and 3,866,782, respectively.
Meanwhile, the "Descendants of the Sun" male lead landed on the research institute's top three list, as indicated in the same report. Song nabbed the third spot with a brand score of 4,648,733. On the other hand, the actor that came at second place was "The Tunnel" star Ha Jung Woo.
In other news, Gong will soon make his drama comeback in the upcoming tvN series "Goblin." The fantasy drama features the story of an immortal goblin, an angel of death and the two characters' unlikely friendship. Gong has been slated to play the role of the goblin alongside Lee Dong Wook who will portray the angel of death.
However, tvN has announced in early August that it has pushed back the drama's launch date to December, Soompi reported. Gong and Lee's new series was initially slated for release either in October or early November. However, tvN explained that the premiere schedule may change "depending on the schedule for 'K2' which is airing before it."
Relive some of the sweet and funny moments in Gong's "Big" drama below:
