'Hwarang: The Beginning' starring Park Seo-Joon, Go Ara will air in China despite THAAD

KBS 2TV's "Hwarang: The Beginning" has not been affected by the rising political strain between China and South Korea over the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile. The upcoming period drama star Park Seo-Joon, Go Ara, Park Hyung-Sik, and Choi Min-Ho.

On Sept. 1, Thursday, a source from KBS 2TV's "Hwarang: The Beginning" revealed to Soompi that the upcoming pre-produced drama has officially finished filming. It is said that the actors had a difficult time filming due to the intense summer weather.

The source then revealed that the 20-episode period drama will be broadcast in China with no issues. It added, "We plan on going to China this month to discuss broadcasting. The drama will air in December as planned."

Although no release date has been set yet, the network is looking at Dec. 19 as the tentative date for the drama's premiere. The drama is directed by Yoon Sung-Sik based on a script penned by Park Eun-Yeong.

"Hwarang: The Beginning" depicts the story of an elite group of young-privileged warriors, dubbed Flower Knights, who grows through passion and love during their stay in the Kingdom of Silla (57 BC). Other stars include Do Ji-Han, Jo Yoon-Woo, V, Kim Ji-Su, Seo Ye-Ji, Choi Won-Young, Yoo Jae-Myung, Kim Chang-Wan and Kim Kwang-Kyu.

The news came a month after South Korea decided to deploy the United States-made THAAD missiles. Hence, China's General Office of Broadcasting and Television had banned Korean superstars from having activities in the country, as well as the airing of Korean TV shows, Variety reported.

As a major aspect of the reprisal measures, Chinese-Korean co-productions are also restricted. It is said that various Korean companies claimed that their respective partners in China had been given verbal instructions from the country's Film Bureau that the planned co-productions would not be approved.

Check out KBS 2TV's "Hwarang: The Beginning" below: