Japan’s Hallyu Royalty Status Remains Unchanged

It’s no surprise that Choi Ji Woo and Bae Yong Joon are still Japans reigning Hallyu Royalty. After the premiere of Winter Sonata in Korea, Japan caught wind and a Hallyu King and Queen were crowned. Surprisingly, even after the onslaught of rising stars and handfuls of rivals the two have continued to retain their titles. This really is no surprise seeing the popularity of their drama and the chemistry of the two onscreen. This personally has been one of my first and absolute favorite dramas! I’m not surprised they continue to hold these titles, since they keep on churning out amazing pieces of work.

Most recently Nikkei Entertainment a Japanese mag set up a study about “Hallyu Ranking Star”. From August to September they conducted a survey of 300 women age ranges 15-59. Results were posted in the October addition, Choi Ji Woo reigned supreme. She took the titles of “Most Popular” and ” Most Recognizable“, from what sources say is one of Japans most credible news publications.

She beat out other contenders : Yoon Son Ha(#2), Kim Tae Hee(#3), Lee Young Ae(#4) with the fifth being Yoon Eun Hye.

The reponse to Her awards were relayed by her agency, “As one of the pioneer Hallyu stars, Choi Ji Woo is receiving many presents and support from both local fans as well as overseas fans from many countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, USA and Canada.”

As for the males in this catagory, Bae Yong Joon continued to hold onto his status for “Most Recognizable”.Lee Byung Hun came in a close second and thirdly was newcomer Jang Geun Suk. Although Geun Suk held onto the “Most Popular” title. He was followed by Lee Byung Hun and My personal favorite Won Bin.

Interestingly enough, the most recognizable stars even appeared in an anime movie. “Atashinchi The 3D Movie” (2010)

Also Most popular Geun Suk from may to june 2011 has been featured on a women’s mag 3 times continually! I’ll share with you the top 10/top 30 female and male star lists below.

Awareness Ranking (Name and face of Hallyu stars that readers know the most:

Top 10 Female / Male stars

01.Choi Ji Woo / Bae Yong Joon
02.Yoon Son Ha / Lee Byung Hun
03.Kim Tae Hee / Jang Geun Suk
04.Lee Young Ae / Jang Dong Gun
05.Yoon Eun Hye / Won Bin
06.Lee Young Ah / Ryu Si Won
07.Moon Geun Young / Kwon Sang Woo
08.Yoona(SNSD) / Max Changmin(TVXQ/DBSK)
09.Song Hye Kyo /　U-Know Yunho(TVXQ/DBSK)
10.Shin Min Ah / Song Seung Hun

Popularity Ranking (Hallyu stars who are most popular)

Top 30 Female / Male

01. Choi Ji Woo / Jang Geun Suk
02. Yoon Son Ah / Lee Byung Hun
03. Kim Tae Hee / Won Bin
04. Lee Yong Ae / Kwon Sang Woo
05. Yoon Eun Hye / Bae Yong Joon
06. Song Hye Kyo / Jang Dong Gun
07. Moon Geun Young / Lee Hong Gi (FT Island)
08. Lee Young Ah / Ryu Si Won
09. Ha Ji Won / Hyun Bin
10. Chae Rim / Song Seung Hun
11. Lee Ji A / Max Changmin (TVXQ/DBSK)
12. Shin Min Ah / Kim Hyun Joong
13. Park Shin Hye / Gong Yoo
14. Koo Hye Sun / Kang Dong Won
15. Son Ye Jin / Ji Sung
16. Han Hyo Joo / Park Si Hoo
17. Bae Doo Na / U-Know Younho (TVXQ/DBSK)
18. Kim Jung Eun / Jung Yong Ha(CNBLUE)
19. Gong Hyo Jin / So Ji Sub
20. Yoona(SNSD) / Ji Jin Hee
21. Lee Da Hye / Jung Ji Hoon (Rain)
22. Eugene / Lee Seo Jin
23. Lee So Yeon / Kim Bum
24. Kim So Hyun / Lee Joon Ki
25. Soo Ae / Joo Ji Hoon
26. Han Ji Hye / Jung Woo Sung
27. Park Min Young / Jung Joon Ho
28. Kim Nam Joo / Oh Ji Ho
29. Jun Ji Hyun / Lee Seung Gi
30. Jang Na Ra / Kim Jae Joong(JYJ)
30. Park Soo Jin / Choi Seung Hyun(Big Bang)

I agree with a lot of these rankings! How about you guys?

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