'My Love From The Star' Fans From China Served Chicken And Beer, Treated To A Performance By Psy
When 6,500 employees of the Chinese cosmetics company Aolan International Beauty touched down in Seoul on Monday for a week-long company trip, they had already made history. The group was the largest ever to land in South Korea by plane.
The 4,500 of those cosmetics industry employees who are fans of the blockbuster South Korean drama "My Love From The Star," which ran for 21 episodes between 2013 and 2014, gathered for chicken and beer on Sunday night on Wolmi Island in Incheon, South Korea. The meal was a nod to the tradition "My Love From The Star" main character played by Jun Ji Hyun had of eating fried chicken and drinking beer.
"We asked each franchise in the city to cook 100 chicken sets and delivered them here by this morning," said Kim Ye Seul, a spokesman for event sponsor Ho Chicken, based in Incheon, told the Yonhap News Agency.
"We haven't spent much on marketing and thought this would be a really good opportunity to [get the word out about] our brand."
The "My Love From The Star"-themed event featured 1,500 "crispy chicken" orders, 1,500 barbecue chicken orders and hundreds of security personnel on hand, according to Lee Jae Sung, a tourism promotion team manager in Incheon's Jung-gu district.
"We have about 200 police officers and 150 civil servants mobilized in order to keep order and be ready for any security emergency," Lee said.
So what would be next for the vacationing Aolan staff to get the maximum Hallyu experience? A performance by YouTube sensation Psy, of course!
The K-pop icon, whose music videos have been seen more than any clip in the history of the Internet, performed for the tourist group in a private event on Wednesday night in Incheon, where they toured locations where "My Love From The Star" had been filmed, during the day. South Korean vocalist Chae Yeon, who like Psy has enjoyed tremendous fame in China, shared the bill with the rapper.
Liu Jiaqi from Aolan's Shanghai branch is having a blast on the corporate trip to South Korea.
"This is my first time being here and I am so excited to eat traditional and authentic Korean foods," she said. "People all smile and greet us warmly wherever we go."
Though, as the sun set in over the water at the Wolbi Island, looking down at the seemingly endless line of beer bottles and chicken bones, she tightened her jean jacket and did offered one minor complaint, almost as an afterthought.
"It would be more helpful to enjoy the event if the staff could speak Chinese," she said.
