Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

Kim Min-jun, the bespectacled man he met at the airport, was also in this movie theater. At that moment, he looked at the stunningly beautiful woman under the stage lights and was deeply moved by the atmosphere. Suddenly, tears streamed down his face.

"This is the Holy Maiden!"

The female companion asked in confusion, "What?"

Kim Min-jun's lips trembled: "She, Fan Bingbing, is a saint!"

The female companion felt that the department manager she usually admired was sick, and seriously so. How could someone as elite as him be like those middle school students who are obsessed with celebrities?

Actually, this is the core reason why South Korea can mass-produce idols: it has a large number of fans who are willing to support them and make sacrifices. This is the fertile ground for their success.

The reason this environment exists is due to the extreme involution and repression within South Korean society.

The Hengshui High School model is extreme enough, but it's nothing compared to what you see in South Korea. Over 80% of South Korean high school students regularly receive "smart injections," which are essentially stimulants and placebos. After taking them, they only need to sleep four hours a day, and then they can focus on studying. South Korean students love to copy notes and textbooks... that's what they do after taking the injections.

After studying hard for your studies, congratulations! The workplace is even more stressful because, in addition to competition, it also emphasizes hierarchy and rules...

Therefore, South Korea's entertainment industry is highly developed, the Han River contains excessive amounts of Viagra, and idols are popular... Of course, cults are even more prevalent, after all, people always need to find a spiritual anchor.

It's true. South Korea doesn't have 360 ​​registered entertainment companies, but it does have 360 ​​legally registered religious organizations. Yes, they are legal.

Just like in print media interviews, with audience interaction, Fan Bingbing and Huang Haibo became the absolute protagonists.

Haibo has been called "Oppa" countless times.

"Oppa, are you like Niu Geng in real life?"

"Niu Geng Oppa, you're so handsome! How old are you? Do you have a girlfriend?"

"......."

Yang Che, who was standing there looking incredibly handsome, was quite jealous. Although he found this endless interaction annoying, he was still annoyed if the other person didn't ask him anything...

This is actually the norm, especially since they are a foreign film crew, and the audience's attention is naturally focused on the actors.

However, Liu Chang was ecstatic, while Zhou Liren and Ma Shu were also extremely busy—well, not that kind of busy. Some of them were taking photos, some were recording videos, and some were taking written notes.

And so, the group worked from 6:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m., for six hours straight. Of course, they were not only busy in Seoul, but also in Incheon Metropolitan City and Gyeonggi Province, which are small areas in the Seoul metropolitan area.

The reason for this is that this tiny place concentrates half of South Korea's population, and 60% of the country's box office revenue comes from here.

Afterwards, everyone sat around a teppanyaki restaurant on Daehak-ro in Seoul. Liu Chang was still filming with his camera. Fan Bingbing, leaning on Ma Shu's shoulder, smiled sweetly at the camera. But when the camera moved to Huang Haibo's smiling face, Fan Bingbing's face instantly fell.

The reason she did this was not because her boyfriend was not present, but because she was hungry and tired and did not want to talk.

Yang Che, meanwhile, was outside the shop, earnestly declining Zheng Bingyuan's offer.

"Brother Bingyuan, don't misunderstand. I am very fond of women, but as you can see, Fan Bingbing is my girlfriend."

Zheng Bingyuan sighed, "As an elder brother, I am deeply regretful that I could not fulfill my duty as a host."

"I'll make it up next time, I'll make it up next time."

"Does Yang Chexi mean two?"

"Yoshi, seumida."

"Hahaha."

The people in the store watched the two men laughing through the glass door, assuming they were just happy about the huge success of the screening.

After all, I've encountered many audience members who said, "This is my second time watching the movie here..."

The two walked back to the restaurant arm in arm.

Yang Che smiled on the outside, but cursed inwardly. What Sun Yanzhen? Never even heard of her. Why don't you bring Kim Hee-sun over here!

Thinking of this, Yang Che raised an eyebrow. Hmm, "Myth" is pretty good.

I have to say, Jackie Chan, Meng Yi really should be cast as a young, handsome actor...

The late-night snack proceeded quickly. Zheng Bingyuan didn't need to call out to anyone; everyone wolfed down their food, and the two teppanyaki chefs even sparked as they swung their spatulas.

There was no need to talk about anything; we agreed to have breakfast together at the hotel the next day and then parted ways.

Back in the hotel room, after a quick wash, we snuggled together and fell asleep. Little Fatty was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. What could we do?

The next day, July 28th.

Zheng Bingyuan brought a man who looked a lot like the anti-fraud expert Lao Chen to breakfast with him.

"Yang Chexi, this is Guo Zairong, an independent filmmaker. He's been waiting downstairs at my place since early this morning just to chat with you and Director Cheng. I hope you don't mind."

Yang Che smiled and said, "How could that be? Someone who can be valued by Brother Bingyuan must be extraordinary. Hello, Mr. Guo."

Yang Che spoke the last sentence in Chinglish.

Kwak Jae-yong was taken aback, bowed, and said in English, "President Yang, I apologize for bothering you, but I really love the movie 'My Sassy Girl.' I watched it twice in Gyeonggi Province, and I have so many questions I'd like to ask."

Okay, Guo Zairong's accent is even stronger than Yang Che's.

Zheng Bingyuan, who was listening nearby, felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Gyeonggi Province? We didn't run into them yesterday?"

"No, you weren't here when I first read it. I was so inspired that I started writing down the story I had in mind at a roadside cafe. By the time I remembered to read it a second time, it was already 10:30, and you had already left."

Yang Che gave him a thumbs up, then asked him to go and talk to Cheng Er. He was not interested at all and did not feel guilty in the slightest, even though he had to plagiarize two of their movies.

Moreover, time was limited, and Yang Che still needed to discuss the overall publicity and distribution strategy with Zheng Bingyuan, since they would take a 36% cut of the box office revenue in South Korea.

The box office figures for the first two days are now available: 6 viewers, meaning the second day's figures were double those of the first. Yesterday, the third day of release, the Seoul box office reached 2.2 viewers, showing a very clear upward trend.

"Brother Bingyuan, this is our marketing strategy on the Chinese Internet. You can let your members take a look."

This is a report from authoritative Chinese media regarding "My Sassy Girl".

I gave you those souvenir gifts yesterday too..."

"It's fantastic. I don't think the popularity of 'My Sassy Girl' will wane in South Korea."

"That would be best, just like we said back in Shanghai, to break all the records for Chinese films in South Korea."

"Haha, okay."

And so, their trip to South Korea came to a hasty end, much like their hasty departure for Tokyo, Japan.