S. Korean actor Park Hae-jin to grace Chinese postage stamp

Chinese postage stamps featuring South Korean actor Park Hae-jin.

SEOUL, April 18 (Yonhap) — Actor Park Hae-jin will become the first South Korean to be featured on a Chinese postage stamp next month, Chinese media reported Monday.

The stamps are part of the Dream China project jointly organized by China’s Ministry of Communications and China Post to recognize the 100 most influential figures in Chinese culture.

Preorders for the ones honoring Park may be placed starting in May. The limited edition, of which there will be a hundred sets, contains the stamps, prepaid phone cards and commemorative coins, all bearing the face of the “Cheese in the Trap” heartthrob.

The limited edition will cost 698 yuan (US$107), with the price of the regular edition, due out in August, set at 0.80 yuan. The prepaid phone cards will go for 15 yuan or 30 yuan.

Although Park is not the first South Korean ever to grace Chinese stamps, he is the first South Korean subject of Chinese stamps that are released on an ongoing basis.

In 2008, the South Korean members of Super Junior-M, a multinational K-pop group, became the first South Koreans to appear on Chinese stamps that were issued for limited time only.

“Park captivated China with his continued activities, charity work and donations there,” a Chinese official said. “Park stands out from the rest of South Korean celebrities in China, who only shoot TV commercials after one or two of their shows become successful there. Park has truly established himself as an actor who loves China.”

South Korean actor Park Hae-jin

Park’s talent agency said the stamps are just more proof of Park’s popularity in China.

“We’re extremely honored that Park is part of a national project in China in which only those actors and singers considered national treasures there have been honored with postage stamps,” an official with Mountain Movement said.

The first South Korean celebrity to be pictured in a foreign postage stamp was actor Bae Yong-joon from the 2002 drama sensation “Winter Sonata.” The “BYJ Stamp Collection,” jointly issued by Korea Post and Japan Post, sold US$1.4 million worth of stamps in Japan, but anyone who pays the required fees can order a customized stamp like Bae did.

Park gained prominence in China after starring in “Duo Duo’s Marriage” on China’s Hunan TV in 2011. He also played a supporting role in the South Korean mega-hit drama “My Love from the Star,” with his most recent work, “Cheese in the Trap,” generating much hype on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, before its release in China.

His upcoming meet-and-greet at Olympic Park in Seoul on Saturday will be broadcast live on the Chinese video website Youku.

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