A few days ago, the 2024 Hallyu White Paper was announced.
This is the result of a survey released by the Korea Institute for the Promotion of International Cultural Exchange.
Among them, the one that attracted the most attention was "the world's favorite Korean actor".
Among them, most of the actors have become popular in the past 10~15 years.
belongs to the first generation of Hallyu idols, only Song Hye Kyo is alone, and there is no trace of the actor of the same generation.
The earliest famous actor in the TOP10 is Hyun Bin.
And the "old" male gods of the same generation or earlier as Hyun Bin are now mostly outdated and disappearing.
Nowadays, apart from the nostalgia that springs up from time to time, people seem to rarely talk about them anymore.
Today, Uncle Yu also takes this opportunity to be nostalgic.
Let's take a look back at those vanished Hallyu male gods.
But whenever it comes to a male god that hasn't been seen for a long time, there is a name that often appears-
Yuan Bin.
In 2000, the Korean drama "Blue Life and Death Love" became popular all over Asia.
The poignant love between Song Seung-hun and Song Hye Kyo has broken the hearts of countless people.
At the same time, the male Eryuan Bin, who plays a lot of gold and infatuation in the play, has suddenly become the dream male god of countless audiences.
To say how handsome Yuan Bin is.
It was he who started the term "flower boy".
She has a handsome appearance, gentle and affectionate eyes, and a tall and strong figure.
Yuan Bin seems to have been born with the standard of a "male god".
In fact, just the appearance is enough to make Yuan Bin popular for many years.
But he didn't enjoy the dividends in idol dramas by relying on his handsomeness like many fresh meat today.
In addition to a Japanese-Korean co-production romantic drama "Destiny Love" in 2002, Yuan Bin devoted himself to the filming of the movie.
In "Killer Company", Yuan Bin is a cute computer master.
In "Tai Chi Flag Flying", he became a frail and bitter soldier.
In "My Brother", Yuan Bin is incarnated as an unruly fighting king.
In "Mother", he becomes a mentally handicapped son.
Although there are not many of them, each of his works is very different in style and of high quality.
In 2010, a "Lone Agent" brought him to the peak of his acting career.
The role of uncle made Yuan Bin completely walk out of the category of "beautiful man" and become a "muscular male god".
In the film, the classic scene of him shaving his head half-naked in the mirror is still imitated and discussed by countless people.
Five Korean actors, won the Best Popularity Award for two consecutive years.
Yuan Bin has completely become the ceiling of the male god.
However, when people thought that he would continue to go up, Yuan Bin took the initiative to fade out of people's sight.
Especially after getting married in 2016, there is no other activity except for occasional advertising, and it is almost a semi-retired state.
Because Yuan Bin's "quality" is really high, he has become an irreplaceable actor in the hearts of many people.
To this day, many people are still asking:
Will Yuan Bin still come out to film in this life?
Of course, Yuan Bin's generation is not the only male god.
At that time, it was the outbreak of the Korean Wave, and there were many pleasing actors who were popular all over Asia.
Song Chengxian, who is also from "Blue Life and Death Love", needless to say.
The earlier "Dream of Stars" allowed Chinese audiences to know the originator of the Korean Wave, Ahn Jae-wook.
and Zhang Dongjian in "Flyover".
Later, because of "Winter Love Song", Pei Yongjun became the "Grandma Killer".
In fact, as early as the 90s, it had already relied on dramas such as "First Love" to kill crazy ratings.
After the turn of the millennium, one Korean drama hit after another, and it became popular one male god after another.
Another Korean drama "Stairway to Heaven" that made the audience cry blindly, the male sovereign blessed the affectionate president with a concrete appearance from then on.
Su Ji-sub in the tear-jerking drama "I'm Sorry, I Love You", which sparked a remake boom in Asia, directly influenced a generation's view of love.
A "Full House of Romance" not only kicked off the transformation of Korean dramas from tragedy to comedy.
The male protagonist Zheng Jixun has also become an "atypical handsome guy" male god.
and "The Temptation of the Wolf", which made Jiang Dongyuan a smash hit.
and "My Name is Jin Sanshun", which must not be mentioned.
It was this drama that brought Hyun Bin into the hearts of countless fans.
These are the early male gods that many people will never forget.
Looking back on it to this day, I can still immediately recall the good times brought by the Korean dramas they starred in.
Of course, the times are changing, and the list of male gods will also be updated.
The actors who were once all the rage now have a variety of different states.
Many of them are still active in the Korean film and television industry at their own pace.
Like So Ji-sub.
In the 5 years from 2013 to 2018, he starred in word-of-mouth dramas such as "The Sun of the Lord" and "I'm going to See You Now".
Stills from "The Sun of the Lord".
also starred in a movie like "Mourning", which is definitely enough.
Not to mention Hyun Bin.
After the fire, there is a continuous output of explosive models.
Including, "The World They Live In" and "The Secret Garden" in the early years, and later "Crash Landing on Love" with Son Ye-jin.
Others have expanded their tracks.
Kwon Sang-woo opened up the Chinese mainland market and began the road of simultaneous development of China and South Korea.
Kwon Sang-woo and Jackie Chan collaborate on "Zodiac"
There are also some male gods who have not been mentioned before, who first became famous through movies and then moved to the TV drama circle.
For example, Zhao Yincheng first became popular because of movies such as "If Love Has Providence" and "Frost Flower Shop".
Later, he co-starred with Song Hye Kyo in Korean dramas such as "That Winter, the Wind Was Blowing", and cooperated with Kong Xiaozhen in "It's Okay, It's Love", which continued to increase popularity.
However, not all male gods are "good".
There are many male gods whose current situation is embarrassing.
Li Dongjian became popular because of the TV series "The Bride is Eighteen Years Old" and "Paris Lovers".
Because of his handsome appearance and good acting skills, he is loved by a lot.
However, the emotional experience of being too "rich" consumed the public's good impression of him.
always fell in love with the heroine because of the drama but ended quickly, making him a man in people's hearts.
In terms of works, he also plays a supporting role in some general episodes.
There is another one, which is even more impressive.
Jae-hee, who was popular because of the two dramas "Haojie Chunxiang" and "Witch Youxi", was once a popular actor.
But it suddenly disappeared from public view.
He is not like Yuan Bin, who chooses to retreat independently.
It's because of military service + hidden marriage that has lost the market.
Although he occasionally appeared on a variety show in the past two years, there was no news soon.
Who would have thought that Jae-hee's name would appear again because of suspected fraud?
Actually, it doesn't matter if it's still active or it's gone.
These male gods are bound to "disappear" in a sense.
The first generation of male gods is already difficult to become the mainstream.
Even the meaning of the word "male god" seems to have changed.
It is not difficult to find that the characters interpreted by the once sought after male gods have a "big male protagonist" temperament.
Whether it is a domineering president or a gentle second generation, they are all on the strong side in the play.
Because what people loved most at that time was the story of the prince and Cinderella.
Stills from "The Secret Garden".
Even in the generation of Lee Min Ho and Kim so-hyun, it is the same.
"Boys Over Flowers" and "The Inheritor", aren't they modern fairy tales?
In "My Love from the Star", Qian Songyi looks like a domineering and outgoing female figure, but emotionally she is still a traditional "little woman".
However, the stories that are popular or loved today are the complete opposite.
There is no need for Uncle Yu to say more, now she is the heroine in charge.
What was once a monotonous and stereotypical type of female character is now starting to become more and more colorful.
Stills from "Drunkard City Women".
At the same time, the diversity of creations also diversifies people's aesthetic orientations.
Love is no longer the only goal of the story, and the possibility of more emotions and connotations begins to appear.
The once handsome and aggressive male gods no longer dominate the world.
is like the male stars who have become popular in recent years, Ma Dong-seok and Ahn Jae-hong.
The two are by no means handsome guys in terms of appearance.
The roles they play are not big male protagonists in the conventional sense.
Sometimes it's even a scumbag.
But that doesn't stop people from loving them.
Stills from "Long Time Haven't Done".
The Korean drama "Queen of Tears", which is currently on the air.
One of the clips that came out of the circle was the scene where the male protagonist played by Kim so-hyun complained after being drunk.
Sun Xijiu in "My Liberation Diary".
Although he has the air of a mellow mature man, he is always in a passive state in the play.
Li Zhihui of "Dark Glory", a typical "little milk dog" image.
Compared with the male protagonist, he is more like the existence of the female protagonist.
The change of concepts, the migration of aesthetics, and the diversity of tastes have gradually affected the themes and types of film and television dramas.
This further affected the development of the actor's star career.
The standard handsome guy who was almost recognized by the whole people in the early days seems to be difficult to become popular now.
On the contrary, it is an actor with an amiable aura, a sense of atmosphere, and a little more distinctive, who can stand out in the fiercely competitive entertainment industry.
It's just that we still think of those "disappeared" male gods from time to time.
It's like nostalgic for our own youthful days that will never return.
Let them become an eternal white moonlight.
Actually, it's pretty good.