[Press Release] K-Drama Stars Kim Soo-hyun and Park Min-young Draw Huge Crowds at KCON LA 2024

Actors Share Stories About Studio Dragon-Produced Global Megahit K-dramas "Marry My Husband" and "Queen of Tears"

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Top K-drama stars Kim Soo-hyun from "Queen of Tears" and Park Min-young from "Marry My Husband" attend KCON LA 2024

Explosive response from North American fans at global K-culture festival proves the popularity of the two actors

Kim Soo-hyun and Park Min-young, the lead actors of the Studio Dragon-produced K-dramas "Queen of Tears" and "Marry My Husband"-two of the most popular K-dramas so far this year-shared unique and revealing stories about K-dramas and their acting performances at KCON LA 2024, which was held from July 26 - 28 in Los Angeles, USA.

Park Min-young held a special fan meeting on the second day of the event, Saturday, July 27th, while Kim Soo-hyun engaged with fans on the last day, Sunday, July 28th. Both stars had their fan meetings on the MEET & GREET STAGE and also made special appearances on M COUNTDOWN.

The participation of these two actors was part of KCON's mission to offer experiences encompassing not only K-pop but also K-food, K-beauty, and other aspects of Korean culture. By connecting K-drama stars with K-pop fans, KCON aimed to further expand the reach of K-content globally.

At their respective fan meetings, which were filled with enthusiastic cheers and cries of support, Park Min-young and Kim Soo-hyun shared behind-the-scenes stories from their K-drama shoots, discussed their favorite K-pop songs and more, seamlessly blending conversations around K-pop and K-dramas.

Park's fan meeting, titled "Park Min-young 'Special Fan Meeting : "Marry My Husband"'", took place on Saturday, July 27th. During the fan meeting, Park, who last visited LA before the pandemic, expressed her excitement about returning to LA after a long time. She said the secret to the success of "Marry My Husband" could be attributed to "its ability to connect people around the world through its story", adding that she was grateful "to everyone who made this journey possible".

Reflecting on the first time she read the script, she recalled, "I thought the title was crazy at first. But once I started [reading it], I couldn't put it down-it was a real page-turner. I read the entire script in one sitting".

She also chose "What's Wrong With Secretary Kim" as the most memorable drama she has starred in, noting that it "allowed for more freedom and exaggerated expressions in acting" and that many fans still remembered her for that role. The audience cheered loudly at the mention of this series, reflecting its global popularity.

Park Min-young also shared that her favorite BTS song is "Spring  Day", which was featured in "Marry My Husband". Finally, she appeared on Saturday's M Countdown to deliver a special message in front of thousands of fans about the importance of education for women in developing countries.

Kim Soo-hyun's fan meeting, titled "Behind the Scene: Kim Soo-hyun", was held on the following day, Sunday, July 28th. Kim expressed his joy at the event's vibrant atmosphere, saying, "I returned to KCON after nine years. The energy here is incredible, and it's making me feel really good". He also shared some of his favorite K-pop songs, eliciting cheers from the audience each time he mentioned a song.

He revealed that he enjoys listening to INFINITE's Paradise while riding a bike-one of his hobbies. "When the song first came out, I thought that the choreography, the singing and everything else were really well-rehearsed and polished", he said of the song. For relaxation, he prefers Lee Ji-eun's "Through the Night" and BIBI's "Bam Yang Gang". He recommended fans try the "Bam Yang Gang Challenge" despite its tricky Korean pronunciation. For travel, he suggested BOL4's "Travel" and NewJeans' "Attention", saying that the former has "a nice musical tone" and the latter is "a song that makes you want to go somewhere".

Kim ended by saying, "I'm currently preparing for a new K-drama, and this energy from the KCON audience has inspired me to work even harder on my new series, which I think will air next year". He added that he hoped to visit LA again soon. In addition to his fan meeting, Kim participated in KCON's Red Carpet event and served as the host for Sunday's M COUNTDOWN, providing a dazzling opening for the final concert of KCON LA 2024.

Earlier this year, "Marry My Husband", which was released on tvN, TVING and Amazon Prime Video, became the first K-drama to rank No. 1 globally on Amazon Prime Video's daily TV show rankings. It stayed in the streamer's global top 10 for 27 weeks-a first for a K-drama since Amazon Prime Video's global launch in 2016.

"Queen of Tears", which finished airing in April, set a tvN record with a 24.9% average viewership rating for its final episode-the highest in tvN history. It also topped Netflix's Global Top 10 list of non-English-language shows within three weeks of airing and remained in the streamer's Global Top 10 for 15 consecutive weeks, becoming a worldwide phenomenon.