"Tale of Arang" most expensive TV series sold of all time on MBC

A still shot of actor Lee Joon-gi (left) and actress Shin Min-a (right) staring at each other in MBC "Tale of Arang," which began airing on August 15, 2012. [MBC]

Lee Joon-gi did it again and this time, the actor did it even before wrapping up his current TV series.

In a strong start to Korea's new drama season, "Tale of Arang" has been sold to Japan with a record-breaking sales amount that easily surpass the number set by this year's biggest hit, "Moon Embracing the Sun."

"What I can say is that this is even more surprising than the amazing record set by 'Moon Embracing the Sun'--100 million Korean won [about 882,000 in U.S. dollars] per episode," a PR official from MBC told the magazine Wednesday, refusing to reveal the exact amount.

Industry watchers assume Lee Joon-gi and Shin Min-a's starrer could have been measured up to 200 million won per episode, which makes the 20-part story worth a whopping number of 4 billion in total, around 3.5 million U.S. dollars.

Lee is one of the most wanted actors by TV and film producers, as not a few number of his previous works have been commercially successful in the country and other neighboring Asian countries as well.

Starting with the historical pic "The King and the Clown" (2005), the actor's film "Fly, Daddy, Fly" (2006), TV series "Iljimae" (SBS, 2008) and "Time Between Dog And Wolf” (MBC, 2007)" have all made a significant contribution not only to Lee's personal acting resume but to the producers.

Due to confidentiality reasons, the official said she cannot open up yet about which broadcaster and when "Tale of Arang" will air in Japan but did confirm it will take a while to seal the deal with the firm it is in negotiations with.

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10 아시아 Editor : Monica Suk monicasuk@