Fashion items of Kim Soo-hyun, Jun Ji-hyun auctioned off

Two cherished fashion items donated by Kim Soo-hyun and Jun Ji-hyun, co-stars of the mega-hit TV series “My Love from the Star,” have been sold in an auction, the event’s organizers said Wednesday.

The auction was held on Sunday at Seoul’s Dongdaemun Design Plaza, where a special exhibition on the drama is under way. Some 200 overseas fans of the drama and journalists from Chinese news media attended the auction, they said.

Kim’s knit and Jun’s handbag were sold for 2.4 million won ($2,346) and 680,000 won each during the event, according to its host SBS, a major TV network in South Korea that aired the series.

The knit went to a Chinese woman who identified herself as a devoted fan of Kim, while a South Korean man bought Jun’s handbag.

“I thank the drama for giving hope and a feeling of warmth to me and hope Korean dramas would help develop friendly ties between South Korea and China,” the Chinese woman said, without giving her name.

The proceeds from the auction will be donated to a local charity, the broadcaster said.

Also hosted by SBS, the special exhibition is scheduled to last until Aug. 15.

The hit 2013-14 soap series about an alien who landed on Earth 400 years ago and falls in love with a top actress in modern-day Korea enjoyed an audience rating of some 30 percent in South Korea.

It later became a runaway hit in China, making its stars Kim and Jun household names among young Chinese viewers and reigniting the Korean pop culture boom known as “hallyu” in the world’s most populous country. (Yonhap)