Korean And Chinese Companies To Co-Produce Drama On Independence Activist An Jung Geun's Life

A joint Korean-Chinese drama on An Jung Geun’s life story will be coming to the small screen soon.

On July 11, in response to reports of the drama’s production, The Yoon Media Group confirmed, “The drama “Snow’s Sun” (working title) will be about An Jung Geun and his anti-Japanese resistance, struggle, spirit, and desire for peace in East Asia. Filming will begin in October, and the drama is slated to air in the latter half of 2019 in China first.”

The Yoon Media Group elaborated on the drama by stating, “The drama will cover An Jung Geun’s life story from his birth until his death, when he sacrificed his life for his country. In the drama, the young An Jung Geun will awaken the soul of his love for his country and people as he experiences the turbulence of enlightenment in the late 1800s to the stripping of national sovereignty in the early 1900s.”

The 43-episode pre-produced drama will be co-produced by China Huge Base Industrial Development Limited Co., with a production budget of 40 billion won (approximately $35 million). It is currently in the casting and planning stages, with around 90 percent of the cast confirmed.

Though it has yet to cast the main character of An Jung Geun, it will reportedly be looking for an actor with a strong Hallyu following. The drama will be filming over the course of 10 months and will aim to capture beautiful settings from all four seasons, with filming locations spanning Korea, China, and Russia.

An Jung Geun was born on Hwanghae Island in 1879, and began his work as an independence activist after the signing of the Japan-Korea Treaty in 1905. On October 26, 1909, he assassinated Japanese statesman Ito Hirobumi at Harbin Station in Russia. He died the following year on March 26 in a Chinese prison. An Jung Geun was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation for his work.

Recently, the North-South Korean summit in April agreed to a joint excavation to recover An Jung Geun’s remains, in commemoration of the 100-year anniversary of the 1909 independence movement, and is currently underway.

The Yoon Media Group commented, “Through the drama, we hope to send a message about the operation to recover An Jung Geun’s remains to not only Koreans, but to Chinese people as well. If both North and South Korea begin to work together to recover his remains, then private entities may find some way to help as well.”

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