男神李敏鎬：新韓流的“繼承者”

或許，對于在中國的爆紅，連李敏鎬自己也始料未及。自去年以來，他在中國所到之處皆被圍得水泄不通，連“傲慢”的春晚也意外地向他伸出了橄欖枝。而他在當晚的演出也成了今年春晚收視率最高的節(jié)目。

不過，如果真要讓他想出一個原因，這位聰明的“長腿歐巴”可能會給出兩個字——粉絲。

是的，粉絲！“粉絲”是一個奇異的群體，他們的愛暴烈、激蕩，帶著風卷殘云般的氣勢，也帶著不安和躁動，有著非一般的摧毀與成全的能力。所以，明星們一邊享受著神一般的待遇（機場通道上人頭簇擁的歡迎歡送，定期送上的昂貴禮物），一邊遭受著牢獄般的禁錮（另一半不能公開，出游不得不躲藏偽裝）。

李敏鎬深諳這種道理，他不是第一個，更不會是最后一個享受這種“兩重天”待遇的明星。他的小心和精心是必須的，在韓國這個偶像更新?lián)Q代以“星期”為計算單位的國度，“粉絲”給予的關(guān)注是一個偶像安身立命的根本，就像“麥當娜效應(yīng)”那般：你可以擁戴她，討厭她，甚至詛咒她，但你就是不能忽視她。娛樂產(chǎn)業(yè)是一個需要高度參與的行業(yè)，那就意味著，當明星是一天24小時的工作，一笑一顰，無關(guān)真心實意，有關(guān)職業(yè)道德。

——Mac

Lee Min-ho has finally become more famous than Goo Joon-pyo.

For years， the South Korean actor was referred to as “the curly-haired guy” or “the flower boy，” referencing his breakout role in 2009 as the wavy-1）maned Goo Joon-pyo from the hit Korean drama Boys Over Flowers.

The drama， aired in 19 countries， launched the young actor into megacelebrity status， and while， of course， fans and even a good majority of Korea knew his real name， it took a carefully planned career in the following years for Lee Min-ho to become Lee Min-ho.

Now， Lee is internationally recognized as an actor—a leading man， actually， rather than merely a “flower boy，” a term ironically popularized by his own drama and used to describe an overly “pretty” guy.

The massive success of his Boys Over Flowers role allowed Lee to become pickier about which parts he does take. “It’s definitely something I can be proud of. I’ve been getting far more offers since Boys Over Flowers， and it’s also what helped grow my fan base， which is important， because fans are the ones who keep me motivated，” said Lee.

Since his 2009 hit， the 6-foot-tall， 2）lanky actor has starred in a drama every year， and they’ve all been departures from his breakout role. In 2010， Lee played an aspiring architect who is mistaken as gay by his eventual （female） love interest in Personal Taste， while the following year， he played a cold 3）assassin in City Hunter. In 2012， he took on another action role as a Goryeo-era warrior in the time travel drama Faith.

But， last year， he played a teenage 4）chaebol heir， again， in his new TV show， The Heirs. At the press conference， Lee fielded a question about his decision to come full circle to the type of role that put him on the map.

“Four years have passed since I starred in Boys Over Flowers， and I am playing a high school chaebol heir again because，” Lee paused， before rephrasing his answer. “At some point during those four years， I realised that I rarely felt wildly happy. I also realised that there wasn’t much to be sad about either. My life felt 5）void of ups or downs.

“So， before I grow past my 20s， I wanted to play a more upbeat character， one that would allow me to return to that feeling of simple， uncomplicated innocence that I had when I was younger.”

The Heirs had an impressive viewer rate of 25.6% （Nilson Korea， Nationwide basis） for its last episode that aired on December 12th， thus ending the hit drama. Not only was the viewer rate in numbers， it also created various popular words and phrases， and it obviously was a work that had a powerful ability to reach out and influence viewers.

Thanks to these popular dramas， Lee’s popularity has soared internationally.

Korean television actors rarely travel worldwide for press events， but Lee has a reputation for going abroad to greet his fans， who incidentally even have a name： “6）Minoz.” During his Manila visit， that country’s media outlets declared， “Manila falls in love with Lee Min-ho” and “Korea’s superstar sweeps the nation.” In Japan， he took the No. 1 spot for “Best Hallyu Star” in a Japanese magazine dedicated to Korean dramas in 2012. Last December， Lee won the Best Asian Actor award at the 2013 Baidu Feidian Awards ceremony in Beijing， China. And the drama The Heirs reached 160 million hits on the video site Youku.com last November.

Though many Hollywood stars often try to escape attention， Lee is active on several social networking sites， including Facebook （he has over 6.4 million fans） and Twitter， with almost a million followers. Even in China， he has over 10 million followers on Weibo. He said he likes that this type of media gives him a more direct way to connect with his fans.

For Korean celebrities， maintaining a strong fan base is almost more important than actual talent. Lee often calls his fans “precious”and 7）gushes about their support as “the source of （his） confidence and focus.” He said that he is constantly asking his staff to teach him new languages and phrases in order to better communicate with his foreign fans.

While it’s hard to take Lee seriously when he says things like， “I survive on the love of fans，” the sheer amount of times he remarks on his appreciation for his “Minoz” in public seems to indicate that he’s either incredibly aware of the power his fans hold， or he’s genuinely grateful.

His caution is understandable， given that Korean celebrities have to deal with the 8）wrath of netizens （online citizens） who seem to yield an alarming amount of influence in the country， which is now the most wired nation in the world.

Even something like dating must be handled carefully. Although when news broke of Lee’s relationship with City Hunter co-star Park Min Young， the reaction was fairly neutral. The relationship ended only a few months later， but it was still notable that the two high-profile celebrities were able to admit to their relationship.

So， perhaps Lee’s careful dealing with his fans is working. Lee’s appeal to Korean entertainment executives doesn’t just come from his domestic appeal； it also draws from his huge international fan base， which means， even if a drama starring Lee happens to be a flop in Korea， broadcasters can still distribute the drama overseas—for a 9）hefty profit.

Notably， even Lee， who’s been labeled a “hallyu （Korean wave） star，” doesn’t quite understand the appeal Korean shows have overseas.

“I think there’s an exclusive emotional element in Korean dramas，” he said. “It’s hard to explain in words， and it’s actually a question I want to ask the fans.”

Knowing Lee’s reputation， it probably is something he will ask his fans at some point in the near future.

《花樣男子》的巨大成功讓李敏鎬在角色選擇上可以更為挑剔。“這個角色絕對是我的驕傲之作。自《花樣男子》以來，我收到了更多的戲劇邀約，同時，這部劇也幫助我擴大了‘粉絲’的群體，這很重要，因為‘粉絲’是我前進的動力，”李敏鎬說道。

自2009年的大熱劇集以來，這位身高六英尺（約1.83米）、身型瘦長的演員每年都會主演一部電視劇，而這些角色都與讓他聲名大噪的“具俊表”不盡相同。……