China is shaking under the steps of the original Hallyu Queen. The triggers have been set by the return of the “Dae Jang Geum” heroine after nine years, Lee Young-ae. Fast emerging as the world’s largest entertainment market, China is still hot about Lee Young-ae and waiting anxiously for her comeback. Hence, Lee Young-ae could not have made a smarter decision than to return with SBS special food documentary “Lee Young-ae’s Banquet”. The documentary showed Lee with the veil of mystery shaken off, as the person-next-door living happily with her husband Jeong Ho-young and twins. This is appropriate in her image in “Dae Jang Geum,” wherein she was the epitome of strong but gentle Korean women. The Korean viewers lauded her comeback, but the response in China was even greater. The Chinese market is rushing about to get a piece of the pie and see Lee Young-ae on TV and in commercials and events. The industry says that when it comes to pricing, the rule is “as you like it.”

Lee Young-ae, however, is quiet about her future activities. She has already cut down her commercials to the very few that reflect what she pursues. In short, money is not the issue. She declined some giant companies’ offers that guaranteed the highest rate in the commercial industry to join hands with SMEs that are struggling to go abroad.

Furthermore, her friends say that she is showing more interest in environment and health issues after her twins arrived. She will not accept baby lotion or products that contain harmful agents regardless of what the legal standards are. Having acted as a hansik messenger thanks to her role in “Dae Jang Geum”, Lee Young-ae is ready to show how she will transform her latest interests in health, environment, and family love into a new kind of trend.