Bae Yong-joon
The series shot actor Bae Yong-joon into stardom in Asia, and he became especially popular among middle-aged Japanese women. When he first visited Japan in 2004, more than 3,000 women guarded by 350 policemen gathered at the airport to welcome him. Junichiro Koizumi, the Japanese prime minister at the time, was quoted saying that Bae was more popular in Japan than himself.