Taebaek, Gangwon Province, is considering calling off the festival themed on the hit TV drama series “Descendants of the Sun” after Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo, who met through the drama announced their divorce Thursday.

The city, where the TV drama series was filmed, is mulling canceling its “Couple Festival,” a two-day event slated for July 27. 

After the TV drama, aired in 2016, garnered great popularity both at home and abroad, Taebaek has been expanding its tourist businesses in relation to the series. In the following year, the city restored the film sets and built a theme park around it.

The “Couple Festival,” which invites couples and tourists to the theme park for various entertainment programs, first took place in 2017. If it goes as planned, the fair will mark its third anniversary this year.

Although the event is not directly about the couple, it inevitably involves images and installations depicting the two couple who were the lead characters in the drama, the city officials explained.

Meanwhile, Joong-Ki announced Thursday through his attorney that he has filed for court mediation for his divorce with the actress.


By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)