Hallyu stars Bae Yong Joon and Choi Ji Woo in “Winter Sonata”. (Photo courtesy of KBS)

About 30 female Japanese fans were hurt or injured when a set being used for the filming of the “Winter Sonata: Another Story” animé series in Gangwon province in South Korea collapsed due to strong winds on March 12.

Hallyu (or Korean Wave) stars Bae Yong Joon (popularly known as Yonsama in Japan) and Choi Ji Woo—stars of the original “Winter Sonata” drama series—were already finished with the shooting of the wedding scene when the accident occurred at the filming site near the Sun Cruise Resort in Gangneung City, Gangwon province in South Korea.

The live action scene will be used as an added bonus to the airing of the “Winter Sonata” anime series that was broadcast in Japan starting October last year. The last episode will be shown on April 24.

Bae and Choi lent their voices for their characters Kang Joon Sang and Jung Yu-jin, respectively, in the animé series.

The injured, women with ages ranging from 40 to 70, were part of the 1,700 fans selected out of 10,000 who applied to view the filming of the scene.

Ambulances and private cars brought the victims to different hospitals. Bae immediately visited them. He also apologized to them and wished for their fast recovery.

Keyeast Co., Bae’s agency, also issued an apology for the accident.

It confirmed that the filming of the scene was already done and Bae was having his picture taken with the fans. But as the wind blew stronger, the photo session was moved inside the resort. As the fans were moving to get to the resort, the strong winds caused the makeshift platform and posts to collapse.

Keyeast will shoulder the hospital expenses of the victims.

The strong winds did not only damage the “Winter Sonata” set but also many parts of Gangwon province.

“Winter Sonata” catapulted Bae and Choi to stardom when it was aired in 2002. The two are part of the first generation of Hallyu stars that became popular in Asia.

Bae commands a huge following in Japan and is the highest paid actor in South Korea.