Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Wang Qishan attends a deliberation meeting with the Beijing Delegation Team in Beijing on March 5, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

　　China's top-ranking politicians were not immune to the runaway success of "My Love from the Stars," with the hit Korean show earning a playful mention as motivation for Chinese writers, actors and directors.

　　It seems even the highest ranks of China's government were unable to resist the gravitational pull of "My Love from the Star," the red-hot Korean melodrama that has held millions of Chinese viewers tightly in its orbit.

　　And it appears that even top officials involved in China's annual "two sessions" meetings were like many other Chinese who couldn't help but discuss the hit show with their friends at work.

　　In fact, the ultra-popular Internet program that concluded its 21-episode run on February, made a surprise appearance at the dual meetings of the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

　　As it happens each year, representatives gathered in Beijing and discuss the future goals and challenges of China, including the country's cultural development. This is where "My Love from the Star," the love story between a 400-year-old space alien posing as a professor and famous South Korean actress, came into the picture.

　　During discussions on March 5, Wang Qishan, secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, asked a panel whether they knew the name of hit Korean drama. When the floor remained unresponsive, he joked that he was surprised the officials didn't know.

　　Cheers, tears as Korean drama ends Starry-eyed for roast chicken and beer Crazy for South Korean stars

　　After all, the show's popularity had already proved out of this world. By March 6, the number of viewers for the Internet program had reached nearly 1.5 billion, according to data released by domestic video sites iqiyi, PPS, Letv, and Xunlei.

　　As of Thursday afternoon, the number of blog posts about the program on Sina Weibo, China’s social media juggernaut, had reached 44,550,105, with 301,959 likes.

　　The popularity wasn't lost on Wang.

　　"I thought about this issue. Why are the Korean dramas ahead of the Chinese ones? Why can they travel around the world and make their way into the US, or even Europe? I mean, a few years ago they released a hit song "Gangnam Style," he said, referring to the pop song by Korean singer Psy that swept the world and became the first YouTube video to reach a billion views.

　　Wang continued: "Sometimes I watch Korean dramas from time to time. And after a while, I finally understood this – the Korean dramas are ahead of us. Their essence is the sublimation of traditional culture."

　　Wang was not the only one interested in the phenomenon of hallyu, a newly coined term for the popularity of South Korean culture that has been flooding other countries since turn of the century.

　　Cheers, tears as Korean drama ends Starry-eyed for roast chicken and beer Crazy for South Korean stars

　　Chinese author and Nobel Prize Laureate Mo Yan reports at the "two sessions" in Beijing on March 2, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

　　Mo Yan, the first Chinese author to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, is also one of them.

　　"I saw Dae Jang Geum [2003 South Korean TV series] a few years back. I haven't seen any recently, but I've heard of the what-not-professor [the male protagonist of "My Love from the Stars,"] Mo said.

　　The author was not as crazed over "My Love" as the drama's millions of Chinese fans, but he did call for the Chinese film industry to learn from the drama's success.

　　"Don't be too overwhelmed with just one or two Korean dramas. I think enjoying art is equivalent to dining: we all need to change flavors from time to time. If the public likes it, it means we lack products of the same sort," Mo said. "I think our producers and writers can learn useful lessons from their success."