Jang Nara to play leading lady in Chinese movie

Korean actress Jang Nara at the press conference for "Flying With You" held in China on October 30, 2011. [Jang Nara's official website]

Korean actress Jang Nara has been cast as the female lead in an upcoming Chinese film, making it her first time to appear on the big screen since making her official debut in the country.

On Tuesday, Jang’s manager told 10Asia over the phone that the actress will play the role of a 23-year-old who is the daughter of a real estate conglomerate opposite Taiwanese actor Jimmy Lin in the movie "Flying With You" set to crank in next week.

The official went onto explain that Jang attended the press conference for her upcoming movie in Bejing over the weekend while she will remain in the country till the end of this year to finish shooting the film.

"Flying With You," helmed by famed Chinese director Zhang Li, will tell the story of a group of young people in the 1980s who are involved in the competitive world of paragliding. Lin will play a retired paragliding coach from the special forces who will later fall for Jang's character.

The movie, scheduled to open in theaters in China in the summer of 2012, will also commemorate the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea.

Jang, who made her debut as a singer in Korea in 2001, expanded her career into China eight years ago and has since starred in a number of TV series such as "Bratty Princess" as well as releasing several Chinese-language albums.

Locally, she played the role of Lee So-young in KBS' drama "Babyfaced Beauty" which fared well with viewership ratings in the 15 to 18 percent range during its two-month run.

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