Chinese fans of Korean soap operas are keen to prove they aren't just dumb couch potatoes!

This came after the release of a study in the previous year that hinted that the Chinese audience of Korean soaps belongs to the lower class, in terms of finances and education.

The group, calling themselves "Asian Fan Club of My Love from the Star," published a full-page ad in South Korea's largest daily, Chosun llbo, demanding for a public apology from the authors of the study.

Like Us on Facebook

"We would like to tell you that you are wrong. We like Korean dramas...We like intellectual power even more," according to the ad, written in Chinese and Korean.

The 21-episode romantic comedy series "My Love from the Star," is a story about a girl and her extraterrestrial love interest that became a phenomenal hit all over Asia. It even paved the way to a chicken and beer craze, the favorite food of the female character.

And to further prove they too watch shows that appeal to intellect, they challenged the authors to take note of the viewership of the Chinese produced science program "The Brain," where the series' main male character also participated in filming.

They demanded, "Should the viewership of The Brain reach 100 million, the authors must apologize to the fans and characters of the series."

The controversial study, "Map of Drama Taste of Chinese TV Viewers," was authored by researchers of the Seoul National University.

The study concluded that the TV audiences in China who are in the higher income and education brackets prefer watching soaps produced by Americans and Japanese. 

According to the study, those in the average education and income level choose Chinese and Hong Kong shows, while those that fall under the low education and income group prefer Korean and Taiwanese dramas.

Kang Myung-koo, one of the authors, was stunned with the reactions generated by the study.

"I acknowledge that there are some parts in the study that can produce misunderstandings," Kang said, without further commenting if an apology was coming.

Another study last year  conducted by  Entgroup,  an entertainment research company,  revealed that Chinese fans of Korean TV shows belong to the "disdain chain"  (鄙视链 in Chinese) or those who are looked down on by fans of American and British TV shows.