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omonatheydidKorean pop's "Super Junior" takes on the world
Choi Si-won recalls that even on a rainy day, the Paris venue was bedlam, with thousands of screaming fans packing the street outside a concert hall.
They were all hoping to catch a glimpse of Choi, one of the most popular members of Super Junior, currently South Korea’s hottest boy-band, in the band’s first concert venture in Europe.
While the “Korean Wave” has swamped Asia, winning fans from Tokyo to Kuala Lumpur and beyond, it has had little impact in Europe so far — but that is about to change, the 25-year-old Choi told Reuters in an interview.
“It wasn’t just a concert in Europe. It was beyond the border, which gives me so much confidence and pride,” Choi said after his return to Seoul.
He has a right to his feelings.
The band’s June 10 and 11 Paris concerts attracted 14,000 fans each night in the first European event put on by SM Entertainment, South Korea’s leading band production house. Tickets sold out within minutes.
Although that’s still small change by the standards of divas such as Lady Gaga, Choi believes that Super Junior, whose 13 young male members perform highly choreographed songs and dances, can break onto the broader global stage.
“We do have lots of songs composed by Europeans. And our fashionable and powerful performances are appealing,” Choi said.
In one sign of the band’s broad popularity, the dance song “Mi In Ah,” or “Beautiful Person,”
a single from its fourth album, has spent a record 54 weeks at the top of the Taiwan charts.
While Korean pop, known as “K-Pop,” projects a wholesome image to its fans, it has also been criticized for an unsavory side, including controversies over the way it treats young talent such as excessively long hours and low pay until they prove themselves and make it big.
Choi, who was scouted in his first year of high school, has some experience himself of the harsh training methods the industry uses to produce its stars.
“Dancing all night and then vocal lessons right after was hard and not unusual — but I enjoyed it. The whole process to raise stars is very systematic,” he said.
Typical of this was the decision by his management firm to send him to Beijing in 2004 so he could learn Chinese — and broaden his appeal. Two years later, he landed a role in a film called A Battle of Wits with Hong Kong actor Andy Lau.
Like many other K-Pop stars, Choi is now making the transition to television and South Korean dramas, another format that has swept Asia.
He will star as the main character in a Taiwanese soap opera, “Extravagant Challenge,” a love and revenge story based on a Japanese comic called Skip Beat, which will start in November. Another band member will also take part.
A devout Christian who wants to be a missionary later in his life, Choi appears to be relishing his band’s leap to global fame, including interacting with fans.
“I’m not a native English speaker but do post tweets in English. But, interestingly, our fans are now learning Korean,” he said, smiling.
“Paris was a new road for us. I hope the entire Korean culture like films can be enjoyed by many others.”
(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by David Chance and Elaine Lies)
Source: Reuters
Choi Si-won recalls that even on a rainy day, the Paris venue was bedlam, with thousands of screaming fans packing the street outside a concert hall.
They were all hoping to catch a glimpse of Choi, one of the most popular members of Super Junior, currently South Korea’s hottest boy-band, in the band’s first concert venture in Europe.
While the “Korean Wave” has swamped Asia, winning fans from Tokyo to Kuala Lumpur and beyond, it has had little impact in Europe so far — but that is about to change, the 25-year-old Choi told Reuters in an interview.
“It wasn’t just a concert in Europe. It was beyond the border, which gives me so much confidence and pride,” Choi said after his return to Seoul.
He has a right to his feelings.
The band’s June 10 and 11 Paris concerts attracted 14,000 fans each night in the first European event put on by SM Entertainment, South Korea’s leading band production house. Tickets sold out within minutes.
Although that’s still small change by the standards of divas such as Lady Gaga, Choi believes that Super Junior, whose 13 young male members perform highly choreographed songs and dances, can break onto the broader global stage.
“We do have lots of songs composed by Europeans. And our fashionable and powerful performances are appealing,” Choi said.
In one sign of the band’s broad popularity, the dance song “Mi In Ah,” or “Beautiful Person,”
a single from its fourth album, has spent a record 54 weeks at the top of the Taiwan charts.
While Korean pop, known as “K-Pop,” projects a wholesome image to its fans, it has also been criticized for an unsavory side, including controversies over the way it treats young talent such as excessively long hours and low pay until they prove themselves and make it big.
Choi, who was scouted in his first year of high school, has some experience himself of the harsh training methods the industry uses to produce its stars.
“Dancing all night and then vocal lessons right after was hard and not unusual — but I enjoyed it. The whole process to raise stars is very systematic,” he said.
Typical of this was the decision by his management firm to send him to Beijing in 2004 so he could learn Chinese — and broaden his appeal. Two years later, he landed a role in a film called A Battle of Wits with Hong Kong actor Andy Lau.
Like many other K-Pop stars, Choi is now making the transition to television and South Korean dramas, another format that has swept Asia.
He will star as the main character in a Taiwanese soap opera, “Extravagant Challenge,” a love and revenge story based on a Japanese comic called Skip Beat, which will start in November. Another band member will also take part.
A devout Christian who wants to be a missionary later in his life, Choi appears to be relishing his band’s leap to global fame, including interacting with fans.
“I’m not a native English speaker but do post tweets in English. But, interestingly, our fans are now learning Korean,” he said, smiling.
“Paris was a new road for us. I hope the entire Korean culture like films can be enjoyed by many others.”
(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by David Chance and Elaine Lies)
Source: Reuters
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no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 07:29 pm (UTC)Forever relevant
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Date: 2011-06-17 10:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-18 12:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-18 02:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 07:34 pm (UTC)Anyway, I really hope to marry him so we can be missionaries together ^_^ Life would be awesome~~
no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 07:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 07:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-18 06:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 08:56 pm (UTC)Sorry...that sounded really confusing XD
no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 09:14 pm (UTC)So officially he's 24, but going by physical age, he's 25.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-18 12:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-06 04:25 am (UTC)Anyway, I really hope to marry him so we can be missionaries together ^_^ Life would be awesome~~
my not so secret fantasy is that we meet doing missionary work some day.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 07:35 pm (UTC)(but don't because your tweets are amazing).
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Date: 2011-06-17 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 07:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 07:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 07:44 pm (UTC)Breathinginsilence.tumblr.com
It's the first post, on the top page.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 07:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-18 02:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-19 05:28 pm (UTC)I was like o_O
but then it's Heechul so lool at that!
Heechul if you REALLY want a girlfriend, delete your twitter.
he obviously doesn't want one, what Heechul needs & wants is a boyfriend (if Siwon isn't his already)
no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 07:38 pm (UTC)I love his tweets
Every little thing he does is magic okay
no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 11:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 07:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 07:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 08:06 pm (UTC)Well anyways, good job Siwon. Always fulfilling your role as the center of Suju with admirable determination. Don't worry, you have the world fooled. ...I'm sure.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 08:13 pm (UTC)This is exactly what I thought, people who don't know Suju, don't know that this future missionary has been kissed on stage by Heechul, who is man in drag Lady HeeHee, they don't know about the star-craft addict or Teukoncye and the rest, they would enter Suju thinking it's full of role-models and exemplary human-beings...lol, imagine that?
no subject
Date: 2011-06-18 01:16 am (UTC)<3
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Date: 2011-06-19 05:36 pm (UTC)I first came to know SJ through Siwon, I was having stars in my eyes admiring the perfect man
then when I knew the others I was like o_O
& don't even ask me about the WTF reaction I got when I learnt about the fanservice thing
however idk why but strangely it made me wanna learn more about them, "this is one hell of a unqiue band" I guess was my thought ^^
no subject
Date: 2011-06-19 06:34 pm (UTC)And besides, the joke's on us. With a closer look, Siwon's really is no better than the rest of dem weirdoes.
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Date: 2011-06-19 08:06 pm (UTC)lol! all SJ are weirdoes, Siwon just seems to be the less affected (only in appearance of course as we know better xD )
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Date: 2011-06-17 08:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 08:32 pm (UTC)i feel bad for the writers. they probably get confused at how many members super junior really has. technically they're only 10 now, but sme hasn't really said anything about the status of kibum and kangin. and well, sme is still trying to get back hangeng (or his money).
no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 08:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 10:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-17 08:36 pm (UTC)I love you, Siwon.
PERFECT TITLE *-*!
Date: 2011-06-17 10:18 pm (UTC)Re: PERFECT TITLE *-*!
Date: 2011-06-18 12:28 am (UTC)Re: PERFECT TITLE *-*!
Date: 2011-06-19 05:42 pm (UTC)*stares again*
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Date: 2011-06-18 12:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-18 03:20 am (UTC)LOL
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Date: 2011-06-18 07:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-19 05:47 pm (UTC)he can be married with a family (that's his dream too as far as I know) & have for a mission to "promote" (lool :D) religion all over the world
but don't worry I think that's for retirement not immediately after disbanding. he's gonna be active for a long time, maybe doing dramas & films or so while participating in charity activities
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Date: 2011-06-18 02:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-18 05:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-18 06:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-19 12:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-18 03:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-18 06:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-19 05:51 pm (UTC)this kind of articles is good for newbies but we, old good fans, know better lool!
this being said, I like this
I really don't wanna fall in love with Siwon but this kind of stuff doesn't help
Perfect man is perfect