‘Kpop Dance Cover Festival’ holds its Japanese audition

‘Cover Dance Festival K-POP Roadshow 40120′, held its Japanese audition on September 11th at Tokyo Shinkiba Studio Coast.
Out of the 193 dance cover teams that applied through the homepage, 22 teams made it through the preliminaries, performing in front of 3,000 audience members and KARA.
Various participants from different backgrounds, from a 9 year old girl, a housewife with 3 kids to a 42 year old salaryman, competed in hopes of being selected as the winner. In addition to the usual idol groups like KARA and T-ara, there were also covers of under represented genres of Korean music from UV’s “Itaewon Freedom” to Park Hyun Bin’s “Shabang Shabang”.
KARA’s Gyuri stated, “I was touched by the amount of effort put in by the dance teams… I knew that there were a lot of Japanese fans that were interested in K-POP, but I didn’t know the interest level was to the extent of people wanting to actually go to Korea or students dreaming of studying abroad there”.
The PD in charge of the Japanese auditions, Kim Hyun Chul, remarked, “Through the Japanese audition, we were surprised by the different genders and different age groups of K-POP fans and at all the organized K-POP dance cover teams with their own set of fans” and that “If we look at Japan, where K-POP has reached a certain stage, instead of other countries where K-POP has yet to penetrate, we will be able to confirm the true nature of K-POP’s status and the direction it must head towards”.
‘Cover dance Festival K-POP Roadshow 40120′ is an entertainment-documentary program which will air its first episode on September 22nd through MBC.

Kim Hyun Joong takes the ending stage for Spring Cocoons Shenzhen Bay Stadium concert

Kim Hyun Joong‘s performance at the Spring Cocoons Shenzhen Bay Stadium in China will be broadcast on Chinese networks.
On September 16th, Kim Hyun Joong will be performing live for a 30,000-member audience as the concluding performance.  The last stage is usually left to the most prestigious star, so this is quite an honor in itself.
The Chinese press wrote, “We’re all especially looking forward to Kim Hyun Joong’s performance at this concert.”  His fans had also brought in over $160,000 USD in pre-order ticket sales, proving his popularity in China.
Fans also paralyzed the airport Kim Hyun Joong entered through, showing intense support for his performance.

SNSD, Super Junior to participate in a blood drive on ‘Love Request’

SNSD and Super Junior will be making an appearance on KBS‘s ‘Love Request‘ on September 17th.
Through the show, these groups will be inviting an 11-year-old Cambodian girl, Suraili, who has a heart condition, and a young Indian boy named Nurulee, who lost his eyesight suddenly at the age of 9. These children will fly to Korea to receive treatment.
In addition, the idol groups will also be on site to participate in a blood drive campaign.
The production team stated on the 16th, “This special program was prepared to allow the stars of Hallyu, SNSD and Super Junior, to thank their fans from Asia, who have given them so much love, while spreading the good cause so that everyone can participate”.

Super Junior to make a ‘Music Bank’ comeback on September 23rd

Super Junior has announced that they’ll be making a music program comeback through September 23rd’s episode of ‘Music Bank‘!
As reported earlier, they’ll be releasing their follow-up song, “A-Cha“, from their repackaged album of the same name on the 19th.
To accomodate those fans who don’t want to own multiple copies of their “Mr. Simple” album, Super Junior will release the digital versions of their 4 new songs through music sites like Melon, Dosirak, Bugs, and Naver on that day.
“A-Cha” is a song about holding onto a lover who seems to be unsure about what she wants. It’s described to be a powerful dance track combining rock and electro house styles with an easy melody and sophisticated rhythm.
3 other tracks included in the new album are “Oops!!”, “Andante”, and “A Day”. Members Leeteuk, Heechul, Shindong, Donghae, and Eunhyuk wrote the rap for “Oops!!”, while Leeteuk and Super Junior-M member Henry composed “Andante”. “A Day” is an emotional pop ballad that promises unchanging love.

Lee Min Ho spotted in L.A

Actor Lee Min Ho has been spotted in Los Angles!
A photo was revealed of Lee Min Ho shopping at a vintage store with his staff on an online community board recently. The picture was said to be taken on September 13th.
In the picture, Lee Min Ho was seen wearing a white long-sleeved shirt looking relaxed and happy as he perused the display cases. His tall height of 187 cm drew especial attention.
Netizens replied, “Real ideal body. I thought it was a mannequin“, “Return to Korea quickly“, and “Is he going to be in L.A. for a long time? Is there something good happening?”

Won Bin’s ‘The Man From Nowhere’ to be released in China

Actor Won Bin‘s blockbuster film “The Man From Nowhere” will be meeting audiences in China.
According to the Beijing, China office of the Korean Film Commission on September 15th, “The Man From Nowhere” will be released in more than 4,000 cinemas across China on September 16th.
Depending on the turnout of the opening week of this intermediate scale distribution, the movie may further expand on the number of cinemas that it will be showing in.
Along with the release of the film, the main star of the film, Won Bin, will be participating in stage greetings at 4 primary cinemas in Beijing.
The Korean Film Commission stated, “At the press conference prior to the release of the film on the 15th, there was a hot response from over 100 media outlets including 3 major Chinese portal sites.”
Meanwhile, following “The Man From Nowhere”, the animation “The Hen That Left the Yard” will be released on September 30th.

Rain to join the military in October

Fans have long dreaded Rain‘s enlistment, though up til now, they’ve had no idea when he’d join. It’s just been revealed that he’ll be starting his mandatory military service in October!
On September 15th, a representative from Rain’s agency revealed, “Rain will be enlisting in the military this October. We plan to hold a press conference right before he enlists.”
This press conference will be for Rain’s concert in Seoul from his nationwide tour. Scheduled to be held on September 24th, Rain will discuss his feelings on joining the military, what his plans are before enlisting, and when his last broadcast on television will be. He’ll also share details about an album he’s working on with J.Y. Park.
Rain recently concluded filming for his upcoming movie ‘Emergency: Close to the Sun‘, and is currently touring Korea for his concert series, ‘The Best Show‘.