‘Flower Boys’ Kim Hyun Joong and Kim Kyu Jong pose with ‘Goong’ producer Song Byung Joon

A few days ago, SS501‘s Kim Hyun Joong paid a visit to his fellow member, Kim Kyu Jong, during Kim Kyu Jong’s rehearsal for the musical, “Goong“.
Additional photos from the visit were released today, which also included Hyun Joong’s meeting with Group 8 CEO and producer of “Goong”, Song Byung Joon.  Hyun Joong had previously worked with him for ‘Boys Over Flowers‘ and ‘Playful Kiss‘.
Although they both portray ‘flower boys’ in “Goong”, fiction wasn’t too far from fact, as Kim Hyun Joong and Kim Kyu Jong easily made hearts melt with their bright smiles and handsome looks.

Netizens reacted with “It’s so sweet to see them take care of each other“, “I really want to see all the members stand on one stage“, and “Always flower boys“.

Alex gets cast in “Thousand Days’ Promise”

 Earlier this month, we reported that Park Yoohwan was cast in a new SBS drama called ‘Thousand Days’ Promise’. It’s just been revealed that singer-turned-actor Alex will be joining him on the small screen as a supporting role.
On September 5th, a representative of Alex’s agency stated, “Alex has been confirmed to star in ‘Thousand Days’ Promise’. He recently had a script-reading and is giving his all for this drama.”
Alex will be starring as Kim Rae Won‘s friend ,who is an owner of a construction company. Having enjoyed his acting stint in KBS‘s ‘Smile, Donghae‘ earlier this year, Alex is raring to go for another opportunity.
Be sure to check him out when “Thousand Days’ Promise” airs sometime in next month.

2PM promises fans “explosive laughter” during their Chuseok special

2PM has assured their “2PM Show” viewers, “We will take ownership for explosive laughter this Chuseok holiday.”
SBS E!TV‘s “2PM Show”will be airing a Chuseok special, and the members sent a greeting to their viewers saying, “Spend your abundant Korean Thanksgiving healthily with us, 2PM.” The message included a hilarious clip of 2PM dancing in a circle while holding hands (ganggangsulae).
In the upcoming “2PM Show” special, fans will get to view a compilation of 2PM’s most entertaining moments on the program. They will be broadcasting all of the funniest audition clip, as well as the top three moments from the last eight episodes. The members’ unique characters will also be revealed through a ‘character alignment’ segment.
The “2PM Show” Chuseok Special will air on September 10th at 11 PM, and on SBS E!TV on the 11th at 12 PM.

Japanese fans feel the ‘Dream High’ fever at Saitama Super Arena

After drawing a crowd of over 3,000 fans to Japan’s Haneda Airport late last week, Bae Yong Joon and Kim Soo Hyun appeared for a sold-out “Dream High Premium Event” at the Saitama Super Arena. The actors were accompanied by their co-stars J.Y. Park, 2PM‘s Taecyeon and Wooyoung, as well as miss A‘s Suzy, who all shared a meaning meeting with their fans.
Though the drama “Dream High” finished its broadcast in August, its popularity hasn’t flagged one bit.
The event started with Bae Yong Joon’s greeting to the crowd, and  his speech was punctuated by screams of “Yon-sama“, a tribute to his earlier popularity with ‘Winter Sonata‘.  Kim Soo Hyun put on an excellent performance of the “Dream High” OST track “Dreaming“, which received much praise from the fans at the event.
Bae Yong Joon and J.Y. Park took some time to express their gratitude to their viewers and revealed behind-the-scenes stories from the making of the drama. They talked about some of the drama’s highlight scenes and their experience in working with one another.
Additionally, the main stars of “Dream High” — Kim Soo Hyun, Suzy, Taecyeon, and Wooyoung — had a special talk as they recanted episodes from the drama set, and shared personal stories from when they were filming the show.
The event came to an end with Kim Soo Hyun, Suzy, Taecyeon, and Wooyoung’s performance of the OST track, “Dream High“. They sang the song in Japanese, which delighted their audience. Lastly, Bae Yong Joon and J.Y. Park returned to the stage to give their final messages of gratitude to their fans.

Kim Hyun Joong successfully completes his Asia tour

On August 27th, SS501‘s Kim Hyun Joong successfully concluded his one month promotional tour across Asia and returned to Korea. Starting with Japan last month, the star toured seven different countries across Asia, which resulted in blocked-up airports at every entrance. His popularity was definitely confirmed with each visit, as he reportedly ran out of staff to effectively control the crowd for every high-five event. Kim Hyun Joong has also been receiving love calls from record labels around the globe. Kim Hyun Joong revealed that he’ll be starting an Asia tour concert starting this December. “It was an enjoyable time that allowed me to meet my fans overseas, who are always supporting me and giving me so much love. I’ve gained so much strength from your love and I promise to work hard on my next album.” The star will be heading straight into preparations for his second mini-album.

SM Entertainment’s Kim Young Min talks about Hallyu and marketing strategies

On September 3rd, SM Entertainment CEO Kim Young Min met with reporters at a restaurant in Tokyo to talk about the success of his artists and the ‘new Hallyu wave’. Kim began, “Whether or not there will be another first-rate group like TVXQ will determine the path of future juniors hoping to make their way into the Japanese market. It’s important that we focus on the production of content that will make K-Pop stand out from what’s already in Japan.” He continued, “The power of TVXQ is just huge and impressive. Despite the controversy they’re undergoing, it’s because of what the five members accomplished that there’s a K-Pop market right now.” When asked about the ‘expiration date’ for K-Pop, he replied, “At minimum, K-Pop will be popular for about three to five more years. The reason K-Pop is so popular all over the world is because of the idol groups. I think that it’s either going to last for three to five more years, or continue on forever. In the case of Japan, I heard that Hallyu contents broke all of the sales records in one of Japan’s biggest CD and DVD rental and sales chain. The international market is always growing.” He continued, “The influence of social networking services is a considerable factor in our success. SNS is just a portion of our marketing, however, not a main tool. SNS is useful for marketing, but not a necessity.” On the topic of the anti-Hallyu movement, he replied, “I think that it’s a natural phenomenon since our culture is going into Japan. There will be people with those thoughts anywhere in the world. Instead of focusing on that, it’s more important for us to focus on the creation of better content and the creation of an improved culture.

JYJ announces concert dates for Spain and Germany

C-JeS Entertainment has just announced that JYJ has confirmed concert tours in Europe!

On September 5th, representatives revealed, “JYJ will be heading over to Spain in October and Germany in November for their first solo concerts.”

To start, JYJ will be performing at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain on October 29th. The venue has seen performances from the likes of Ricky Martin and Deep Purple, so fans are looking forward to another great performance on that stage.

JYJ will also be making their way to Germany and are currently in the midst of finalizing their contract with the Tempodrom, a stadium previously used by Paul Robert Potts, the winner of ‘Britain’s Got Talent‘. That concert is currently scheduled for November 6th.

Representatives stated, “After the release of their worldwide album, they’ve received love calls from all over the world, especially Europe. This time, we’ve focused on cities centered around Spain and Germany specifically to allow fans to see JYJ.”

The concert sponsor for Spain stated, “JYJ is receiving a lot of attention amongst European fans for their outstanding artistic traits. Not only that, their album was also released in English through Warner Music, a label familiar to European fans.”

The members of JYJ expressed, “We’re moved that we’re able to prepare concerts for fans that we haven’t met yet. With global anticipation on the rise for Hallyu, we’re going to put forth the best of our performances.”