A picture of actress Jung Ryeowon taken together with SNSD’s Sooyoung and Tiffany became a hot topic.

On July 25th, Jung Ryeowon posted on her twitter account, “Drove there to support SNSD. The two girls who work hard in everything they do. How beautiful they are!”. Together with the tweet, she uploaded a photo taken with SNSD’s Sooyoung and Tiffany in the waiting room, showing their close friendships.

In the photo, Jung Ryeowon sat in between Sooyoung and Tiffany, who were wearing silver performance costumes, and made fairy-like poses. Their cuteness resembled one another, as if they were sisters.

As previously reported, Sooyoung made a surprise visit to the production press conference of Jung Ryeowon’s new movie ‘Pain’ on July 21st, showing her support for her close friend. In response to the visit, Jung Ryeowon, in return, dropped by at SNSD’s waiting room during their concert to support them.

Netizens who saw the photo commented, “Is this ‘fairy-shidae?”, “It’s great seeing close relationships between sunbae and hoobae”, and “I wonder how close they are, is this what we call ‘crazy connections’?” etc.

Credit: Newsen

Translated by: imwhywhy@fanwonder.com

Korean singers will come together for a charity concert in support of the reconstruction efforts in Japan after the country was hit by earthquake of catastrophic scale back in March 2011.

SNSD, Kara, 2pm, etc will participate in the ‘K-POP All Star Live in Niigata’ event which will be held in Niigata on August 20th.

Besides SNSD, Kara and 2pm, the other Kpop stars who will be lighting up the stage on August 20th are 2am, CN Blue, Beast, 4minute, Infinite, Teen Top, Sistar and Secret, Norazo, etc.

The Japan earthquake reconstruction event is organized by MBC and about 300 high school students from the affected areas will be invited to watch the concert for free.

Credit: tvdaily.co.kr

SNSD revealed the reasons for shedding tears at the first ’2011 Girls’ Generation Tour’ yesterday.

On July 23rd, SNSD kicked off the ’2011 Girls’ Generation Tour’ at Olympic Park Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul and in the midst of their performances, tears were seen rolling down their cheeks.

At the press conference for the tour on July 24th at the same venue, YoonA revealed, “During the concert, the fans prepared a surprise event for us where they showed us banners with the message ‘보고 싶었어 (We missed you)’. Upon seeing the event prepared for us by the fans, we were touched and moved to tears”.

She added, “Since it has been a long time, we have to show our best appearance to everyone and we felt very thankful for the event that the fans have prepared for us. We will be working harder and it feels good to be able to enjoy the moments together with the fans”.

Sunny said, “Many overseas fans came to yesterday’s concert. It was awesome and with their presence, we seemed to be able to enjoy our own performances. We hope we could see more of this in the future”.

On flashmob projects carried out by overseas fans, Sooyoung commented, “After hearing about Hallyu boom in foreign countries and witnessed flashmobs, the phrase i could think of is ‘Indeed, music is universal’. We are thankful and really want to perform in front of them soon. Honestly, it seems like that’s the only way to reward the overseas fans. Hopefully, together with the juniors and seniors of SM Town, we would be able to perform overseas again soon.

The girls also explained the reasons behind the abundance of love they received from overseas fans. Among the reasons mentioned was the combination of each member’s unique characters and the performances that enables SNSD to deliver good performances to the fans.

Taeyeon then talked about the most memorable fan she encountered. She revealed, “While performing in France for SM Town concert, I saw a man with ‘YoonA’ written in Hangul on his arm. The image of that man stays in my memory till now. It’s amazing that overseas fans show interest not only in our music but also the Korean language”.

Yuri, Sooyoung and Tiffany also expressed their gratitude to the fans from Taiwan and Singapore who came to Korea to watch the girls.

Yuri said, “I heard about Taiwanese fans coming to Korea through articles on a newspaper. The title says, “It Was Like A Dream Coming to SNSD’s Country’. We are thankful that they even came over for our concert and so, we would like to present a lively performance in front of them and let them feel the energy”.

Sooyoung added, “During the concert yesterday, I saw many fans carrying cards with the message ‘I’m from Taiwan’. From the stage, I was moved to see fans from overseas. I was thankful and the memory of the touching moments we experienced during the concert in Taiwan last year are still fresh in my mind. Since it was a really a memorable concert, I want to go there again through this Asia tour”.

Tiffany then said, “We would like to thank the Singaporean fans who came to watch us live. If there’s a chance, we would like to have a concert in Singapore”.

The performance itinery for ’2011 Girls’ Generation Tour’ is almost similar to the 14-concerts ’1st Japan Arena Tour’ which was held in 6 major cities in Japan from May 31st to July 18th.

For the 2nd solo tour, SNSD performed more than 30 songs, including hit songs such as ‘Gee’, Run Devil Run’, ‘Tell Me Your Wish’, ‘Hoot’ and songs from 1st Japanese Album namely ‘The Great Escape’, ‘Bad Girl’, etc. SNSD also performed the Korean version of ‘Mr. Taxi’ and ‘Let It Rain’ during the concert in Seoul on July 23rd.

Former professional basketball coach, Park SeungIl who is suffering from Lou Gehrig’s Disease also went to SNSD’s concert to give his support to his dear friend, Sooyoung.

SNSD will have another concert at the Seoul Olympic Park Stadium on July 24th before moving on to other venues for this edition of their Asian tour.

Credit: asiatoday.co.kr/sportschosun.com/newsen.com

The fact that SNSD made in-flight announcements during their flight back to Seoul from Jeju became a hot topic recently.

Recently, a post named “Things that happened on the plane when SNSD came back from Jeju” was posted on an online community portal site.

According to the tweet of a flight attendant on July 20th, SNSD members who just finished their schedules in Jeju, imitated the flight attendant as she made an in-flight announcement, because they found it interesting. The flight attendant then noted down the words and uploaded it through her tweet.

Also, it was said that as the plan is implemented, Tiffany and Sooyoung were the first to do the introductions and guiding information in both English and Korean, followed by all SNSD members making in-flight announcements.

In response to this, netizens commented “I also want to hear the announcement”, “There’s nothing they can’t do”, “Until now they’re still like 17 years old girls”, “I also want to enjoy the comfort for an hour” and “Really, those who take the plan are very blessed”, etc.

Credit: starnnews.com
Translated by: imwhywhy@fanwonder.com
Photo: Credit as tagged

“In order to watch SNSD’s concert, I started working in a currency changer as a part-time worker to save money. Since I’ll be able to see SNSD right in front of me…”, said Julian Cervantes, a 21 years old American college student who could not hide his excitement. Natasha, who came together with him from Chicago, was as happy as him. She said, “My iPod is full of SNSD songs. Now I can hear them live!”. John Toss from New Mexico who sat right beside them added, “I finally ate the real Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi stew).”

These 103 American SNSD fans who met one another on SNSD’s International fan-site “Soshified”, found a common interest and came to Korea on their own. The group of young people staying in Seoul from the 21^st to 26^th are planning to watch SNSD’s concert, MBC “Music core”, and KBS 2TV’s “Immortal Song”. Cervantes, Natasha and Toss met one another at Seoul’s downtown.

The three Americans started talking about their love for K-pop once they met. They have been looking forward to the Korea trip so much that they requested to attend these music programs from the Los Angeles branch of Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) when they were still in America since the tickets cannot be obtained easily. Cervantes became a K-pop fan 2 years ago after listening to SNSD’s “Gee” by chance. He said, “The fast and joyful beats really caught my attention. Until now, I bought all of f(x), Kara and other K-pop groups’ albums, and spent about 5000 dollars (5.26 million Won). Being a SNSD Taeyeon and Sunny’s fan, Toss said “Now, American Idols seem to have ‘gone further away’ from us. As we watched reality programs like “Invincible Youth” and “Running man”, Korean idols seem more ‘human’ to us, which is great.”

As they get to know more Korean idols like T-ara, IU and Big Bang, they started mixing Korean phrases like “Gwaenchanayo (it’s ok)” and “Jogeum-yo (a little)” in their conversations. Cervantes who has been learning the Korean language for a year said, “While we became more interested in Korean idols, we started to pay attention to Korean culture”. Natasha also got more familiar with Korean cultures through her room mate at their dorm. She is currently learning Korean on her own through mobile applications.

Toss who was born in New Mexico, makes Korean food on his own. He said, “Because we don’t have Korean restaurant there, I obtain the recipe from the internet and started making kimchi on my own a few months ago.” Cervantes on the other hand, travels all the way to the Korean town just to eat Jjinbbang, Patbbang (Korean steamed buns) and Bibimpab (Korean mixed dish).

Julian, Natasha and John added, “We only saw Korean culture and food through TV programs. It’s really hard to believe that we can actually experience them now.” Before going back to America, they have another wish and that is to get SNSD members’ autographs when they head down to the Seoul Olympic Park Stadium today.

Credit: chosun.com
Translated by: imwhywhy@fanwonder.com

Updates on SNSD’s 2nd solo concert will be available for fans all around the world through Facebook!

On July 23rd and 24th, SNSD will kick off their ’2011 Girls’ Generation Tour’. Through SM Town’s Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/smtown) and SNSD’s facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/girlsgeneration), fans will be treated with updates and photos at the concert, backstage as well as various SNSD-related photos.

In addition to photos, videos of some performances during the concert as well as press conference and other videos will also be shared through these Facebook pages to enable fans from around the world who could not be at the Seoul Olympic Park Stadium to enjoy the much anticipated concert as well.

SNSD’s facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/girlsgeneration) will be available from July 22nd onwards. With the launching of the Facebook page, both SNSD and fans will have much closer interactions with one another. The page is expected to receive overwhelming response from SONEs all over the globe.

Credit: newdaily.co.kr

SNSD’s 1st Japan Arena Tour concerts gained quite a reputation from Japanese media.

On July 21st Oricon stated, “SNSD had their last concert for the Japan Arena Tour on July 18th at Fukuoka Marine Messe. The 14-concerts Arena Tour which was scheduled to start at the end of May in Osaka due to the catastrophic earthquake attracted a total audience of 140,000. Although the members were busy preparing for the release of their 1st Japanese Album, performances in Paris and also schedules in Korea, they managed to complete the tour successfully”.

The 3 hour concert has a total of 32 songs which includes Tiffany’s rap part in ‘Genie’, solo stages, Korean hit songs, etc. Although the girls received praises for their perfect live performances and the variety of display, Japanese media seemed to be interested about the girls’ tears. Tiffany, Yuri and the other girls said, “It was our dream to tour the whole country. We are thankful for the abundance of love we received”. Oricon further stated, “The members’ tears had shone even more”.

SNSD will be kicking off their 2nd solo concert ’2011 Girls’ Generation Tour’ on July 23rd and 24th at Seoul Olympic Park Stadium. Expectations are high as the concert will also feature songs from the 1st Japanese Album.

Credit: sportschosun.com

Interestingly, Japanese fans have their own ways for differentiating SNSD members.

In the Mnet Korea Wave report, ‘BOOM the K-POP’, aired on July 21st, Japanese music fans’ special way of distinguishing SNSD members from one another was revealed.

Among the members, Taeyeon, Yoona, Sooyoung and Yuri have high popularities as Japanese music fans call them “the 4 Heavenly Kings”.

Taeyeon, besides being the leader, has excellent singing skills with deep emotions. Yoona, beautiful as if she just walked out from mangas, receives high popularity. She is famous not only for having a small face, but also her diversified images presented through dramas.

Yuri, true to her nickname “Black Pearl”, has tanned skin colour and slim body shape. While Sooyoung is famous for her model-like height and body, at the same time she became more well-known for her fluent Japanese.

On the other hand, Seohyun, Sunny and Hyoyeon can be distinguished by their unique characters. Seohyun is a health mania, Sunny has cute ‘aegyo’, while Hyoyeon’s ‘dancing queen’ title is widely known in both Asia and Europe. The last two members, Tiffany who has eye smile charms, and Jessica with the title ‘Ice Princess’, are distinguished through their fluent English and American background.

At the same time, a picture comparing SNSD’s 9 members to other Japanese stars who look similar to them is also attracting attention in Japan. For an example, Japanese’s famous actress Toda Erika who was casted in the movie ‘Death Note’, has black hair and innocent looks that looks like Yoona. Hence, there are many pictures comparing two of them.

Credit: Newsen
Translated by: imwhywhy@fanwonder.com

Sooyoung attended the production press conference of new movie ‘Pain’ directed by Kwak GyungTaek and starring Kwon SangWoo as well as Jung RyeoWon. The conference took place at 11am KST on July 21st at Lotte Cinema in Seoul.

Sooyoung was there to show her support to Jung RyeoWon whom she is close with.

The movie ‘Pain’ was produced based on the webtoon of the same name created by famous cartoonist, Kang Full who also produced famous manhwas namely ‘Love Story’, ‘Apartment’, ‘Fool’, etc. ‘Pain’ is a love story about a man (played by Kwon SangWoo) who could not feel pain after an accident that took the lives of his family members when he was a child and also a woman (played by Jung RyeoWon) who is very sensitive towards pain.

‘Pain’ is scheduled for release on Chooseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day).

Credit: tvdaily.co.kr/hankyung.com/mk.co.kr