“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

After Paris, Peruvian fans showed that they too can make their voices heard and they are dying to catch a glimpse of their beloved SM Town artistes.

About 4,000 Peruvian Kpop fans gathered in Lima, the capital city of Peru on July 3rd (KST), holding banners with captions like ‘SMTown in Peru’, etc to request for the SM Town Live World Tour concert to be held in Peru, South America.

Following that effort, on July 5th, a video was revealed through YouTube, showing how the Peruvian fans experienced the Korean food, dance, Taekwando and cultural activities. In addition to that, they also showcased their talents on stage, performing some of SM Town artistes’ biggest hits, as well as sending messages to cheer on their beloved idols.

Other than that, fans in Peru have also started petition campaigns on Twitter and Facebook.

Credit: tvdaily.co.kr/Risuchan9@YouTube

In celebration of Sooyoung’s birthday, fans got their birthday messages to Sooyoung published on a newspaper.

Sooyoung celebrate her 21st (Korean – 22nd) birthday on February 10th. For her birthday, SONEs published their birthday wishes and messages on February 10th issue of Sportschosun newspaper. In the messages, fans stated, “You are always giving out bright smiles. You look beautiful even without putting any make-up and even without  much facial expression, your stories are always warm and refreshing. Your heart is so beautiful as you have gone places to reach out to less fortunate people. We would like to thank you for your unwavering heart and voices to us fans and we will always give you our unwavering cheers, support and love just like the beginning”, conveying their sincere love and support for Sooyoung. The messages ended with a birthday greeting, “February 10th is SNSD’s Sooyoung’s 22nd birthday. We sincerely wish the beautiful-hearted Sooyoung a happy birthday”.

Ahead of Sooyoung’s birthday, SNSD fancafe ‘Cistus’ carried out some voluntary work and donated 2 million won to Disabled Children Foundation in Gwangju on January 29th. International fans have also made Sooyoung’s birthday a memorable one as they managed to put ‘Choi Sooyoung’ on Twitter’s ‘Worldwide Trending’ list on February 9th.

Fanwonder.com would like to put this opportunity to wish our angel Sooyoung who is a beauty on the inside and outside, a very happy birthday. We wish that she would be having lots of fun and happiness on this day!

Credit: sportschosun.com

The interview with KBS 2 “Entertainment Weekly” aired on August 28th revealed the girls’ reactions on the showcase at Ariake Coliseum (August 25th) and also their experiences in Japan.

When asked about the reactions from the fans, Sooyoung answered,”We never thought that there were so many people coming to out showcase. Usually fans sit while waving their light sticks but to our surprise, everyone stood up, waving their light sticks and sang our songs(lyrics in Korean).”

On the difference between Korean and Japanese fans, Hyoyeon jokingly said,”language” and the girls burst into laughter. Yuri then replied,”We were amazed that some of the fans who came to see us dressed in our stage costume”. Tiffany made it simple by saying,”cosplay”.

The host then asked if the girls have experienced the effects of their popularity in Japan. Sooyoung answered,”Not long ago, not me but one of our members went to a supermarket.” Upon hearing Sooyoung’s statement, Sunny giggled, hinting that Sooyoung was actually referring to her. Sooyoung added,”She went to a convenience store and got spotted by fans. I heard that she kept denying that she’s a member of SNSD because she did not have make-up on at that moment.” Hyoyeon then explained the reason for going out without their make-up on by saying,”…because if we go out without make-up, no one would be able to recognize us.” Upon hearing that the girls burst into laughter.

Before the end of the interview, Yuri said that SNSD hope to tour the cities in Japan and spread their music to all over the country.

Here’s the video clip of the interview:

The girls will be performing at the 2010 Incheon Korean Music Wave on August 29th with Yuri and Tiffany as the MC for the event.

Credits:TheShiOH2@YouTube

About 7000 fans attended the first of the three showcases scheduled for today at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo. The showcase which looks more like a concert rather than a showcase last for 30 minutes.

SM Entertainment representative told Money Today Star News that the Japanese fans who are mostly female, were simply “too hot” in terms of their response. The overwhelming response surprised everyone. According to two representatives/staff, the girls were surprised and thrilled by the hot response from the fans. During the showcase, the girls performed 5 songs – Genie, Oh!, Gee, Into The New World and Run Devil Run. Sooyoung said to the fans,”I’m really happy that there are this many people who came to see our first live in Japan.”

The girls will have another 2 shows to complete and at the time this article is posted, the second show should be underway. It was estimated that a total of 22,000 fans would be filling up Ariake Coliseum for the three showcases.

During the showcase, the MV for Japanese version of “Genie” (full version) was revealed. Tiffany who was injured during their performance at SM Town Live 10 at Seoul Jamsil Stadium on August 21st looks fine and she was seen running and jumping around.

Credits: Star News/arghninja@Soshified.com/ForNicoRi@Twitter/Chichinhu@Twitter (photo)