“For the first time in my life, I lied to my fans and it feels refreshing!” said Korean heartthrob Kim Soo Hyun, who dropped many surprises at his maiden fan meeting in Singapore on 27 April, at the Singapore Expo Hall 1.
The tour, which is part of the ‘2014 Kim Soo Hyun 1st Memories Asia Tour’, brought fans of different tongues into Singapore to catch the star of the drama phenomenon ‘You Who Came From the Stars’ – which swept Asia with an unstoppable starry wave and sent the 26-year-old actor’s popularity into the stratosphere across the region. The tour commenced in Seoul and it is to commemorate Kim’s memories with his fans thus far, and will also be making stopovers in Taiwan, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia.
In an effort to deliver a perfect memory for his fans, Kim Soo Hyun is reported to have practiced really hard for the fan meet! The hard work certainly paid off as Kim delivered an unforgettable night of impressive vocals and plenty of hilarious stories, surprises, and interactive sessions with fans.
What truly was a surprise is that one of Asia’s most sought-after actor’s is quite a 4-dimensional being in person, who really loves to crack jokes, and is very cheeky as he mercilessly teases his fans. Fans may not have caught all the jokes, but they sure loved every time he opened his mouth, including all those cute noises Kim makes when he pauses and ponders!
Waves of shrilling greeted the man of the hour, who emerged on stage suavely dressed in suit and tie. Kim Soo Hyun started the night off with a performance of ‘Dream High’s title song ‘Dreaming’ before settling down for a chat.
All smiles, Kim greeted the ecstatic crowd – “I am so happy to see every one of you here in Singapore! I hope you guys will have a great time and happy memories here with me, here right now.” Kim went on to share that it was actually his second time in Singapore after a 3-year departure, and “it is so different this time with so many of my fans here!”
Kim has been turning heads since his role in the 2011 drama ‘Dream High’, and the continued success of 2012 hit drama ‘The Moon that Embraces The Sun’. Films such as ‘The Thieves’ and ‘Secretly, Greatly’ made him a household name in Asia. So what was his thoughts concerning the potential popularity of ‘You Who Came From The Stars’ and it’s ability to further propel his blazing stardom when he first started on the series?
“When I was filming the drama, it (the weather) was really cold. So we were all mainly concentrating on fighting the cold, and I did not have time to think much about the popularity.” Kim answered earnestly, “But it is really good to finish the drama on a good note. I appreciate all your love and support. Since then, I have been touring Asia, and here I am with all of you!”
In terms of what he had planned for the fans, the young actor said he wish to show more of himself at the fan meeting, not just the characters he played onscreen. “There will be lots of surprises!” Kim teased, “And though I have not done that many productions yet, I thought it will be nice to start with a clip down the memory lane of my works.”
While everyone was waiting for the video, Kim suddenly stood up, which was hilarious as it clearly caught the host off guard as well. “We are having a fan meeting. But now it makes me feel like I am in a school and you all looked like I am giving a lecture. Your expressions are too serious! Loosen up – I am going to watch all of you!” as he bent over and peered at the audience. That certainly set everyone in a trance!
Classic scenes of Kim Soo Hyun’s works over the years then flashed across the big screens. The first clip quickly got the crowd going – we all remember Kim Soo Hyun’s ‘Dream High’ bus scene with Suzy?! Memorable scenes that followed include ones from ‘The Moon that Embraces the Sun’, crime thriller ‘The Thieves’, Kim’s goofy but muscular side in the film ‘Secretly, Greatly’, and last but definitely not the least, some of the top moments with iconic actress Jun Ji Hyun in ‘You Who Came from the Stars’.
Interestingly, what was striking in the video is the number of hairstyles that Kim had to embrace through the years. Teasing fans, the host quipped, “So which hairstyle do you all like the most?” Not surprising, fans unanimously went “ALL!”
Laughters aside, the range of characters that Kim depicted left deep impressions on viewers, proving that he is more than just a pretty face but an actor of talent. So what preparation works does he do to bring out the charm of each character?
“Before I start on a character, the most important thing is to try to remove myself and just live as the character during the filming period” Kim shared, and went on to explain, while smiling shyly, how ‘embarrassed’ he gets when he tries to watch himself in the dramas.
Seeing the bashful side of the young actor, the host asked fans “Do you all like the cute side of Kim Soo Hyun? The serious side? Funny side? Romantic? Sexy WITHOUT the shirt side?” – a resounding ‘Yes!’, which then set the thousands of female fans off into a fit of giggles.
When asked about the experience of wearing a hanbok in ‘The Moon that Embraces the Sun’, which recorded a high 42% viewership in Korea, Kim said “I am definitely happy to wear our traditional costume, countless times in the drama. I hope you guys will get the opportunity to wear the hanbok as well!” before ‘naughtily’ adding “Though it is not easy to wear, and not everyone can pull it off.”
The naughtiness went on amidst the laughter, turning to the fans, the host asked “So do you prefer him to wear hanbok, or no hanbok?”… “No hanbok? If no hanbok, then what is he wearing?”… “Nothing?!”, turning back to Kim Soo Hyun, “I am so sorry, this is our Singapore fans for you.”
To everyone’s pleasant surprise, Kim Soo Hyun replied, “Well, Singapore is a hot country.” If that is the case, fans sure do not mind if Singapore gets any hotter!
On the filming for ‘The Thieves’, one of the highest-grossing films in Korea, Kim Soo Hyun remains modest with the success and expressed his gratitude to the veteran cast ensemble, including his recent on-screen love interest Jun Ji Hyun. Kim spent three months in Hong Kong and Macau while making the movie, so what does he bring for these overseas location shoots? We thought he might say Samsonite, but after a long pause deep in thoughts, he said “Maybe 30 pieces of underwear?” Oh boy, the fans went crazy! And we presume he meant the clean ones.
Kim Soo Hyun went on to share how much he had to practice to be a ‘fool’ for his goofy character in ‘Secretly, Greatly’, and got beaten up a lot for the action scenes. As for that drool-inducing six-packs, Kim said he had to exercise a lot and followed a very strict diet. Guess nothing comes easy, not even for our A-list artistes! Speaking of exercise, Kim Soo Hyun likes bowling and badminton as they ‘require immense level of focus’, so get your tools ready.
Coming to ‘You Who Came From the Stars’, fans got excited when Kim was asked about the kiss scene on the frozen lake! “Everyone held their breath for that ‘time-freeze’ scene, including all the staff present. I was the only special one who could move and that was really fun,” Kim continued, “as for the kissing, it’s all about imagination. I shouldn’t tell you more, that will dispel the magic!”
Well, it certainly felt like magic for five lucky fans who got choosen to re-enact the scenes from Kim’s dramas and films, and received a signed polaroid shot. But the catch was – some scenes you could hold hands with Kim Soo Hyun, some let you have your back squeezed against his back, some only allowed you to stand 1-metre away and gaze at him, while the one scene from ‘Secretly, Greatly’ only had the fan alone in the shot, looking something like this.
It was a hilarious session! For that one fan who happened to pick the ‘Secretly, Greatly’ poster, we have to applaued her spontaneous performance. The testimonial came directly from Kim Soo Hyun himself – “You are the closest (to the poster) we can find in Asia!” before handing over a surprise gift to her as a token for not being able to have a photo together with him.
Right before Kim Soo Hyun went backstage to prepare for the next half of the show, he said “bye-yeom” – so adorable and had the fans cringing!
After a short video of touching moments from ‘You Who Came from the Stars’, Kim returned to stage in comfy getup and started the second half with two more songs. Surprise attack again! We must say the Kim Soo Hyun version of Wonder Girls’ ‘Nobody’ is a true eargasm. When asked about the song selections, the multi-talented Kim said “They are my favourites, but I am not sure if my fans know these songs!” If you did not catch that, that was one of his many jokes.
“I never really practiced” continued Kim, and fans went ‘ohhhhhhhh…’ Looking ‘shocked’, he quipped “Oh, I really like how everyone believes me!”
Kim continued his 4-dimensional talks in the next segment – Secret Album, where he showed a handful of memorable behind-the-scenes photos. One was a group photo with Miss A’s Suzy and 2PM’s Taecyeon. Reminiscing the ‘Dream High’ days, Kim said he definitely had a wilder image then!
Another photo had him behind the production camera. It is one thing to know that he is learning the technical know-how of film production as an actor, but another to note that it was also because “Cheong Song-yi was actually in front of the camera, on the bed”! Kim also got the crowd laughing hard with his exaggerated expressions and sound effects for his frozen lake and jumping fishes story, when talking about another scene from ‘You Who Came from the Stars’.
As promised, there were more up-close, and personal sessions for fans. Three fans’ Instagram photos were hand-plucked by Kim Soo Hyun off a Wish Tree, and he personally called their mobile – live at the fan meet – to invite them on stage. This is a first for his fan meets!
A very cheeky Kim was teasing the fans non-stop on how they need to bring the ‘real person’ seen in the photos to stage, since they looked ‘different’ from the ones before his eyes. Teasings aside, Kim Soo Hyun fulfilled each of their wishes – including signing all the fan meeting tickets for a Chinese fan who went to almost all of his fan meets around Asia thus far, and gazing into the eyes of another fan for 15 seconds while holding her hands, just like the scene with Jun Ji Hyun in ‘You Who Came from the Stars’, minus the kiss!
KMusic managed to catch up with the very lucky fan who got the 15-sec eye contact with Kim Soo Hyun. A fan from Singapore, Pamela Ang recounted that Kim first caught her attention when she watched “The Moon that Embraces the Sun”, and especially liked his acting, and his cheerful straightforward personality. Talking about her special moment with Kim, Pamela said “His gaze was intense and earnest, and I gave back the same level of intensity to capture every moment!” As for the brilliant ‘wish’, Pamela didn’t forget to credit her sister who came up with the idea, and that both of them totally love the 15-sec kiss scene.
Though the fan meeting went on for more than 2-hours, fans still dreaded when it came down to the last moment. Wanting to do more for his fans to thank them for their immense support, Kim picked 8 fans, instead of 5, for the special gifts and phototaking, and even did an encore of the song – ‘In Front of Your House’!
Will he come back to Singapore with another show? “Yes, and I hope it will be bigger!”
Kim Soo Hyun then bid fans adieu amid many tears, “It really means a lot to me as you guys give me so much energy. I promise I will do better for all of you.”
Thank you for the great first memories, fans will be waiting for you here in Singapore!
Officially KMusic would like to thank New Empire Media, Keyeast Entertainment and UnUsUaL Entertainment for the invitation!
Article by: Kathryn Zhang
Photos & Video by: New Empire Media & Keyeast Entertainment
Edited by: Angelspatience and Chaima
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