“We always prepare something to say to the fans when we go overseas for concerts. This time we prepared and said, in French, ‘we saw photos of you guys protesting for a concert. You guys are even more beautiful in person’. I believe our friendliness in communicating with our fans is our strength” – Super Junior’s Leeteuk.
Super Junior was originally founded on the concept of ‘the gateway to Asian super stardom’, but now their fame has grown beyond to just Asia. Spreading faster day by day, their popularity is reaching over to Europe and South America, leading the ‘New Hallyu Wave’.
After a successful concert in Paris, only Leeteuk and Eunhyuk were able to meet for an interview. There’s a total of 10 members, but because of their individual busy conflicting schedules, these days the only times all 10 of them can gather together is basically for overseas concerts. The two members were busy with working for the next album, as well.
About their concert in France, Super Junior’s leader Leeteuk stated, “We were able to gain popularity in Asia with our activity in Asia, but it felt like a party of our own. But the concert in France was totally different. We definitely feel motivated”. He added, “I feel pride in that we were able to export our culture into a country that’s already strong in culture”.
A new momentum for ‘world stage’ appeared for Super Junior. Their step into the world market changed idol groups’ struggle for popularity which regularly lasts for 5 years. As they pass their 6-year mark, some appraise that they have opened new horizons in the Hallyu wave, as well as for idols, through their concert in France.
“We have been doing the ‘Super Show’ concerts for the last 3 years, touring Asia. Next year, we plan to expand our grounds into Europe, South America, and even the Middle East, and go on a true ‘World Tour’. We heard that there was a movement for our concert in Turkey, too”.
They’re already superstars in Asia and their song, “Bonamana” has been number 1 on a Taiwanese music chart for 55-weeks straight (more than a year). Eunhyuk has also become the first foreigner to be seated on the permanent panel on a Taiwanese radio program. They’re not some foreign artist that a select few fans know, but they’re so known that even old ladies and little kids recognize them on the streets.
“They say the fun in ice cream is the wide variety. Because we have a wide variety of members, we also have a wide fan-base. One that’s good at singing, one that’s good looking, one with good humor–our team has many different colors to show”.
Leeteuk explained that Super Junior is not simply just an idol group, but a gathering of many cultures. They create a synergy effect in a sense that what one member lacks, another member can fill the gap.
Eunhyuk picked friendliness as Super Junior’s greatest strength. Idols were mysterious beings that could only be seen on stage in the past, but idols nowadays must actively appear on show programs and work endlessly to become close to their fans. He explained that this is one of the reasons they try to show as much of themselves as they can on TV.
With social media tools such as Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook being recognized as gaining momentum for the Hallyu wave, it has become a main contributor in spreading their image world wide.
“All our members use Twitter. Because there’s an automatic translator around now, we can communicate with our fans overseas instantly. I can speak a little Chinese, so I post in Chinese from time to time as well. When we were in France, I was anxious that not that many fans would show up at the airport, so I constantly posted on Twitter”.
source:
>www.allkpop.com
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