Japanese Fans of Hallyu Stars Flock to Korea

Thousands of Japanese fans will visit Korea in October to see their favorite hallyu stars.

Asian fans and music experts have recently been invited to a large-scale showcase of singer Rain's fourth album slated for October 13 at Jamsil Stadium. The album will be released concurrently in more than 10 Asian countries on October 15.

Actor/singer Ryoo Shi-won, for his part, will hold a fan meeting for his Asian fans October 16 at the Seoul Grand Park, while singer Shin Seung-hoon, who will release his tenth album October 10, will hold a showcase and solo concert October 14-15 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.

Thousands of Japanese fans are expected to attend the three events to be held by the top hallyu stars. Rain's agency, JYP Entertainment, said large groups of the singer's fans from Japan, China, Thailand and Taiwan will visit Korea to see the showcase prior to Rain's Asian tour slated for December.

Ryoo's agency, R'S Company, said 1,500 seats of the singer's fan meeting venue, which can accommodate 2,000 people, will be allocated to Japanese fans, while the remaining 500 seats will be occupied by Korean, Chinese, Singaporean and American fans as well as Japanese reporters. Ryoo's fans will also attend the singer's racing competition to be held a day before the fan meeting.

The agency had to limit the number of Japanese fans due to the venue's limited capacity by choosing only 1,500 from thousands of applicants.

Shin's agency said the number of Japanese fans during the singer's concerts in December surpassed one thousand people and will likely reach 600 to one thousand this time.

Travel agencies say reservations for Korea-bound flights from Japan and lodging facilities have been booked to capacity for that timeslot. A person from a travel company specializing in Japan said several Japanese fans will even take flights from Nagoya due to the lack of tickets from Tokyo. He also added that reservations for lodging facilities for that period are filled up as well, and the situation is even more serious as October is traditionally a wedding season in Korea.
Source: KBS Global