Kim Hyun Joong Elle Magazine

Pucca — From Cartoon Character to Fashion Icon; 4minute to Represent Pucca in Korea

This article barely talks about 4Minute, and personally I'm not a 4Minute fan...but!!! I freakin' absolutely love PUCCA!!! If you come into my room you can see all my Pucca dolls and little decoration and frames. I've been obsessed with her for almost 8 years now! Omg...ridiculous!!



In fashion capital France, even in a small, rural Provencal village, it is not unusual to spot Pucca grinning back at you from a chic young woman's backpack.

Since launching in South Korea in 2001, the red-and-black character has become a familiar face through stationary items. But Pucca's big breakthrough came in the form of couture on the European stage in 2003, and the little Asian girl now appears on licensed fashion items by such international brands as the United Colors of Benetton.

Vooz has over 500 licensing contracts in Asia, Europe and the Americas, and some 1,700 stores featuring Pucca wear dot the globe, from France to Brazil. Overseas sales make up for about 95 percent of the company's annual profits, according to Vooz executive director Charlie Shin. "We expect profits to go up about 30 percent this year from 2008's 470 billion won," he told The Korea Times.

Why does the rather homely girl appeal to trend-sensitive teenage girls and 20-somethings? The Korea Times sat down with Pucca's creator, Kim Boo-kyoung, to learn about the secrets of the quirky tomboy's success.

"Unlike Sanrio or Disney characters, Pucca is not pretty. She is no Cinderella ― she is wild and likes to unabashedly express her affections for her boyfriend. She leads her man and even dominates him," said Kim.

Pucca thus speaks to young women in the post-"My Sassy Girl" age, where Jun Ji-hyun set the norm for "unconventional" feminity. "Pucca was conceived before `My Sassy Girl' but I guess they're part of the same generation. I wanted to target women in their teens and 20s," said the president-CEO and art director.

Kim is a pioneer in many respects. In Korea, the concept of cartoon characters as a marketable brand was unheard of to begin with. The idea of selling such a product to an older crowd was exceptional.

"There is a large, established market out there for young children ― merchandise bearing Sanrio or Disney characters ― but I wanted to do something new," he said. Also, unlike Hello Kitty or Mickey Mouse, she takes on human form. "People also said it a human-shaped cartoon character would not work in fashion. So in a way, Pucca created a new market," he said.

Pucca did not debut through animation like other 2D characters. "I was looking into the various media through which I could translate Pucca. At the turn of the millennium, e-cards were a hot new medium, and young women were the main consumers," said the 36-year-old.

Furthermore, it takes just one look at Pucca to remember her. "I opted for red and black, bold colors that are rarely used for cartoon characters, which are usually cute and pastel-hued," he said. "In Asia, Pucca's affinity enables people to relate to her while in the West her unique Asian features stand out," he said.

Interestingly, Pucca is not marketed as a Korean brand. She is clearly Asian, and most often thought of as being Chinese but she is not nationality-specific. Her pedigree simply states that she is the only child of a family that owns a Chinese restaurant that serves the quintessential Korean-style dish "jajangmyeon."

"We neither promote nor deny Pucca's Koreanness," said Kim. Pucca animations feature no dialogue and thus no original language. "Hangeul" (Korean alphabet) appears on various Pucca merchandise but has become part of the design.

The little heir to a Chinese restaurant has even been a goodwill ambassador for the local Chinatown.

Pucca is now being re-introduced in Korea as an upscale brand, through Pucca-shaped USB drives and women's wear. The booth that Vooz occupied at the recent Seoul Character & Licensing Fair stood out by featuring Pucca-clad models on a runway.

K-pop group Four Minute now represents the brand. "Four Minute belong to the same age group that Pucca targets," said Kim about the popular teenage girl band. "We thought they'd be the perfect group, since their image matches Pucca's funky yet lovely style."

source: koreantimes

SS501 Airport Ambassadors Pics

SS501 U.S. Photoshoot

Hyun Joong DSP Photos

SS501 in the US

When they were in SF! Omg...when I found out I wanted to cry!! I was throwing a fit. Lol!

Junior Mag 2006 w/ SS501

Again...these are mainly of HyunJoong because I got if off of his Facebook fansite!

February 2006



March 2006


June 2006

'Smap x Smap' Featuring F4 Airs in Japan

The Fuji TV show "Smap x Smap" featuring the "F4 boys" from the KBS TV drama "Boys Over Flowers" -- Lee Min-ho, Kim Hyun-joong, Kim Beom and Kim Jun -- aired on July 13, recording viewer ratings of 15.9 percent. The four actors visited Japan in April to record the show.

The show went on the air for the first time in three months after it was suspended because one of its members, Tsuyoshi Kusanaki, appeared naked on the show.

On the show, the F4 members appeared in the segment where Katori Shinko acts as a psychic and provides counseling on various problems. The F4 members introduced themselves and entertained viewers with amusing facial expressions.

On Lee Min-ho's question whether or not "Boys Over Flowers" stands a good chance of succeeding in Japan, Tsuyoshi Kusanaki said the drama would be a huge hit.

source: KBS

FT Island Saved The Pride Of Male Singers, Ranked No. 1 On Day Of Album Tracks Release

FT Island saved the pride of male singers.

FT Island ranked the top positions on M.net chart on the day of release of their 3rd album. They also overtook the positions of other female bands like Girls’ Generation, 2NE1, 4minute, Brown Eyed Girls and many others in Cyworld and other online music charts, saving the pride of male singers.

Their new album consists of 12 songs, including the title song “Barae (I Hope)”, “Bing Bing Bing“, “Marry Me“, “Hate or Love” etc and is well-received by all.

GomTV received quite a number of downloads for their music video that was released yesterday and it went up to 2nd position in download hits ranking within the shortest period of time. In addition to this, M.net also received an amazing figure of over 400,000 clicks on F.T Island.

FT Island’s management company expressed that, “Other than the teaser that was revealed earlier, we didn’t have much publicity this time. We’re really surprised by the good response.” FT Island also said that, “Showing a better side of us is what we can do now. We will do our very best.”

FT Island will officially comeback on SBS Inkigayo this sunday, 19th July.

Credits: Newsen + ying1005 @ primanoona (translation) + soompi.com/forums

Kim Joon - Jun Be O.K Ft Kim Hyun Joong

They are soooo hot and irresistable!!! I'm totally Lovin' the song!

It sucks that HJ is only in a little portion of this MV but at the same time...if there were more scenes of him it'll take away Joon's limelight. This MV showed a diff side of Joon which I liked a lot! He looks awesome and very manly! I'm lovin' it!







Here's the Download link for the song! : Clickie

Not just pretty boys - SS501, exclusive interivew

Credits: KKBOX.com + (English translation) SS5014ever @ quainte501.com

[Foreward]
Its been really tiring on fans for SS501's visit to Taiwan! From buying tickets to the fan meeting to queuing overnight for the charity photo-taking, it has attracted the attention of many media. But there were 5 lucky fans who, within 5 hours of SS501 stepping off the plane, got to take photos alone with the artistes first, and also the chance to give them a present (seems as if someone managed to shake their hands as well!) Here, we must specially thank the record company for their support, letting KKBOX members to enjoy this rare and exclusive present. Holding on to the conscience of a music platform (?), even though we were faced with an idol group, 99% of the questions in the interview were serious (solemn?), but luckily SS501 is indeed the strongest variety-program characters (note: it means something along the line of them being very funny, sorry for the failed translation XD), many interesting footage remain, here we also thank them for giving us such wonderful interview content.

Having debut 4 years ago, already a top boys group in Korea, originally having a group of dedicated fans in Taiwan, due to Korea's version of "Boys over Flower" airing in Taiwan, leader Kim Hyun Joong who acted as the role of Yoon Ji Hoo (Hanazawa Rui), brought them fame overseas, finally letting SS501's works to be sold in Taiwan. Along with this wave of SS501's strong attack on Taiwan, KKBOX snatched a rare chance to interview them, understanding the success stories of the 5 boys.

"Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration" - Edison
Using Edison's famous quote on SS501, it should be "Success is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration!" The 5 members are all handsome boys over 180cm tall, they were promoted as a pretty boy group back when they debut in Korea, but if you think SS501 are just pretty boys, then you're absolutely wrong. In the stiff competition in Korea's entertainment industry, not only does SS501 have to posses top dancing and singing abilities, satisfying the requirements of being a singer, they've also separately took part in hosting radio, TV programs, movie dubbing, musical and drama appearances, continually maintaining an obvious presence in the media. Recently they've also often took part in the creation and production of music, gearing for a more all-rounded development. Apart from their success in Korea, after working hard in Japan for 2 years, SS501 who've accumulated a high popularity, has already announced their August concert schedule in Japan and Korea, and plan to start their Asia Tour, which includes Taiwan, from October, it can be foreseen that from 2009 on, SS501 will become a megastar that will engulf Asia. But, if there wasn't the 4 years of continuous dedication of time and effort that is beyond one's imagination that developed such sturdy abilities, they wouldn't have been able to enjoy the fame that "Boys over Flower" brought along.

"Only through hard work can you reach the top" - Kobe Bryant
Unlike the entertainment industry in Taiwan, Korean artistes generally need to go through hellish training as a trainee, and be picked among tens of thousands for debut. When asked about their experiences as trainees, Jung Min simply said, it was hard work as a trainee, having many music and dance trainings, but the most important is to train them to become popular artistes. When talking about the hardships, what everyone thought of was the fun experience of skipping lessons instead, leader Hyun Joong first admitted, back then he would be thrifty and take the bus, once he had saved up enough he would want to go for a sumptuous meal, so everyone would skip classes together and take a break. Jung Min continued saying, Yong Saeng and Kyu Jong came from other towns, when they came to Seoul and were looking for a place to stay, it was something that the 2 of them could do, and yet they pulled everyone in, skipping class together. SS501's casual answers, causes one to have no choice but be in awe of Koreans' ability to endure hardships.

"When there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall, and did it my way" - Frank Sinatra "My Way"
Before SS501's debut, a TV program recorded their life, in these few years from waking up to sleeping, every aspect of their lives has been aired on TV, when asked about how they feel being followed by a camera for the whole day, Kyu Jong honestly answered, before they debut their management company had mentally prepared them for it, as an artiste there are gains and losses, currently they've also gotten many concern and attention from the fans, so its worth it. Jung Min added on, if he had to choose again, he'll still choose to reveal his personal life. Hearing such a determined answer, was a great shock to this reporter who listened to Western music while growing up, and continued asking what if they couldn't handle the pressure? The first to shout run away was Hyung Joon, the other older brothers (Hyung Joon is the youngest among the members) all laughingly replied in perfect unison, "Only Hyung Joon will run away, we will work even harder to overcome it." This form of interaction, putting each other down jokingly, among the members, is probably the answer to how SS501 relieves stress.

With great power, comes great responsibility - "Spiderman" movie
When asked about their happiest and hardest moments in their 4 years, the members all agreed that the happiest moment is every "first time". First time visiting Taiwan, first time winning an award, first time being recognized on the streets, interacting with the different fans as they step onto different countries for the first time. And the hardest moment is actually the stress and responsibility that comes after becoming successful, producing even better music, performing even more magnificent dance steps, displaying a SS501 that's even better. An answer like this, I think would let all of SS501's fans feel proud, with thoughts like that, its more worth looking forward to SS501 in the future.

[Postscript]
On the whole, if Korea's entertainment industry was described in baseball terms that Taiwanese are familiar with, it's a little similar to America's Major League Baseball, first achieving good results in Minor League Baseball, once you're called up, not only do you have to grab hold of the chance to display your skills, you'll also need to make full use of your skills continually, only then can you retain a spot in Major League Baseball. Contestants who've gone through such a cruel stage, regardless of what country they go to, will be able to shine. In this wave of Hallyu brought by SS501, apart from the media's multiple reports on the popularity of "star-chasing", having deeply experienced the story behind the force that brought about this strength, I can't help but admit, there are definitely many points worth learning from for Taiwan.

Jaejoong - The person you want to date the most

In a vote for the "Person You Want To Date The Most" amongst foreigners, Arirang TV, Entertainment Showbiz Extra, which airs in Korea as well as 188 countries around the world, set up a special poll and TVXQ's Hero Jaejoong got the highest number of votes.

In the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, America and over 60 other countries, more than 3,000 people was questioned for the poll, and Jaejoong got #1 for the "Person You Want To Date The Most" by garnering 24.7% of the votes.

Previously, on a show in China, Hero Jaejoong was selected #1 for the category of "Asia's Most Beautiful Men" and on a music program in Japan, he was #3 for "Male singer you want as a lover". These are enough to prove Jaejoong's status in Asia.

When asked the question, "If you could, which star would you date?", the popularity of the TVXQ members and the cast of the TV drama "Boys Over Flowers", cannot be ignored. Second, third and forth place went to Lee Min Ho (20.2%), Kim Hyun Joong (19.36%) and Kim Bum (18.86%), also proving the popularity of "Boys Over Flowers" in Asia.

Source: [lovetvxqcp.com]
Translation credits: mandasoh@iscreamshinki.net
Shared by: iscreamshinki.net
DO NOT REMOVE/ADD ON ANY CREDITS

Junior Mag 2005 w/ SS501

Credit and Thanks to the Facebook KimHyunJoong fansite! It's also the reason why they're mostly pics of HJ and not the other members.

July 2005



August 2005



September 2005