Kim Suna to hold fan meeting in Taiwan this weekend

Korean actress Kim Suna [Yedang Entertainment]

Hallyu star Kim Suna will be visiting Taiwan this weekend to host her first-ever fan meeting in the country, according to her agency Yedang Entertainment on Friday.

Yedang announced in a press release that the actress, who left for Taiwan this morning, will be carrying out various activities in the country as part of celebrating the success of her SBS TV series "City Hall."

The drama, co-starring Kim and Korean actor Cha Seung-won, reportedly scored high viewership ratings during its run in Taiwan earlier this year.

She will be attending a press conference and an autograph signing event later today, followed by a fan meeting at Taiwan International Convention Center on Saturday evening.

An official related to the local fan event explained that they had to limit the number of attendees for administrative reasons although they continue to receive inquiries from people.

"I have always been thankful to my fans in Taiwan who have supported and encouraged me through my official website and fan letters," the 34-year-old actress was quoted as saying, adding that she "will do [her] best" to make the event memorable to fans.

The actress, who grew up in Japan and speaks fluent Japanese, shot to stardom throughout Asia with her comedic role in hit MBC TV series "My Name Is Kim Sam Soon"(2005).

Taking a three-year break after "Sam Soon," she returned to the small screen with "When It's At Night" (MBC, 2008) and "City Hall" (SBS, 2009), playing a low-level government employee from the countryside who eventually becomes the mayor.

Last year, she was voted "Favorite Korean Actress" in a viewers' survey conducted by Japanese cable channel LaLaTV, raking in a whopping 35 percent of votes over other Hallyu stars including Choi Ji-woo, Lee Young-ae and Song Hye-kyo.

Reporter : Lynn Kim lynn2878@
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@

Source: Asiae

Credits: http://theksource.blogspot.com/

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Korean actresses keep Hallyu doors open after Yonsama

Actors Hyun Bin (left) and Kim Suna in hit TV series "My Name Is Kim Sam Soon" [MBC]

Sam-soon and Shin Do-young -- the female characters in Korean dramas "My Name Is Kim Sam Soon" and "Woman of the Sun" -- are knocking on the doors of Japanese television. Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV has programmed a special "Hallyu Alpha" airtime for Hallyu dramas -- at 2:00 PM, Mondays through Fridays starting January 11. So far, "My Name Is Kim Sam Soon" (MBC, 2005) has ended its run and "Woman of the Sun" (KBS2, 2008) has started airing in Japan since February 1. Although several Korean dramas -- including "Winter Sonata", "Jewel in the Palace" and "Stairway to Heaven" -- had previously aired in the country, it is unprecedented for a Japanese terrestrial broadcaster to set up an exclusive time slot for Hallyu dramas.

Sam Soon and Sam Shik call out love in Tokyo

 

Scenes from "My Name Is Kim Sam Soon" (left) and "Woman of the Sun" [MBC/KBS2 TV]

"Hallyu Alpha" is an example of ambitious programming undertaken by Fuji TV, who have proclaimed "the new Hallyu era" and announced that they plan to broadcast many successful dramas that scored high viewership ratings in Korea. Fuji TV executives added that it is their goal to not only maintain existing Hallyu fans but also turn viewers who were not fond of the Korean dramas into Hallyu fans through such programming. Hence, while previous Korean dramas that aired on terrestrial networks had been edited in considerable amounts and been dubbed, the ones airing through "Hallyu Alpha" are the original, unedited versions and are broadcast in two languages--Korean and Japanese. What is also worth watching is the special video that "Hallyu Alpha" producers have put in exclusively for the programming. In case of "My Name Is Kim Sam Soon", actors Hyun Bin and Kim Suna appear on the screen and greet viewers at the start of every episode. More fun is available for viewers in a bloopers video or behind-the-scenes interviews which comes on after the episode has aired.

Hyun Bin and Kim Suna have both visited Japan to promote the airing of "My Name Is Kim Sam Soon". On January 8, close to 1,000 fans showed up to see Hyun Bin -- who made the Japan trip before Kim Suna -- at the promotional event for the series. With another television drama "Friend, Our Legend" (MBC, 2009) set to air on the network's satellite channel BS Fuji starting February 17, Hyun Bin was busy promoting his work on several live TV shows on Fuji including the variety show "Waratte Iitomo".

On the other hand, Korean actress Kim Suna -- who was voted "Favorite Korean Actress" last year in a survey conducted by female-targeted entertainment channel LaLaTV -- paid a surprise visit to the country, just before the final airing of "My Name Is Kim Sam Soon". She delighted Japanese fans by cheerfully conducting interviews in her fluent Japanese. It seems that the post-Yonsama, "new Hallyu era" is most likely be led by Korea's female actresses.

Source: Asiae
 Credits: The KSource
(Please do not remove any credits when taking out news from theksource.)