The ‘Yongseo’ couple have a wedding shoot together

On this week’s episode of MBC’s “We Got Married”, the “Yongseo” couple took part in a goregeouswedding photoshoot, which got CNBLUE’s Yonghwa making comments about how proud he is of his beautiful “wife”.

The moment Yonghwa saw Seohyun enter in her elegant wedding dress and natural waves in her hair, he couldn’t stop his jaw from dropping. Even his fellow band members complimented her beauty, as they said, “She looks like a goddess.”

Yonghwa then said, “Your legs look longer in the wedding dress. What is your body length to head size ratio?”, to which Seohyun wittily replied, “22:1″.

Many viewers are hoping for a kiss scene next week, as the teaser for the next episode shows the couple lying together on the ground and Yonghwa nervously saying to the director, “Pl… Please shoot it in one go!”

Forbes Korea: Power Celebrity Top 40

Sorry the charts are a little crooked, lol. But here is Forbes Korea's top 40 Power Celebrities list. The top 40 list is ranked from data collected in various categories (as listed) depending on a certain set of criteria. For example, salaries, CFs, broadcast time, search-ranking, being written about in major publications and news sites, etc. Any foreign activities and gains are excluded from the overall rankings.

(original chart)

QUOTE

5 위는 박진영이 발굴한 남성 대표 아이돌 그룹 2PM이 차지했다. 2PM은 인터넷 검색순위에서 1위에 올랐고, 지난해 출연한 TV광고도 19편에 달했다. 최근엔 그룹 멤버들이 각각 <우리 결혼했어요> <드림하이> 등 예능과 드라마에서 활약하고 있다. ..
지난 한 해 인터넷에선 분야별로 다양한 인물이 화제에 올랐다. 가수와 연기, MC를 오가며 만점 활약을 펼친 이승기가 배우 부문 1위에 올랐다. 짐승돌 바람을 일으킨 남성 아이돌그룹 2PM은 가수 부문, 박지성은 스포츠 부문에서 1위를 차지했다.

QUOTE

#5 - 2PM is the representative idol group that was discovered by JYP. They were ranked number 1 most searched on the internet. Last year they went in to star in a total of 19 CFs. Some members have even branched out in other fields like dramas (Dream High) and variety shows (WGM) etc. Last year, they were also in the center of a lot of different news. They were also ranked number 1 when it came to the singer’s division; with Park Jisung for Sports, and Lee Seunggi for Actors.

*music sales are taken from the Hanteo charts (original chart)

QUOTE

디지털 음원 판매 1위를 차지한 그룹은 2AM. 미니앨범 타이틀곡인 ‘죽어도 못 보내’가 히트하면서 모두 1619만 건의 다운로드를 기록했다. 최근 주목 받고 있는 아이유의 경우 온라인 다운로드에서 2위를 차지했다

QUOTE

SUMMARY: 1,619,000 digital downloads for 2AM's "Even If I Die, I Can't Send You"!

*search rankings are based off searches from daum.net (original chart)



*number of CFs data is collected from the CF portal, tvcf.co.kr (original chart)

On last year's Forbes Korea Power Celebrity Top 40 list, 2PM was ranked in at #11 and 2AM was not in the top 40. (link)

Kim Youngmin talked about SNSD's future plans and key to Hallyu's success

As SNSD becoming more successful in Japan, they brought along “Korean Idol Syndrom”. Also, the weak hallyu market and entertainment industries started to prosper. Thus, the focus of hallyu is now mainly on artists and K-Pop instead of actors and dramas.

SM Entertainment (referred as SM), which led SNSD to their success, had raised their profit four times as that of the year before. Their profit exceeded 10,000,000,000 won. Last September, SM became the first Korea agency who held a concert in LA’s Staples Center.

Each member’s talents + SM’s system + Digital Media = SNSD

Since the 90s, SM gained experience in expanding its industry oversea through the activities of H.O.T, and S.E.S. Due to its experience in such an expansion, SM was able to bring SNSD, DBSK, and BoA to their success in world market.

The nine cute girls topped in Japan’s Oricon chart. Now, their value in both culture and marketing is rather impossible to estimate. Behind SNSD’s success, there is Kim Youngmin.

Kim Youngmin grew up in Japan since 6 years old. Thus, he knew about Japan’s entertainment industry better than anyone else. Because of this, he was able to put his experience and knowledge to good use and ‘channel the success’ to SM.

“Creating a star is like modifying a diamond. First you have to find a good diamond, and then you have to add the covering that best suits it. The nine talented girls, along with SM’s system and digital media; these three things brought success to SNSD“.

Kim Youngmin said that the most important factor of SNSD’s success was SNSD’s potential and talent. Next of it was SM’s system that could bring out their full potential. Also, digital media helps spreading SNSD to all over the globe.

Last August, right before SNSD’s debut in Japan, SM released Japanese Version of SNSD’s music video on YouTube. SM aimed to let Japanese get a better accessibility to the Music Video so that they would share it with other Japanese music lovers as well.

SM’s strategy in Japan was successful. Just after a week since the sale of “Gee (Japanese Ver.)”, SM sold 66,000 copies of the album. After that week, SNSD topped in the Daily Oricon chart.

SNSD did not have a proper activity last year. However this year, they have already done a CF for a Japanese product and they are now preparing for their new album and concerts.

SM’s Plans for 2011

“SM mainly focuses on producing good artists instead of expanding the industry. Oversea expansion is only successful if the market in Korea is successful. So we will continue to focus on the market in Korea.“

Since 1990, SM has simultaneously tried to produce successful artists. They have chosen people with potential not only from the audition in Korea every Saturday, but also through global auditions in Thailand, U.S.A, China, and so on.

SM provides a long-term 1 to 1 program to produce artists. In these programs, SM not only teaches vocal, acting, and dancing, but also foreign languages.

Also, SM is planning to let a new group debut. Kim Youngmin’s primary goal for the year is to launch the new group safely in the Korea music industry so that oversea expansion will be possible.

Secondly, he wants to show a “360˚ Business Model” to the global market.

In a “360˚ Business” the processes of casting, auditioning, education (includes vocal, acting, dancing, and foreign languages), album production, CF, concerts, movies, and dramas are all the responsibility of the agency.

Last year, SNSD successfully showed the “360˚ Business” BoA and DBSK have been working with Japanese agency when they were in Japan. However, SNSD worked with SM even when they were in Japan. Furthermore, SM stated that SNSD will probably be more successful as they are more than likely to participate in a drama, which SM has prepared for a long time.

Entertainment Industry Research & Development (R&D)

Kim Youngmin stated that the motivation for SM to lead the hallyu is ‘Continuous investment in R&D even when they have achieved success’.

“The method and systems used to create a star should receive more than the stars. Systems that plan and produce media and contents are the only way another ‘SNSD’ will be produced.”

Lastly, Kim YoungMin emphasized that to keep hallyu going, people have to focus more on the agencies that create stars rather than stars themselves. To ensure the progressiveness of hallyu, either YouTube or SM’s system should receive more attention.

SNSD's Improvement in Forbe's Power Celebrities chart since 2007!

Read about the info of SNSD's ranking on Forbe's Power Celebrities List since the girls made their debut in 2007.

They were unranked in 2007/2008,they entered at 5th place in 2009,moved up to 2nd place in 2010 and now the girls top the chart,pretty impressive right?

SM Entertainment’s Kim Young Min on the success behind the SM system + future plans

Thanks to the efforts and achievements SNSD made in their Japanese advancement, the Hallyu market and the Korean music industry have been revitalized. Previously centered around dramas, the Hallyu wave is now being led by idol groups and singers. SNSD’s overseas success has raised SM Entertainment’s yearly profits to four times what was made the previous year.

It was only through trial and error of the groups (and a soloist) such as H.O.T, S.E.S, BoA, and TVXQthat industry representatives believed the birth of SNSD was possible. At the center of their success, however, lies the CEO of SM Entertainment, Kim Young Min.

Ever since he was six years old, he grew up in Japan and is more knowledgeable in the Japanese entertainment market than any other. “The birth of a star is much like refining a gemstone into a diamond. After you pick a good gemstone, you pay close attention to what type of clothes it’ll match. I believe our success lies behind the individual talents of the nine SNSD members, SM’s system, which gave them the skills to develop into great ‘content,’ and digital media, which spread the girls globally.”

CEO Kim was quick to point out that the success behind SNSD is none other than their exceptional skill set, but it was only through the combination of digital media and SM’s system that really allowed them to gain momentum. Before SNSD’s official debut in Japan last year, SM released SNSD’s Japanese music video for the first time through YouTube, allowing Japanese fans quicker and easier access to their content, which, in turn, raised awareness for the group.

Their system was obviously a success, as their “Gee” single managed to sell 66,000 in the first week and rank #1 on the following week’s Oricon singles chart.

Kim continued, “In the past, groups were contracted for both management and music distribution, but starting last year, SM Japan used their experience and research of the Japanese market in individually managing our artists’ performances, advertisements, and promotions. They’ll be more flexible this year, but will be trying their best in order to make sure that SNSD is able to gain firm status in the Japanese market.”

Although the girls debuted last year, this year will mark their official start. They recently contracted with a Japanese advertisement CF, which will be followed by an official album and their own concert.

When asked about SM Entertainment’s plans for the new year, Kim replied, “As opposed to extending our business field this year, we’ve placed a priority on developing singer trainees, as well as a focus in the domestic market. It’s only after the domestic market is stable that we’re able to advance overseas without any trouble. We’ll be working persistently in producing Korean albums and other related content.”

Ever since 1990, SM Entertainment has placed utmost importance and investments in the development of their singers. Every Saturday, not only do they go through Korean auditions, but also auditions overseas in the USA, China, Thailand, and other locations in order to look for hidden talents.

Once accepted, each trainee is given a schedule catered to their individual needs that involve training in singing, dancing, acting, and foreign languages.

The company is also planning to debut a new rookie this year. Kim claimed that his goals and priorities for the new group this year were to launch the group in Korea first, and help them achieve a comfortable foothold in the domestic market.

Kim’s second goal for the coming year is carrying over Korea’s distinctive and characteristic ‘360 business model’ overseas. The ‘360 model’ requires one agency to control every aspect of a celebrity’s career from production to management; a sort of one-stop system that handles everything from auditions to training, album production, promotions and concerts, and even movie and drama castings.

SNSD managed to pilot the business model for the first time overseas with their Japanese debut. Their senior labelmates, such as TVXQ and BoA, were all promoted and managed by a separate Japanese company. SNSD, on the other hand, was managed by SM Japan.

When asked to describe the driving force behind SM’s Hallyu, Kim replied, “Instead of being satisfied with just success, we consistently researched and reinvested in ourselves to develop the system that we have now. We stress the importance of the development that went on in creating the star, not just the star itself. It’s vital that we continue to produce and plan a variety of different contents in order to create another star like SNSD under the system.”

Kim emphasized that the continuation of the Hallyu wave depended not on the stars, but on the production and mechanism behind the stars such as SNSD. More spotlight, he claimed, must be put on venues such as YouTube and SM’s production system in order for the Hallyu wave to last.

Forbes Korea’s 2011 Top 40 Power Celebrities

The list of Top 40 celebrities were revealed in conjunction with the 8th anniversary of Forbes Korea’s founding. The ranking were determined by appearances on news articles, TV advertisements, Internet searches and so on. Other than the overall ranking, Forbes Korea also listed celebrities in terms of Sales, Media, Broadcast and Activities.

The overall Top 40 ranking are as follows:

1. SNSD

2. Park Jisung

3. Kim Yuna

4. Lee Seunggi

5. 2PM

6. Yoo Jaesuk

7. Lee Chungyoung

8. 2AM

9. Choo Shinsoo

10. Kang Hodong

11. Lee Hyori

12. Yoon Shiyoon

13. Rain

14. Park Jooyoung

15. Shin Mina

16. Super Junior

17. Won Bin

18. Hwang Jungeum

19. Kim Hyesoo

20. Ko Hyunjung

21. Kang Dongwon

22. Lee Daeho

23. Park Taehwan

24. Lee Nayoung

25. Jang Donggun

26. Shin Sekyung

27. Lee Kungkyu

28. Big Bang

29. Lee Minjung

30. Choi Kyungjoo

31. 2NE1

32. Hyun Bin

33. Bae Youngjoon

34. Moon Geunyoung

35. Lee Minho

36. Han Hyojoo

37. Kim Taehee

38. Park Chanho

39. Park Myungsoo

40. BEAS

Forbes Korea ranks SNSD as Korea’s #1 power celebrity

The results of Forbes Korea’s 8th anniversary “Korea’s Power Celebrity 40” are in, and SNSD has been selected as Korea’s top power celebrity. Figure skater Kim Yuna, who had placed number 1 for the past two years, has now dropped down to number 3. On the other hand, soccer star Park Jisungbeat out Kim Yuna for 2nd place, as he took the title of Korea’s representative sports star.

This year’s number one, SNSD, has ranked in the top three for a variety of categories, such as number of articles, TV commercials, and internet searches. According to the Hanteo charts, SNSD sold over 270,000 albums, which is over 20,000 more than 2nd place, which went to Super Junior.

The songs in their album also had about 11,730,000 online downloads, and they ranked 3rd place in the number of articles written, and had filmed a total of 25 advertisements.

It has been analyzed that SNSD has had over 100 million won in sales through their music, commercials, and TV appearances. With their activities in the Japanese market, they even further exceed this. Since their Japanese debut through ‘Genie‘ in September, all of their released songs have made it to theOricon charts. According to SanK Sports, SNSD made about 120 million won in profits from their Japanese album sales.

Thanks to SNSD’s success, SM Entertainment’s stock has risen in value, as evidenced by the price of a share going up from 5,000 won to 20,000 won in one year. Also, Lee Soo Man’s appraised holdings jumped from 250 million won last year to 880 million won this year.

SNSD secured 9 CF deals per year on average

SNSD have turned into CFSD (Ad’s Generation).

The CF deals that SNSD have secured from 2003 to 2010 were recently revealed on an online community. Within the 7-year duration, the girls have done 64 CFs. Out of the 64 CFs, YoonA alone secured 15 CFs, which is the highest no. of CF deals among SNSD’s members. Thus, she was given the nickname ‘CF Queen‘.

In 2003, SNSD started advertising for AnyCall, cosmetic products, chicken, handphones, petrol, etc. Among the brands that SNSD have endorsed so far are ‘Clean & Clear’, ‘Goobne Chicken’, ‘Elite’, ‘Hyundai Pharmaceuticals’, ‘Cyon’, ‘Nintendo’, ‘S-OIL’, Domino’s Pizza’,etc.

SNSD and Kara among top famous female searches in Japan

Kara and SNSD are among Japan’s top searches for the ‘famous female’ category. According to one of Japan’s major portal site, Infoseek, Kara and SNSD were ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively in terms of searches for famous females in Japan from February 15th to February 21st. In the previous week, Kara were placed 5th while SNSD came in 7th.

The huge number of searches was fueled by SNSD’s first Japanese CF for ‘e-ma Throat Candy’ entitled ‘Girls’ Dinner’ which also features their 2nd Japanese hit single ‘Gee’. The CF will be aired throughout Japan from February 26th onwards.

Meanwhile, Japan’s 48-member girl group AKB48 were the hottest search of the week.

Yongseo Couple reveals their wedding photoshoot

On the latest episode of Yongseo's We got married, both of them went to take their wedding photoshoot and a photo was revealed check it out!

Both of them looks so suited for each other, both looking so awesome right?

Are you excited to watch the episode?