SNSD concert in Taiwan 20000 tickets in Taiwan grabbed in a couple of hours despite glitchy ticketing system

SNSD will be rocking the Taipei Arena in Taiwan once again this September!

A total of 20,000 tickets for the two concerts, scheduled on September 10th and 11th, were sold out in under two and a half hours when they became available for sale last Saturday and many believed that it would have been a lot quicker if it wasn’t for the glitches in the ticketing system.

Those who did not manage to get a ticket registered themselves on the waiting list immediately and within one day, the waiting list had exceeded 6,000 people. Thus, fans shook their heads at their bad luck and commented, “Some things cannot be bought with money.”

To catch a glimpse of the girls in their second concert in Taiwan, after the first Asia Tour last year, many fans waited for hours before the tickets went on sale outside the thousands of convenience stores around Taiwan, where the ticketing kiosks were located.

A lucky male fan, who managed to secure his concert ticket, said happily, “So what if I don’t have a girlfriend? It is enough to get a Zone C standing ticket in SNSD’s concert!”

But not everyone was lucky enough to get a ticket to the concerts. Some braved the rain and skipped class or work just to line up at the convenience stores but mostly failed to get tickets due to the faulty ticketing system.

'Showa Jidai' parodies 'Gee'

Japanese ‘national idol’ SMAP’s leader, Nakai Masahiro, presented a perfect imitation of SNSD.

On August 15th, Nakai Masahiro presented a parody of ‘Gee’ in the TV programme ‘SMAPxSMAP’ as ‘Showa Ji Dai’, as he danced to SNSD songs, complete with SNSD’s costumes.

‘Showa Jidai’ is made up of ‘salaried men’ (the salaried class), who were successful in the 20^th century but are unable to follow the new trends today and are therefore, looked down by the younger generation in modern times. These people put up a short story performance with their own efforts, while they danced to SNSD’s ‘Gee’ during the performance.

They imitated SNSD’s crab dance from ‘Gee’ perfectly, as they wore SNSD’s costumes with the original colors while Nakai Masahiro dressed up in old man’s clothes to suit the name ‘Showa Jidai’, which attracted a lot of attention.

In response to this, netizens commented, “Although they tried to be funny on purpose, after all, they had once been idols who can follow choreographies well”, “While others dressed nicely but looked funny with the dance, Nakai danced correctly yet looked funny with his dresses”, “They all seem to be old, dancing is rare for them.”, and “Looks like SNSD is really popular.” etc.

SNSD Lip sync rumors busted at 'Summer Sonic'

SNSD was praised for staying calm and professional when a sound system failure occurred during Japan’s biggest rock festival ‘SUMMER SONIC 2011’.

At 9pm on August 14th, SNSD performed at the outdoor event ‘SUMMER SONIC 2011’ held at the ‘Mountain Stage’ of the Makuhari Messe Convention Center with a capacity of 20,000 people. Although a technical problem occurred and the music stopped during the performance, SNSD managed to put up a great performance until the end and they received good responses from the Japanese fans.

On that day, SNSD performed their Japanese debut songs, starting with ‘Genie’, followed by ‘Mr. Taxi’, ‘Run Devil Run’, ‘Let it Rain’ and ‘Bad Girl’. During the last song ‘The Great Escape’, something went wrong with the sound system.

The audiences described the situation, “Buzzing sounds were heard, but SNSD still stayed calm, and said ‘One more time!’ to the audiences to urge them to sing along.” SNSD then proceeded to finish their stage successfully as they led the audiences together through the song.

‘SUMMER SONIC 2011’, the biggest rock festival event in Japan, is an annual event for 12 years since August 2000, where top Japanese artistes and famous overseas artistes are invited to perform in Tokyo and Osaka.

On the day of SNSD’s performance, a large amount of audiences, ranging from female junior high school students to families with young children were seen, which was an indication of SNSD’s popularity in Japan.

Girls' Generation's Japanese Album Sales Exceed Expectations

On August 17, Samsung Securities Co. gave a positive review on SM Entertainment for pulling through the second quarter with triumphant results via Girls' Generation's success in the Japanese market, which exceeded expectations.

The Girls' Generation craze is expected to be the key point for results in the second half of the year. With investors' purchases maintained, they have set the targeted stock price at 33,000 won (approximately $33 USD).

Gong Taehyun, a researcher at Samsung Securities Co., stated, "Along with Girls' Generation's official Japanese album selling beyond what was expected, and their general success in the Japanese market, the spreading of K-pop soon after only shows positive signals. Increases in sales for overseas management companies means that the positions of singers in the said company strengthens."

It is expected that results in the second half of the year will be better than that of the second quarter. This is because in the third quarter, the January SM TOWN concert and TVXQ's single album will be released (Editor's note: Although we translated this article directly, we could not find any information anywhere else about a SM TOWN concert DVD release. We'll keep looking into this and keep you up to date.). Then, from the fourth quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2012, Girls' Generation's full-length album and concert tour will take place, as well as the SM TOWN concert in Tokyo in September.

Actress Park Minyoung Discusses Her Friendship with Girls' Generation's Jessica

On July 24, actress Park Minyoung attended Girls' Generation's second solo concert at the Olympic Park Stadium in Seoul. Although she was busy playing the main female role in SBS's "City Hunter", she made time to attend.

During a recent meeting with the actress on enews, Park Minyoung revealed, "I'm really close with Jessica. I wasn't able to watch the entire show, but I attended to cheer her on."

Park Minyoung recalled, "I've actually been friends with her since before she debuted. When I first met her I was in college, while she was in middle school. I met her through another friend, and she told me she wanted to be friends first."

She added, "Because I'm introverted, it took a little time, but now she seems like a friend that's jumped the age gap. She shows up at my house randomly. We can't see each other because we're so busy, but she's so cute whenever we do."

Laughter emerged when she sadly stated, "But Jessica's become so mature lately, that she keeps talking like an adult. Her cuteness is slowly disappearing."

Meanwhile, Park Minyoung was recently cast in the KBS2 Wednesday-Thursday drama "Glorious Jane", while Jessica is busy with Girls' Generation's overseas activities.

Actor Chun Jung Myung confessed his love for SNSD on air

Actor Chun Jung Myung’s interest towards girl group was revealed.


On August 16th, Chun Jung Myung became a temporary DJ for SBS Power FM ‘Old School’ as Kim Chang Ryul is currently away on holiday.


During the broadcast, Chun Jung Myung was asked, “You have been acting alongside many female actresses but do you sometimes feel envy of Mighty Mouth who are close to girl groups?”. To this, he answered, “Yes”.


Chun Jung Myung then openly confessed, “I like SNSD”. He was then asked about his favourite SNSD member and he replied, “I won’t go into such specific details now”.


Following this, Mighty Mouth teased Chun Jung Myung, “It seems that you approached us after finding out through your research that we are among the people who are close to SNSD”. In reply to their joke, Chun Jung Myung said, “It seems that I am still benefiting from this, it seems. Very good”.


When asked about his very first DJ-ing experience, Chun Jung Myung replied, “I don’t seem to be able to do it alone but together with girl groups, I will do it unconditionally”.

SNSD's charms irresistible even in North Korea

North Korea too fell in love with SNSD’s charms.

On August 16th, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported, “As South Korean songs and dances are popular in North Korea, instructors teaching the dance choreographies of South Korea’s popular girl group, SNSD have emerged”.

Through an interview during the broadcast, a Chinese trader who went to North Korea from time to time said, “Once, I received a request from a well-to-do woman to bring in a CD of Korean group, SNSD. Between the children in their teens and young people in their 20s living in Jung Area, Pyeongyang or Daedonggang Area, there is a saying, ‘If you can’t dance at disco, you’re not allowed into the children’s festival.’”

He added, “SNSD and other Korean groups are no strangers in North Korea. Private dance lessons with fees of $20 a month, as well as, dance and singing lessons by well-known instructors, which are being carried out at home and training rooms, have also emerged”.