SNSD unleased ‘girl power’ in Japan!

SNSD who debuted in Japan September last year were ranked 2nd in Japan’s Girl Group Power Ranking, a sign that the craze for Korean Wave in the country is on the rise.

In the newly-released March Issue of Nikkei Entertainment, Japan’s Girl Group Power Ranking was published. The ranking was determined based on last year’s average album sales.

AKB48, dubbed by Korean media as Japan’s version of SNSD, took the no.1 spot. Based on Oricon’s Singles sales data, AKB48 sold an average of 670,000 copies from December 2009 to December 2010. SNSD, whose hit songs include ‘Genie’, ‘Gee’, etc recorded an average sales of 121,000 copies and the girls were ranked 2nd. 3-member girl group Perfume came in 3rd with an average sales of 109,000 copies while Kara came in 4th.

Meanwhile, SKE48 took the 5th spot with 100,000 copies, adult version of AKB48, SDN48DL in 6th, Morning Musume in 7th, Idoling in 8th, Berryz Koubou in 9th and Momoiro Clover grabbed the 10th spot.

Will Seohyun give her first kiss to Yonghwa?

On MBC TV ‘We Got Married (WGM) Season 2′ to be aired on March 5th, there is a great interest among fans and viewers on whether the virtual couple would actually kiss on the show.

This episode features the shooting of the couple’s wedding moments. The YongSeo couple looks like a real pair of bride and groom where the handsome Yonghwa put on in his tuxedo and the angelic Seohyun in her wedding dress.

Particluarly in one of the photos, Seohyun who put on a pink wedding dress with a headband and Yonghwa who wore a black tuxedo with a pink bowtie, posed in such a way that Yonghwa pushed a bicycle full of sweet potato with Seohyun holding on to his arm.(*I believe this would become the famous pose for future couples).

Meanwhile, 2AM member Im Seulong and MC Kim Nayoung visited the set of the shooting and while eating snacks with them she said, “Now, you need to gargle, don’t you?”,hinting that the two should be kissing after that and the YongSeo couple felt embarrassed upon hearing that remark.

So of the netizens commented, “Other than the sweet potato on the bicycle, I can’t see anything else”, “I hope the two of them really love each other very much”, “I want to see them kiss like Jo Kwon and Ga In”, “What a perfect match. I want to see more pictures”, etc.

Another Sweet Potato couple wedding photo revealed!

Another new wedding photo of the Sweet Potato couple has been revealed.

I am looking forward for the latest We Got Married episode featuring them,the sweetest couple in the world!

Vita500 the vitamin drink that carries the Soshi Effect

The ‘Soshi Effect‘ is indeed spreading far and wide, beyond Korea and this can be witnessed through SNSD’s endorsement for Kwangdong Pharmaceuticals’ vitamin drink, Vita500.

According to Kwangdong Pharmaceuticals on March 2nd, last week a businessman in his 40s asked for a ‘Taeyeon Vita500′ and SNSD’s Vita500 advertisement poster for his son who is an avid fan of Taeyeon. Indeed, SNSD’s popularity is huge on international stage as well.

However, the key factor to Kwangdong Pharmaceutical’s marketing strategy’s success is not solely due to the fact that SNSD were featured as their TV advertisement models but also the packaging of Vita500. The photo of each member is printed on the label of the bottles, presenting 9 different descriptions of the 10th Anniversary Special Edition Vita500. They are called ‘Taeyeon Vita500′, Seohyun Vita500′, ‘YoonA Vita500′, ‘Sunny Vita500′ and so on.

According to a staff of Kwangdong Pharmaceuticals, “On the Internet, comments such as ‘I will collect the labels of all the members’ and many more. Through the company’s Twitter account, we received a lot of inquiries and feedback pertaining to SNSD’s Vita500 endorsement”.

SNSD’s International fansite, Soshified commented on their Twitter account, “The new Vita500 images with Girls’ Generation is great!”.

Meanwhile, Vita500 is Kwangdong Pharmaceutical’s main product where it contributes more than 30% of the total sales. Last year, Vita500 recorded sales of 83.5 billion Won.

9th Korean Music Festival: First batch of artists announced!

The KoreaTimes Korean Music Festival is no doubt one of the most highly-anticipated events for kpop music fans in North America – after bringing huge artists like TVXQ, the Wonder Girls, Big Bang,SNSD, Super Junior, 2PM, KARA, BEAST, SHINee and more in past years, the concert is back for its ninth year on April 30, 2011.

After much anticipation, the first batch of artists for the concert has been revealed:

Sul Woon Do

DJ D.O.C.

SISTAR.

The Korean Music Festival, which takes place in Los Angeles every late spring at Hollywood Bowl, tends to draw a crowd from across the continent with a few fans even traveling overseas to see their favorite kpop artists live.

It hasn’t been confirmed when the second batch of artists will be announced, so until then, reminisce and take a peek at allkpop’s extensive coverage of last year’s Korean Music Festival through our event recap, high-definition photo sets, videos and more. And of course, expect to see me & other allkpop staff at the concert again this year – we’ll have more surprises planned for both concert attendees and allkpop readers around the world!

For more information:
Official Website
Facebook page

Will the YongSeo couple have a kiss scene in their ‘Wedding Story’?

Last week, the YongSeo couple revealed a photo from their wedding photoshoot, capturing the avid attention of many fans. During this week’s broadcast, the story of their wedding shoot will be revealed through the reflection of their memories.

Seohyun will appear in her bridal gown, and Yonghwa will wear his groom tuxedo, and together they will tell a story using various props like a guitar, a ring, and books.

Meanwhile, Kim Na Young and Im Seulong visited the set and expressed interest for the YongSeo couple to do a kiss scene, causing the pair to become embarrassed. Looking back on ‘We Got Married‘, a lot of former couples did have kiss scenes during their wedding photoshoots.

Will the YongSeo couple follow the trend and have a kiss scene? Find out on March 5th!

SNSD to cheer for Oryx Buffaloes in Osaka on Korean Day

SNSD will be meeting Park Chan Ho and Lee Seungyeob soon.

SNSD who are not only popular in Korea but also in Japan will be traveling to Osaka to cheer for Japanese Baseball team, Oryx Buffaloes and also top Korean players, Park Chan Ho and Lee Seung Yeob at the ‘Korean Day’ event match.

To add more excitement to the game, Oryx decided to invite SNSD. A representative of Oryx said, “We have contacted the relevant department in charged of SNSD on this matter. Since SNSD will be visiting the stadium onSaturday, April 23rd, a huge turnout can be expected”. In the event, SNSD will be singing the national anthem as well as throwing and hitting the first ball of the game.

SNSD and Kara are both popular among Oryx Buffaloes players, especially among the younger players.