Kpop Behind | All the Stories Behind Kpop Stars

K-pop idols are loved by many fans, but they themselves are sometimes big fans of other singers too. Think about it. You are a huge fan of a k-pop idol, and you yourself become a k-pop idol later and see your idol star closely. It's a dreamlike story, huh? Well, here are k-pop idols who realized their dreams. Sandara Park Before her debut, Sandara Park was a big fan of Lee Hyori. Here's an episode. In the Philippines, Sandara Park, who was a teenage girl saw Lee Hyori eating melon with appetite and relish on TV, and she thought that melon must be very important food in Korea. So, she brought melons along with her from the Philippines and visited Lee Hyori's house to hand over the present. Sandara Park couldn’t meet Lee Hyori but she handed Lee Hyori's mother melons. Well, eventually, Sandara Park became as popular as Lee Hyori, and they’ve been maintaining good relationship as fellow singers. SHINee’s Key Do you know the fact that SHINee's Key was a mem...

Hoya, a former member of Infinite who has left the team last August made the first step as an actor. On October 30, Hoya attended a press conference for his musical "Hourglass". He has appeared in several dramas, but it's his first time to act after leaving Infinite. You know, INFINITE was signed by Woollim Entertainment in 2010, and its 7-year contract with the agency has been terminated last June. 6 out of 7 INFINITE members have renewed their contracts right after the expiration of the contracts, but, yeah, Hoya decided not to renew his contract after much consideration. At the press conference, he introduced himself as "Lee Howon", which is his real name, and he gave his thoughts on his appearance in the musical. Check out what he said. When I was a singer, I sang a song on stage for only about 3-4 minutes. And when I filmed dramas, I acted in front of cameras just for several minutes. I've been looking forward to appearing in a musical be...

Sad news for Inspirit. Hoya decided to leave Infinite. On August 30, Woollim Entertainment officially announced that the idol star didn't renew his contract with the agency. You know, INFINITE was signed by Woollim Entertainment in 2010, and its 7-year contract with the agency has been terminated in June. 6 out of 7 INFINITE members have renewed their contracts right after the expiration of the contracts, but, yeah, Hoya decided not to renew his contract after much consideration. Then, what do you think is the reason why Hoya decided to leave Infinite? You know, there seems to be no reason why he should leave the team because Infinite has been enjoying great popularity as one of the most famous k-pop idol groups, and the members and Woollim have been maintaining good relations. Every idol singer feels anxiety about the future because they can't be active as idol singers for all of their lives. They have to retire someday. So, some of idols who are unsure about the...

Q. You drama "Ruler: Master of the Mask" recently went off the air. How do you feel? L: I've filmed the drama for about 7 months, and I became so attached to all the actors and staff members. As it was my first ever historical drama, I feel something lacking. Q. As you said, it was your first ever historical drama. What was it like to appear in a historical drama? L: All the actors had meetings very frequently, and that's why we could become intimate in a short period of time. And I watched movie "Masquerade" to study about a historical drama, and it was a great help to me. I want to appear in a historical drama again if there is a chance. Q. What was it like acting together with young actors such as Yoo Seungho, Kim Sohyun and Yoon Sohee? L: It was an amazing experience for me to act with them because they have much experience in acting even though they're still young. I've learned a lot from them. Q. So, you became friends with the...

You know, INFINITE was signed by Woollim Entertainment in 2010, and its 7-year contract with the agency has been terminated in June. By the way, according to the officials, 6 out of 7 INFINITE members have renewed their contracts with Woollim. It doesn't mean the rest one member will leave Woollim, though. The renewal of the contract is under discussion, and they're discussing the details of the contract. Basically, there is a good chance that the member will renew his contract with Woollim because they've been maintaining good relations. And there has been no discord or disharmony among the members. <K-pop Secret Vol.4: The Reality of K-pop Idols> K-pop Secret Vol.4 contains stories about the reality of k-pop idols. The author, who has been working as a k-pop journalist since 2010 gives you answers to some questions about the reality of k-pop idols such as “How much do k-pop stars earn?” “Why do k-pop agencies do sajaegi?” and “Why do k-pop idols leave their ...

Hwang Chi Yeul, who's enjoying huge popularity in China made a comeback with his first ever mini album "Be Ordinary" on June 13. By the way, as you may know, the male singer was a vocal trainer before becoming popular and taught many idols how to sing. So, which idol do you think was his best student? In a recent interview, Hwang Chi Yeul talked about it. Check out what he said. When I heard voices of Infinite's Woohyun Sungkyu and Hoya for the first time, I thought they have very unique voices. Sungkyu has a voice of a rocker and Woohyun's voice is very characterful. And Hoya is a rapper but he is the one who practices singing really hard. I was stimulated by him. And Kang Dongho, who's currently appearing in "PRODUCE 101" has an unique and attractive voice too. He's recently called me and I told him to do his best. <K-pop Secret Vol.3: How and with whom Idols Date> K-pop Secret Vol.3 contains all the stories about k-pop idols’ dat...

Infinite's contract with Woollim Entertainment will expire soon. The boy group was signed by Woollim in 2010, and its 7-year contract with the agency will be terminated in June. According to the Woollim official, the renewal of the contract is under discussion. Of course, Woollim wants to renew the contract, but the agency and the Infinite members are discussing the details of the contract. That's one reason why Infinite delayed its comeback which was originally scheduled in May. Basically, there is a good chance that the Infinite members will renew their contracts with Woollim because they've been maintaining good relations. And there has been no discord or disharmony among the members. However, nothing is confirmed, and it's true the members are thinking a lot about their future because it already has been 7 years since their debut and they can't be idols for ever. You know, SISTAR decided to take a fresh start even though the team is still one of the mos...

Infinite's L is being recognized as a competent actor. Since debut, the idols star has appeared in some dramas such as "Master's Sun", "My Lovely Girl" and "Cunning Single Lady", and he attracted much attention with his good looks. But, frankly speaking, he was not a good actor. He was criticized for his poor, awkward acting skills, and it seemed there's no chance he could achieve a success as an actor. However, in his new drama "Ruler: Master of the Mask", he's showing very impressive acting performance, removing people's concerns over his acting ability. It is notable that L finally began to be recognized as a competent actor by people in the Korean drama industry, while he is giving all his best to play his character. Especially, it was very impressive that he didn't use a stand-in for a water torture scene even though he filmed the scene in cold winter. So, check out what kinds of efforts L is taking to play h...

Infinite's L will sing OST of his drama "Ruler: Master of the mask". According to the officials, the idol singer will record his song on May 17 and the song will be released in June. In the song, he will express his love toward Kim Sohyun. You know, L is attracting public attention by showing impressive performance in "Ruler: Master of the mask".

Worth while paying such a big sum of money? I don't think so.

Q. You made a comeback with your new album "INFINITE ONLY." How do you feel? L: As we're back after a long hiatus, we want to show new aspects of ourselves to our fans. Sungkyu: Yeah, whenever we release new album, we focus on the evolution of ourselves. All the members were recently busy doing individual activities, but we tried to make time to prepare for our comeback. We've practiced really hard during the Chuseok holidays too. Q. What does the album mean to you? L: It means a lot to us because we could talk a lot about our future when we were preparing for the album. I think the album could be a turning point in our career. Hoya: As the title suggests, we wanted to include very special music in the album. We took part in writing songs too. Woohyun: We prepared for the album really hard. We practiced singing and dancing everyday, and we tried to take care of every single detail of the album. Sungyeol: It was hard to prepare for the album, but we didn...

On May 9, Infinite's Woohyun released his first ever solo album, while the album has a total of 6 tracks including the title song "Nodding." Well, through the press conference held on the release date, the attractive idol singer talked everything about the album. Check out what he said. Q. You released your first ever solo album. How do you feel? Woohyun: I felt some pressured about including my own songs in the album, but I'm happy to release the album. As I've been hard at work on the album with people who know well about me, I could express my own musical characteristics. and I'm sure that I put a lot of effort into the album. I recorded songs again and again and rewrote lyrics more than 10 times. It was very sophisticated work, and the tracks are like my babies.   Q. As a member of Infinite, you usually showed splendid dance performance on stage. However, the title track "Nodding" is a ballad song. Why did you choose the ballad son...

Sungkyu Dongwoo Woohyun Hoya Sungyeol L Sungjong Who do you think did better? :)

On July 13, Infinite made a comeback with its new song 'BAD'. Have you all listened to the song? The impressive track is a mixture of different music genres including hip hop, EDM, and classic, and through the song, you can see how much the 6th-year boy group grew up as a competitive kpop artist. At the Olympic Hall in Seoul Olympic Park, the boy group held a press conference and talked about its new album. As always, the members were cheerful and energetic, while their performance on stage was very charismatic. Park Gyung Rim, who is very close with the Infinite members was the host of the showcase. Q. It has been a year since you released your album as a 7-member group. I guess you are filled with emotion after finally releasing the album. Sungkyu: As we took a long break after our last album, we cared much about our song, hair style, and costumes. Oh, Sungyeol got a perm. Sungyeol: I had my hair permed for my upcoming new drama 'D-Day'. Q. Oh, by the way,...

Q. You have wrapped up your solo activity successfully. How do you feel? Sungkyu: It was my first solo album in 3 years, and I did my best to promote the album. Before releasing the album, I talked to Nell's Kim Jong Wan, "I hope I can be proud of the album." I'm proud of it now. Q. You have double title tracks, 'Kontrol' and 'The Answer'. Are there any reasons you selected the two songs as title tracks? Sungkyu: At first, I considered 'Kontrol' and 'Alive' as title tracks. However, people said that 'The Answer' is more easy to listen to. After mastering 'The Answer', I thought the sound is really awesome. I'm deeply attached to the song. Q. Both of the title tracks have gained great popularity, anyway. Sungkyu: Actually, I thought 'Kontrol' will be more popular than 'The Answer'. However, many people liked 'The Answer' better. Yeah, the outcome of the album is hard to foretell....

4minute and Infinite H's new songs were deemed inappropriate for broadcast by KBS. On February 4, KBS announced that 4minutes' 'Just do the first verse' and Infinite H's 'As long as you're not crazy' were banned for its use of slang and vulgar language. 'Just do the first verse' will be included in 4minute's upcoming new album to be released on February 9, while 'As long as you're not crazy' is included in Infinite H's recent new album that was released on January 26, 2015. 4minute's 'Just do the first verse' includes lyrics like "Rude little bastard? Think about it. Do you advise for me, or are you just tackling me, you old fart?" And 'As long as you're not crazy' has lyrics like "You unchaste female," "You are dirtier than garbage." Well, what do you think? The broadcasting regulations are too much? Actually, KBS is the most conservative broadcasting company in K...