Mourning on, so meet off?

Pressure has been mounting on South Korean celebrities to cancel their overseas engagements following the country's ferry disaster on April 16.

And Singapore fans of Kim Soo Hyun have been fearing the worst since Wednesday.

The Hong Kong media had reported that one of the actor's events in the city was cancelled.

Yesterday, when word spread that the Korean star's press conference in Singapore this Sunday was also cancelled, many panicked.

They feared that Kim's first fan meeting here would suffer the same fate.

As of yesterday, the 26-year-old star of hit Korean blockbuster drama, My Love From The Star, was still scheduled to attend the Singapore fan meeting.

A spokesman for the event said: "The press conference for the 2014 Kim Soo Hyun Asia Tour 1st Memories in Singapore on April 27 is cancelled, in respect of the recent Sewol ferry disaster.

"However, the fan meet session on April 27, at 7.30pm at Singapore Expo Hall 1, will go on as scheduled."

But fans The New Paper spoke to are still worried that things may change in the next couple of days. They paid up to $238 for the session.

Said 38-year-old housewife Chong Sze Mei: "You never know what will happen since his (Kim) management has started cancelling events already.

"When I read about what happened in Hong Kong, my heart dropped. The show must go on. I don't think I can take it if he cancels his fan meeting here."

Besids Singapore, the tour is scheduled to stop at eight other Asian locations, including Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, and Indonesia.

Miss Vera Thomas, 18, a student, said: "I understand that they are mourning in Korea, and want their stars to do the same.

"However, Kim Soo Hyun had agreed to attend this fan meeting way before the disaster.

"We have prepared so many things to welcome him here, we'll be devastated if we don't get to see him in the end."

On Wednesday, Hong Kong reports stated that hundreds of fans there were disappointed that Kim had only spent 10 minutes with 220 competition winners who had spent money on shopping to increase their chances of meeting him.

The same reports also confirmed that the Causeway Bay event, where Kim was supposed to visit a cosmetics store, was cancelled.

A spokesman for the singer told Hong Kong media that the scheduled trip to the store had been cancelled due to the Korean ferry disaster.

PRESSURE

When the ferry tragedy struck last week, Korean stars, including Kim, his co-star Gianna Jun, actor Lee Min Ho and actress Park Shin Hye, had been reportedly pressured to cancel their upcoming events.

The Korean media reported last week that Kim and Jun had recently signed on as Samsung Electronics spokesmen in China and had to attend a promotional event there last Friday.

But even though there was strong speculation that it would be cancelled, the event proceeded as planned. A spokesman for Samsung Electronics said "it would be hard to cancel their attendance because the event is taking place in China, and a lot of the other celebrities have confirmed their attendance".

A three-day Hallyu Star Family Concert in Seoul, scheduled to start last Friday and featuring Lee and Park, was cancelled.

Their representatives reportedly requested a postponement, saying the nation was in grief and that to hold a concert under these circumstances would be inappropriate.

Friday's event was turned into a solemn occasion where prayers were offered for the victims of the ferry disaster.

When I read about what happened in Hong Kong, my heart dropped. The show must go on. I don't think I can take it if he cancels his fan meeting here.

This article was published on April 25 in The New Paper.

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