Kim Soo Hyun coming to town

SINGAPORE - South Korean "It" boy Kim Soo Hyun will be coming to Singapore for a fan meet on April 27, as part of his Asian tour known as 1st Memories.

The 26-year-old actor, who shot to international fame for playing charming alien Do Min Joon in the hugely popular TV drama My Love From The Star, will be singing a number of songs as well as playing various games with his fans here at the event to be held at Singapore Expo.

Other than Singapore, Kim will also be visiting fans in Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok, Jakarta and Japan's Yokohama. My Love From The Star, which stars Gianna Jun as his romantic interest, has taken Asia - in particular, China - by storm.

The only other Korean dramas that have gotten this much buzz on a global scale are arguably romance drama Winter Sonata (2002), palace drama Jewel In The Palace (2003) and school drama Boys Over Flowers (2009).

Now that Kim has become hot property, demand for his appearances has skyrocketed.

Reportedly, he was paid 3 million yuan (S$613,000) or 600,000 yuan an hour to attend a taping of Jiangsu Satellite TV's variety show The Brain for only five hours in Nanjing, China.

To ensure his safety, event organisers deployed 600 security guards and banned non-related staff from the taping of the episode, which aired last night.

He is signed to the agency Keyeast Entertainment, which is owned by Winter Sonata star Bae Yong Joon, one of the first icons of the Korean Wave.

Kim is also known for starring in popular period fantasy TV drama The Moon Embracing The Sun (2012), as well as comedy-drama flick Secretly, Greatly (2013) and heist film The Thieves (2012).

Tickets for his Singapore fan meet are priced at $138 to $238 and will be available from Sistic from Tuesday.

yipwy@sph.com.sg

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