[SINGAPORE] All Things Korean & Hallyu at 2018 Korea Brand and Entertainment Expo (KBEE)

Fans of all things Korean had a great start to their November with Korea Brand and Entertainment Expo (KBEE) 2018 at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre. The festival showcased many K-lifestyle brands – ranging from cosmetics to food to daily necessities and featured Hallyu stars 2PM Lee Junho, actress Song Jihyo and boy group SNUPER as Honourary Ambassadors for KBEE Singapore 2018. BOY STORY, a new concept group created by JYP Entertainment China and Tencent Music Entertainment Group were also in attendance for the two-day event.

Fanservice Aplenty
Over the two days, fans of Lee Junho, Song Jihyo and SNUPER had the opportunity to see the stars up close through various fan-signing events and a free concert. The Hallyu stars were generous in showering fans with fan-service – from posing with finger hearts to posing for selfies with fans who were selected to participate in the fan-signing events! Some fans even received hugs from Lee Junho and Song Jihyo while getting their exclusive posters signed, which drew several oohs and aahs from the crowd. It was also the perfect opportunity for K-pop fans to see how a fan-signing event works, as it is a rare occurrence for such events to be held in Singapore. Many fans could also be spotted with cameras trying to capture the precious memories of the special moments with their idols.

Show-stopping Performances
A K-pop concert was held on the evening of Day-1 of the festival where fans could enjoy the performances by their favourite stars. Asia Rookie group BOY STORY were also present and performed at the concert. The six-member boy group who are just two months into their debut, opened the concert and garnered lots of cheers throughout their time on stage. Hanyu, Zihao, Xin Long, Zeyu, Ming Rui and Shuyang danced to fast-tempo dance tracks accompanied by flashy choreography that had them moving across the stage at all times during their performance! Despite their fresh-faced appearance, the sextet wowed the crowd with hip-hop inspired songs ‘Enough’, ‘Handz Up’, ‘Jump Up’ and ‘How Old R U’ that showcased their highly energetic side. While the boys appeared rather shy on stage, it was clear they enjoyed their time in Singapore and even uploaded a video documenting their trip!

Up next was an interview session with actress and Running Man cast Song Jihyo. She shared beauty tips with the audience saying that she pays a lot of attention to moisturising her skin lately due to the changing of seasons in Korea. While Running Man has yet to film an episode here in Singapore, the last time the cast of the hit variety show were here was to hold a fan-meeting back in 2014. Jihyo mentioned that she really missed the chilli crab here in Singapore as well as bak kut teh and even planned to have bak kut teh for a meal the following day!  Jihyo also asked fans for recommendations on places of interest to visit in Singapore, to which a fan suggested her to pay a visit to Gardens By The Bay so “Jihyo can see flowers that are as beautiful as her.” 😛

Six-piece boy group SNUPER took to the stage next and serenaded the crowd with their pop dance tracks ‘Tulips’ and ‘Starry Winter Night’ to the disco inspired ‘The Star of Stars’ as well as their latest single ‘You In My Eyes’. Taewoong, Suhyun, Sangil, Woosung, Sangho and Sebin were dressed in colourful jackets paired with simple black jeans as they exuded bright charms and youthful energy. It was the group’s second time in Singapore this year, after being part of the lineup for another event just two months ago. Their popularity here certainly has been growing if the fanchants from the audience were anything to go by!

Perhaps the loudest cheers of the night were reserved for 2PM member Lee Junho who was prviously in Singapore for the movie premiere of his movie ‘Cold Eyes’ back in 2013.  Fans were definitely eager to see the boyish-looking member as he performed to the Korean versions of R&B title ‘Canvas’ and the energetic ‘WOW’. Well, Junho certainly did wow the crowd as he descended the stage and walked right up to the audience from left to right inciting many squeals and screams from fans.

Towards the end of the night, Junho made a promise to fans that he will return to Singapore with the rest of the 2PM members. While it has been nearly seven years since 2PM has held an event here in Singapore as a group, we are sure Hottest will look forward for any future opportunities to see the group as a whole here again!

We would like to extend our thanks to Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy for organising and hosting this event as well as providing media accreditation. We hope KBEE will be held in Singapore again in future years to come to showcase even more facets of Korean culture to Singaporeans to enjoy and learn from! 🙂

Photo Credit: KBEE & Tricia
Article by: Tricia

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