Park Jin-hai primarily focuses on K-dramas, entertainment shows and actor interviews. Beyond that, she also pens articles covering the broader arts scene, with a particular emphasis on classical music, dance and various aspects of lifestyle. Since joining The Korea Times in 2013, she has made significant contributions in the realms of hallyu (Korean wave), industry news and international affairs.
Jang Geun-suk holds first overnight fan meeting with Japanese fans
Jang Geun-suk
By Park Jin-hai
By Park Jin-hai
Jang Geun-suk met with 1,500 Japanese fans in an overnight meeting held Sunday at High 1 Resort in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province.
The fans flew in a day earlier for the one-night, two-day meeting with the “Prince of Asia.” Jang, 25, an actor and performer, is in Japan where he recently opened a café for fans in Tokyo. He has starred in popular “hallyu” or Korean wave dramas including “You’re Beautiful.”
The event was organized to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Lotte Duty Free’s Korean wave marketing. According to the itinerary, fans had shopping on the first day of their arrival on Saturday and checked in the resort the following day, where they took photos and dined with Jang.
Other events included Jang’s mini-concert and a quiz show.
“The event is surely a success, given that the Japanese tourists decreased in number in recent years due to the depreciation of Yen and rising security threat from North Korea,” said a manager of the Duty Free Shop.
Lotte Duty Free Shop has been aggressively implementing marketing strategies of combining entertainment and tourism since 2004. It has hired such Korean wave stars as Bae Yong-joon and Choi Ji-woo. This marketing strategy has led to the triple increase in the annual number of Japanese customers, to 3.1 million in 2012 from 900,000 in 2003, according to officials of the firm.