Bangkok--8 Dec--CNN
Airtimes in Thailand
Wednesday, December 8 at 1930
Thursday, December 9 at 1130
Saturday, December 11 at 2130
Sunday, December 12 at 0230 & 1630
Monday, December 13 at 1000
After achieving huge success in their native South Korea, they are now one of the most popular bands in Asia. For the past five years, Super Junior has created hit after hit, both through its original line-up and also its equally successful spin-off groups. CNN’s Anna Coren sits down in Seoul with two of the band members, Leeteuk and Siwon, to find out how they stay ahead in the competitive world of K-pop. Talk Asia also joins Super Junior before a concert, getting ready to greet over 5000 screaming fans.
Super Junior leader Leeteuk explains how the group stays in the spotlight by rotating its 13 members in and out of the line-up as they pursue other interests like acting, modelling and television presenting. “Because the public always wants something new and fresh, we use the fact that we have a lot of members to give them a fresh ‘taste’ by rotating in and out and working in different groups. By doing so, we hope the group will be able to last longer. Also it’s very important that, as public figures, we get as much exposure as possible through the media which we are able to do through the various groups.”
27-year old Leeteuk also explains the reasons behind Super Junior's four sub-groups and reveals plans for more in the future. “’Super Junior K-R-Y’ consists of three members with strong vocal skills; ‘Super Junior T’ is made up of members who have good entertaining skills; ‘Super Junior Happy’ is a group that sings happy and lively songs and ‘Super Junior M’ is the sub-group with two additional Chinese members to specifically target China. Super Junior as a whole reaches out to different markets by expanding its boundaries beyond genre, race and culture.”
The two stars also talk about how the internet has helped spread the popularity of the Korean Wave/K-pop phenomenon around the world and how social media networks have enabled them to communicate with their fans in and outside of Korea. As Siwon reveals, “A lot of people tend to believe that we don’t really have a life and are encaged in some way. So we use social media a lot to show people slices of our personal life.” Leeteuk adds, “To keep up the conversation with our fans, it’s great to use outlets like Twitter. By uploading messages there, our fans can see how we’re doing, and we can also see how they are doing.”
On cracking the all-important U.S. market, Leeteuk says “… (it) is everyone’s dream” to which Siwon adds: “You should also add that we want to break into the Australian market.” The duo share their thoughts on why they are loved across cultures and say: “I think, to begin with, our music is easy to sing along with. When you listen to music from other countries, such as America, Japan or China, you don’t really know what it all means, but you get to like it based on the feel of the song…”
Leeteuk and Siwon also tell Anna Coren about their support for the campaign against human trafficking and why they would like to contribute to society as global celebrities. Leeteuk also shares his personal story of the 2007 car accident when he received around 170 stitches and the thoughts that went through his mind when he was recovering in hospital. “I have to keep performing… I want to keep living.”