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Tiara: ‘It Is Amazing to Be Besieged by Autograph Hunters in Europe’

So Yeon (25), Eun Jeong (24), and Hyo Min (23) of the girl group Tiara, which is enjoying incredible popularity with their songs “Roly-Poly” and “Lovey-Dovey,” said, “We had just wanted to rank atop the music chart in the past, but now we are besieged by autograph hunters in Europe. It is an amazing thing (laugh).”

Tiara finished their activities in Korea for a while after their appearance on the SBS TV music program “The Music Trend” on February 12, and they will leave for Japan on February 16. They will hold activities in Japan until March 3 with their third single album “Roly-Poly” in Japan. So Yeon, Eun Jeong, and Hyo Min came to Euljiro on February 13 to give an interview. So Yeon said, “We had been very busy for the last ten months without taking a break, but we feel satisfied as more people have recognized us this month. We had a full schedule every day for the past ten months, and sometimes we had nine different activities scheduled on the same day and spent almost 22 hours on our activities. Our fans worried about us, saying, ‘You work too much.’ But the interesting thing was that our group members did not sleep even though we were all very tired from the heavy schedule. All of us tended to release our stress from work by talking to each other while on the road.” As So Yeon mentioned, Tiara had been extremely busy for the past ten months.

Whenever Tiara released new songs such as “Roly-Poly” which was released last year in June, “Cry Cry,” and “Lovey-Dovey,” those songs ranked atop the various music charts, and the group members had to hold more activities while having an incredibly heavy schedule. In addition, the group members also held their individual activities at the same time. Eun Jeong appeared in the JTBC weekend drama “Queen In Soo,” and So Yeon and Hyo Min appeared in the musical “Roly-Poly.” Ji Yeon of Tiara also appeared in the musical “Roly-Poly” and the KBS 2TV drama “Dream High 2” at the same time. Asked whether they had any difficulties while holding group activities and individual activities at the same, Eun Jeong answered, “I had gone through difficulties because I appeared in a historical drama. I worried about my acting, but the acting itself was a very interesting experience. I once had to film a bedroom scene in the drama and worried whether it could have a negative effect on our group activities, but people just regarded it as acting (laugh).” Hyo Min answered, “A musical is different from appearing on TV programs because we have to directly appear in front of the audience, so it was more difficult for me. I sometimes felt sad when I could not present perfect singing while taking care of acting. But I could become more confident as time went on. Now I can present my dancing and singing more confidently than before thanks to the experiences on the musical stage.” So Yeon said, “Actually, Hyo Min always acts as if she were on the stage in her daily life. She always produces a huge laugh among group members with her exaggerated behavior.”

Tiara has become a topic of conversation for an unusual series of “pledges” they made at the beginning of this year. They promised to take the subway if they could rank atop the music chart for the first time and they also promised to participate in voluntary activities if they could rank atop the music chart for three consecutive weeks, and they actually kept their promises. Eun Jeong said, “Actually we felt uncomfortable to mention it as a ‘pledge,’ but we just wanted to make a public promise with our fans to abide by our promises. We were lucky that we could actually keep our promises, which was very meaningful for us.” Hyo Min said, “But there was a bad side to making the pledges because our voluntary activities were broadcast through various media outlets, so we felt it very uncomfortable and the elderly people we helped seem to feel uncomfortable as well. So we have decided to hold voluntary activities in private in the future.”

Tiara gained huge popularity both in Korea and overseas last year. Their debut single in Japan entitled “Bo Peep Bo Peep,” which was released in Japan last year in September, ranked atop the daily and weekly Oricon charts, and their second single entitled “YAYAYA” also placed in fourth place on the Oricon daily chart. In addition, they appeared in a Music Bank concert in Paris with other star groups such as Girls Generation, 2PM, and SHINee on February 8. So Yeon said, “We held our first performance in Europe and we could learn many things from it. We visited the Eiffel Tower and many people from France, England, Spain, and Italy actually recognized our faces and knew our songs. We were very proud of ourselves as K-Pop singers. We felt like as if we had become members of the national team.” Eun Jeong said, “A person even told me that she enjoyed watching the MBC TV variety show ‘We Got Married’ in which I appeared as one of the cast members, so I was very surprised. I could realize the huge impact of the K-Pop boom, and I could have hope that there are many more things to do in the future.” Hyo Min said, “We know very well that we have to improve ourselves more, but we could have a higher goal after visiting Europe. If we can have the chance, we want to advance into the world beyond Asia to Europe and America.”

Asked about Tiara’s competitiveness, they answered, “We have a strong strength to transform ourselves by trying various new concepts not limited to the images of a girl group. ‘Roly-Poly’ was the song that the old generation seemed to like to listen to, and the shuffle dance we are presenting while singing the song ‘Lovey-Dovey’ is different from the dance performances that the other girl groups present. I think that people seem to like those differentiated elements of our performances.” So Yeon said, “I once asked a person in our ag

Tiara will hold their first performance in the USA this upcoming April. They will participate in concerts in San Francisco and Los Angeles along with other singers Yang Pa and Davichi, who belong to the same agency. So Yeon said, “We are highly anticipating our first concert in America. These days, K-Pop has been more acknowledged in the US market, so we want to broadcast our name in the USA through the upcoming conency whether we could hold activities with a cute and pretty image like the other girl groups, but our agency answered, ‘That pretty and lovely image does not match you.’ We might be destined to present only unique images in the future (laugh).”

cert. We are lucky to have this good chance to hold activities in America at the right time (laugh).”

The ultimate goal of the ambitious group members of Tiara is becoming a “multi-player group.” Eun Jeong said, “There is a saying that a person becomes greedier when he or she has more, and it also applies to us. We had just wanted to rank atop the music chart before we debuted, but we have come to have a higher goal of advancing abroad. And we want to become actors after becoming singers. We want to be remembered as a group whose members are good at everything. Now we have the goal to have people say about us, ‘This group is amazing.’”

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Stars Being Released From The Military In 2012

Following the discharge of actor Lee Jun-ki from the military, much attention is being focused on other male stars expected to make their returns this year.

Lee first enlisted back on May 3, 2010, having served in the public relations department in the Ministry of National Defense. He was recently discharged on February 16th, and has already been busy with a fan meeting on the same day at Sang Myung University. 2,000 of his fans came out to greet him.

Along with Lee will be actor Lee Dong-gun, making his entertainment comeback in March of this year. Kim Tae-hee's younger brother, Lee Wan will be discharged soon after in April. Lee Wan first caught the public's eye with his role in the hit drama "Stairway To Heaven" in 2003.

Kim Nam-gil will be released from his duties as a public service worker at the Gangnam-gu office in Seoul in July. He's most noted for his work in "Queen Seondeok" in 2009.

Kang Dong-won will then finish his military duties in November, after having served at the Research Institue of Public Health & Environment. After soaring to top status in "Secret Reunion", Kang has been particularly secretive with his activities during the past two years, making fans all the more excited for his return.

Other stars that fans can look forward to this year include Kim Ji-seok, Kim Ji-hoon, Cho Han-sun, Park Hyo-shin, Super Junior's Kang-in, and Epik High's Mithra Jin. 
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Lee Byun-hun To MC Go-soo's Wedding

Actor Go-soo will be getting married on February 17th, to a woman 11 years his junior. The wedding will take place at the Dynasty Hall at the Shilla Hotel located in Seoul. It turns out that Go-soo's fellow agency member Lee Byung-hun will be emceeing the ceremony!

Furthermore, actor Lee Soon-jae will be officiating while singer Gummy will be singing the congratulatory song.

Despite Lee Byung-hun's busy schedule with the new movie "I'm Am The King of Chosun", but he made the time for his junior's special day.

Go-soo completed his wedding photo shoot on January 30th and has planned for a honeymoon on Koh Samui Island in Thailand. Once he returns from his 6-day trip, he'll start filming his new movie alongside Han Hyo-joo.

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