Brazil's NeoTokyo Magazine Nº 59 - Super Junior "The South Korean Phenomenom That Conquers The World"

Posted by amz is Mr. Simple on Sunday, February 6, 2011 at 8:30 PM

Learn Everything About The Hottest Korean Boy-Band Of The Moment.
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Asia is about to be dominated by a sea of Pearl Sapphire Blue. That is the official color of E.L.F (Everlasting Friends), official fan club of Super Junior, a South Korean group that has begun its 3rd Asian tour – the Super Show III. After securing themselves as idols in Asia and the whole world with hits like “Sorry, Sorry” and “Bonamana”, Super Junior affirms itself as a pop phenomenon and is on top of various musical rankings, being one of the best-selling artists in 2010.
Behind this success are 13 guys and five years of history, marked with many victories, but also many sad moments, tensions and controversies. To reach the top, Super Junior learned how to overcome criticism and obstacles, always thinking on giving the fans their best in each performance. There are those who have difficulty understanding Super Junior, but after following the history of this group formed by such distinct personalities and talents, it becomes easier to understand why it has become a phenomenon not only in Asia, but also in the whole world.
From Leeteuk To Kyuhyun: How It All Started
In November 2005, Super Junior 05 debuted with their first single: Twins (Knock Out), which gave the name to the album released by SM Entertainment. Led by Leeteuk, the group was initially formed also by Heechul, Hankyung, Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook and Kibum.
SM Entertainment’s bet was to have a group that, aside from singing and dancing, could conquer various forms of entertainment, since it is formed also by actors, comedians, models, DJs and TV hosts. This group would not have a fixed formation, and soon some members of Super Junior 05 would leave to give room to the members of Super Junior 06.
After exposing their “tough” side with Twins, Super Junior 05 promoted the track Miracle, showing to the public a sweeter and fun side of the group. With Miracle, the boy-band caught the attention of children to elders and led musical rankings in Korea and overseas.
In May 2006, when everyone waited for the announcement of the new group formation, SM Entertainment surprisingly declared that Super Junior 05 would only be called “Super Junior”, a fixed group of 13 members. And so was introduced the maknae (youngest, in Korean) of the group, Kyuhyun, who joined Super Junior for the promotions of the new single U.
And it was with U that Super Junior consolidated its place in the competitive world of South Korean Entertainment. Aside from receiving various awards in musical programs such as SBS Inkigayo (“Popular Songs”), Super Junior was crowned the Best Rookie Award at the 2006′s MEMF, one of the most important awards in South Korea.
This prize marked Super Junior’s career not only by being the first, but also by successfully ending a year marked not only by the group’s success, but also painful incidents like the death of Donghae’s father and the accident that severely harmed Heechul.
The latter, however, was not the only car accident that shook the lives of the members of Super Junior. In April 2007, as they were preparing for their second album release, all plans were left aside as Leeteuk, Shindong, Eunhyuk and Kyuhyun suffered an accident that put at risk the life of the group’s youngest member.
After departing from a transmission of the program KBS Super Junior’s Kiss The Radio (Sukira), the vehicle that was taking the members and staff back to the group’s dorm overturned on the road. Shindong and Eunhyuk suffered mild bruises and were released from the hospital quickly. Leeteuk suffered from cuts on his face and back, caused by the glass shards that hit him during the accident. But Kyuhyun, who was behind the driver’s seat, was thrown out of the car and suffered the worst fractures.
With many broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a bruised hip, Kyuhyun entered a coma and stayed in the hospital’s ICU for many days. Last year, Kyuhyun himself declared on a TV show that his chances of surviving reached 20%. With his father’s intervention, who prevented Kyuhyun from going through tracheotomy, guaranteeing that his son would be capable of singing after recovering from the accident, and the other members’ incentives, Kyuhyun recovered slowly and was released from the hospital in July, almost 80 days after the accident. He recovered little by little until he was free to perform again with Super Junior.
Wonder Boys
While Kyuhyun recovered from the injuries caused by the accident, Super Junior suspended their second album preparations. In July, the group released the single “Full of Happiness”, a cover of the song released by the famous group H.O.T from SM Entertainment in the 90s. This single is part of the project SM Town, which unites recordings of various artists from SME.
After the accident, the 12 members also dedicated themselves to a new project: the group’s first movie. The film “Attack On The Pin-Up Boys” premiered in South-Korean theaters in July 2007, and in the soundtrack Super Junior released their new single: “Wonder Boy”.
In the story that was starred by the 12 members of Super Junior a mysterious creature attacks the most popular students from schools in Seoul. After becoming one of the most commented subjects on the Internet, Kibum decides to investigate the case and suspects that the next victim will be from Neulparan High School, in which he studies. Among the possible victims is student body president, Siwon; the dance club president, Heechul and the captain of the judo team, Kangin.
With the humor that is the hallmark of Super Junior, the movie is based on the criticism in regards to the idol universe. Although it wasn’t a public success, it was well received by critics and the success of DVD sales. Among many surprises are Sungmin’s, Donghae’s and Ryeowook’s acting, who not only interprets Siwon’s assistant, but took turns with Leeteuk for the panda role, figure that was much more than just the school’s mascot.
With Kyuhyun partially recovered and the end of movie and single promotions, Super Junior went into a brief hiatus to bring the fans the second album.
Don’t Don
On September 20th 2007, after more than a year since U’s release, the 13 members of Super Junior reunited to release the much-anticipated second album of the group, titled Don’t Don.
The members went through a huge style transformation, with daring haircuts, tattoos and clothes that accentuated their masculinity. It couldn’t be any different: the album’s title-track, Don’t Don, has a strong rhythm and message, with influences from rock, r&b, rap and hip hop.
The album, as a whole, shows that even with a considerably large number of member, Super Junior is capable of producing harmonized songs of quality, like the ballads “Marry U”, “Endless Love”, and the cheerful “Disco Drive” and “Thank You”, which expose the members singing acapella.
Don’t Don was a bestseller and broke records not only in South Korea, but also in Japan, China, Philippines and other countries. Once again with support from the fans, Super Junior became one of the most acclaimed artists of 2007. Don’t Don promotions ended with “Marry U”, offering the fans the happiness of having their idols doing a passionate wedding proposal in each performance.
It was during Don’t Don promotions that Super Junior starred in the program Explorers of the Human Body (EHB). Alongside host Shin Dongyup the members of Super Junior unraveled some myths and made discoveries about how the human body works. With 13 episodes, EHB was a hit on TV and was well received by the critics. Once again, Super Junior’s humor was the program’s mark. Many fans still hope that the channel SBS will produce a second season of the show.
With the end of Don’t Don and EHB promotions, Super Junior prepared itself for its first Asian tour – Super Show. Between February 2008 and March 2009, Super Junior passed by South Korea, China and Thailand, giving fans unforgettable moments.
“Sorry Sorry” The Phenomenon
Although involved with the tour, individual side-projects and subgroups, Super Junior dedicated itself to the production of their third album. The album production was announced in July 2008 and since then members updated fans through the Internet about the recordings and preparations for the group’s return. This increased everyone’s curiosity, generating great expectations in regards to what would be Suju’s new concept.
In March 2009, with a mature and elegant image, Super Junior returned with what could be considered the biggest hit of the boy band’s career: “Sorry, Sorry.” The album was released with two versions, A – with more urban and casual photos; and B – uniting the members in formal outfits. With 11 tracks, the album was one of the most sold albums of 2009 and projected Super Junior’s popularity to impressive levels.
The track “Sorry, Sorry” is a danceable pop song, with strong electronic beats, synthetic vocals and a dynamic choreography. The hit was composed by Yoo Youngjin (who also composed Don’t Don) and the choreography by Nick Bass, who worked with stars like Justin Timberlake and Usher. With it, Super Junior reached out to all the public, from children to elders, from Korean policemen to businessmen to businessmen in the Philippines – everyone knew the steps and the chorus, marked by the repetition of the words “Sorry” and “Shawty” at the tip of the tongue.
The third album showed Super Junior’s maturation. According to leader Leeteuk, “Sorry, Sorry” is an album that reflects the styles of Super Junior’s members. The pop style that marked their previous works gave rise to R&B and songs that explored the group’s vocals and harmony better.
To continue “Sorry, Sorry” promotions, a version C was released – the album repackage, containing the new title-track of the group: “Neorago (It’s You).” Aside from “It’s You”, the version C included another 4 additional tracks, including “Love U More”, composed by Ryeowook with lyrics by Sungmin. As promotions for the third album successfully ended, in June 2009 Super Junior prepared for their second Asian tour – Super Show 2.
2009 – A Year Of Controversies
On one hand the year of 2009 brought Super Junior happiness, victories and recognition, but on the other it was a year marked by many controversies. Since the start of promotions for the new album, Kim Kibum has been absent. Many speculations were made, and as a response SM Entertainment informed that although he participated in the filming of the Sorry, Sorry and It’s You MVs, Kibum would be away from promotions to dedicate himself to acting lessons and his acting career.
The company even announced that Kibum would be present in shows in the second Asian tour, but quickly announced that due to a leg injury Kibum would not be able to return to the stage with Super Junior. With this, fans weren’t able to follow his activities until September, when images of his movie “Jumunjin” were released, in which Kibum interpreted the main role.
Kibum’s absence was the least of Super Junior’s problems in 2009⁷. Kangin, known for being one of the most charismatic members of the group, was involved in two scandals that shook the group’s career. In September, Kangin was involved in a bar fight and was accused of aggression. This incident greatly degraded Kangin’s image and life.
When least expected, everyone was surprised by more bad news. On October 16th, Kangin caused a traffic accident by being drunk and then fleeing the accident’s location (DIU and Hit and Run)⁸. The consequences to this act were quite severe. After apologizing publicly through a letter released online, SM Entertainment announced that Kangin would be suspended until the end of the year, thus being absent for all the group’s activities until 2010.
In December, when everyone thought that 2009 couldn’t get any worse in relation to KPop scandals, Super Junior suffered the biggest blow: Fans all over the world were shocked when finding out that Hankyung (Hangeng in Mandarin), the only Chinese member in the group, filed a lawsuit against SM Entertainment to end his contract with the company. Hangeng’s justification was in regards to health and unfair payment.
Without Kibum, Kangin and Hankyung, Super Junior ended the acclaimed year with “Sorry, Sorry” receiving the best album of 2009 award.
Super Junior In Twitterland
Even with all the problems, the show must go on. And of this, Super Junior knows better than anyone. In 2010, with 10 members, they continued their activities and ended, in April 2010, their second Asian tour, the Super Show 2. 10 cities visited in 9 months, and even after the setbacks that shook the structure of the group, the fans continued to show support to Suju and mass attended the shows, causing the tour to end successfully.
And 2010 started with good news for Super Junior fans. In January, Kim Kibum returned to the media to promote his movie, “Jumunjin.” At the movie’s premiere, Heechul, Leeteuk and Changmin (DBSK) were present to show their support for Kibum, that later declared that he had never thought of leaving Super Junior – which to him is a family – and that his participation in group activities depend on the company, SM Entertainment.
Still in January, international fans had wonderful news. After lots of speculation and fear that it’d be a false profile, everyone received Shindong on Twitter (@ShinsFriends). Quickly, Shindong became one of the South Korean artists most followed on Twitter. It took a while, but soon Shindong aroused the curiosity of other members and one by one they joined the universe of “@s.” With every new confirmed profile, a new Super Junior member entered the Trending Topics, many times staying at the top of most recently commented subjects in the world.
Bonamana And The SJ Funky
Through Twitter, the members found the perfect way to mess with the fans’ imagination in regards to the group’s new album. Sungmin and Shindong commented about Super Junior’s possible new concept, in which many betted that it’d be based on something “vampire-ish”, following the trend that started with the movie saga “Twilight.”
Apart from rumors, in May all the speculations about vampires and such were knocked down when Super Junior made its comeback with the album “Miinah (BONAMANA)”, also released in two versions: A and B.
For the new album, the members of Super Junior went through another transformation. After capturing fans with a more elegant style in “Sorry, Sorry”, abusing the use of suits and discreet clothing, in “Bonamana” they left that description aside to show that they’re in good shape, in great shape.
The album was presented by SM Entertainment as an album with an exclusive rhythm, the SJ Funky, which gives continuation to Sorry Sorry with strong beats that resemble African rhythms on the title-tracks. The other tracks in the album mix in R&B ballads, giving emphasis on the vocal trio¹⁰ in the group: Yesung and Kyuhyun have a duet in “Your Eyes”, Ryeowook interprets the sweet “One Fine Spring Day” – his first solo in Super Junior; the three also unite to interpret “Coagulation.”
Aside from the ballads, the forth album brings the contagious “Shake It Up”, and the also danceable “Good Person” and “Here We Go”, which a lot of fans believe has retrieved the pop character present on the first works by Super Junior.
If “Sorry, Sorry” had already hit a sales record of 30 thousand copies on the release day, with Bonamana the success was devastating. Before even being released, 200 thousand pre-orders were made for the album in South Korean music sites. In 5 days, the album sold more than 70 thousand copies and at this moment, Super Junior dominates the most sold album rankings, beating the group SNSD, also under SM Entertainment and that is in second place with the album ‘Oh’.
“Miinah (BONAMANA)” was also composed by Yoo Youngjin and the choreography, based off ice-skating (very popular sport in South Korea), was also developed by Nick Bass. Combined with Super Junior’s new attitude, even more masculine, the song talks about men that don’t spare efforts to catch the attention of the woman they love. If “Bonamana” was a success to show the more direct and charming side of Super Junior, the single that followed it made all fans remember the cute and sweet side of the group. In June the version C of “Bonamana” was released, and with it the song No Other. With a more melodic arrangement than its preceding single, Super Junior returned to the stages with a softer and more playful image, capturing everyone with their smiles and jokes.
And with the version C, fans got more reasons to smile. Kangin, on hiatus since October 2009, returned to record with Super Junior. The song “A Short Journey” was composed and written by Eunhyuk and Donghae. In it, Kangin announces to fans that he’s going to enter into a brief journey, but will take everyone’s affection in his heart. The reason for this departure is upsetting: To redeem himself from his mistakes in the past, reflect and become a better person, Kangin announced enlistment into the army to fulfill South Korea’s two years of mandatory service. Kangin was in military training and officially enlisted in October of last year¹¹.
The repackaged version of Bonamana also has “All My Heart”, a song composed by Leeteuk and Henry Lau (member of Super Junior-M, see the section about subgroups). It can be said that the forth album confirms Super Junior’s maturation musically and also as a group, since together they manage to overcome the problems that show up and give their best to smile and captivate their fans.
Ready To Dominate Once More – Super Show III
With a successful release that once again left Super Junior at the top of rankings in various Asian countries, Super Junior is now ready to dominate Asia once again with its third Asian tour. Super Show III, which started around August, will pass by 13 cities with 16 concerts and will end in 2011.
The first shows, performed in Seoul in August 13th and 14th, already showed that aside from talent and character, Super Junior is willing to get many laughs out of its public. With Shindong’s and Eunhyuk’s stage direction, Super Junior astonished the public by bringing performances of current hits and reinterpreting old hits like “TWINS”, “A Man In Love” and “U.”
The members of Super Junior also show all their versatility by surrendering to Beyoncé’s and Lady Gaga’s success and performed to the public covers of “Poker Face”, with Lady HeeHee (Heechul) and “Single Ladies”, with Shindong dressed as Beyoncé and accompanied by Donghae and Eunhyuk.
In the show the members also go up on stage dressed as vegetables to finalize the show (before the traditional encore) and leave the public that follows them – may it be live, or through the Internet, there is the assurance that it doesn’t matter what they confront, Super Junior will leave everything behind when getting up on stage and will always be capable of making fans happy.
Super Junior In Brazil
Before the release of Bonamana, the Super Junior fan base in Brazil was already substantial. The group’s popularity in our land grew even more after the forth album. Because it became one of the most commented topics on the Internet, being in the Twitter Trending Topics for many days, even one of the most commented topics in our country, Super Junior caught the attention of the Brazilian media and of people like Miguel Falabella¹², who after watching “Bonamana” was captivated by Super Junior and kpop in general.
In the country’s famous anime events, Super Junior was also noticed. In the Anime Friends 2010¹³, during the 4 days of the event a cover group from Curitiba called BRisk did 6 performances, dancing in each 7 famous songs by the group. The performances caught the attention of fans that sang along to the songs, and also pleased the many others that watched or passed by the site.
Among many Super Junior fan sites, the forum Happy Together Brazil (or popularly Hato Brazil, the Brazilian side of the Latin American and Spanish Hato Family) is a highlight.
Formed 2 years ago, the forum unites around 1200 members in love with Super Junior and has a variety of information to keep everyone updated about the group and its members’ schedules. The forum also has Super Junior videos translated to Portuguese, in addition to a great archive to keep new and old fans informed.
To celebrate Super Junior’s 5th anniversary, Hato Brazil has many commemorative projects. Among them, a project created alongside other international forums that are a part of Super Junior’s fan base, there is the project to congratulate Suju for their anniversary in newspapers worldwide.

Super Junior’s Sub-Groups
According to Leeteuk, Super Junior can have its own world. And with so many members, Super Junior subdivided itself into groups to show that they are talented in any style, in any country.
Super Junior K.R.Y
Super Junior KRY was Super Junior’s first subgroup and is formed by three of the group’s main vocalists: Kyuhyun, Ryeowook and Yesung. It may seem obvious, but the name KRY goes a little beyond the junction of the initials from the three members. According to Yesung, KRY received its name because when the trio sings, he wants to make people cry as they hear their music.
Dedicated to a more mature public, KRY sings mainly ballads, and has already participated in the soundtrack of many South-Korean dramas. Its official debut was November 5th 2006 with the song “The One I Love”.
In August of this year, KRY did two successful concerts in Tokyo, Japan. On stage, KRY interpreted songs such as “Dreaming of being a Hero”, “Steps to Stop” and with Donghae and Sungmin they interpreted Super Junior hits such as “H.I.T” and “Mirror”.
Super Junior-T
Imagine you and your friends swing dancing and singing enthusiastically, as if it still was a hit in the US.³ Rescuing a rhythm that is generally dedicated to the older generation was exactly what Super Junior T did in South Korea in 2007. Super Junior’s second sub-group is made up of Leeteuk, Heechul, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin and Eunhyuk. They debuted in February 2007, with the hit “Rokkugo”, which quickly became a bestseller. With a very colorful style, abusing suits, sequins and spangles, the boys were able to express music and humor, and showed that there’s no age to enjoy trot with modern elements and with Eunhyuk and Shindong’s raps.
In November 2008, Super Junior-T released the single “ROCK&GO”, rerecording of the hit “Rokkugo” in Japanese, with the collaboration of the duet “Moeyan”.
After 3 years, Super Junior-T was reborn in Super Junior’s current Asian tour, Super Show 3. The group’s new song, Ttok Ttok Ttok, was released online in various South Korean websites and is part of the official song list of Suju’s new tour.
Super Junior-Happy
In June 2008, Super Junior created its forth subgroup. With relaxing and happy songs that go along with the summer, Super Junior Happy debuted to cheer up the season. Formed by Leeteuk (leader), Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin and Eunhyuk, they sang about the problems of having a girlfriend that can’t cook in “Cooking? Cooking!”, single that titled their mini-album, released on May 5th of that year. With the objective to bring happiness and relaxation to fans, Super Junior Happy also released the hit “Pajama Party.”
Super Junior-M
In April 2008, SM Entertainment announced the third Super Junior subgroup: Super Junior-M, formed to promote in the Chinese market and other Mandarin-speaking countries such as Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. Under the leadership of the Chinese member Hankyung, SJ-M is formed by Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook and Kyuhyun. Super Junior-M also has two foreign members: Henry (Canadian/Taiwanese) and Zhou Mi (Chinese). They officially debuted on April 8th of that year, with the release of the single⁶ ’U', Mandarin version and remodeled with a new style and rhythm from the Super Junior release in 2006.
The group’s first album, “Me”, was released at the end of April in some Chinese provinces and in South Korea, and on May 2nd for the other cities. As soon as it was released, it premiered in various musical rankings, and after a few weeks since the release, SJM arrived at the top of the ranking Top in Music in China, the most renowned in the country.
In 2009, busy with the main group’s popularity due to “Sorry Sorry”, Super Junior-M returned to reign mandopop with its first mini-album – “SUPER GIRL.” The success of the hit composed by Yoo Youngjin was instant. SJ-M was in first place in musical rankings in China, Taiwan, Philippines and Thailand, staying at the top for many weeks.
In December 2009, Han Geng filed a lawsuit with SM Entertainment, leaving Super Junior and, in consequence, SJ-M. While Super Junior promotes its new album, whose repackaged version contains a song that Henry did alongside Leeteuk, everyone anxiously waits for the announcement of the subgroup’s future. Meanwhile, Henry is dedicating himself to his studies in the USA, while Zhou Mi dedicates himself to individual activities in China and South Korea.
EverLasting Friends • Super Junior & ELF
Super Junior has one of South Korea’s most dedicated and intense fan clubs. EverLasting Friends (ELF) was established in June 2006 and is behind Super Junior’s great achievements, but was also a pivot of a huge controversy.
When, in 2007, Henry Lau made a special participation in Don’t Don, the fan club united against him. With the motto “Only13″, the ELFs wanted to prevent that Henry was added into the main group, fearing that Super Junior would go back to being a rotational group, undoing the original formation.
The tension became worse when SM Entertainment announced that Super Junior’s third subgroup would be created, which would later be named Super Junior-M. SJ-M would focus on the Chinese market and other countries that speak Mandarin.
Besides from the five Korean members: Hankyung (leader), Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook and Kyuhyun, it was announced that Henry Lau and Zhou Mi would be added to the subgroup.
ELFs’ opposition with SJM’s creation got to the point of transforming loyal Super Junior fans into anti-fans. During a long time, in joint performances with Super Junior, the members of Super Junior-M had to witness tensions and offenses directed towards the additional members Henry and Zhou Mi.
At the end of the first Super Junior concert on their second Asian tour, while ELFs screamed that they’d “protect the 13 members”, Leeteuk asked them to change their screams and that they’d “Protect Super Junior”, referring to Henry and Zhou Mi, who aren’t part of the group Super Junior, but are part of the family that forms the group.
Tensions aside, ELFs do just about anything so that Super Junior is recognized. The fans have already united to donate blood in the name of the group for a patient with leukemia. And they have also made charitable projects in the name of Suju.
When the Sapphire Pearl Blue sea shines in the concerts, the members demonstrate their gratitude towards fans for always doing their best so they would top rankings.
The international fan clubs are more flexible and, in general, in favor of Henry and Zhou Mi, who are great artists. All the fans, in general, are united by the love for the group and try their hardest to demonstrate that love.
Member Profiles
Leeteuk
Name: Park Jung-su
Date of Birth: 07/01/1983
Hobbies: Singing, composing, piano, listening to music
Subgroups: Super Junior-T / Super Junior Happy
Bio: Leeteuk is the leader of this army of 13 members and is considered one of the best leaders in the pop world, for always working hard in the name of the group in various TV and radio shows. Very emotional, he cries easily. Besides being the leader of Super Junior, he leads the humorous section “Teuk Academy” on the program SBS Strong Heart, is a fixed guest of the popular Star King and is a DJ of Super Junior’s Kiss The Radio, which has just completed 4 years.
Heechul
Name: Kim Heechul
Date of Birth: 07/10/1983
Height/Weight: 1.79m / 60kg
Hobbies: Writing poems, writing fairy-tales, computer games
Subgroups: Super Junior T
Bio: With a very strong and somewhat eccentric personality, Heechul is the pretty face of the group. Known as narcissistic and addicted to the Internet, he updated his “blog” in the site Cyworld as a hobby until meeting Twitter. Heechul is one of Super Junior’s actors, having starred in various dramas. Nowadays he is in charge of the radio program Kim Heechul’s Young Street.
Hankyung
Name: Hankyung
Date of Birth: 02/09/1984
Height/Weight: 1.81m / 66 kg
Hobbies: Traditional Chinese dances, ballet, martial arts, computer games
Subgroups: Super Junior-M
Bio: Hankyung is the only Chinese member of Super Junior and the leader of Super Junior-M. Majored in traditional Chinese dances, he was one of the main dancers in the group. After suing the company SM Entertainment, he started his solo career. He released the album “Geng Xin” and is currently promoting it in Asia. He also has plans to pursue acting.
Yesung
Name: Kim Jongwoon
Date of Birth: 08/28/1984
Height: 1.78m / 64 kg
Hobbies: Singing, listening to music, working out
Subgroups: Super Junior K.R.Y / Super Junior Happy
Bio: After confronting his dad’s opposition, Jongwoon finally received support from his mother, which encouraged him to try out for SM Entertainment. After 5 years as a trainee, he starred as one of the lead vocalists in Super Junior, alongside Ryeowook and Kyuhyun.
Shindong
Name: Shin Donghee
Date of Birth: 09/28/1985 ⁴
Height/Weight: 1.73m / 90kg
Hobbies: Practicing facial expressions, making jokes, dancing
Subgroups: Super Junior-T / Super Junior Happy
Bio: Shindong is proof that we shouldn’t judge someone by appearance. Although pudgy, Shindong is one of the group’s main dancers. With the forth album release, he surprised everyone with a wedding proposal to his girlfriend, Nari, on the album’s reserved space for “thanks to” messages. The code was easily deciphered by fans and Shindong publicly apologized for the impulsive but romantic act.
Kangin
Name: Kim Youngwoon
Date of Birth: 01/17/1985
Height/Weight: 1.80m / 70kg
Hobbies: Singing, watching moving, working out (martial arts), swimming
Subgroups: Super Junior-T, Super Junior Happy
Bio: Behind the tough look, Kangin is known for his sweet smile and charisma. He got the nickname of “Korea’s #1 handsome Guy” and “raccoon” ⁵ after a hilarious moment in the reality show Super Junior Full House (Mnet, 2006).
Eunhyuk
Name: Lee Hyukjae
Date of Birth: 04/04/1986
Height/Weight: 1.76 m / 58 kg
Hobbies: Singing, composing, listening to music, piano
Subgroups: Super Junior-T / Super Junior Happy
Bio: Eunhyuk is considered a great rapper and one of the best in South Korea. ‘Eun’ means ‘silver’, and because of that his nickname is “Jewel boy.” Eunhyuk’s fame among the members isn’t so good: he’s known for being the dirtiest member, with smelly feet and for being cheap.
Sungmin
Name: Lee Sungmin
Date of Birth: 01/01/1986
Height/Weight: 1.75 m / 58 kg
Hobbies: Playing instruments, Chinese martial arts, watching movies
Subgroups: Super Junior-T, Super Junior Happy
Bio: Sungmin is the multi-talented member of Super Junior: aside from singing, dancing, playing and acting, he’s good in martial arts. Appreciator of the color pink, he is considered the cute one in the group, although the members always say that his personality, truthfully, is of a masculine and charming man.
Donghae
Name: Lee Donghae
Date of Birth: 10/15/1986
Height/Weight: 1.75 m / 60 kg
Hobbies: Singing, dancing, exercising, watching movies
Subgroups: Super Junior-M
Curiosities: Donghae is the Super Junior member known for having a sweet heart and for crying easily. Clumsy, he has the ability to ruin electronic items, and has already broken Shindong’s and Ryeowook’s computers. He likes to greet fans by calling them “my girlfriends.” Since his father’s death in 2006, he dedicates his “thank to” on Super Junior and Super Junior-M albums to him.
Siwon
Name: Choi Siwon
Date of Birth: 02/10/1987 ⁹
Height/Weight: 1.83 m / 65 kg
Hobbies: Singing, dancing, acting, Taekwondo, studying Chinese, playing drums
Subgroups: Super Junior-M
Bio: Many say that Siwon’s biggest flaw is not having flaws. Siwon comes from a rich family, but went against his father by following a career as a model, actor and, later on, as a member of Super Junior. A devoted Christian, Siwon is proud to be part of the group SOL (Soldiers of Light), alongside singers Vaness Wu and Jason Ma. Recently he was nominated a UNICEF Ambassador.
Ryeowook
Name: Kim Ryeowook
Date of Birth: 06/21/1987
Height/Weight: 1.73 m / 58 kg
Hobbies: Singing, composing
Subgroups: Super Junior-M
Curiosities: Ryeowook was the last member to join Super Junior 05. Fans call him “Eternal Magnae” (Eternally the youngest). He is one of the group’s vocalists, alongside Yesung and Kyuhyun.
Kibum
Name: Kim Kibum
Date of Birth: 08/21/1987
Height/Weight: 1.79m / 63 kg
Hobbies: Practicing singing and facial expressions, boxing
Bio: Kibum came back to Korea as a trainee for SM Entertainment, with the objective of becoming an artist to save up money and send it to his mother, who lives in the US. He’s reserved and shy and had the habit of refusing gifts given by fans, so that they wouldn’t waste money on him.
Kyuhyun
Name: Cho Kyuhyun
Date of Birth: 02/03/1988
Height/Weight: 1.80 m / 63 kg
Hobbies: Singing
Subgroups: Super Junior-M
Curiosities: Kyuhyun is known for his sharp humor and his addiction to online games, especially Starcraft. Recently, aside from being one of the main vocalists, Kyuhyun became one of the main dancers in the group, alongside Eunhyuk, Donghae and Shindong.
Henry
Name: Henry Lau
Date of Birth: 10/11/1989
Height/Weight: 1.73 m / 63 kg
Hobbies: Playing the violin, piano, break dancing
Subgroups: Super Junior-M
Bio: Henry learned how to play the violin at the age of six. And when auditioning to SM Entertainment he was already an awarded dancer. Currently he is a graduate student in the renowned Berklee College of Music, in Boston (Massachusetts, US).
Zhou Mi
Name: Zhou Mi
Date of Birth: 04/19/1986
Height/Weight: 1.84 cm / 66 kg
Hobbies: Singing, performing, writing lyrics, designer clothes, cosmetics
Subgroups: Super Junior-M
Curiosities: Before joining Super Junior-M, Zhou Mi was already a singer and, above all, an awarded host in China. One of the subgroup’s main vocals, Zhou Mi is responsible for teaching the pronunciation and intonation of words to the Korean members.
Official links on Twitter/Weibo
Aside from Kibum and Kangin, and Sungmin, who deleted his profile after a few months, all the members of Super Junior have a Twitter profile, including Henry, the maknae of SJM. And because Twitter is blocked in China, Zhou Mi (SJM) and Hangeng, who left the group in December 2009, but is still loved by SJ fans, found a way to stay in touch with fans through their micro blogs at Weibo (Chinese social network).
Observation: In the Portuguese language, dates are written as day/month/year. For the purpose of this translation, the order was changed to fit the English standard of month/day/year.
FOOTNOTES:
1: In the original article, the author made a mistake by writing “GaemKyu” instead of “GaemGyu”.
2: @hatobrtweets is a twitter account is for translations to Portuguese, not English.
3: The original article makes a reference to an old style of Brazilian music called “lambada”, thus I had to adapt the translation.
4: In the originals article, the author made a typo and wrote the year 2010 instead of 1985.
5: In the original article, the author wrote “raccon” instead of “raccoon.”
6: In the original article, the author wrote “sigle” instead of “single.”
7: In the original article the author says “last year”. The article was written in 2010, but published in 2011, thus I adapted the translation to the correct year that the sentence is referring to.
8: In the Portuguese language there are no specific acronyms/names to describe a D.U.I. (Driving under the influence) or a Hit & Run like in the English language, thus I added them for the purpose of this translation.
9: This is not Siwon’s real birthday. Although registered on this day (02/10/1987), Siwon was actually born on 04/07/1986.
10: In the original article the author made a mistake and wrote “quintet” instead of “trio.”
11: In the original article the author refers to October of the year in which the article was written. The article was written in 2010, but published in 2011, thus I adapted the translation to the correct year that the sentence is referring to.
12: Miguel Falabella is a Brazilian actor, producer and director.
13: Anime Friends is an annual anime convention that occurs in São Paulo every July.
____________________________________
Article By: Lilian Fernandes (Chris @ HatoBrazil.com | | FunChris @ SJ-World.net)
Translation To English By: Carolina Barbosa (purinchun @ Twitter / HatoBrazil.com | | ヒム～ @ SJ-World.net)
Posted By: §ɑpphιяε ɑηgзℓ (mypearlsapphireblue.wordpress.com)
TAKE OUT WITH FULL AND PROPER CREDITS.

Sunday, February 6, 2011