Korean idol group SHINee will likely include the Philippines in their itinerary if they embark on an Asian tour.

SHINee members Onew, Jonghyun, Minho, and Key made the announcement at the press conference following their participation in the concert dubbed “Philippines-Korea Friendship Festival,” held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) on Nov. 27.

SHINee is part of the current hallyu, or Korean wave, currently sweeping Asia. They debuted in the Korean music scene in 2008 under SM Entertainment agency, which also manages boy bands TVXQ and Super Junior.

“It was such an amazing experience. I actually cried,” one Filipino fan posted on the SHINee World Philippines fan forum after watching the pop idol group performed.

SHINee’s repertoire included “Stand by Me”, a song from the official soundtrack of the Korean hit drama series, “Boys over Flowers;” “Juliette,” one of their hits in Korea; and “Ring Ding Dong,” the group’s latest output that has already won several awards. Their fifth member, Taemin, was unable to join the concert due to illness.

Fans of the Korean boy band---many of whom wore SHINee t-shirts and brought banners and balloons---started lining up outside CCP as early as 1 p.m., some four hours before showtime. Many of the concertgoers got their tickets through a raffle sponsored by Arirang TV days prior.

The “Philippines-Korea Friendship Festival” concert was emceed by VJ Isak of Arirang TV’s “Pops in Seoul” and Filipino actor Luis Manzano. The opening remarks were given by Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Choi Joong Kyung.

Other featured acts were Filipino dance troupe Teatro Miguel, reggae band Brownman Revival, Korean jazz group Winterplay, and Korean rap duo Mighty Mouth.

The concert was part of the Korean Cultural Festival in the Philippines. It was organized by Korean broadcast station Arirang TV and government-owned TV station NBN, with support from Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Korea Communications Commission; the Korean Embassy in the Philippines; United Korean Community Association in the Philippines; Department of Tourism; Hanjin; ABS-CBN; SkyCable and Global Destiny.

SHINee is the first Korean idol group to hold a concert in the Philippines.


Source: Manila Bulletin
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