Lee Jun Ki Snubs Hawaii Fans
I’d never heard of Lee Jun Ki until today, but I gather some of his fans now wish they could say the same thing.
Hawaii is a hotbed of J-Pop and K-Pop fandom, a fact that has no doubt fueled some of the success of the Hawaii International Film Festival. For this year’s Spring Festival, HIFF proudly announced that Korean megastar Lee Jun Ki would attend to receive its “Rising Star” award. While his name may not ring bells for Americans, suffice it to say that he’s bigger than big in Asia. Indeed, when his HIFF participation was announced, travel firm JTB unveiled a special tour package for fans to fly in from Japan to see him.
Well, Lee Jun Ki himself flew in to Hawaii today, an occasion that energized a gaggle of both local and international fans. Several had taken the day off to greet him. They flocked to the Honolulu International Airport bearing signs, lei, and big smiles. KITV was on hand as well to document the grand arrival. As the hours passed, anticipation grew, and just about every traveler that turned the corner — including Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hanneman — generated a gasp or cheer.
But when Lee Jun Ki finally appeared, he disappeared just as quickly, as his burly security team barreled roughly through the crowd and out the door with the Korean star tucked safely within. There were no happy sighs, no pictures, no hugs or kisses or flower lei draped over his delicate little neck. Just the sounds of a black limousine tearing away, cruelly deflating the hopes and hospitality of a crowd of (mostly) women.
KITV’s evening news anchor Pamela Young, a K-drama fan of the highest order, couldn’t hide her disappointment. She noted Lee Jun Ki’s fans were immensely disappointed, and that some of them were frustrated to the point of suggesting a boycott of the star. Her “Mixed Plate” report can be seen below the fold.
Obviously, someone on Lee Jun Ki’s publicity team fumbled his arrival. I imagine he is usually overwhelmed by the mad crunch of rabid fans in Tokyo or Shanghai, so security is a fair concern. But if there’s any place where visitors should relish their arrival and warm welcome, it’s Hawaii. It’d be a pity if the fans he abandoned at the airport give up on him… but then again, I doubt he’d really miss them.
give him another chance is my honest opinion here. he seemed nice enough today at the press conference and i’m thinking it was just a security blunder. maybe he had a death threat?
or! maybe his pr people saw your blog ryan! i wouldn’t rule that out.
Heh. If anything they saw a pouty Pamela Young. I’m glad to hear he’s actually approachable. The blustery mess at the airport was more like a security and handler thing than Lee Jun Ki himself.
There are cultural differences between asia and america. I don’t think you have known enough about the entire thing. Be careful of your attitude to a kind young man, a rising star!
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071019/NEWS01/710190358/1001/NEWS01
Quote:
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Ki seems on a trajectory to become the next Kaneshiro Takeshi, the Japanese-Taiwanese actor who is equally at home in Japanese and Chinese productions such as “House of Flying Daggers” and “Ritana.”
… …
He wasn’t surprised by the mob waiting for him at the Honolulu International Airport on Wednesday.
“Wherever I go there are many fans,” he said. “But yesterday was really disappointing — because usually at the airport you can say hello to your fans, but yesterday the security was really tough, they just carried me out of the airport — treated me like a criminal,” he said, laughing. “Usually in the airport you have this procedure, you say hello to the welcoming fans, but yesterday we didn’t have that.”
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Quotes from “http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071019/NEWS01/710190358/1001/NEWS01”:
… … “Wherever I go there are many fans,” he said. “But yesterday was really disappointing — because usually at the airport you can say hello to your fans, but yesterday the security was really tough, they just carried me out of the airport — treated me like a criminal,” he said, laughing. “Usually in the airport you have this procedure, you say hello to the welcoming fans, but yesterday we didn’t have that.”
Quotes from http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071019/NEWS01/710190358/1001/NEWS01:
“Wherever I go there are many fans,” he (Lee Jun Ki) said. “But yesterday was really disappointing — because usually at the airport you can say hello to your fans, but yesterday the security was really tough, they just carried me out of the airport — treated me like a criminal,” he said, laughing. “Usually in the airport you have this procedure, you say hello to the welcoming fans, but yesterday we didn’t have that.”
“Wherever I go there are many fans,” he said. “But yesterday was really disappointing — because usually at the airport you can say hello to your fans, but yesterday the security was really tough, they just carried me out of the airport — treated me like a criminal,” he said, laughing. “Usually in the airport you have this procedure, you say hello to the welcoming fans, but yesterday we didn’t have that.”
Excuse me,I want to ask a question:did you see the video of LiJunKi’s meeting at the airport?!
If you didn’t,you don’t have title for saying that!!!
The security was really tough!!!They carried LiJunKi out of the airport,treated him like a criminal!!!
I am really sorry to bother you. In my opinion, those fans in the airport only want to let him know he has many fans in hawaii, he is not alone. Those fans won’t do a boycott of him. I am sure about that.
We appreciate he borned in this world; We sweared we will stay with him forever. The relationship between jun-ki and fans like family.
If you pay more attention on him, you will understand why he has plenty of fans.
As a Korean fan of Junki in Philippine, I think that the incident in airport was not what he planed. Junki always enjoyed communication w fans and being w fan. When you see the interview above, you will notice that it was just mistake by Hawai security.
Dear there,
I did watch whole news which you post. What i want to say is what news anchor Pamela Young said, the fans was angry is not true.
Appraising one person, can not just according to one piece of video or one person’s comment.He is not that kind of person.
You can see that two guys carry him to leave the airport very fast on the video. I do not want to bother you, just don’t want you misunderstand something about junki.
I am really sorry about all these comments which fans posted here. if anything made you feel bad, i apologize for that.
Kindness Regards,
Annie
Hey!!! You know nothing about Jun Ki… I believe he won’t do such thing. He is a very nice person. He loves his fans like his own family. I think the bodyguard or whoever in charge upon his arrival at the airport is the one who should be blame! Not Jun Ki!! Lastly, i’m glad that some of his loyal fans stood up for him. Just give him chance and don’t believe this kind of story easily as it might not be 100% true.