SUPER JUNIOR

Description SUPER JUNIOR

Super Junior (Korean: 슈퍼주니어; Japanese: スーパージュニア; Chinese: 超级少年) is a South Korean boy band formed by S.M. Entertainment in 2005. The group debuted with 12 members: Leeteuk (leader), Heechul, Han Geng, Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook, Kibum and later added a 13th member named Kyuhyun. As of September 2011, eight members are currently active,[1] due to Han Geng's lawsuit (now pursuing his own singing career in the Mandarin pop entertainment industry), Heechul and Kangin's temporary leave of absence for mandatory military service, Siwon's filming for his upcoming drama Poseidon (in which shooting of the drama are located at the farthest areas of South Korea, making him to temporary halt his activities with the group)[2] and Kibum's pursuit of an acting career.[3] However, the other members have insisted that all four (Heechul, Kangin, Kibum and Han Geng) are still part of the group, despite mentioning that they are saddened by Han Geng's departure from the group.[4][5]
Super Junior has released and contributed 20 records with varying degrees of success.[6] Over the years, they have been divided into smaller subgroups, simultaneously targeting different music industries and audiences. Largely due to Super Junior's success as entertainers, other Korean entertainment managements began to train their music groups in other areas of entertainment, such as acting and hosting.[6] In addition to their commercial success, Super Junior has earned six music awards from the Mnet Asian Music Awards, eleven from the Golden Disk Awards, and is the second singing group to win Favorite Artist Korea at the 2008 MTV Asia Awards after jtL in 2003.[7]

Contents

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History

Pre-debut

In 2000, the company held their first overseas casting auditions and discovered Han Geng in Beijing, China, who was chosen from among three thousand applicants.[8] That same year, Yesung was discovered under Seoul's casting system. Sungmin and Donghae became trainees after jointly winning the first place in Best Outward Appearance in an S.M.-sponsored contest. In 2002, Heechul and Kangin were recruited along with Kibum, who was discovered in Los Angeles, California. Siwon was encountered in 2003 after being scouted at age 16 in front of his high school, and Ryeowook in 2004, in which the latter was discovered through the Chin Chin Youth Festival singing competition.[9] In 2005, Shindong was selected. The last member, Cho Kyuhyun, was then discovered after winning third place at the Chin Chin Singing Competition in 2005.
Not long after boy band TVXQ's debut in 2003, news about Lee's unprecedented plans of forming another boy band quickly spread on the Internet. In early 2005, Lee confirmed the news and announced that an all-boy project group of twelve members would debut near the end of the year, promoting this singing group to be "The Gateway to Stardom of Asia."[10] Lee announced that that most members in this group were chosen because of their performing experiences as actors, MCs, models, and radio hosts prior debut. Heechul and Kibum were already established entertainers, and most of the other members had already made various kinds of appearances on television and media.[11][12][13] Highly inspired by the rotational concept of Japan's girl group Morning Musume, this group would also experience line-up changes, with new members replacing some selected members every year to keep the group constantly young and all-rounded. This concept was then newly introduced to the K-pop market.
For a while the group was rumored to be called O.V.E.R, the acronym for "Obey the Voice for Each Rhythm."[14][a] However, before the group settled with their current name, S.M. simply referred to them as Junior, a representation of the members' young ages when they first became S.M. trainees.[14] After the members' showcased their different talents to the company at a picnic, the company finalized their concept name to Super Junior. The group thereafter became officially Super Junior 05, the first generation of Super Junior.[9] Leeteuk said on Star Golden Bell that "at first, Super Junior's name was S.M. Junior, but after Lee Soo Man saw our performance, he said we have super talent and quickly change our name to Super Junior".[citation needed]
Super Junior 05 made their pre-debut on the Korean channel Mnet on September 11, 2005.[b] At the showcase, they performed various styles of hip-hop dancing, where they danced to B2K's "Take It to the Floor". Han Geng, Eunhyuk, and Donghae also performed a separate dance away from the group, dancing to Usher's "Caught Up." However, the performance did not air on television until May 16, 2006, as a segment in the Super Junior Show, the group's first television documentary.

[edit] 2005–06: The Super Junior project

Super Junior 05 debuted on SBS's music program Popular Song on November 6, 2005, performing their first single, "Twins (Knock Out)". A digital single with "Twins (Knock Out)", "You Are the One", and three additional tracks were released online on November 8. A physical CD single was scheduled to be released the following week but a more complete album, SuperJunior05 (Twins), was released on December 6, 2005, instead. Their debut album sold 28,536 copies in the first month of release and debuted at number three in the monthly chart of December 2005.[15][c] In that same month, they released "Show Me Your Love", a collaboration single with TVXQ. "Show Me Your Love" became the best-selling record of December 2005, selling 49,945 copies that month.[15]
In February 2006, Super Junior 05 began performances for "Miracle", the second promotional single from their debut album. "Miracle" was the group's first single to top the online music charts of South Korea as well as the music charts of Thailand, drawing interest from international markets.[16] As promotions for "Miracle" came to an end, S.M. Entertainment began selecting new members for Super Junior's second line-up project, Super Junior 06. The company even prepared a list of chosen members that were to graduate from the group. However, no members were taken out and a thirteenth member was added instead in May 2006. The line-up project has been abandoned since then, and the group became known as just Super Junior, without the suffix "05".[17][18]

2006–07: U, Don't Don and breakthrough success

On May 23, 2006, S.M. Entertainment revealed the thirteenth member Kyuhyun, who was discovered through a singing competition in 2005. They released their single "U" online for free download on May 25, 2006, on their official website. "U" had over 400,000 downloads within five hours of release and it ultimately exceeded 1.7 million downloads, crashing the server.[19][20] The physical single of "U" with a total of three tracks was released on June 6, 2006, eventually selling over 81,000 units.[21] The single became one of Korea's most popular songs of the year, yielding number one spots for five consecutive weeks on two of Korea's top music programs.[22] By the end of the year, Super Junior collected over seven awards in five of South Korea's top music award ceremonies, winning the title as Best New Group of 2006.
Super Junior's first sub-unit, the ballad-singing trio Super Junior-K.R.Y., debuted on November 5, 2006, with a performance of Hyena theme song "The One I Love" on KBS music program Music Bank.[23] A second sub-unit arrived in February 2007 called Super Junior-T. The trot-singing group released their first single "Rokuko" on February 23, 2007, and made a debut performance on Popular Songs two days later.[24]
Super Junior's second official album was intended for a late 2006 release, but due to several accidental setbacks, Don't Don was not released until September 20, 2007.[25][26] Within the first three days of release, offline album sales for Don't Don passed the 11,000 unit mark, debuting as number one in all available offline charts. It finished the September monthly album sales as number one. 60,000 units were shipped by the first week of release and additional copies were printed.[27] Although Don't Don received rather bland reviews from critics, the album sold more than 160,000 copies by the end of the year, becoming the second best-selling record of 2007.[28][29][c] The album also found success in Taiwan; it broke the record for being the highest ranked Korean album on the G-music Combo Billboard Chart, surpassing the albums of TVXQ and Shinhwa. Super Junior's album also ranked above Taiwanese boy band K One, whose album debuted at number six.[30][31]
Supported by the release of Don't Don, Super Junior was nominated in seven separate categories at the 2007 Mnet/KM Music Festival that was held on November 17, 2007. Super Junior won three of those categories including "Netizen Choice Award" and "Mobile Popularity", being the biggest winner of the night. The group also won "Best Artist of the Year" (Daesang), termed by many as the highest recognition of the ceremony.[32] Super Junior collected two more awards on December 14 at the 2007 Golden Disk Awards.[33] Although defeated by SG Wannabe in winning the "Daesang", Super Junior won a "Bonsang" and the "TPL Anycall Popularity Award", which were reported as expected wins for the group by the media after the success of Don't Don.[33]

2008–09: Beyond Korea and Sorry, Sorry

On October 2, 2007, S.M. Entertainment announced a third Super Junior sub-unit Super Junior-M, a subgroup designated for the Chinese market.[34][35] While the creation of the subgroup created a brief controversy between the fans and the management,[e] Super Junior-M became a success in China,[36] having the opportunity to have two sold-out concerts in Hong Kong,[37] top weekly ratings with their appearance on variety programs,[38] and becoming the idol group with the most endorsement contracts in China.[39] With the absence of almost half of the members in Korea, a fourth Super Junior sub-unit was created that same year to prevent Super Junior from disappearing in the Korean music industry. With five members from Super Junior-T and Yesung, they formed the subgroup, Super Junior-Happy. Super Junior-Happy released the extended play (EP) Cooking? Cooking! on June 5, 2008, and promotions ended on September 7, lasting for four months. In November 2008, Super Junior-T returned, this time as a singing group in Japan, called SuperJunior-TxMoeyan; this group added Moeyan, a two-woman comedy group in Japan.[40] "ROCK&GO", a Japanese-language version of "Rokuko", debuted at number 19 on the Oricon Daily Charts[41] and ascended to number 2 three days later.[42]
Super Junior's first major tour, Super Show, commenced on February 22, 2008, in Seoul.[43][44][45][f] The tour covered three countries and had shows on six different cities, including Bangkok, Shanghai, and Beijing.[35][44][46] From July 8 to July 9, 2008, Super Junior held their first fan meeting in Japan, at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, as a celebration for the grand opening of their official Japanese homepage, which was launched on April 1, 2008.[47] 12,000 tickets to the fan meeting were all sold out in several days. The group released a compiled Japan single the following day, entitled "U/Twins", which includes the Japanese version of "U" in the limited release, to complement the event. The single peaked at number four on Japan's Oricon Daily Chart in its first day of release, and dropped down four places in its second. The single broke a new record for being the first Korean single to have made within top 10 on Japan's Oricon Weekly Chart.[48] On August 2, 2008, Super Junior expanded their routes to Genting Highlands, Malaysia, being one of the top guest performers at the MTV Asia Awards 2008 along with other international performing artists such as OneRepublic and the Jabbawockeez.[7] They are the third SM artist to win Favorite Artist Korea at the MTV Asia Awards after Kangta of H.O.T and BoA, and the second musical group to win the award after JTL in 2008.[7]
Super Junior's third album, Sorry, Sorry, was released on March 12, 2009, which was met with acclaimed reviews.[49] The title single of the album, "Sorry, Sorry" was digitally released on March 9, 2009.[50] In less than a week after pre-orders were announced, over 150,000 copies were pre-ordered.[51] Sorry, Sorry was their first album to debut at number one on the Hanteo Charts, and it sold over 29,000 copies the first day, defeating Seo Taiji's record of 25,000.[3] Promotions for the album started March 13 with the performance of "Sorry, Sorry" and "Why I Like You" on Music Bank.[52] Two weeks later, "Sorry, Sorry" became the number one song of the week on the same program.[53] During the group's performance on music program Popular Songs on March 15, ratings went up to as high as 14%, the highest in recent years.[54] From March to May, "Sorry, Sorry" collected a total of ten number-one awards with consecutive wins in Korea, having the single becoming a national and international success.[55][56] After only a month of release, the album became South Korea's best-selling album of 2009. Sorry, Sorry was also a critically and commercially successful hit in other Asian countries, opting the group to become the only overseas representative for the second time at Taiwan's annual Golden Melody Awards. "Sorry, Sorry" was also number one for a record-breaking 37 weeks in Taiwan. Sorry, Sorry was a best-selling Korean-language album in Taiwan,[57] Thailand, China, and the Philippines, in which the latter listed the album to be the first K-pop album to reach number one in music charts from the country.[58] Super Junior won three awards in the 1st Mnet Asian Music Awards - Overseas Viewers Award, Mobile Popularity Award and CGV Popularity Award despite not attending. On December 11, 2009, Super Junior's Sorry, Sorry won Daesang at the 2009 Golden Disk Awards, their first in the group's career.[59] They held their second Asia Tour Super Show 2 start in Seoul on July 17, 2009, and ended in Manila, Philippines on April 10, 2010.

2010: Bonamana, Asian popularity and Hallyu leaders

On May 6, 2010, the teaser for their fourth studio album, Bonamana, was released through S.M. Entertainment's YouTube page. The full music video of the lead single of the same name was released on May 12 and full album was released the following day in South Korea. The album was released by the group with only 10 members, without Han Geng who has terminated his contract with S.M. Entertainment, Kibum who is involved in acting career and Kangin who had enlisted himself in to the Korean army.[60] Their fourth album had also broken a personal record for the group by having over 200,000 pre-orders. On May 14, Super Junior had their comeback stage on KBS Music Bank, performing title track "미인아 (Bonamana)" and "나쁜 여자 (Boom Boom)".
On May 17, 2010, the music video for the song "Victory Korea", which was used for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, was released through S.M. Entertainment's YouTube page.[61] Super Junior’s World Cup song ‘Victory Korea’ set to cheer the South Korean team in the top 16 garners interests overseas. A poll was done on American site ESPN for the Best World Cup Song. There were 11 songs shortlisted for the poll including Shakira's "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", K'naan's "Wavin' Flag", Akon's "Oh Africa" etc., to which the song "Victory Korea" by Super Junior was voted number one with over 90% of the poll.[62] "Victory Korea" features a sample mix from "Sorry, Sorry", with a similar dance done by the members of Super Junior-Happy in the music video.
On June 28, 2010, Super Junior released their repackaged album with three new tracks—"No Other", "All My Heart", "A Short Journey"—and the remixed version of "Shake It Up!". "A Short Journey" was composed by Donghae and the lyrics were written by Eunhyuk. "All My Heart" was composed by Leeteuk and Super Junior-M member Henry. On July 2, 2010, Super Junior had their first live performance of "No Other" on Music Bank. The music video for "No Other" was released on July 7, 2010. According to Hanteo, the album has sold over 200,000 copies to date.[63]
The group embarked on their third Asian tour, Super Show 3 on August 14 and 15, 2010 at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul.[64] The tour also made a stop in Qingdao on August 28, 2010, Beijing on October 23, 2010, and Nanjing on November 13, 2010.[65]
On September 4, 2010, Super Junior took part in the SMTown Live '10 World Tour along with fellow SM label mates at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. This marked the first time SM Town has performed outside of Asia.[66] On September 23, 2010, Super Junior released their original soundtrack "Angel" for Haru: An Unforgettable Day in Korea, an omnibus drama that promotes Korea's tourism.[citation needed]. On November 22, Super Junior was honored as National Pop Culture Icon and received Minister of Culture Awards by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism at Pop Culture Art Awards for their role in spreading the Korean Wave. On November 24, Avex Entertainment, as well as S.M. Entertainment Japan, released a statement about the renewal of contracts of SM artists signed to Avex.[67] On August 16, 2011, It was announced that Bonamana remained at the top of Taiwan's Music Charts for 62 weeks, breaking their own previous record of the said chart.[citation needed]

2011–present: Japanese forays and Mr. Simple

Super Junior had not taken part in any official promotions in Japan, but from February 18 to February 20, 2011, Super Junior held their third Asia tour concert Super Show 3 at the Yokohama Arena in Japan. The ticket applicants for Super Show 3 Japan exceeded 110,000, while 36,000 people came to watch their performance.[68] The Super Junior Japan 'Super Show 3' Opening Commemorative Album was released on February 16 ranked in at number two on Japan's Tower Records online sales charts. Super Junior Japan Limited Special Edition - Super Show 3 that contained a DVD ranked in second place and the CD was in 10th place. The album also remained at number three spot on the Oricon Daily Chart for two consecutive days and number six on Oricon Weekly Chart. On a press meeting regarding the concert leg, Leeteuk expressed that he and his group members are happy to come in Japan to directly meet their Japanese fans and that they expressed on their future plans to release a proper Japanese-language album this year.[69]
On February 24, Super Junior released a 3D movie from their third Asia tour, Super Show 3 3D in all CGV and Primus movie theaters.[70] Super Show 3 3D was ranked sixth in box office weekly chart and became the most watched 3D movie in Korea.[71]
The group's first official Japanese single, "Bijin (Bonamana)" was released on June 8, 2011 and debuted at number two on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart, selling 27,168 copies on its release date.[72] In addition, the music video for the song, which is a compilation of videos from Super Show 3 held at Yokohama Arena in February, received over 300,000 views on the Japanese UCC website, Nikoniko in a day.[73] On June 14, Super Junior's "Bijin (Bonamana)" ranked at number two on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart, selling 59,262 copies. They broke the record for having the highest single album sales for a Korean idol group when their single albums that were released in Japan sold combined total of over 100,000 copies (including those sold at Circle K Sunkus and Mu-Mo),[74] until it was surpassed by fellow label mate Shinee with their debut Japanese single "Replay (Kimi wa Boku no Everything)" at the same month. To date, Super Junior holds the highest record for singles released set upon by a Korean group without any promotion in Japan. [75] Beginning May 16, the song was shown on major Japanese television channels as the commercial song for Japanese convenience store chain Circle K Sunkus. However, despite these success and tie-ups, SM did not see it as their official Japanese debut and has stated that the group will officially debut and promote in Japan at a later time.
In June 2011, they took part in the SMTown World Tour Live in Paris with fellow label mates, which was held in Zénith de Paris, Paris, France. On July 11, 2011, American dancer Kenny Wormald posted via his official Twitter account that he had started the choreography rehearsal for the group's upcoming new single.[76][77]Shim Jae Won, choreographer and former member of the disbanded S.M. Entertainment group Black Beat, posted on his twitter a picture showing ten cups with the members' names on it,[78] citing possible formation for the song's choreography, as well as two pictures of the choreography practice of the group the next day showing only the lower half of their bodies.[79]
A teaser photo was revealed on July 20, 2011, with the first photo featuring Eunhyuk. By 1:21PM GST on the 26th of July, all ten teaser photos had been released, in the following order: Eunhyuk, Donghae, Leeteuk, Shindong, Kyuhyun, Sungmin, Ryeowook, Yesung, Siwon and finally, Heechul. On the same day, it was announced that the upcoming album would hit South Korean record shelves on August 3, 2011.[80][81] On July 22, 2011, the group began filming the music video for their new lead single, with occasional photo tweets of the music video sets from Shim Jaewon and member Heechul.[82] The filming for the music video wrapped up July 24, 2011, with Shim Jaewon consistently updating the group's filming activity. On July 25, Jeon Hoon of Sonic Korea Studio announced that he is mastering the new album. The group will have an upcoming press conference at the Seoul Imperial Palace Hotel regarding the new album, revealed as "Mr. Simple", on August 4, 2011.[83]
The music video teaser for the new single "Mr. Simple" has been released on August 1, 2011, to be followed by the digital single on the 2nd (through various Korean online music sites like Melon, Dosirak and Bugs), the album on the 3rd and the music video itself on the 4th.[84]
The group had their comeback performance of "Mr. Simple" and "Superman" (in which the track was later included on the second release of "Mr. Simple") at Music Bank on August 5, 2011[85], followed by Music Core on the 6th[86], Inkigayo on the 7th[87] and M! Countdown on the 11th.[88], with their comeback performance of the song in M!Countdown garnered them their first win. However, despite being in the middle of promotions for the song, member Siwon does not appear on some performances due to his filming with an upcoming drama Poseidon.
On August 21, 2011, S.M. Entertainment announced that member Heechul will be enlisting to the army on September 1, 2011. On August 26, 2011, a music video for the album's supporting single, "Superman", was revealed via S.M. Entertainment's SMTOWN YouTube page, in which the music video shows various clips from their Super Show 3 tours as well as the photoshoots and music video making for "Mr. Simple".[89] Super Junior also attended the SMTOWN Live in Tokyo Special Edition along with their SM labelmates at the Tokyo Dome on September 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Leeteuk said that the Tokyo Dome has been his long-time dream concert place and that he is very thankful he and Super Junior performed on the said venue before his army enlistment in which he indicated it to be sometime next year.[90]
SM Entertainment announced on September 5, 2011 that Super Show 4 will commence on November 19th and 20th in Seoul and December 10th and 11th at the Kyocera Dome Osaka in Osaka, Japan.[91] On September 19, 2011, Super Junior released a repackaged version of Mr. Simple entitled A-Cha, which comprises all thirteen tracks from Mr. Simple's B-version plus four new material — "A-Cha", "Oops!!" which features labelmate f(x), "A Day" and "Andante". On September 20th, it was announced via the group's official Japanese website that they will release their second Japanese single which is a Japanese version of their new album title track "Mr. Simple", and is slated for a December 7th release in Japan.[92][93] In addition, a "Super Show 3 in Japan" DVD will be released on November 16th in Japan.[94]
On September 23, 2011, SM released the teaser for the music video of A-Cha on the official SMTOWN YouTube page. That same day, Super Junior also made a comeback to Music Bank with the said song.[95] The music video was released on the 26th, with two different dance versions released two days later, on the 28th.

Discography

Studio albums

[edit] Korean Single Album

[edit] Japanese Single Album

[edit] Live Albums

[edit] Members

Stage name Birth name Chinese name Registered date of birth Position
Romanized Hangul Romanized Hangul Pinyin Chinese
Leeteuk 이특 Park Jung Soo 박정수 Pǔ Zhèngzhū / Lìtè 朴正洙 / 利特 July 1, 1983 (age 28) Leader, Vocalist, Rapper
Heechul 희철 Kim Hee Chul 김희철 Jīn Xīchè 金希澈 July 10, 1983 (age 28) Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Visual
Hankyung 한경 Han Geng 한경 Hán Gēng 韩庚 February 9, 1984 (age 27) Lead Dancer, Vocalist
Yesung 예성 Kim Jong Woon 김종운 Jīn Zhōngyún / Yìshēng 金鐘雲 / 藝聲 August 24, 1984 (age 27) Main Vocalist
Kangin 강인 Kim Young-woon 김영운 Jīn Yīngyún / Qiángrén 金英云 / 強仁 January 17, 1985 (age 26) Vocalist
Shindong 신동 Shin Dong Hee 신동희 Shēn Dōngxī / Shēndōng or Shéntóng 申東熙 / 申東 or 神童 September 28, 1985 (age 26) Main Dancer, Main Rapper
Sungmin 성민 Lee Sung Min 이성민 Lǐ Shèngmǐn 李晟敏 January 1, 1986 (age 25) Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer
Eunhyuk 은혁 Lee Hyuk Jae 이혁재 Lǐ Hèzǎi / Yínhè 李赫宰 / 銀赫 April 4, 1986 (age 25) Lead Dancer, Main Rapper, Vocalist
Donghae 동해 Lee Dong Hae 이동해 Lǐ Dōnghǎi 李東海 October 15, 1986 (age 25) Lead Dancer, Lead Rapper, Lead Vocalist
Siwon 시원 Choi Si Won 최시원 Cuī Shǐyuán 崔始源 February 10, 1987 (age 24) Vocalist, Visual
Ryeowook 려욱 Kim Ryeo Wook 김려욱 Jīn Lìxù 金厲旭 June 21, 1987 (age 24) Main Vocalist
Kibum 기범 Kim Kibum 김기범 Jīn Qǐfàn 金起範 August 21, 1987 (age 24) Rapper, Vocalist
Kyuhyun 규현 Cho Kyu Hyun 조규현 Cáo Guīxián 曺圭賢 February 3, 1988 (age 23) Maknae, Main Vocalist, Main Dancer

[edit] Artistry

[edit] Musical style

As a whole, Super Junior has released five studio albums and one physical single, including occasional contributions to drama soundtracks. They are acclaimed for their vocal harmonization and unison as each member contributes a different position range in their music. Some members are credited for their vocal belting techniques.[g][96]
Super Junior works closely with Yoo Young-jin, who has produced and arranged most of the group's promotional singles since debut. Yoo's also known for creating the renowned SMP style, a genre that includes a balanced infusion of rock, R&B, and rap, with complementing musical elements such as the electric guitar, bass, and other different percussion instruments.[97] Super Junior has prominently used this SMP style in Don't Don.[98]
Super Junior displayed a wide genre concept for each and every albums: they pursued bubblegum pop in SuperJunior05; ethereal and alternative rock in Don't Don; pop and contemporary R&B in Sorry, Sorry and Bonamana; and electropop and synthpop in Mr. Simple. The group has also covered few songs in their albums. Their debut single "Twins (Knock Out)" is a cover of Triple Eight's "Knockout," which was released in 2003. While the musical style is mostly maintained as the original, "Twins (Knock Out)" touches closer to rap rock, with quicker rap and more emphasis on the bass. In most of their covers, the original titles are kept. Examples include Cape's "L.O.V.E" and Exile's "Believe." However, most of these covers are re-arranged to different accompaniments, such as H.O.T's "Full of Happiness".

[edit] Dance Style

Super Junior are known for doing performances that are heavily centered around their choreography, and are acclaimed for their highly synchronized dances. The group's pre-debut performance was a hip hop dance and they have also joined B-boy battles and performances throughout their career.[99]
Their dance styles are widely termed as street dancing, with a majority of their choreography containing hip hop dance moves such as popping, waving, floating, and liquid dancing. Dances in the form of martial arts are widely used in their dance routines as Han Geng and Sungmin are professionally trained in that area.[100][101] Shindong was the main choreographer for "U" and for a majority of the group's other dance sequences. Eunhyuk choreographed the dance for "Boom, Boom" (Fourth Album) and also worked with the other members to create the dance choreography for "Don't Don" and "Marry U", both promotional singles for the group's second album. The dance for their hit single "Sorry, Sorry" was choreographed by Nick Bass and Trent Dickens, who has also worked with Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson. Nick Bass also choreographed the dance for "BONAMANA". The dance for "No Other" was choreographed by THE GEMINIZ, Rino Nakasone and Maryss From Paris. Super Junior M "Perfection" was choreographed by Misha Gabriel who had worked with other well known acts and choreographed Justin Timberlake's "Future Love Sex Show," Pussycat Dolls' "Doll Domination World Tour," "Dancing with the Stars" and more.

[edit] Popularity

On December 8, as the proponents of Hallyu Wave, idol group Super Junior was guested in CNN TV station’s 《Talk Asia》 program. Members Siwon and Leeteuk talked about the secret of their huge popularity and their strategy for advancing into the world music industry.[102][103]
Super Junior is receiving attention worldwide. Recently they have extended beyond Asia, gaining popularity in Bulgaria, Slovenia, Argentina, Peru, Brazil and various other locations worldwide. In the year 2010, Peru’s Listas put up the top 30 rankings of The Sexiest Men in the World, whereby all of the members’ names appeared on the list[104] and a Slovenian newspaper also reported about their agency and album sales. Super Junior also appeared in a publication of a specialty magazine recently in Iran that contains a personal interview with all of the Super Junior members and their individual profiles, which is explained briefly in Persian.[105] According to the Korea Cultural Foundation, Super Junior is selected by Brazilian fans as the Korea best group.[106] Earlier this year, in a survey conducted by Brazil’s Rede TV, Super Junior was chosen as the number one Korean singer who should come to Brazil. The results concluded with Super Junior being the top artist of choice with 30.9% of the vote.[107] They also won "Must-Follow Personality" at the Mashable Awards 2010 which was held in Las Vegas. Member Yesung was the winner of 2010 Cyworld Digital Music Award OST. Recently, Super Junior was chosen as the most popular Korean singers in a survey conducted by Mexico's TV Azteca, as well as the various Mexican communities of this band on the Internet. Also, England’s BBC acknowledged Super Junior as the icon noted for creating Hallyu effect.[108] Super Junior was picked number one in the survey, the Hallyu star that you want to travel Korea with. Super Junior received overwhelming votes from Asia including China, Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries as well as Europe such as France.[109]

Subgroups

Since debut, S.M. Entertainment has created four subgroups for Super Junior. Every member was put into different subgroups excluding Kibum, due to his busy acting schedule. The intentions of the subgroups were part of SM's strategy to not limit Super Junior's activities,[110] and the goal was to show that the group could accommodate different musical genres. However, this strategy was later challenged by critics, as it has influenced an overwhelming amount of music groups to create official and unofficial subgroups alike.[111] SM announced that Super Junior will form more subgroups in the future, and possible focuses of these subgroups include a variety of genres such as electropop, rock and hip hop.[112] Previous Super Junior subgroups will also return to the industry along with appearances of new subgroups.[112]

Super Junior-Happy

Super Junior-Happy is a subgroup that was formed to sing more upbeat, bubblegum-pop type music, with six members: Leeteuk (leader), Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, and Eunhyuk.
Album Title: 요리왕 (Cooking? Cooking!) [Mini Album] Release Date: June 5, 2008

Super Junior-K.R.Y.

Super Junior-K.R.Y., established in November 2006, is a trio formed by Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, and Yesung (leader) whose initials make up the K.R.Y. in the title of the group. The company discovered that these three members developed a particular personal and subsequent fan-base that was separate from the rest of the group, and how they also had similar musical qualities. They therefore grouped these three members together to perform particular songs to target a more mature audience. Being amongst the most vocally powerful members of the group, Super Junior-K.R.Y. are credited to singing mournful, R&B-style ballads, a style that has proven very popular in recent years.
Super Junior-K.R.Y.'s first official performance was on November 5, 2006 on KBS's Music Bank, performing "The One I Love (한 사람만을)."[113] They have participated in the original soundtrack of the tvN drama Hyena with a total of three tracks, including the main theme. The trio also contributed tracks in two additional original soundtracks, one track in both the soundtracks of Snow Flower and Billy Jean Look at Me. Unlike Super Junior's other sub-units, Super Junior-K.R.Y. has not officially released a single or album, and only participated in collaboration albums and original soundtracks. However, a new album is expected from KRY in the future.[112]
On August 1, 2010, Super Junior’s sub-unit KRY. made history by opening their own concert for the first time in Japan, and upon the fans’ request for an encore, more performances were added in Kobe on the 1st and 2 November and later on, 1 and 2 December in Fukuoka. There were about a total of 22,000 people who watched the 6 sessions of the performances. The group successfully finished their concert tour in Japan and Taiwan last year. Due to ardent requests from Korean fans wanting to see Super Junior-K.R.Y.’s concert, the group decided to also hold the concert in Korea.[114]

[edit] Super Junior-M

Super Junior-M was formed to target the Mandopop market and debuted in 2008 with seven members: Han Geng (leader), Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook and Kyuhyun from Super Junior, plus two new members added in: Henry (a Chinese Canadian), and Zhou Mi. In December 2009, Han Geng returned to China to pursue a solo career. In February 2011, Super Junior members Eunhyuk and Sungmin were added to the subgroup and resumed their activities with the release of EP Perfection. Currently, the eight active members are: Siwon, Ryeowook, Donghae, Eunhyuk, Kyuhyun, Sungmin, Zhou Mi and Henry.

[edit] Super Junior-T

Super Junior-T is a subgroup that was formed to sing Trot (traditional Korean music) with six members: Leeteuk (leader), Heechul, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, and Eunhyuk.
Album Title: 로꾸거 (Rokuko) [Single] Release Date: February 23, 2007

[edit] Film and television career

[edit] Debut

Prior to the group's debut, the members had individually appeared in television dramas, with Leeteuk being the first member of the group to act; he was an extra as a moviegoer for the drama All About Eve in 2000. Kangin appeared as an extra for The Secret Lovers in 2002, and Siwon made a brief cameo appearance in Precious Family in 2004. Kibum had his acting debut in 2004 as young Han Jung-woo in April Kiss and in 2005, he was given the main role Joo Yeo-myung for the year-long drama Sharp 2, starring alongside Go Ara and Heechul. A few months before Super Junior's debut, Siwon starred as the young Kang Bong-man in Eighteen, Twenty-Nine; Heechul was given a role as a junior chef in Loveholic, and Sungmin starred as young Kang Dong-shin in morning drama Sisters of the Sea. After the group's debut in November 2005, both Heechul and Kibum acted in the sixth season of the sitcom Nonstop from late 2005 to early 2006. Kibum individually starred in Marrying a Millionaire as young Kim Young-hoon in 2005 and in March 2006, Heechul starred as Gong Min in Bad Family. That same year, Siwon was part of the supporting cast for Spring Waltz and Kibum starred as Ha Yeongchan in Snow Flower. In 2007, Heechul starred as Kim Young-soo in the popular drama Golden Bride, which ended its broadcast in February 2008 after the extension of 14 episodes. Siwon starred as the ambitious Lee Mong-ryong in the two-episode parody historical drama Legend of Hyang Dan. He later starred as the main character in Oh My Lady! oppositte actress Chae Rim, which received a large audience. Kangin made a cameo appearance in Billie Jean, Look At Me. The song "It's Just That", sung by Super Junior-K.R.Y, was used as the drama's theme song. In 2008, Kibum starred in the sitcom Chunja's Happy Events as Park Jung-woo, and Kangin had his first major television role in Romance Zero as Na Ho-tae in 2009. In August 2009, Heechul played the piano for Lee Chul in Loving You a Thousand Times. In 2010, Siwon again appeared in a large supporting role as a data analyst and rookie elite agent in Athena: Goddess of War, which is a spin-off of the popular 2009 series Iris. There is speculation that the series will continue and he shall reprise his role, but with more character advances.
In 2011, members Siwon and Donghae were scheduled in April 2011 to film Taiwanese drama Extravagant Challenge (traditional Chinese: 華麗的挑戰) with Ivy Chen as the three main characters (as Ren Tsuruga, Shō Fuwa, and Kyoko Mogami, respectively). It is a live-action adaptation of the popular Japanese shōjo manga Skip Beat! by Yoshiki Nakamura to be shot in Taiwan.
In 2010, Siwon again appeared in a large supporting role as a data analyst and rookie elite agent in Athena: Goddess of War, which is a spin-off of the popular 2009 series Iris. There is speculation that the series will continue and he shall reprise his role, but with more character advances. On August 1 2011, Siwon has been confirmed to be the male lead character on a new KBS drama POSEIDON. According to the production staff, Siwon will take part as a member of maritime police. POSEIDON will be broadcast in September to follow up ‘Spy Myeongwol’ as a blockbuster drama which is about the commitment of maritime police. Siwon has since attended script-reading sessions and will soon begin filming.
As a group, Super Junior starred in Super Junior Mini-Drama, a television program hosted by the group that was released in late 2006. The group wrote, produced, and acted in the separate half-hour mini dramas. The subject matters of the dramas were chosen from viewers.[115][116] In 2008, Leeteuk and Sungmin starred in the one-episode drama act Super Junior Unbelievable Story. Both Leeteuk and Sungmin starred as themselves as a member of Super Junior-T.

[edit] Reality shows

Despite numerous appearances as television actors, Super Junior are still best known for their reality shows, having participated in popular reality comedies.
  • 2005: Super Junior Show
A show documenting them right from when they debuted, demonstrating their unique talents and abilities along with their funniness and quirkiness that is never ending.
Had Donghae as the main character being haunted by ghosts located within the Super Junior dorm. The show consists of hidden cameras and a narrator that "documents" their journey throughout each day as Donghae and the rest of the Super Junior group deal with the strange things that are happening to them and what also happened to the past tenant of the dorm they are staying in.
  • 2006: Super Adonis Camp
Six members of Super Junior (Leeteuk, Kangin, Sungmin, Donghae, Shindong, and Eunhyuk, with the later addition of Han Geng, with the last episode also featuring Ryeowook and Yesung) go to a pension located in the mountains and stay there for about a week. The boys are split into two teams of three and each team is given 30,000 won (approximately $30 USD) to purchase groceries with. During their stay at the pension, the boys must live off their groceries and endure living with a woman who is sort of like the MC for the show, except the boys find her annoying and do anything try and not pay attention to anything that she does. In the end, however, they give the money that they have saved from the leftover food to an orphanage, where they later visited, where the children that temporarily stayed in the pension with them are from.
Super Junior starred in their own reality show called Super Junior Full House which was about two transfer students who will be boarding with half of the members of Super Junior, specifically in the dorm where in Heechul, Kangin, Kibum, Siwon, Han Geng and Donghae are staying in. The two transfer students were model Eva and her friend Anya.
The show ran for about 13 episodes and it's running time was only for 25 minutes. It was aired from May 27, 2006 until August 26, 2006. The home stay only lasted for a month prior to its original plan and with the show it presented comedic experiences by Super Junior and the two international female students showing their deep friendship and funny attitudes and or personalities.
A variety game show where the members of Super Junior (with the exception of Han Geng, Heechul and Kibum who weren't directly in the show but had cameos) could create and produce their own mini-dramas for themselves to star in. The members split up into two teams: Prince Team or Pearl Blue Team and play a game in the beginning of the episode to determine who exactly got the reward for the drama or who got the punishment.
  • 2007: MNET Super Summer
A three on one dating game and hidden camera show featuring Siwon, Donghae, and Kibum. The show documents the member's efforts to win dates with model Lee Eun Jung through competing in games. The winner of each episode would get to have a date with the girl, while the other two men would have their own "man to man" date. The show is meant to show the "true intentions of men when it comes to love." Lee Eun Jung and the MC would devise plans to pit the members against each other in order to reveal their feelings. The show was shot in Saipan.
A reality learning show, emceed by Shin Dong Yup and, on several episodes, chosen Super Junior members. It ran for 13 40-minute episodes from November 11, 2007 to February 3, 2008. The show focused on the members and Shin Dong Yup performing experiments on various subjects, such as the sense of taste and the origin of tears. The youngest member, Kyuhyun, was not present until the seventh episode due to the car accident, as well as Siwon being absent from some of the later episodes due to having injured his foot in an earlier episode.
  • 2007: KM Idol World
Featuring Super Junior T, Idol world presented each episode with a challenge for the group, going from a lie detector test, playing the cat and mouse game, even to just seeing whose friend could show up at the filming location of a house, even though it was already midnight. The games were a wide variety and even during the course of the first couple of episodes, Super Junior T even did a parody of the drama Princess Hours, which they nicknamed Palace T.
  • 2008: Unbelievable Outing Season 3
  • 2008: Idol Show
  • 2009: Human Network Super Junior's Miracle
The boys of Super Junior have another variety show where they try to help teenagers, who have hardships going on in their lives, encouragement to pursue their dreams by finding them a role model that they may look up to in a career profession that they may want to join. They show the teenagers that nothing is impossible and that they can do it, even though it may seem like all of the odds are against them.
  • 2010: Super Junior's Foresight
A talk show with four or five Super Junior members (with mostly recurring Leeteuk, Shindong, Eunhyuk, and Kyuhyun with the occasional Ryeowook and Yesung) where they would invite their sunbaes, or seniors in the entertainment industry, and try to learn things from them that could help in the future, also, while having fun at the same time.
  • 2011: best couple
N-Train’s Soul J will be on E Channel’s new TV programme ‘Best Couple’ (hosted by Shin Dong Yeob & SuJu’s Lee Teuk)
  • 2011: Season 4 hello baby
A reality show where in choosen popular groups are caring for a baby. However in this show not all the suju members are included for the main character is the group Sistar and the suju's leader, leeteuk.
A reality show which pairs up Korean celebrities to show what life would be like if they were married. In 2009, Kangin with actress Lee Yoon Ji were couple in this show. Due to Super Junior's busy schedule, they decided to "divorce" and in 2011, Leeteuk join this show and pairs up with rookie actress, Kang So Ra.

[edit] Hosting

The Super Junior members were one of the first Korean idols to begin television presenting and radio hosting. Heechul was the first in the group to be a selected MC for the music programs Popular Songs and Show Music Bank. He was also the first in the group to host radio shows, and co-hosted Youngstreet Radio Show with ex-M.I.L.K. member Park Heebon in early 2005. Heechul has also been the MC for the Dream Concert since 2008. Leeteuk, Kangin, and Shindong made their MC debut on Mnet's music program M! Countdown five days after Super Junior's debut performance. In August 2006, both Leeteuk and Eunhyuk founded their own radio show, Super Junior Kiss the Radio, which has become one of the more tuned-in radio channels in the country.
The group also founded their own reality television program, and on November 11, 2007, the premiere of Explorers of the Human Body aired on SBS. The humorous show introduced the thirteen members as regular guests for the program, answering curious questions and doing demonstrations involving the human body.[117] The show has been the highest rating program of the reality line-up every Sunday, but due to Super Junior's tight schedule, the program ended quickly with thirteen episodes on February 3, 2008. The popularity of the program had inspired producers to create a second season, although no announcements of producing the next season has been announced.[118]

[edit] Acting

[edit] Attack on the Pin-Up Boys

Twelve members, excluding Kyuhyun, appeared in the group's debut film Attack on the Pin-Up Boys. The first film released by SM Pictures, it premiered on July 26, 2007 in Korea.[119] "Wonder Boy", performed by Super Junior, is used as the theme song of the film.[119] Although the film was promoted as a typical high school comedy, the movie gained positive reviews from critics, praising that the movie had a well-oriented plot unlike most idol films. However, ticket sales remained low in the premiere month despite its unexpected success in the sales the first week.[120] The film was a box-office bomb, failing to attract more than 102,600 admissions and was proven to be a big loss for SM Pictures.[121] However, both versions of the film's DVD became a best-selling record and were sold-out in both Korea and oversea markets, which was more than enough to make up for the production loss of 8.5 billion won.[121]

[edit] Other Films

Siwon was among the first of Super Junior to have participated in silver-screen productions, appearing in the Hong Kong historical action drama film, A Battle of Wits as the large supporting role of Prince Liang Shi in 2006. The cast promoted the movie throughout China with a short tour of four cities in November 2006. While the film received mixed reviews, Siwon garnered positive notices for his performance. He also received praises from co-star Andy Lau, stating that Siwon is a wonderful actor and that he "sets a good example for young Hong Kong idols."
In 2007, Heechul, Kangin, and Shindong lent their voices to the three chipmunks in the Korean release of Alvin and the Chipmunks.[122]
In 2008, Kangin had a major role in the Korean-language film, Hello Schoolgirl.[123]

[edit] Theater

  • 2008
Xanadu Musical [HC][KI]
  • 2009
Mountain Fortress [YS]
Akilla [SM]
  • 2010
A Middle Nap [KB]
Hong Gil Dong [YS][SM]
Spamalot [YS]
The Three Musketeers [KH]
  • 2011
Jack the Ripper [SM]
Temptation of Wolves [RW]
Fame [EH]

[edit] Endorsements

Super Junior members first began endorsing for various fashion lines in early 2006, notably for Ivy Club (2006–2007), NII Qualified (2007) and Spris (2006–2007).
With their high popularity in Thailand, Siwon was contracted to be the main endorser for 12 Plus Miracle (2007–present) and began endorsing its products with interchangeable Super Junior members. Siwon also makes several prominent appearances in Korean brand Spao's catalogues along with SNSD and other Super Junior members. He also recently endorsed and modeled for the SK Telesys "Reaction" smart phone, also appearing in the phone's humorous mock-action commercial. While, On July 2010, Super Junior's Choi Siwon was appointed as UNICEF Envoy. Acer Computer Co., Ltd. a leading position in Thai computer market also presented Siwon as a new endorser for Acer products. He has also been featured in notable magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Elle, High Cut, and Men's Health, as well as modeling for large brand names such as Armani, Lacoste, Gucci, and Burberry.
Currently Donghae is the brand ambassador for Maxim Colours Contact lens worldwide. The group are also known for their string of humorous commercials for Thailand's Yamaha Fino along with several other Thai entertainers, notably Golf & Mike. Super Junior were also appointed as the Goodwill ambassadors for the 2008 Korea and Thailand 50th Anniversary, honoring the good relationship Korea has held with Thailand for the past fifty years.[124] Most recently in 2009, Super Junior have filmed CFs for brands such as Kyochon Chicken, Star Snacks and Happy Bubble. They also endorse a clothing line called SPAO (2009–present). Super Junior also Spokesmodel for Donate Blood (2007–present) campaign at the Republic of Korea National Red Cross and was appointed as Goodwill ambassador for World Blood Donor Day. They also promote and endorse for Samsung’s marketing of their new smart-phone Samsung Galaxy S in Singapore.
Members of sub-group Super Junior-M also starring in commercials for Chinese mobile phones branded OPPO. They also star in a new commercial show for Pepsi and endorse Chinese clothing line Semir, reflecting their huge popularity in the Chinese region.
On February 20, 2010, Super Junior was named as Taiwan's tourism ambassador. On March 3, 2011, Super Junior has been appointed by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Korea as the 2011 Honorary Korean Ambassador Foods to promote Korean cuisine all over the world. Recently, The Hong Kong Tourism Board has officially invited Super Junior to host a travel show promoting Hong Kong. Earlier this year, Super Junior was chosen as the CF model for Japan's famous convenience store company, Circle K Sunkus. On May 16th, the song was shown on major Japanese TV channels as the commercial song for Japanese convenience store chain Circle K Sunkus.[125] On June 17, 2011, Super Junior chosen as the ambassador of Seoul Summer Sale 2011.[126] Recently, Super Junior has been appointed to be the ambassadors for Korean tourism.[127]On July 26th, they signed an Memorandum of Understanding with Korea Tourism Organization‘s head, Lee Cham, in a simple ceremony to officialize their status. On October 18, Super Junior was selected as models for all LG Electronics products for one year and will participate in the company’s global marketing activities. They also will produce Super Junior’s music videos in 3D early next year.

[edit] Other Media

On July 20, 2010, S.M. Entertainment, together with NEOWIZ Internet Corporation, Ltd, released an iPhone application which features Super Junior's 4th regular album, 'BONAMANA'. The lite app can be purchased for free, while the full app can be purchased for US$7.99 on iTunes.[128]

[edit] Influence and impact

During the course of Super Junior's career, several pop groups were formed similarly extraordinary numbers of members. JYP Entertainment recruited thirteen boys to be in a boy band, who were all revealed in the show, Hot Blood Men. Of these thirteen, eleven were split into two groups that debuted at different times: 2AM, which has four members, and 2PM, which has seven.[129] Together, the two groups form the eleven-member boy band One Day. Ast'1, a boy band under DSP Entertainment, released a promotional video in March 2008. In the short preview the boy band expressed that they would "Knock Down Super Junior",[130] which resulted in a lot of criticism lashed into the group. However, they clarified that they had no means to create conflict, and explained the reason why they want to defeat Super Junior is because they see Super Junior as their answer of success.[131]

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Expansion to China

After the subgroups Super Junior-K.R.Y. and Super Junior-T, on October 2, 2007, S.M. Entertainment announced the birth of another Super Junior sub-unit project that would begin activities in China starting 2008. Zhou Mi and S.M. Entertainment's new Chinese-Canadian trainee Henry Lau, who was also featured in the music video of "Don't Don", were also members of the subgroup.[132]
The announcement brought in a huge wave of dissatisfaction and opposition from fans of Super Junior after the announcement of two new members. Initially, fans were planning to boycott the company's products, however, most fans agreed on a silent protest instead. Thousands of fans from Super Junior's official fanclub E.L.F. silently sat in front of the SM building and held signs that supported the group to have only thirteen members.[133]
After more rumors regarding adding a Chinese member to the subgroup, the fans decided to gain a legal representation as part of S.M. Entertainment's stockholders. As of March 20, 2008, Super Junior fans purchased 58,206 stocks of S.M. Entertainment, holding 0.3% of the company's entire stock.[134] They released a statement that they will obtain all chances to prevent S.M. Entertainment from adding new members and to keep Super Junior as only thirteen.[134]

[edit] Conflict with MBC

A time-slot dispute occurred between S.M. Entertainment and MBC when SM insisted to have Kangin stay on SBS's Explorers of the Human Body instead of MBC's Sunday Night Dong-An Club (동안클럽) where Kangin has been a regular host. MBC temporarily banned the rest of Super Junior from appearing in any future performances and shows hosted by MBC.[135] Kangin also lost his MC jobs to T.O.P. of Big Bang for the music show, Show! Music Core and also two more variety shows, which both soon canceled after Kangin left due to low ratings.[136] MBC demanded an apology from S.M. Entertainment in order for Super Junior to appear on shows hosted by the channel again. However, MBC concluded that Super Junior's ban was never official, but just a decision for shows' producers to decide.[137]

[edit] Han Geng's lawsuit

On December 21, 2009, Han Geng filed for contract termination with S.M. Entertainment, label company of the group. The following day, Han Geng's lawyer stated the claimed reasons behind the action: provisions were in S.M. Entertainment's favour, unlawful 13-year contract length, unfair sum of money to end the contract, not allowed to request to revise his contract, forced to do things that were not in his contract, forced to do things against his will, fined if he disobeyed the company, missed any events or even was late, and there was uneven profit distribution. Along with this, it was disclosed that because of S.M. Entertainment's refusal to give him a day off in over two years, he had developed gastritis and kidney disease.[138]
Han Geng's current manager, Sun Le, also submitted a statement to the court of South Korea citing S.M. Entertainment's violation of Han Geng's rights.[139] Sun Le's statement contended that: Han Geng was forced to wear a mask due to company's ill handling of the visa issue, company purposely discriminated against Han Geng and his family, company refused to cooperate or listen to any of Han Geng's suggestions, company purposely turned down individual activities for Han Geng (including Ariel Lin's "Fireflies" music video, which later starred Siwon and Donghae) and that the company treated Han Geng's potential endorsers poorly.[140]
On December 21, 2010, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Han Geng. The court stated, “All three contracts – from the January 2003 contract, the altered contract from February 2007, and the affiliated contract from December 2007 – do not exist.” A representative of S.M. Entertainment said that they will file an immediate appeal to reverse the decision.[141] and have yet to release official statements regarding his status.

[edit] Conflict during Expo 2010

On May 26, 2010, organized by South Korea Pavilion of Expo 2010, many Korean pop stars including Super Junior were invited to the "South Korean classical and pop concert" which was planned to be launched at Expo Cultural Centre on May 30. As the tickets were not for sale to the public, visitors who want to enjoy the show could only exchange the ticket via expo ticket in the west door of the Expo Cultural Centre on May 30. The total ticket number is 5000, while 2500 of which would be assigned to Korea visitors for free which caused the actual available number to be 2500. Super Junior fans collected in the entry of the Expo Cultural Centre, and the strong emotion led to the occurrence of violence, resulting in casualties. A local armed police said that this is his first time to see such a “crazy” situation in Expo 2010 since the Expo park was opened.[142][143]

[edit] Tours and concerts

Affiliated tours

Subgroups tours

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  • a.^ OVER, without the periods, is also the title of track 7 in SuperJunior05 (Twins).
  • b.^ All members of the group were present at the showcase with the exception of Ryeowook and Kyuhyun because they were not members of Super Junior at that time. However, one month before Super Junior's official debut, Ryeowook replaced ex-pre-debut member Junyoung and became the group's official member. Kyuhyun did not join the group until six months later, with the release of "U."
  • c.^ All sales numbers taken from the Music Industry Association of Korea. Last known 2007 sales numbers here..
  • d.^ Sapphire blue, Super Junior's fanclub color, is also the name of the second track from Super Junior's second album, "소원이 있나요 (Sapphire Blue)."
  • e.^ See Super Junior China.
  • f.^ See Super Show Tour.
  • g.^ Both Yesung and Ryeowook took part in "Tie Clam Shells" (조개껍질 묶어), the only a cappella track in the 2007 SUMMER SMTOWN - FRAGILE album.
  • h.^ Leeteuk, however, is one of the five rappers in Super Junior's recent music, "돈 돈! (Don't Don)".
  • i.^ Leeteuk, Eunhyuk, and Ryeowook have been giving acappella performances of their second 2007 single, "Marry U", as seen in Super Junior's second album DVD and Super Junior's Kiss the Radio