Photos courtesy Mode Entertainment
Kim Jong Kook was in
Singapore last
weekend for his very first solo fan-meet. The fearless commander of
popular variety programme Running Man showed his ‘soft’ gentleman side,
and had the audience swooning and cheering to no end. His popularity (as
well as Running Man) was beyond imaginable, as the venue was completely
filled up with families, couples and fans (fanboys included!). A full
house it was, the atmosphere really felt like a full-blown concert.
The Gentleman with Muscles
Given nicknames like Sparta Kook, Commander and even associated with the
animal ‘Tiger’, his fierce manly nature is evident in Running Man, as
he rips off name-tags within his sight. But fear not, as beneath that
muscled solid torso lies an endearing sweet balladeer. He crooned to 7
songs throughout the 2-hour fan-meet last Friday night, including hits
like
‘Men Are All Like That’,
‘Don’t Be Good To Me’ and
‘One Man’.
“Thank you for coming. I actually didn’t expect many to come. I will show my best!” said the humble Commander.
A Romantic, with a Touch of Humour
After singing
‘Men Are All Like That’ off his latest album,
Jong Kook clarified that although he wrote the song, he is not like that
kind of men. He then introduced a song off his 4th album that he picked
specially for fans at his fan-meet, entitled
‘Saying I Love You’ and featured one of his love-lines, actress Yoon Eun Hye. The music video played on stage and had the fans going
‘aww’
to the skinship and loving scenes between the two. Jong Kook was seen
smiling bashfully and taking sneak peeks at the videoscreen behind him
while singing.
Possible Running Man Episode in Singapore?
Jong Kook promised to let his Producer-Director(PD) know about the huge
interest and love that fans in Singapore had for Running Man. (So hold
onto that hope, who knows the team of 7 may be running somewhere close
to you soon!)
Jong Kook Soft Side Towards Fans
Some lucky fans were picked to go on stage and participate in physical
interaction activities like Flamingo Game and Tug-of-War. Jong Kook’s
warmness and soft nature was evident when he was pushed out of the
marked area and lost the game. Stating reasons such as ‘She’s a Korean!’
and ‘There are too many females here, this is hard’, resulting in all 6
pairs winning a photography opportunity with the man himself. His
spontaneous fan-service went beyond handshakes and hugs as he pats the
back of a crying fan-girl on stage and gave shout-outs to an audience
member when requested by a fan.
One of the highlights was when a 6-year-old boy surprised everyone by singing a snippet of
‘Men Are All Like That’
on stage during the singing competition. The tough decision to decide a
winner between the 3 participants was settled easily with a smile by
the little boy, whom Jong Kook described as ‘cool’.
“This is my love for you,” said Sparta Kook as he danced away to the upbeat song
‘Lovable’. Fans were seen up on their feet dancing along, and singing to the lyrics. To satisfy and appease the hyped fans,
‘One Man’
was sung for the encore and the night came to a close. Thanking fans,
Jong Kook shared that he hoped to bring along his Running Man crew the
next time he meets fans in Singapore.
Korea.com would like to extend our thanks to organizer
Mode Entertainment for the kind invitation to cover this event. Stay tuned for more exciting events!