[TheStar] Saving for a RAIN-y day, Malaysia November 29, 2006
No pain, no Rain. Avid fans of the Korean pop star are working extra hard to pay for their concert tickets, discovers NUR AMIRA ABDUL KARIM.
JUST so that he can watch his favourite Korean pop idol Rain perform at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in January, Azekiel Cheung has started putting in two extra shifts a week as a coffee barista.
The part-time student, who earns S$5 (RM11.70) an hour, now works eight-hour shifts three times a week to pay off his debt of S$388 (RM908). He now takes home S$40 (RM94) for each eight-hour shift and has to work 10 shifts, or 80 hours, so that he can catch his idol in action.
The avid fan bought his concert ticket with the help of a friend who is a credit card holder.
Korean pop star Rain is causing Singaporean youths to incur huge debts and slog it out at their jobs.
With concert tickets starting at S$188, many are scrimping to watch Rain live in concert.
They were offered priority booking for the concert when the tickets went on sale two weeks ago. He plans to pay her back in instalments of S$100 a month, which is 20 hours’ worth of work.
Azekiel, 18, plans to sneak off on Jan 21 to catch Rain’s concert. His parents don’t know about his ticket purchase.
“They’d be furious if they found out,” he said. “My parents are very strict about money and they think that listening to music is a waste of time. I don’t have a choice but to find my own means to pay for the ticket.”
Also working hard to pay for the coveted concert tickets is undergraduate Wong Yihui, 21, who works two to three days a week at an accounting firm for S$10 (RM23.40) an hour. Each session is two or three hours long. She recently bought a S$188 (RM440) ticket.
Said Yihui: “I didn’t expect the tickets to be so expensive.
“I had to make a snap decision when the tickets were up for sale because seats were being filled up so fast. I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to watch Rain live.”
She is making a lot of sacrifices to catch the concert, including giving up a short holiday.
“My friends and I had planned to go to Malaysia to unwind after the exams. We estimated the trip would cost around S$300, but after buying the concert ticket, I can’t afford to go anymore.”
The sensational pop star who is causing these teens to part with their hard-earned money is 24-year-old Rain or Jung Ji Hoon, as he is known in Korea.
The singer-actor’s hit drama series, Full House, which has aired all over Asia, catapulted him to fame in Singapore when it was shown on cable TV last year.
His debut concert in Singapore on Jan 21 next year has set a record for the priciest concert tickets in the island republic.
The most expensive tickets for the performance at the Singapore Indoor Stadium are going for S$888 (RM2,080). There are about 200 of those tickets. Other tickets cost S$188 (RM440), S$288 (RM674), S$388 (RM908) and S$688 (RM1,610).
The S$888 and S$688 tickets are not available to the public – all of them have been bought up by sponsors and Rain’s international fan club; 60% of the other tickets have also been taken up.
A number of the teens who have tickets for the show are keeping mum about their plans. They do not want their names mentioned or their pictures used in the paper for fear that their parents would find out about them spending so much on a concert.
Older fans of Rain too are secretive about their support. Some felt they are too old to be fans, while others plan to disappear from work on “urgent leave” to catch the concert. They do not want their bosses to find out about their ruse in The Sunday Times, they said.
The Korean idol played two sold-out nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden in February this year. In May, he was named the second most influential entertainer in the world by Time magazine.
Following his rise to stardom is fan Chen Yicui, 23. The business management student, who has Rain’s music CDs and DVDs as well as pictures of him on her laptop, paid for her S$188 ticket by dipping into her savings.
She has cut back on food and snacks, and goes out less often with her friends.
“But it’s really good timing. I’m having my exams soon. I feel the pinch less, because I have less time to go out anyway.”
Unlike her peers who have to scrimp and save in order to watch their favourite singer perform live, student Neo S.T., 21, was lucky enough to have her S$388 ticket subsidised by an elder cousin who is also crazy about Rain. She paid only S$188 while her cousin paid the rest.
She said: “My cousin convinced me to get the pricier ticket after we looked at the seating plan. If we had bought the cheapest ticket, we would have such a poor view of the stage that we’d be better off listening to his CD at home.”
S.T., who took courses to learn the Korean language after becoming a Rain fan, may give tuition to her cousin’s eight-year-old son. She would like to pay off the S$200 subsidy.
Beaming, she said: “I’ll do what it takes to pay my cousin backThe opportunity to see Rain up close is something I don’t want to miss.”
[/SIZE]The Straits Times / Asia News Network
source: thestar
re-up: raine@rain-malaysia.com
Credit: nana555@Bi's Kingdom (www.popcornfor2.com)
JUST so that he can watch his favourite Korean pop idol Rain perform at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in January, Azekiel Cheung has started putting in two extra shifts a week as a coffee barista.
The part-time student, who earns S$5 (RM11.70) an hour, now works eight-hour shifts three times a week to pay off his debt of S$388 (RM908). He now takes home S$40 (RM94) for each eight-hour shift and has to work 10 shifts, or 80 hours, so that he can catch his idol in action.
The avid fan bought his concert ticket with the help of a friend who is a credit card holder.
Korean pop star Rain is causing Singaporean youths to incur huge debts and slog it out at their jobs.
With concert tickets starting at S$188, many are scrimping to watch Rain live in concert.
They were offered priority booking for the concert when the tickets went on sale two weeks ago. He plans to pay her back in instalments of S$100 a month, which is 20 hours’ worth of work.
Azekiel, 18, plans to sneak off on Jan 21 to catch Rain’s concert. His parents don’t know about his ticket purchase.
“They’d be furious if they found out,” he said. “My parents are very strict about money and they think that listening to music is a waste of time. I don’t have a choice but to find my own means to pay for the ticket.”
Also working hard to pay for the coveted concert tickets is undergraduate Wong Yihui, 21, who works two to three days a week at an accounting firm for S$10 (RM23.40) an hour. Each session is two or three hours long. She recently bought a S$188 (RM440) ticket.
Said Yihui: “I didn’t expect the tickets to be so expensive.
“I had to make a snap decision when the tickets were up for sale because seats were being filled up so fast. I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to watch Rain live.”
She is making a lot of sacrifices to catch the concert, including giving up a short holiday.
“My friends and I had planned to go to Malaysia to unwind after the exams. We estimated the trip would cost around S$300, but after buying the concert ticket, I can’t afford to go anymore.”
The sensational pop star who is causing these teens to part with their hard-earned money is 24-year-old Rain or Jung Ji Hoon, as he is known in Korea.
The singer-actor’s hit drama series, Full House, which has aired all over Asia, catapulted him to fame in Singapore when it was shown on cable TV last year.
His debut concert in Singapore on Jan 21 next year has set a record for the priciest concert tickets in the island republic.
The most expensive tickets for the performance at the Singapore Indoor Stadium are going for S$888 (RM2,080). There are about 200 of those tickets. Other tickets cost S$188 (RM440), S$288 (RM674), S$388 (RM908) and S$688 (RM1,610).
The S$888 and S$688 tickets are not available to the public – all of them have been bought up by sponsors and Rain’s international fan club; 60% of the other tickets have also been taken up.
A number of the teens who have tickets for the show are keeping mum about their plans. They do not want their names mentioned or their pictures used in the paper for fear that their parents would find out about them spending so much on a concert.
Older fans of Rain too are secretive about their support. Some felt they are too old to be fans, while others plan to disappear from work on “urgent leave” to catch the concert. They do not want their bosses to find out about their ruse in The Sunday Times, they said.
The Korean idol played two sold-out nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden in February this year. In May, he was named the second most influential entertainer in the world by Time magazine.
Following his rise to stardom is fan Chen Yicui, 23. The business management student, who has Rain’s music CDs and DVDs as well as pictures of him on her laptop, paid for her S$188 ticket by dipping into her savings.
She has cut back on food and snacks, and goes out less often with her friends.
“But it’s really good timing. I’m having my exams soon. I feel the pinch less, because I have less time to go out anyway.”
Unlike her peers who have to scrimp and save in order to watch their favourite singer perform live, student Neo S.T., 21, was lucky enough to have her S$388 ticket subsidised by an elder cousin who is also crazy about Rain. She paid only S$188 while her cousin paid the rest.
She said: “My cousin convinced me to get the pricier ticket after we looked at the seating plan. If we had bought the cheapest ticket, we would have such a poor view of the stage that we’d be better off listening to his CD at home.”
S.T., who took courses to learn the Korean language after becoming a Rain fan, may give tuition to her cousin’s eight-year-old son. She would like to pay off the S$200 subsidy.
Beaming, she said: “I’ll do what it takes to pay my cousin backThe opportunity to see Rain up close is something I don’t want to miss.”
[/SIZE]The Straits Times / Asia News Network
source: thestar
re-up: raine@rain-malaysia.com
Credit: nana555@Bi's Kingdom (www.popcornfor2.com)
posted by Flor at 9:02 AM
0 comments
