Kim Ji-won Arrived in S’pore Unannounced for a Private Event

By
Kimi Tan
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“Be careful of sasaengs,” K-pop and K-drama fans warn.

Reader: What is a sasaeng? Why do I need to be careful of them?

Well, it’s not you that has to be careful of sasaengs, though most of them are undoubtedly scary.

Sasaeng is the South Korean term for a fan who acts in ways that may invade the privacy of Korean idols, drama actors, or other celebrities. Some of their behaviour may seem “stalkerish” or obsessive.

An extreme example would be when sasaengs allegedly played Among Us in real life with K-pop boy band NCT.

Reader: …Among Us in real life?

When the members of NCT were filming a live video, sasaengs allegedly snuck into the vents to take pictures of the boys from above.

One of the NCT members, Yuta, was seen waving in the direction of the vent at the fans.

These are the photos supposedly taken by sasaengs in the vents:

Incidents of trespassing, attempted kidnapping, secret recordings, sneaking into bathrooms, and more have been alleged against sasaengs of various K-pop groups such as boy-band BTS and EXO, among other popular K-idols.

With that said, you probably have a picture of how crazy sasaengs can get.

I don’t really know how sasaengs get their hands on information like where celebrities will be or where they’re staying, but I don’t think I want to know.

Saesengs, But Without The Negative Connotation

You may be wondering why I talked about sasaengs.

While sasaeng is a term that’s usually used to refer to fans who go to extremities like climbing in vents, it’s sometimes used to refer to fans who just somehow get their hands on information they shouldn’t have access to.

When used in this context, the term “sasaeng” is a little more… “softer” or mild, and doesn’t carry a very negative connotation.

The reason I talked about sasaengs is that nearly 200 fans showed up to receive South Korean actress Kim Ji-won when she arrived in Singapore even though news of her arrival had not been announced in advance.

But don’t worry, no one tried to steal her bag or kidnap her or any other nonsense like that.

Close to 200 Fans Welcomed Kim Ji-won to Singapore

Queen Of Tears actress Kim Ji-won was surprised to find that a large crowd had gathered to welcome her when she touched down in Singapore on 12 May.

Since news of her arrival was not announced in advance, it is unknown how fans knew she would be here.

Perhaps sasaengs worked their magic.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the 31-year-old actress who played Queen Of Tear’s female lead Hong Hae-in, arrived at Terminal 4 around 8:30pm, and was greeted by close to 200 fans.

In videos taken by those who were there, fans are heard chanting the star’s name, while Kim Ji-won has a shocked expression on her face.

@qixuan3 jiwon welcome to singapore! she shocked because many of her fans waiting outside#kimjiwon #queenoftears #김지원 ♬ The Reasons of My Smiles – BSS

@soowonderful1031 Goosebumps on her popularity now! 🥹😭 JIWON arriving @Singapore airport with so much crowd waiting for her 🙀 QUEEN JIWON ERA! And shes wearing her viral cap *ELINE 😅 wc is CELINE 🫣 #SooWon #KimJiWon #QueenofTears #fypシ゚viral #Celine ♬ original sound – 🌼Aquia Sassha 👑

The Korean star smiled and waved at her fans, and accepted their letters and gifts.

She Was Here For a Bulgari Event

Any guesses on why Kim Ji-won was in Singapore?

Reader: Queen Of Tears Season 2 in Singapore setting? (I am 100% delusional.)

The Korean actress is here to attend a private event on 14 May by Italian luxury fashion house Bulgari in celebration of its newest fragrance, Bulgari Allegra Chill & Sole.

Dressed in a flowy light pink dress, Kim Ji-won attended the brand’s event at Sentosa, and cameras immediately swarmed the star.

@thestandardpop Pop Report: คิมจีวอน ออนนี่สุดสวยจาก Queen Of Tears ทักทาย THE STANDARD POP แบบเอ็กซ์คลูซีฟจากงานเปิดตัวน้ำหอม Bulgari Allegra Chill & Sole ที่สิงค์โปร์! #BvlgariAllegra #ChillAndSole #MagnifyForMore #KimJiWon #김지원 #คิมจีวอน #PopReport #TheStandardPOP ♬ original sound – THE STANDARD POP

Fans are saying they’re glad she’s finally getting more recognition after her latest drama, Queen Of Tears, took the world by storm and even broke a record held by iconic K-drama Crash Landing On You.

It is not known how long she will remain in Singapore.

Queen Of Tears

Queen Of Tears stars Kim Ji-won alongside Kim Soo-hyun as Hong Hae-in and Baek Hyun-woo respectively.

The show follows the story of the two lead characters who fall in love and get married.

Typical love story, right?

Wrong.

After falling in love and getting married, they fall out of love, and then back in love again. Along the way, the couple faces challenges like brain cancer, an obsessive admirer, and scandalous plots.

Not exactly your typical love story, but definitely your typical drama-filled show.

The drama’s riveting plot captured the hearts of fans worldwide, garnering a large group of supporters.

On the day of the finale’s showing, rating research company Nielsen Korea anounced that Queen Of Tears’ finale scored a viewership rating of 24.850% across South Korea.

The show broke the four-year record held by Crash Landing On You, which earned a viewership rating of 21.683% for its final episode.

As you can see, the drama is very well-loved.

The good news is that you can watch Queen Of Tears in Singapore. All 16 episodes of the K-drama are available for viewing on Netflix.

Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:

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Kimi Tan