[TRANS] 111031 What Does The Spanish Media Think Of JYJ?
The local media of Spain is showing great interest in JYJ’s European debut. We asked them questions about what they think of JYJ and K-Pop.
At JYJ’s interview with the press on the morning of the 29th, the reporters gave JYJ a favorable review. They believe that it is an undeniable fact that the K-pop market will continue to expand, and that Korean singers are winning Europeans’ hearts with their singing and dancing skills.
Time out BCN reporter Joseph Maria Saria stated, “K-pop’s popularity has risen, and more people want to know more about it,” and “Actually, I was surprised to hear that K-pop singers would be performing in Barcelona. I was able to meet many fans as I covered the concert and I found out that they are an amazing team. It was great to meet them through today’s press conference and I can’t wait to see what they do in the future.”
When asked ‘What do you think JYJ’s strengths are?’, the reporter replied, “Above all, they’re great performers and they have an image that appeals to Europeans. In Spain, where it’s hard to find dance singers, JYJ’s intense performances are enough to attract the attention of the youth.“
Asian Club’s Mari Carmen and Donaire Ruiz also commented that K-pop’s future in Europe is bright.
They stated, “These days, K-pop’s popularity is rising amongst the younger generation all over Europe. But you can only buy albums online and there is a limited supply that is shipped to Europe. We will help the K-pop market expand here by covering this concert and raising people’s interest in K-pop.”
When asked, ‘Has Korea’s image changed in the eyes of Europeans because of the K-pop craze?’, the two people said, “Listening to K-pop, the younger generation now want to visit Korea, are curious about the Korean culture and have begun wanting to learn Korean. Most of the articles that could be found in Europe before the K-pop craze began were negative articles related to North Korea’s nuclear weapons, but now, articles about K-pop have increased and people are beginning to think of Korea in a more positive manner as they search for articles on Korea and begin to learn about the country. JYJ’s Spanish concert holds a special meaning for Spain’s Korea fanatics as the nation has become JYJ’s starting point for their European tour.”
We asked Catalunya Radio’s Tatiana Alvarez to compare K-pop and J-pop.
She said, “J-pop has unique rhythms and melodies. K-pop’s beats are similar to that of pop music yet it still has its own Korean characteristics. The familiar yet new feel of the songs is what I believe is appealing to the younger generation.”
Regarding the reason why she was covering JYJ’s concert, Hearst Sociedad y Corazon’s Maria Jose emphasized, “These days, I’ve felt that the musical preferences of the younger generation has changed. I wanted to see if K-pop played a part in that change. Also, it’s quite unusual to see a singer from a country that isn’t well-known in Spain to come here to hold a concert.“
When asked, ‘Is K-pop growing in Europe?’, she said, “The younger generation of Spain began taking an interest in Asian cultures, which are harder to experience here than European cultures. One aspect of those new cultures was K-pop and as people begin to learn more about Asian cultures, K-pop will become more known and influential. But at this moment, it isn’t a grand spectacle yet. To be honest, I didn’t know much about JYJ before I came here. But what’s important is that K-pop is very upbeat and full of charm.”
The Spanish reporters all asked JYJ the same question of if they think they can be successful in Europe. To this, JYJ replied, “We don’t think there are as many of our fans in Spain as there are in Asia. That’s quite obvious. But we’re extremely grateful of and surprised by the fact that our fans here have been supporting us from halfway across the world. We’re so glad to be in Spain, we’re excited about today’s performance, and as this is our first European performance, it will stay with us for a long time. We think our success depends on what we consider being ‘successful’. We want to succeed. For us, the measure of success will be whether or not our fanbase here increases in size through attending our concert and listening to our songs.“
The JYJ press conference ended in success with more than 30 Spanish reporters showing up to interview the group.
Source: [TV Report]
Translated & Shared by: dongbangdata.net
Momma’s Source: dongbangdata.net
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