You go, girls
K-pop act Gfriend sends temperatures soaring at the Malaysian leg of its second Asia tour Go Go Gfriend.
IT is only Gfriend’s first time in Malaysia, but the K-pop group sent temperatures soaring the moment it landed on Malaysian shores.
Gfriend is a South Korean girl group with six members aged between 20 and 23: Sowon, Eunha, Yerin, Sinb, Umji and Yuju.
The girls say they were taken aback by the feverish reception they got from Malaysian Buddies the moment they arrived at the airport. (Buddy is the name of Gfriend’s official fandom.)
Speaking at a press conference at the Sheraton Petaling Jaya Hotel last week, the group’s leader Sowon said: “Our flight here may have been very long, but we felt the warmth of so many Malaysian fans welcoming us at the airport.
“I could feel that they had been waiting there for a long time. We will bring home all the happy memories.”
Since it is Gfriend’s first time in Malaysia, Yuju had done some research and expressed interest over one of Malaysia’s most popular dishes. “I heard that there is an abundance of delicious cuisine in Malaysia. The one which I am most curious about is nasi lemak.”
Also known in Korean as Yeoja Chingu, Gfriend made its debut in January 2015 with the five-track mini album titled Season Of Glass.
The group just released Fever, the brand new single from its eighth mini album Fever Season, and Yerin expressed that it was made for South-east Asian fans.
Amid excitement over the release of the new single, Sowon revealed: “In our new song Fever, we compare our love to the tropical heat that does not cool down
even during the night. All of our members really love this song, so we hope our fans will love it as well.”
Go Go Gfriend is the group’s second
Asia Tour (its first was in 2018), and Malaysia is its first overseas stop. Upcoming stops for the tour include Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines,
Taiwan and Japan.
Having started touring since early last year, Umji shared that the best part of going on tour to many different countries is that they could meet their global fans from all over the world. “We do most of our activities on home ground. But even when we are in South Korea, we continue to receive a lot of love sent by our fans from all over the world, and that makes us very happy. We really appreciate all the love that we get.”
The Malaysian concert was held at Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam on June 29.
While Gfriend may not have elaborate pre-show rituals like some other artistes, Eunha revealed that they would hold hands backstage and shout Korean words of encouragement such as “hwaiting ”and “himnae” (loosely translated as “go for it” and “keep it up”).
As one of the top K-pop acts in South Korea, Umji admitted that the members had to work through their differences to get to where they are today. “Initially, it used to be quite challenging to do group work, because our personalities are all so different. But it is fine now that we have been together for such a long time.
“And, whenever we have conflicts, we immediately address the issue. And, whenever any of us encounter setbacks, we help to cheer each other up.
“So, now, we can easily tell from the facial expression what each member is thinking. We know each other very well now.”
Sowon added that while they may not always be confident about everything, they could carry on because of the support they get from fans who cheer them on.
“So, I hope you all can gain confidence from us, too. Don’t forget that Gfriend is always here for you.”