How Did Foreign Idol Stars Spend Lunar New Year?

According to Korean tradition, Lunar New Year is a day when people dress in hanbok (Korean traditional clothing), gather with family, and eat ddukguk (rice cake soup). It could get a little lonely for the foreign idols. So how exactly did some foreign idols spend their Lunar New Year?

Half of the members of rookie group GOT7 are foreigners. Mark is from the U.S., Jackson is from Hong Kong, and Bam Bam is from Thailand. According to a rep from JYP Entertainment, “The foreign members of GOT7 will remain in Korea and fulfill their activities. Since the members live together, they will be eating ddukguk together.”

Members of BTOB, who played an active role in this year’s MBC’s “Idol Star Athletics Championships,” spend every holiday together. Peniel, the only foreign member in the group, spends holidays having fun with his group members. This year, they spent watching “Idol Star Athletics Championships” together while eating ddukguk.

EXO, who swept the K-Pop world last year, earned some time off for Lunar New Year. Fortunately, the foreign members, Kris, Tao, Luhan, and Lay were able to go back to their hometowns to spend time with their families. Fellow label mate, f(x)’s Amber, also was given vacation days to spend the holiday with her family and friends in the U.S.

Girl group Fiestar’s foreign members, Cheska and Cao Lu also got to spend the holiday with family. Cheska sent a message to a Korean media outlet saying, “I’m spending a good time with my mother and father. I’m in the U.S. watching movies with my parents and eating home-cooked meals. I’m 21 years old in the U.S., so I planned on going to Las Vegas with my parents to play some casino games, but I feel a little bit disappointed because I only have six days. I hope to come back next year. My parents moved into a new house, and I was happy to see the new house. I plan on spending lots of time with my parents and eat all the things I didn’t get to eat in Korea!”

Before Cao Lu left for China, she left a message saying, “I plan on spending time with my parents in China. On the first day, I will buy Chinese snacks and ramyun the members like. On the second day, I’m going to watch ‘New Year Gala.’ In China, people watch the ‘New Year Gala’ every Lunar Near Year. This year, Lee Min Ho sunbae will be on, so I’ll make sure to watch it. On the third day, I want to go shopping with my parents and watch a movie, and on the fourth day, I want to meet my friends for coffee and chat. This year, I want to make my mom ddukbokki (rice cakes spicy sauce). She loves ddukbokki, so I learned how to make it from the Fiestar members. Happy New Year everyone! Wish you the best in 2014.”

Henry, member of Super Junior M, also received vacation days like other members in the SM family. However, he did not go back home. He decided to spend the holiday with his friends. A rep from SM stated, “Henry plans on spending Lunar New Year in Korea and eatting ddukguk with friends.”

C-Clown’s leader Rome is an Australian citizen. Before the holiday, Rome said, “I don’t think I’ll be going to Australia. I’ll be spending Lunar New Year at my aunt’s house. I’ll be eating ddukguk with relatives and also age another year I don’t want to gain. I’ll also be imagining C-Clown’s comeback, which will happen soon.”

2PM’s Nichkuhn spent Lunar New Year with other 2PM members in Japan. On January 27 and 28, 2PM held its arena tour in Nagoya. The tour will continue until the end of March making stops in five cities in Japan. On January 29, 2PM’s third album “Genesis of 2PM” was released, and rose to the No. 1 spot on the Oricon Chart on the day of the release adding to Nichkuhn’s Lunar New Year celebration.

f(x)’s leader Victoria is in the midst of filming for her drama in China titled “Cocoon Town Legend.” In an interview with a Chinese media outlet, she revealed, “I really like my character Du Chun. She and I have many things in common. I’ll do my best not to disappoint the viewers.”