Korean High-Schooler to Grace Giant Tokyo Posters

Nov 1, 2006

The Korean actress Ara is set to become a star in Japan, with the Sankei Sports daily already running a full feature on her advertising venture in the land of the rising sun. "Korea’s new star Ara will be covering Tokyo in the form of 53 large billboards," the daily said. According to the paper, starting from Wednesday, 53 of the 4 m by 3 m signboards will be put up in some 30 locations in the downtown area. Making use of teaser advertising, the signboards show her picture and homepage address, evoking curiosity about who she is. Through the end of this year, two more new PR signboards will follow.

The method is similar to the one used for BoA, who has now grown into a megastar in Japan. Like BoA, Ara is attached to SM Entertainment, which successfully paved BoA’s way to Japan with a shrewd image management.

Ara will not make her debut in Japan until next March. She won the role of Kulan, the lover of Genghis Khan, in a co-production between Mongolia and Japan titled "The Blue Wolf – To the Ends of the Earth and Sea." In the competition, the odds were as steep as 1:40,000. "I’ve been dreaming of my picture hanging in Tokyo like other Korean Wave stars," Ara told the paper. "I’m really happy my dream came true this early." She is described as "Korea’s new queen of commercials." Although only in her first year of high school, she started her career as a model at the age of 13 and appeared in a TV drama last year.
Source: englishnews@chosun.com

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200611/200611010003.html