By Charlene Chua

WOULD you pay hundreds of dollars for a fleeting meeting with your idol?

You could score a handshake, hug, autograph, and have your photo taken with your favourite Korean star, but only if you're lucky.

Over the past year, thousands of local fans have happily forked out money to attend organised fan gatherings with Korean stars such as actor Lee Min Ho and boyband FTIsland.

These ticketed fan meetings don't come cheap. It could cost between $100 and $250 for a Q&A session, a few song performances and maybe a handshake or hug.

Yet, K-pop fans The New Paper spoke to say the prices are reasonable.

Miss Juanita Goh, a 21-year-old university student, said: "At these meetings, instead of watching your idol from afar, most of the time we'll get to take pictures with them or shake their hand. They will sing too."

Such ticketed fan meetings are popular in Japan and Korea, but they caught on here only last year.

Lee, the star of hit Korean drama Boys Over Flowers, was the first to charge fans for a chance to meet him when he visited Singapore last December.

For tickets that cost between $98 and $148 - with the more expensive seats located nearer the stage - 1,800 fans got to listen to him talk about his preferences in women and food.

More than 10 fans were chosen through a lucky draw to go on stage at the Max Pavilion at the Singapore Expo where they were fed Korean snacks such as rice cakes by Lee.

Others managedto take pictures and hug him. Last June, the five-member group FT Island held a ticketed showcase at Mandopop lounge Dragonfly at St James Power Station where it performed 11 songs. Nearly 1,000 tickets costing $100 each were snapped up.

But when FT Island visited again in January this year, it held a fan meeting instead.

The set list was cut to five songs. This time, the $100 tickets allowed all 700 fans to receive a handshake from the boys.

Some fans even managed to steal hugs. .

Last month, Korean stars Jang Keun Suk and Kim Jun Ho, also known as Zuno, followed suit with ticketed fan meetings.

Tickets to Jang's event were priced at $168 and $250, while tickets to Zuno's cost $120and $150.

For Zuno, there were also fan club packages priced at $150, $180 and $280. This allowed fans a chance to win Zuno'sCDand get priority seating for the event. The latest group to follow the fad is Korean boyband Super Junior which will be in town tomorrow for a showcase.

Fans can only gain entry to the event if they are the first 800 to buy the new Samsung mobile phone with a SingTel plan.

Fan requests

So are organisers simply trying to cash in on the Korean wave?

Representatives of Unusual Entertainment and Datzentertainment - which brought in Lee, and FT Island and Jang respectively - said they were merely responding to fans' requests for such meetings.

Mr Bhakt Yap, chief operating officer of Quest Group Holdings, which brought in Zuno, said he believes the increase in idol Korean dramas has also contributed to the K-craze.

All three organisers attribute the craze to the success of hit Korean drama, Boys Over Flowers.

The show has been a regional hit and garnered top ratings per episode.

But Unusual Entertainment's spokesman admitted it was tough deciding whether to hold Lee's first fan meeting.

She said the company had already "tested the market here" by bringing in pop acts Rain and Shinhwa a few years back.

Their concerts were 80 per cent sold out.

"Due to the success of the concerts, we saw a possibility for a fan meeting. But bringing in Lee was still a calculated risk as he had been here two months before for promotional events," she said.

Last October, Lee had come to Singapore as Korean cosmetics brand Etude House's spokesman and was supposed to open its new outlet at Plaza Singapura.

The event was cancelled because of safety concerns after 800 fans swarmed the mall's walkways.

Lee, however, did make it for a closed door session at Etude House for 180 fans. Fans had to spend more than $200 on Etude House products to get a chance to win tickets to the event.

After that, Lee's fans flooded his Facebook page and fansite forums with pleas for him to visit Singapore again.

Sales figures for the four ticketed fan meetings have been encouraging.

All were more than 80 per cent sold, with up to 2,000 fans attending each session.

Now, the most in-demand names are Super Junior, WonderGirls, Shinee and SS501.

All three event organisers declined to reveal how muchit costs to bring a Korean artiste here.

But fans like 28-year-old sales manager Beverly Koh donotmindpaying for a chance to meet their idols.

She told The New Paper: "Fans (like me) are willing to pay...because it's very hard to see Korean stars...unlike celebrities from Taiwan and Hong Kong who often make appearances in Singapore."

Madam Tan Bee Leng, a 56-year-old housewife, paid $632 for her two daughters to attend Lee's and Jang's appearances.

She didn't think they were expensive as it "isn't often that one gets to get up close and personal with a Korean star".

Personal relations executive Miss Sophie, 36, said that paying up to $200 per fan meeting ticket was "still okay" and anything pricier had to be "justified" by freebies such as autographed merchandise.

Did they get their money's worth?

DEC 21, 2009: LEE MIN HO

Where: The Max Pavilion (Singapore Expo) Price: $188 (premiere seating and poster), $148, $98 Attendence: 1,800 Duration : 2 hours What all fans got: Q&A session, exclusive video clips, exclusive photos, games with fans, one song performance What selected fans got: Getting hugged, fed and a phone call.

JAN 30: FT ISLAND

Where: Dragonfly (St James Power Station) Price: $150 (free-standing and an autograph-signing event), $100 Attendence: 700 Duration: 1 hour What all fans got: Q&A session, five song performances, games with fans and a handshake What selected fans got: Two mobile phones for winners of the games

APRIL 24: JANG KEUN SUK

Where: Rock Auditorium (Suntec City Mall) Price: $250 (VIP Ticket - priority seating and an autograph-signing event), $168 Attendence: 1,200 Duration: 2 hours What all fans got: Q&A session, rehearsal videos, his childhood pictures, four song performances What selected fans got: Getting hugged, serenaded, presented with flowers and a phone call

MAY 1: KIM JUN HO (ZUNO)

Where: Resorts World Convention Centre Price: $150, $120 and fan club packages at $280, $180, $150 (includes a CD, priority seating, group photo-taking session) Attendence: 2,400 Duration: 1 hour What all fans got: Q&A session, rehearsal videos, 5 song performances What selected fans got: Getting serenaded

-TNP