#The Yeollipop: November 2010

ALL ABOUT HAN GENG.

dedicated to the one-and-only Chinese pop star, Han Geng, the only Chinese member of the 13-man Korean boyband Super Junior. Well-known for his exceptional, versatile dancing skills, smile, and genuine character, he is also the leader of its Mandarin subunit, Super Junior M, and is wildly popular in his home country of China.
Keep in mind; what you are about to read is the true story of a truly extraordinary person.

Han Geng was born on February 9, 1984 in a snowy city called Mudanjiang, located in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province. He’s the only son in his family. Han Geng began dancing starting from a young age, later being accepted into Minzu University of China.
At the age of 13, Han Geng left Mudanjiang for the capital city of Beijing to study dance. At that time, Han Geng’s family was in a real financial pinch. His parents had both lost their jobs, and they didn’t have much money anyway from the beginning. Unable to pay for the tuition, Han Geng tried to find work in Beijing, but it was insufficient. He was forced to go to Shenzhen to find jobs to pay for tuition. He brought with him his personal savings from Beijing. By the time Han Geng arrived in Shenzhen, he had on him a total of only around 100 RMB. In US dollars, that’s only around $15. Pretty much penniless, he performed with a local dance troupe to earn wages.
Then, in 2001, the golden oppurtunity came, something that could lift Han Geng out of a modern day, seemingly hopeless Cinderella story. Encouraged by a friend, Han Geng signed up to audition for SM Entertainment. The competition was absolutely brutal. Out of 3,000 applicants, only a few, perhaps 2 or 3, would be chosen. Undaunted, Han Geng went through with his auditions, majorly impressing the judges. In 2002, he was notified that he was one of those accepted applicant from China that year.
Han Geng continued to work side jobs, however, so he could pay for college tuition, such as working briefly as a cameo actor in films. Finally, he graduated from Minzu University and shortly after, went by himself to Korea, where he was given basic lessons in singing, dancing, acting, and the Korean language. The training was intense, and along with the additional reading, writing, and speaking lessons in Korean, the stress piled up fast. It proved to be too unbearable for the two other Chinese trainees - they dropped out of the SM program, unable to keep up.
In an interview a few years later, Han Geng would confess that at times, he did consider giving up as well. He admitted that he missed his mother and would often cry at night, still young and by himself in a foreign country with no help, and it was indeed a very painful experience. He called his mother often, and she told him if it was too hard for him in Korea, then he could come back to China. One time, he even fractured a bone while practicing his dance, but did not notice until later because he was so busy. Not wanting to worry his mother, he never told her about it. But despite the hardships, Han Geng refused to give up after coming so far and continued to push forward with his training.
Finally, he was placed in the new boyband Super Junior with 11 other members (the 13th would later be added as well). Han Geng first debuted alongside close friend and bandmate Choi Siwon to the Korean media in May 2005 as a runway model for a show arranged by Bum Suk.

In 2005, Super Junior officially debuted. With their highly successful first single “Twins (Knock Out)”, the sales of their first album amounted to #3 on the charts. He had developed closed friendships with his bandmates, most notably with Kim Heechul and Choi Siwon (Siwon would later reveal that he and Han Geng had decided to become “sworn brothers”) in the way that Super Junior is famous for. However, the hard times were far from over.
Because he was not a Korean, Han Geng was forbidden from performing on all but two Korean TV stations, KBS and SBS. A visa issue left him hanging. But being one of the core dancers of the “Twins (Knock Out)” routine, if Han Geng was to not perform, the entire performance would be thrown completely off. And it was too late to rearrange it. Unwilling to let disaster befall Super Junior, Han Geng, determined, simply donned a random mask found at the studio (later, he reported he could hardly even breathe while wearing it), and took the stage with the rest of Super Junior.
He performed with the mask several times. Many fans even believed him to be a backup dancer. If no one could see his face, then how would he be able to shine in a group of 11 (Kyuhyun had not yet been added) other extremely talented boys? Language barriers also constantly were a problem that he struggled with. He put much effort into improving his Korean, not wanting to be an embarassment to his bandmates. Finally, three months after that first performance with the mask, a bandmate (Kim Heechul) decided to take action. Despite Han Geng’s fear of being discovered and forcibly removed from Korea, Heechul publicly removed his mask, and for the first time it was revealed to the media who that dancer behind the mask was.
Fortunately, the performance restriction on foreigners was lifted shortly after, so Han Geng was free to perform anywhere, everywhere, and anytime. He soon became known to fans both in Korea and abroad as being a hard-working, honest, and diligent individual.

In April of 2008, Super Junior M debuted in China as Super Junior’s 7-member Mandarin subgroup. Appointed as leader, Han Geng worked twice as hard to ensure that the two new Chinese members, Henry and Zhou Mi, felt welcome, and helped the four other original Korean members, Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook, and Kyuhyun with their Mandarin so they would not suffer like he had in Korea with an unfamiliar language.
Super Junior M was a phenomenal success in China, becoming one of, if not the most, widely popular performing groups in China. They also achieved success in nearby Taiwan and Hong Kong. Many Chinese fans already knew of Han Geng and Super Junior via internet and TV, so they already had a strong following since their debut album “Me” was first released. Han Geng quickly became known throughout the country to many fans as “China’s Sweetheart” because of his famous endearing smile, gentle laugh, sweet personality, and “Mama’s boy” reputation, along with with his hard-working nature and the manner in which he would always remember his identity and home country even when working in Korea. He also became known as “umma” to many Chinese fans because of the almost “motherly” way in which he would care for his fellow bandmates, both on and off stage.

His career expanded even more as he was brought onto both the big screen and small screen, playing a small part in the Korean film Attack on the Pin-Up Boys and appearing in Zhang Li Yin’s MV’s for Timeless and I Will, starring alongside bandmate Choi Siwon and labelmate Lee Yeonhee. He finally was given the main role in the Chinese drama Stage of Youth, which was based loosely off of his own experience with his struggles in China. Furthermore, Han Geng, along with other Super Junior and Super Junior M members, made various appearances on TV shows all over China and Korea. Han Geng and the rest Super Junior M would also be invited to endorse and film commercials for brands ranging from clothing to eyedrops to Pepsi.

2008 was a critical year for Han Geng because not only did it mark the debut of Super Junior M, but in addition, it also marked the year of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Han Geng was selected to be an Olympic torchbearer. He also performed songs with other Chinese celebrities, including labelmate Zhang Li Yin, in various Olympic ceremonies. His place in the hearts of the Chinese population had become firmly cemented as his popularity continued to rise.

In March 2009, Super Junior released their phenomenal hit single “Sorry, Sorry” followed by “It’s You.” “Sorry, Sorry” was huge. It topped charts all over Asia and brought in record album sales. The album also brought the group many prestigious awards. In September of the same year, Super Junior M also made their long-awaited comeback with “Super Girl,” which also achieved great sucess on Mandarin-language charts. With its infectious tune and infamously catchy lyrics, “Super Girl” became a hit among Mandarin-speaking fans.

Things looked like they were pretty damn good for Han Geng. A poor boy from one of China’s coldest and snowiest regions who loved to dance had finally found his place in the world.
But little did the fans know, how much he was still suffering behind the famous smile.

In December of 2009, a few days before Christmas, it was officially confirmed that Han Geng had filed for termination of his contract with SM Entertainment. It was revealed that he had been put under too much pressure and too much stress. He was exhausted and overworked even through severe health problems ranging from gastritis to kidney illnesses that resulted from this. His declining health was a dirty little secret that had been kept by the company. One time, before taking the stage for a Super Junior M performance in China, Han Geng suddenly collapsed. Although he was in agonizing pain, an ambulance was not called for. All he could do was hold onto his friend/bandmate Choi Siwon for dear life, according to an eyewitness report given by a CCTV worker that was present; and that was the only form of comfort he was given during that incident. Despite protests from workers and bandmates, Han Geng was told to get on stage anyway.
He had not been given a rest day in over 2 years and had been forbidden from returning to China outside of promotional activities, so he had been unable to see his mother. He had been abused by the company through threats of ridiculously high fines for even the smallest act of disobedience. His pay was dismally low - so low, in fact, that he became known as “The Poorest Star in China”. In short, he pretty much had no rights. It was not until after news of the case had surfaced that fans were finally aware of the reality and Han Geng’s condition.
At this point in time, Han Geng is still fighting in Seoul courts for his own rights that have been allegedly violated by SM Entertainment.

In any case, though, Han Geng is truly an inspiration and a role model to the youth of all over the world. Hard-working and generous (he donated nearly all of his 2008 earnings to victims of the Sichuan Earthquake), talented, loving, respectful, soft-spoken, and as filial as Siwon is religious (He admitted that his motivation for working hard is so he can help his parents live good lives, and he regularly uses his own earnings to help his mother with her restaurant business) Han Geng is really one of the few genuine celebrities out there today that we can look up to. No matter what happens in his contract termination case, he will always be “China’s Sweetheart,” and his numerous fans will always support him through thick and thin.