'We almost passed out with joy'

Kim Jong Kook mania descended on Malaysia's Petaling Jaya last weekend.

And two of his Singaporean fans, who missed out on what they call his "sexy everything" last year, finally got a glimpse of his droolworthy abs.

When the popular Korean singer and star of variety show Running Man came here last February for his first Singapore fan meeting, sisters Tiffany, 18 and Daphne Tan, 20, who could not get tickets to his sold-out showcase, camped outside gig venue Kallang Theatre just to catch a glimpse of him.

But the pair were unsuccessful.

To realise their dream this year, they forked out $1,000 in total to travel to Petaling Jaya last Saturday for a chance to see their idol and ended up scoring more eye candy than they had bargained for.

At the grand opening of Encorp Strand Mall, where Kim sang his hits at the hour-long free event, the sisters said they almost "passed out with joy" when they eventually met him face-to-abs.

Kim, 38, was belting his signature song Loveable when his male dancer suddenly grabbed him from behind and started unzipping his shirt.

Looking embarrassed, Kim tried to zip himself up quickly, but was hampered by gifts from fans that he was holding.

The 2,000-strong crowd, which included fans from Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, screamed and pandemonium erupted.

A horde of them, including mothers with their toddlers in tow, forced open the barricade and crashed the media area.

The crowd surged, doing everything they could to get close to the stage.

Student Tiffany, who was one of the gate-crashers, told The New Paper: "I did what I had to do and I have no regrets.

"When (Kim) sang in his beautiful high voice, my heart melted. And that on top of him exposing his abs... I can gush about this forever.

"He's famous for being shy about flaunting his body and seldom does it.

"This more than makes up for what happened to us last year."

Kim's fans had a scare a few days before the event when Korean media reported that he had been admitted to a hospital in his home country due to a virus.

HIGHLIGHT

His showcase had after all been sold as the highlight of the opening of the Encorp Strand Mall, which recently won the 5-Star Best Retail Architecture (Malaysia) award in innovative architectural design at the Asia Pacific Property Awards 2014.

The soft-spoken crooner told the crowd at the mall in English: "I got better, thank you guys. It wasn't that serious."

Kim added that he was in good health now and will be performing in a concert in Beijing on Saturday.

And on July 12, he will head to California to perform at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.

The emcee then asked him about his love life, to which he replied that he is still single.

Said Kim: "Yeah, I've got to meet the right girl to marry. Not yet.

"My ideal girl?

"I like girls who are healthy (and who are) not so skinny."

Kim's flawless rendition of his most famous ballads, Men Are All Like That and One Man, scored major points with the enamoured audience.

Many fans, who had brought gifts such as flowers and drawings for their idol, started holding them up hoping that he would take them.

Kim took most of them and gestured to them individually to seek their permission before he put them backstage, prompting some of them to scream, "I love you", in Korean.

Said Daphne, a tutor: "It's sad that we can't afford to go far to see him.

"It really ended too soon. I can't wait for when he next comes to Singapore."

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My ideal girl? I like girls who are healthy (and who are) not so skinny.

- Kim Jong Kook on his future love interest