[Hamtastic] Human Theater: Han-never-heard/seen's Sufferings


izAkly

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This is an interpreted translation done directly by myself.
This is an old post which came out after Honey winning the first places.
It was written by a Girls Generation fan, not a KARA fan, in a 1st person view; when the post says "I" or "Myself" It is referring to the author of the post himself not myself who's translating this post(izAkly).
The original post is 한듣보의 개고생


When I listen to "Pretty Girl" by KARA, I feel like Seungyeon is talking about herself that it makes my eyes teary.


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Livelihood-type-idol, Han-Never-Heard or seen, etc. An adorable girl who has nicknames that are almost equivalent to the measure of an insult.
It's no one but Seungyeon Han herself. She's also known as the Potent-Hamster.


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You can see that she was a studious person who was qualified to attend to Tenafly High School as a transfer student from Korea.
But, because she wanted to become a singer, she drops out of High School and takes the exit exam.
Afterwords, she takes the college entrance exam and enters Kyunghee University's Theater and Film Dept.
Before her decision to become a star she was originally studying to become a doctor.
It's all a past story... but...

The Birth of the Livelihood-Type-Idol.


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After all that trouble, of all the places out there, she enters DSP.
Although the company was and is famous for producing Sechskiss, Fin.K.L, and SS501, as a production company they have lost their leadership.
If you would say Mnet's production is something to look forward for, DSP, in comparison, is just a so-so company.

KARA releases their 1st album! DSP claims them the successors of Fin.K.L or the "new" Fin.K.L(what?)
... and they failed.
They released 3 songs, but I don't remember a single one of them.
Their sales rate is so low that the company decides to publicize them through a TV show called Show-vival.
But it is surely hard to see them in the show... They get abandoned in the middle of Kyungchun Highway, their seat-belt comes off and they trip over them and what not...

They go into a break with the excuse of members' college entrance exam(Including Seungyeon's high school exit exam) but it's not that hard to know that the real reason is because they weren't successful.

From HERE, Seungyeon's Human Theater starts. Her bloody fight for the team's survival.

With the entrance exam coming near, October of 2007, Seungyeon starts to appear on cable-TV. And it's not even that big of a deal; she starts appearing on MSL Break. (At that time I didn't even know that she was a singer)
An idol star to be in a cable-TV Game program hostess position. Wonder Girls appeared on Keroro-fighter before, but this was a completely different case.
There were many stories about this, but to sum it up, it's quite tragic.
If you can see an edited version of Seungyeon's appearances in MSL break, you can tell she starts losing weight… maybe she couldn't even eat as much as she should. Well, in the other hand her pronunciation on "break" was getting better...?

One after another, while she's fighting so hard to keep the members alive, KARA's main vocal/best visual appearance Sunghee Kim has been dropped from the team.
Seungyeon's suffering doesn't end just there, but it only gets deeper.


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Finally, after recruiting a couple of new members they were able to come back with a minialbum called "Rock U" but…
Someone's remade version Hak-kyo-bbak-sseh(School's too hard) was far more well known than the original song it self. But at least "Rock U" became a bit more known to the public through it.

Finally she enters as a hostess on a music-related program called SoSoGaBaek, but due to some weird pictures taken by her host/partner she got curled up in some controversy.

Well, should we say a "glorious victory", she receives an honor to enter I Need A Family season 2.


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How are the other members' living? Well, do we really need an explanation?
It's understandable that all companies aren't doing well, but it's far more critical on DSP's side; so-called "Idol-dorm" there's not a single television.


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Caption:
"At our house, we have no cable TV"

This picture is after Hara was recruited, but how could there be a TV that small? (It's almost the same size as the TV I bought back in '98).
On top of that, they didn't even have cable so Seungyeon wasn't able to monitor herself(in MSL Break).

Are they even fed well? Seungyeon has no time to worry about her images during the TV-show. Even during SSGB whenever there's food her hands just didn't know how to stop.


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There's a story about how she wasn't able to attend to an End-of-the-year-music program so she just sat in her house and ate instant noodles… the brighter side of that story is that she was able to eat TWO packages instead of one.

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Caption:
After purchasing the apple
The man leaves the spot to get Suengyeon's change
Seungyeon secretly puts an apple into the plastic bag.
Ms. Seungyeon!
The apple rolled into the bag(by itself).

Maybe that's why she looks so natural secretly taking another apple from a store.
Things like these shouldn't be so natural, and especially when it's on a public television.

The humiliations of Han-Never-Heard or Seen

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Caption:
Maybe I can give Donghyun an autograph?
He's more famous!


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Caption:
Sir, do you know this girl?
Do you know Wonder Girls?
Of course I know Wonder Girls
Ask your children if they know KARA
Is she talking about Sohee?

Well, those are some examples. Yes, it's understandable that old folks don't know… by the way, why did the producer of the show have to make them ask anyways?
Maybe it was to publicize them a bit… anyways, public television sure is a rough road.


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Caption: Maknae Hanseungyeon(KARA)'s song

Occasionally they get her name wrong. At this time, she was 2nd eldest member in the group and they title her as the maknae(youngest) of the group.
They often refer to this as "noise-marketing". Well, through "The Humiliations of Seungyeon Han" she did become a bit more famous.
But this is no marketing, and what about the bruised-up heart of a girl who just tuned 21?

So called idol star even does this type of things… the Pottent-Ham(ster)
From the early moment she had to face economic challenges and be responsible for the team's survival.
And even through all these humiliating situations she never lost her smile.
To this little girl, there is a nickname; she's known as a "Hamster".
She was nick-named due to her cuteness just like a little hamster.
But rather this nickname was twisted and turned into the "Potent-Hamster"

There few are other nicknames such as Priestess-Ham, The Hamness(Like highness).
But this Pottent-Ham really doesn't match well with such an innocent face.
When you watch her on TV, there are many things that will make you think "Does she have to do even THAT?"


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To shout out loud "I'm a celebrity!" in a sauna… why did they make her do that? But she does it when and if she's told to.
It's not one of those "I'll do it even if it's dangerous", but she's standing strong and firm even if it seems embarrassing.


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Maybe it's due to the hardships they went through, all of the members start to work really hard.
Did she learn from Seungyeon or what? On a program called "My fist is crying" Hara says she's on such program for the first time and yet she's does her best.
Hara also received a new nickname due to this episode.


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But the power of the Pottent-Ham is right here.
The file name of this picture was "My boss told me to smile.jpg"
Now it's rather more cruel than it is tragic.
Anyone who has been to the military duty will know that doing the whole-body-twist 8 times is quite horrific.
But she's doing it with a SMILE on her face.
She's a living example of how challenging it is to become an idol star.

The power of fans even moves the broadcasting companies.


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Maybe it's due to Suengyeon being so active all over the place, even the fans have a bit of individuality compared to other fan clubs.
Without KARA members being aware of it they have discussed with the production company and the broadcasting station to start their "Rubber gloves cheer"
This was found so hilarious that the media went all over it.
KBS even invited 300 people just to broadcast this "Rubber gloves cheer". I give props to the members of Kamilia.
(Seungyeon also said that it was so hard to keep herself from laughing during the performance. Kamilia people are really something)

But the road of an idol star is still far.

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With the support of from the fans they release the second minialbum and started getting more popular.
Their final checkpoint "Winning the first place on a music program" is left.
They start getting pushed and pushed back again by Jiyoung Baek's "Like Being Shot by a Bullet" then they get friendly killed by SS501 from their own company.


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In fact, production companies usually don't do this foolish of a work to have two groups from one company compete for the first place.
Followed by SNSD winning the first place for 9 weeks. And on top of that Hara's pension controversy and Fanmeeting textmessage controversy…

Translator's Note:
Hara's Pension controversy: Hara was claimed that stayed in a pension together with another guy. This was a made up story which was caused by a picture Hara took with another guy during a MT trip.

Fanmeeting txtmessage controversy: During a fan meeting there was a screen on the wall showing text messages KARA got in live-time. This message was shown on the screen for everyone to see "Now, Hara next time we do it should I have a cond*m on"


What else can be more tragic than this. Poor things.

KARA wins the first place(like a flower blooms after a harsh winter...)


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Through all the difficulties, they are back active with "Honey(special ver.)" a repackage album of the 2nd minialbum.
And finally they win the first place. There were lots of words about how Mnet wasn't fair… and also it is considerable that I am a SNSD fan.
But like I've written so far, I have no complaints about poor Seungyeon receiving this trophy. To be honest I wish I could've given her a fighting-spirit-prize or something.


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These aren't tears dropped in respect of winning the first place. You can tell how much she suffered just by looking at these pictures, she is sobbing THAT much.
To go on an outing is what they are most looking forward to after winning the first place. You can tell that they weren't even fed well.
I wish DSP would feed them a lot during times like this


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.
And finally the first place on a national public tv program. She can't even cry anymore due all the critical hits she received from captures.
They start the encore stage while she's still blanked out, then the mic turns off all the sudden and her tears starts dripping again. I think I can understand that feeling.

"After Wonder Girls retreats, until SNSD comes back, we need to hit the ground running"
Seungyeon spoke during the interview when the 2nd minialbum "Pretty Girl" came out.


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Caption: *Shock* "where is the Wonder Girls office?"

"There's no one else who's more tragic than us here. We got three albums out and no one recognizes us"
"We saw some guys approaching so we thought they were our fans. Then they asked us where the Wonder Girls office is"

Although they just laughed it off you can tell that they can't hide the humilities they've been through.
Maybe the reason for having the least amount of Anti-fans is because they've stood their ground strong during their hardships.

KARA tends to have lots of young-adult fans. But most of these young adult fans are Seungyeon's fans.
If they simply like girls that are slim and fit they would like SNSD…

When I listen to the lyrics of "Pretty Girl" I've always felt like I was listening to Seungyeon's wishes.

It doesn't happen simply nor easily, but anyone can do it. There's no need to hesitate
I will never say "I can't do it"… I will always confidently walk out with a smile.

It's almost as if she wrote it down on her journal, that it makes me teary.

Now Seungyeon is many people's pretty girl herself. "Now everything is perfect"
I wish her great future.


Translated by Isaac Lee(www.youtube.com/izAkly)

It took me some time to translate this, but I figured everyone should read this if he or she is a Seungyeon's fan... or even a KARA fan.
I didn't check for any duplication of this post because I highly doubt anyone translated this, but if anyone did post this before my apologies for posting it again.
I'd say the most difficult part was re-uploading all those pictures, because Daum.net wouldn't allow me to link the pictures, haha. ^^;

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Wow, amazing!

After reading this, I can understand how hard for Kara to become now.

I've watched "The Teacher is Coming" and feel sorry for her. Why did they do that to her? It was made my heart hurt when seeing her cry.

Love Kara <3333

Kara and Seungyeon fighting <3333

Edited by Job
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Wow... just wow.

I knew that she worked really hard to publicize Kara by watching her tearful confession on 'Strong Heart', but I never knew that she went this far. :)

I came to this thread because Seungyeon has been my favourite Kara member since I first knew the group, and expected this thread to just be a report on her 'Strong Heart' confession, but it turns out to be even more tear-jerking than that!

Seungyeon really did so much for Kara and still managed to keep a smile on her face for all these years!

With all due respect to the other members - no wonder I thought Seungyeon outshone the rest in their 'Rock You' MV (the first MV that I saw of them).

I love Gyuri, Nicole, Hara and Jiyoung, but my favourite member will always be Seungyeon; just because of her fighting spirit and her winning smile.

KARA JJANG !

P/S: Rubber gloves as cheering utenstils? Great job, Kamilia. :D

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To not only persevere for so long, but to also do so without ever losing that bright smile. She is absolutely amazing. I can only hope that I can be that strong if faced with such trials.

Seungyeon fighting!

Edited by Fenris
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Aw. That story broke my heart. I never thought that KARA really tried to do their best to succeed.

I only gotten to know them through the Mr. era. :|

KARA jjang! Hwaiting!

Especially my Hammie Unnie.... Hwaiting!

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thx for translating this...really appreaciate this article

it really shows the reason why i admire seungyeon so much

this actually reminds me back when my fren ( a TS) asked me "why of so many groups in korea u decide to support n even become a kara's fan"

(to be frank, kara still yet to get the fame as like other girls/boy group espcially in malaysia n i don't usually become a fan of someone, so she's really curious)

surprisingly, though what make me try searching "KARA" this word in youtube or goggle is their special stage with BEG "how come + honey"

i actually answer her this :" i really admire how they are able to stay strong during hard times ,never give up n cn u imagine this ,the 2 88-unnies r same age as me..bt look at them how much they had went through n now they BEGIN to shine"

that's smtg i didn't tell my fren though, deep inside my heart

i believe, one day KARA will outshine everyone..yes...they r ONLY just begin to shine...is just a matter of time

one day when i go to malls to shop in malaysia...i'll hear KARA's song playing....i truefully waiting for the day to come =)

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Her ability to stay tough and fight through different kinds of hardship never ceases to amaze me. I knew she went through adversities just to keep KARA semi-popular in the beginning stages of their debut, but this article just breaks my heart because it goes deeper into just how much humility and criticism she faced. Even though she took blows for her team to get their names out to the public, I'm very grateful to Seung Yeon for having the passion to continue doing what she loves even with the initial adversity, and being able to help kara become what they're at now. Hammy you've touched me, as well as everyone else. I'll always your confidence and your ability to place a smile on your face regardless of the given situation.

You have the strongest heart IMO and I'll be supporting you all the way :( Hammy hwaiting!

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omg!

i can't stop my tears when i've read this..

i've also watch my teacher is coming and hammie really did cry hard there...

even in the awarding of their honey, when they got the first place...

hammie's a real great person...

willing to fight for what she wants...

hope all the kara members are also doing their best to uphold what hammie had started...

they are the best group for me and hammie is the best korean singer/performer...for all times...

thank you for this article about hammie...

i appreciate her before, now, i appreciate and respect her more...

continue being strong and happy our Seungyeon...

we are here supporting you...

i'll forever pray for your health, happiness and everything else...

love you our, SY!

p.s.

hope SY could read this...

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Seungyeon did so many things to the band..

She contributed a lot.. && it's all paid off now.

When you look back at how SY worked sooo hard to make KARA popular.. it brings tears to my eyes.

I have never heard of an idol working sooo hard to make their name go up..

Even though there are many bands today.. SNSD, T-ara, Wondergirls, 2NE1, f(x).. which are all very popular girl-groups..

Seungyeon is still a true winner. She works hard till the end.

Sure SNSD may have more album sales or a larger fanbase..but SY's hardwork is truely outstanding..

&&yes, when I watched, "The Teacher Is Coming" I literally had tears in my eyes..

I felt really bad for SY.

Especially on Strong Heart too, when she explained all the hardships she went through just to increase KARA's status.

You do not believe what she has done for this band.

That's why SY was my first favorite in KARA, and still is..

I respect her so much and I hope she's healthy and happy at her dorm.

SY truely is a hardworking girl and yes, I do agree...

SY should read this article so she can look back at all those times and where she is now (:

I know that this is totally off-topic.. but she has an extremely cute eye-smile that always brightens my day up ^^ Her voice is so melting.. && her short height is so adorable <3 Hamster FTW (x

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I know that my grammar will be terrible in this..but i really need to post at this thread...

Honestly speaking, this is my first tear in KH when i read this article..

Behind her cheerful and bright personality, her smile hide all the suffering that she faced.

She's really hardworking to ensure that Kara will not falling down although she don't have enough support from the citizens..

I really proud of her because her determination to achieve her dream to become an idol was very strong although she have a very nice and bright future due to her good (or perfect) academic results..

However, thanks to her hardship, Kara become one of the topnotch girls group nowadays and gain more success..

thanks to her too, because without Kara's determination in their debut era, I will never get a chance to know them..

My love to Kara become more deep because of this article..

Seungyeon noona, start from now, you are officially become one of my role model..

*ps: sorry again for the terrible grammar..

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:D I gonna love Kara more then ever now ... Hammy is a great person with hi-determination , love her a lot...

geez... my eyes are tearing ...

thx for the translate and letting me understand more ~

KARA ! Fighting !

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It is one of the main reasons I love KARA so much !

Thing has not been easy for them before being able to come where they are now

They went through so many hardship but never give up to realize their dream

KARA is a model to follow !!!!

There are indeed so many sucessful girl groups today

But KARA appears to me as the one who has worked the hardest

And deserve the most their fame

Because things were easier for the others

SeungYeon is a hardworking person who have always given her best

She did a lot for KARA to survive

That's how she won my respect and my love

And it's also why I become angry each time I read people bashing her

Because these people don't even try to know the amazing person she is

They just start to attack her because of some little mistake that every human can do

SeungYeon is on of the greatest person I know

And she deserves respect and love from people

Edited by Solin
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this is the reason why i'm loving karaholic.

it's because of you guys that are sympathizing and truly loving every Kara members, especially Seungyeon unnie...

@radenoactive- it really doesn't matter if your grammar is not that good...

or this maybe applicable for everyone also, even myself...

what i think is important is that we do know that our idols give much of their efforts and we appreciate them...

and that we know how to tell them that we love them...

and that we'll keep loving and supporting them until they need us to be there at their sides....

i surely will stay at Seungyeon unnie's side to support and pray for her...

she has my heart...as her fan, as her younger sister even though she doesn't know me..and as an angel always praying for her...

to ALL: thank you guys for loving Seungyeon unnie!!!

please continue your support and love for her...and every Kara members... :teary:

~maraming salamat!!! :gemheart::thankful:

btw, she'll be celebrating her birthday this month right???

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That's good topic.....

I'm really happy now that seungyeon and kara is really getting MORE attention....

I think the deserve all of those success.....

after experiencing all of those challenges......

Kara and Kamilia Fighting!!!!!!!

:D

Edited by MIKee
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Thanks thanks thanks so much for translating this! This guy should take a part time job as Kara historian, cause his/her research is pretty extensive. Though during parts of the narrative I felt the original author started pouring gallons of pity a bit too liberally (as our Ham would say, "Ya! I didn't do all of this so people can pity us. I want to get recognition for the success we reaped through hard work, not pity change in a beggar's cup."), it was really well written, and just shows the hard work Ham has been through and how even we Kamilia were positively affected by it. I am proud to be a fan of the most determined group out there. We are truly not one time blooming delicate flowers, but instead tough perennials that blossom even more beautifully after a harsh winter. :lol:

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Including SeungYeon, I think all of them have been through many hardships .___.

especially SeungYeon & Goo Hara

I never really realized it from this point of view...the eating thing really disturbed me :x

I remember watching the TAXI show and this guy had one thing to say to KARA and he told them to gain weight .

It must be confusing for them.

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I keep typing and then deleting my post. Too many emotions and thoughts pouring out at once.

Firstly thank you so much for translating this touching story. My heart feels like wrenched.

Though I'm confused at the part where he mentioned her nicknames' meaning, but overall I get the story idea.

Its also so surprising that he's a Sone.. "oh seriouslyy?!", was I thinking..

I've always acknowledged of Seungyeon's efforts and hardwork.. majorly thanks to her KARA was able to survive on the public's mind.

But I blame my limited Korean, and my stupid ignorance in the past I honestly didnt know about all these details.

(though seriously the write does sound pity the girl too much, unnecessarily lol)

Omg you have amazed me Ham <3

Maybe that's why she looks so natural secretly taking another apple from a store.

Things like these shouldn't be so natural, and especially when it's on a public television.

It was scripted, wasnt it? lol

This is my personal opinion, but I often find Korean variety programs ungainly and cruel. The PDs and MCs don't mind embarassing and bringing down people to cause (bitter) laughters. If you're from western cultures you may find it no problem at all, but given this is an asian country with a very sensitive culture, its such an odd contradiction to me lol lucky for them who are holding the power, good idol girls and boys are willing to take it if they are told to, just for the sake of their group popularity.

I believe when she dropped her initial plan for a medical degree, she couldnt have seen her road as an idol could be that tough.

But the strong girl still showed endless efforts. Seungyeon and KARA overall are so admirable :) I'm proud to be a Kamilia <3

My heart nevers falls for artists that climb to the top through a silky way. It holds true again when I find myself a pure Kamilia. This is why I love them <3 A lot of groups were seen giving up after their first failure, but KARA was so determined, they had faith, and they made it! Its fair to say that KARA shouldnt have any anti because their popularity nowadays are from neither mere lucks nor back up by a rich company but their best hardest work and determination!!!!

And it's also why I become angry each time I read people bashing her

Because these people don't even try to know the amazing person she is

They just start to attack her because of some little mistake that every human can do

WORDS! <3

People know there are so many scripts in such programs but just ignore and bash the artists, who have no other choice. I feel so bad that Seungyeon could not expose her real great personalities. "How can you keep that shining smile all the way? Isnt that tiring and frustrating?".. She's one of those that deserve the most respect and love.

Oh I miss her =(

She appeared the most during the difficult time and suffered how it is like when you're an unknown artist.

Now when KARA's got certain glory, she's like MIA in individual activities. I should be happy or not? lol

///

p.s KAMILIA AND RUBBER GLOVES PWNED ALL TIME LOOL!!!! :o

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awww.. you're really strong seungyeon.

this one really broke my heart. huhuhuhu,

i'm already teary now after reading it.

it only showed that KARA is really important to seungyeon for doing such lot of things to make them popular.

HAN SEUNGYEON! we will always support you and protect you. hehehe!

SEUNGYEON FOREVER and KARA FOREVER~~!

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