The KARA Spring takes off in Japan as girl group tours six cities

KARA kicked off the Japanese leg of its Asian tour “Karasia” on Saturday in Yokohama. The band moves on to Nagoya for shows on Wednesday and Thursday followed by performances in Osaka, Fukuoka, Tokyo and Saitama, keeping the girl group busy until late May.

In all, KARA will visit six cities in Japan and perform in front of more than 130,000 fans. 

The girl group held a press conference ahead of its Yokohama concert and talked about the upcoming tour, including the difficulty in performing so many shows in front of such large audiences.

“It’s been five years since we made our debut,” Seung-yeon said. “We’ve improved a lot, but there were difficult times too. We gave it our best and there were times when we were absolutely exhausted. But we needed to go through those difficult moments to get to where we are now.”

The “Karasia” tour began in Seoul on Feb. 18 and will take the group to Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand.

IU to hold first solo concert tour

Teen singer IU will hold her first solo tour since her debut four years ago. The singer’s agency announced on Friday that the star will tour six cities nationwide starting with Seoul. The concert, titled “Real Fantasy,” combines elements of fantasy and reality as IU belts out her hits.

In order to draw attention to the quality of the performance, concerts will be held in midsize theaters instead of in stadiums or large-scale concert halls.

“IU wanted to repay the love that she’s received from her fans over the years,” a representative from her agency, Loen Entertainment, said. “She’s taking part in all stages of preproduction, and it was her desire to go to all the different cities.” 

After kicking off the show in Seoul, the singing sensation will make her way to Ulsan; Jeonju, North Jeolla; Suwon, Gyeonggi; Busan; and Daegu. 

The agency promises that fans will be in for a treat, as “IU’s passion and authenticity as a singer will be clear for all to see at the show.”

Tickets for the Seoul performance will go on sale starting April 17