Judge a magazine by its cover –a twist on the proverbial quote “don’t judge a book by its cover”. The reader is attracted to the familiar face against the glossy and colorful cover page. That is what cover girls or boys do as if to say …”come read me, know more about me”. That was also Kim Hyun Joong’s invitation on at least 13 print magazine covers from 2009 to early 2011 where he became its cover boy. His beautiful smile, handsome features, intense gaze and teasing stance led the reader to open the pages with the expectation to find more exciting information inside. These magazines are Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian. He started appearing on the cover page of a Chinese magazine as early as 2006 with the other SS501 members, a year after they formally debuted as entertainment artists. Several more magazine covers with the SS501 members followed thereafter. Familiarity with Hyun Joong gracing the cover page did not end there, for many magazines ran articles about him with pictures even if there is another celebrity on its cover.
What makes a celebrity land on the cover page of a magazine? It is mostly editorial decision. As ASTA magazine chief editor Jeon Jung Hwa revealed it, in its April 2009 edition when Hyun Joong was featured together with the SS501, the magazine stalls were emptied after 4 days and they had to order a reprint. Certainly, the magazine did not run out of copy for nothing. As a result the magazine decided in the following month of May, to have a double cover issue of lee Min Ho and Kim Hyun Joong. Now magazines know Hyun Joong is worth his weight in gold.
In general ,there are many factors why editorial decision weigh in favor of a certain celebrity for its cover page .Some of these are the current projects of the celebrity , gossips ,the unquenchable thirst about the happenings to a favorite star, love life , entertainment issues , celebrity fashion trend , behind the scenes of past and ongoing television series, stage presentation ,movies and other activities ,themes or concepts for the month or so .But the bottom line is ,as the magazine’s mantra says ,’the popular one who can increase readership belongs to our cover page’.
For the celebrity, being on the cover means having more media exposure. It means stabilizing, maintaining, strengthening one’s name and face recall in the fickle world of celebrity worship where fame may also evaporate overnight. Talent management companies of course benefit from these exposure as well as any project the celebrity is in at present .These entertainment magazines also need the celebrity as they are their raison d etre or reason for existence . And consumption wise, the magazines must be able to satisfy what consumers want for them to continue patronizing and become its avid subscriber .Woe is to the magazine that languishes on the magazine stands on stores for lack of interested buyers.
Hyun Joong started to be featured on his own merit in cover pages of magazines after BOF attained popularity in 2009 in Korea and the rest of Asia. It also helped that he was in many commercials and a prolific fashion model. His next drama PK and the numerous activities such as fan meets, photo book shootings and the BOF alumni meet brought him to many countries resulting to the widening and strengthening of his fan base. These continuous events were not without interruptions but they only made Hyun Joong the more interesting and attractive figure to shadow.
For a cover boy like Hyun Joong who is probably sensitive to what his adoring public wants is in the know on what he has to do. He must know that to continue being in the public eye is to remain visibly sparkling and remain at the center of the fans’ universe (did he not call himself god of the universe? See? ). Sometimes, for the sake of being talked about a hint of maelstrom if handled properly could be beneficial. His interviews and online messages are mostly twice, thrice read and always analyzed for any hidden meaning or hint as to his love life, for example, which remains a mystery to this day. Outside of that, maintaining the attention of the fans is expected to come from the varied works he promised to be in the offing such as his solo album, next drama and movie and his ever changing looks that set the fashion trends. Fans’ expectations are very high and the missing –in –action alert that served as the lookout for any news on him continuously stoked the fire in his fireplace. The dearth on Hyun Joong news had resulted in acute intense longing that fans are now resorting to re watching his old shows and programs. This is where magazines can step in to bring relief to the parched fan minds. I am betting my last hard earned cent , the PK fan meet in Japan this coming March will be well covered by media enough to fill a lot of magazine covers and pages .
But Hyun Joong is also well entrenched (or enthroned) on many blogs including ours of course, hyunniespexers.wordpress.com almost rivaling what can be found in online magazines or webzines. Perhaps the time is not yet ripe to call it a struggle between the print, blogs and online publications. Let us just say, they will supplement and complement each other for now showing Hyun Joong‘s further metamorphosis. In the meantime, watch out for more enticement from Hyun Joong, “come read me, know more about me. I have returned.”
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