Spreading the Han Geng love - A Han Geng pimp post!
han geng pimp post.
by onewhomust & proleptical
Han Geng is known in the international fandom as the only non-Korean member of the original 13 members of Super Junior, the leader of its Mandarin subgroup Super Junior-M, Heechul's favorite subject for impersonations, Siwon's sworn brother, and the one member of Super Junior with bad Korean and amazing Beijing fried rice cooking skills.That's the Han Geng most international fans have fallen in love with (I include myself in there).
Very little attention, however, has been paid to Han Geng after Super Junior and it is that Han Geng that we aim to pimp in the post. We hope that our post brings some new fans that commonly would not pay attention to a C-pop artist, or, hopefully, bring back some of those fans that lost interest in Han Geng when he left Super Junior. Therefore, this pimp post will be focusing more on Han Geng, the solo artist rather than Han Geng, the Super Junior member. It's not that we are ignoring or neglecting the part of his life as a Super Junior member, it's just that we believe most international fans are already familiar with this era in his life, whereas less people are up to date with his life after December 21 of 2009.
profile.
Name: Han Geng / 韩庚
*Han / 韩 = family name, Geng / 庚 = given name
Nicknames: 韩三岁 / Han San Sui (Han Three Years Old), 庚宝 / Geng Bao (Baby Geng), 庚ちゃん / Geng-chan (used by his Japanese friends Nakayama Kunio and Kikuchi Kazuhito), 咩 / Mie (the sound sheep make, given to him by his best friend/manager Sun Le), 地主 (dì zhǔ or Landlord),
Birthday: Thursday, February 9, 1984
Birthplace: Mundanjiang in the Heilongjiang Province, located in the northeastern part of China
Ethnicity: Nanai (Hezhe)
Chinese Zodiac Sign: Rat (Wood)
Zodiac Sign: Aquarious
Blood Type: B
Height: 181 cm (5 ft 11 in.)
Weight: 66 kg (146 lbs.)
Family: Parents, no siblings
Education: Graduated from Central University of Nationalities in Beijing
Languages: Mandarin, Korean, currently learning English
Religion: Atheist
Specialty: Chinese traditional dance, ballet, and martial arts
Hobbies: eating, playing video games, reading, listening to music, watching movies, building Gundam models, bragging about his chinchillas, beating Sun Le at iPhone games, duck racing, photoshopping laser beams and other weird things into otherwise ordinary pictures of friends/staff/pets, skiing (it's actually snowboarding but for some reason he calls it skiing), collecting boots, and traveling.
Pets: two chinchillas, a male called Long Long and a female called Rong Rong, in his apartment; two small dogs, Mao Mao (Pomeranian) and Duo Duo (Miniature Poodle) at his mother's, and one dog at his dad's; used to have Rong Rong, a Pomeranian given to him by fans, who he had to give away because he wasn't home enough to take care of him.
Favorite Actors: Tony Leung, Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Andy Lau
Favorite Movies: The Shawshank Redemption, The Pursuit of Happyness, Farewell My Concubine, The Red Violin, Amadeus, Moulin Rouge, Ang Lee films
Favorite Singer: Wang Leehom, Jason Mraz, Jay Chou, Khalil Fong, Faye Wong, Olivia Ong, Michael Jackson, John Legend, SHIN, Justin Timberlake
Close Celebrity Friends: He Jiong, Xie Na, Li Weijia, Wang Han, Show Luo, Danson Tang, Kenny Kwan, Huang Yi, Joey Yung, Yumiko Chen, Zhang Jun Ning, Sun Zu Yang, Ma Song, Fan Fan, Chen Chien-chou, Xie Nan, Da Zou
quick bio.
Han Geng's story starts in the snowy city of Mudanjiang, located in the Northeastern province of Heilongjiang in China. Since he was a young child, Han Geng developed a fondness for dancing. He recalls that his uncle would play music and he would start dancing even as a child. However, it wasn't until his dance teacher, after deeming Han Geng's body ideal for dancing (those long, long legs), suggested that he give dance school a shot, that he decided to pursue dancing as a career. His parents were hesitant at first, especially his dad, who thought dancing was "for girls", but Han Geng says that despite their initial misgivings, his parents always chose to support whatever decision he made and agreed to allow him to enroll in dance school in Beijing.
He left his hometown of Mudanjiang for Beijing (a 20+ hours trip by train) when he was 12, and enrolled in the dance department of the Central University of Nationalities. During his time there, he mastered all 56 types of traditional dances from the 56 Chinese ethnic groups, as well as built a strong foundation on ballet and martial arts.
Having grown up in a poor household, where his father and mother would leave at times for months to seek work in other cities, Han Geng swore to never ask his parents for money no matter how tough his financial situation got. Therefore, during school and after graduation, he worked several small jobs to support himself, and even once ended up getting almost arrested in Shenzhen for not having the proper documents to enter and work in the city (fortunately his mom got some friends of hers in Shenzhen to get him out of that pinch before things escalated). He had been offered a position in the army's dancing troupe, which would provide him with an apartment and a decent salary to live by, when he attended certain audition with a friend. Out of 3000 applicants, he was eventual selected by the Korean company the held that audition, who basically told him that if he signed a lengthy contract with them, they would turn him into a superstar. Despite his mother's urging to go with the safe choice and accept the job he was being offered by the army rather than taking the risk of joining this company and moving to another country, Han Geng chose to sign the contract (well, being underage at that time, his father had to sign for him, and, according to Han Geng, after the ink dried on the paper his father told him he felt like he had just sold his only son) with that particular entertainment company.
The rest, like they say, it's history that most of you are probably familiar with (and if you don't, you can read about in much more detail here). So, I won't really go much into detail other than, after almost 6 years (almost half of the 13 years in his contract) with the company he signed with, Han Geng filed a lawsuit against them in December 21, 2009. During the following year, he launched his very successful solo career in his native China, and, after exactly one year from the day he filed the lawsuit, he was granted freedom from his old company and the ability to pursue his own career without having to respond to them.
Much has happened during his 27 years of life, huh?
why do we love this guy?
Despite what it seems like a lot of international fans think, Han Geng is actually quite childish, dorky and silly. So much so that his Chinese Gengfans, staff and even his celebrity friends have taken to calling him 韩三岁 (Han Sansui) which is quite literally Han 3 Years Old. Heck, even a four year old kid called Han Geng three years old (to which Han Geng responds that he is actually three and a half.)
Simply put, this guy is adorable, often without even really trying. Whether he’s playing with a bottle of champagne or having a handstand competition with the child actors from his movie, he seems to love joking around and having fun like a kid. Thankfully he seems to be embracing his inner adorable a lot these days. We're just glad that he's making friends his own age.
Isn't he just so precious? :3
Aside from being one of the cutest idols in the Asian market, Han Geng also has one of the biggest hearts, and donates a lot of his money to charity. Most famously, he donated almost his entire 2008 income (most of it from his first solo endorsement for eyedrops) to the victims of the Sichuan earthquake (check out the great fanwritten article The Poorest Star in China.) He also donated 100,000RBM to the 2010 Yunnan Drought, and another 100,000RBM to the 2010 mudslide in Chuanqu. He also donated a performance outfit for an auction for the Water Cellars for Mothers charity in Hong Kong. And this is just the a portion of the stuff that we know about! He doesn't always make a big scene about his donations, and sometimes Gengfans don't even find out he did it until a while after the fact. Who knows what else he's donated to?
In 2010 he became a spokesperson for the charity "I Want to Go to School" which sponsors underprivileged children in China to go to school for three years. (He even recorded a song with Olivia Ong for it!) He alone is sponsoring ten children, whereas most other celebrities only sponsored one. He also encouraged his loyal Gengfans to join in, and they sponsored another 124 kids (the number is actually higher now, but I don't remember exactly what it was the last time I checked.)
Han Geng is always telling his fans that instead of giving him expensive gifts, they should work with charities, and many times his fans listen. Every year for his birthday, his fans do charity work, calling this project "Let Love Fly," but that is only one out of the many charities that they do in his name. There's really way too many to list ♥
In general, Han Geng is just about the sweetest guy ever. Adorable, childish, giving... what else is there? Well, there's also the fact that he's also about the biggest mama's boy ever. Han Geng loves his parents a lot, and he says that one of the reasons he works so hard is so that he can be assured that his family can live comfortably.
If you want this guy to cry (which he does more often than people realize) either bring up how amazing his fans are, or his parents. Several times on variety shows (YYTD, Super Junior Show, etc.), he was asked to record a message to his parents, and he almost always cried as he did it. He had been separated from his parents since he was young-- his dad left when he was young to go find work to support them, and then Han Geng himself left at age 12 to attend dance school in Beijing-- so not being able to spend much time with his family has always been something that has upset him. But don't worry! He bought his mom a dumpling shop in Beijing as soon as he had enough money, and now that he lives in Beijing he gets to see her far more often :3 He also recently bought her a beauty salon, too, since she said it was something she always wanted to do.
Another sweet thing about this guy is that he's an animal lover through and through. Currently, he's the proud father of two adorable chinchillas named Long Long and Rong Rong. He seriously dotes on these guys. Here are a few of quotes:
MC: Aren’t you bored being alone at home?
HG: There’s someone accompanying me. (Who?) Don’t get excited, it’s (my) two chinchillas. (from Marie Claire)
"For workaholics like me, breeding chinchillas is more suitable than looking for a girlfriend." (from Southern Metropolis Daily)
During the days at home, Han Geng who is used to drinking water before sleeping, always wakes up with both eyes puffy, not fully awake himself but yet always remembers the first thing is to feed both his chinchillas Long Long and Rong Rong breakfast and then feeds himself. Han Geng laughed and said both grown fatter than himself, that is because they have a “dad” who is competent. (from Hunan Happy 8 Magazine)
He also has six dogs who aren't living with him at the moment, instead spread out between his mom's house, his dad's house, and his friends' houses. The one we probably see the most of is Duo Duo, who he is apparently fond of photoshopping laser beams onto.
It's not just dogs and chinchillas, though! He loves any animal. He's had a lizard in the past, and if you put him in the proximity of basically any animal (like frogs or alligators) he'll be completely engrossed. Still, he's the cutest with puppies. :3
This guy has a great personality, but what about his talents? Glad you asked. While he's not the most talented singer in the entertainment industry, he is one of the best dancers, even holding the nickname Asia Dancing King. As mentioned before, he started learning dancing at a young age, and when he was 12 went off to attend Central University for Nationalities in Beijing, where he studied ballet, traditional dance (some of his old dance performances have found their way online, and they are all interesting-- particularly this one that features him wearing very little clothing) and martial arts (here is a wonderful compilation of some Geng doing martial arts.)
He didn't really begin to study modern dances until he joined SM Entertainment, but he was a fast learner. There are literally tons of compilation videos of his dance performances, but here are a few of my favorites: one and two.
still shippable.
There is no denying that shipping is a big part of fandom. Indeed, since Han Geng left Super Junior, he was somewhat deemed unshippable by fandom and therefore, some interest was lost by fandom at large. However, Han Geng is still as shippable as ever! Perhaps it isn't with the usual candidates anymore (although, why not? There are many memories, much of which have been left unexplored, and scenarios that could be used for fics) but he's still quite shippable. Some examples:
w/ Sun Le:
An entire pimp post could be written about these two, I don't know where to even start. Lets see... best friends for 14 years, they met each other at dance school, where a 16 year old Sun Le spotted a lonely Han Geng, 12 at that time, on the hallway outside the dorms. Instantly, he befriended him and since then he's pretty much become Han Geng's best friend and protector - in every aspect of his life. Whether defending him from older boys in dance school who bullied little Han Geng, to being there for him during the toughest times of his professional life, eventually becoming his manager. In Han Geng's own words, Sun Le is one of the two persons (the other person being his dance teacher in Mudanjiang) he feels the most grateful to: "He was with me through the toughest period in my life, and also in my new beginning". I mean, Han Geng literally had an entire segment in his concert where he showed pictures of him and Sun Le throughout the years... what more can I say?
Watch: Mengniu Music Billboard - "A Han Geng You Don't Know"
w/ Wu Chun:
Wu Chun and Han Geng, or Chungeng as they are known in Chinese fandom, gained a strong following right after it was announced the two of them would star in a movie together as "brothers" (re: not real siblings) with an ambiguous relationship. During the filming, they both discovered they shared a common interest (no, it's not weightlifting) - their love for food! After eating together and chatting for two hours and countless hours of filming, they became quite close and with the promotions for My Kingdom inching closer and promising to deliver us some bromance, and the movie itself which sounds like it will deliver some inspiration to fic writers out there, this pairing is poised to give fangirls a lot to talk about.
Recommended reading: Han Geng and Wu Chun's interview with POP magazine
w/ Xiao Meng:
Xiao Meng is Han Geng's personal assistant and, well, the person Han Geng himself picked as who he wanted to be in a rumor with. Yes, that type of rumors. Xiao Meng pretty much accompanies Han Geng to events whenever Sun Le isn't available (like during his recent promos in Thailand, which Sun Le was unable to attend due to the fact he underwent surgery recently) and Han Geng loves to dote on him. Indeed, it is not uncommon to hear Han Geng going on about "how cute" Xiao Meng is or making him pose with Shrek ears and funny masks for pictures.
w/ Nakayama Kunio:
Kunio is the director of the Japanese record label Avex in China, who is a really close friend of Han Geng's. How close? Well, he calls Han Geng "Geng-chan", which, those of you familiar with animanga know" the honorific "-chan" is usually used when addressing a) kids, b) younger females, c) lovers, d)really close friends, or e) all of the above. They vacationed together for about two weeks, first in Japan with their buddy Kikuchi Kazuhito (where they celebrated Han Geng's birthday), and then seemingly by themselves in Hawaii. In Hawaii, they did everything from sky diving to surfing. It's very likely that they did some work together in Han Geng's upcoming album and equally likely is the fact that we will keep seeing more of these two together!
w/ He Jiong:
He Jiong is one of Han Geng's earliest supporters in China. Whenever their busy schedule allows them, the two like to hang out with each other (Han Geng's mom has a picture with He Jiong in her dumpling shop). He Jiong mentions Han Geng frequently on his show, Happy Camp, one of the highest rated variety shows in China. They are extremely funny together and it's not rare to see them ganging up on poor Xie Na and making fun of her.
Watch: any of Han Geng's Happy Camp appearances.
w/ Danson Tang:
With Danson, you can just see how easily Han Geng gets along with anyone. They literally met the day they recorded a variety show together and in a matter of seconds were, well, pretty much all over each other. According to Danson, Han Geng, after discovering they were born the same year, pretty much decided they should be friends. Throughout the show, they were glued to each other, doing silly things and riding the roller coaster over and over again.
Watch: Bravely Going Forward with Han Geng and Danson Tang
Essentially, Han Geng can still be shipped with practically anyone he crosses paths with. He's very friendly and demonstrative and it's odd how there is this perception in the international fandom that Han Geng is not very affectionate, which puzzles me because this is the dude that literally won't let go off you if he's decided he likes you.
I didn't go over the popular fan pairings in the Super Junior that involve him because I'm sure most of you are already familiar with them that I don't really need to pimp them. However, there is no reason why those pairings should not work since he left Korea. Indeed, even if he isn't active in Korean pop anymore, Han Geng is still quite shippable.
music.
So Han Geng has been quite active in the less than a year of his being a solo artist, releasing a full album, featuring in 11 music videos (7 were from his album), as well as participating in various other songs for several causes. Even though he was never thought of as much of a singer, the songs he's released in this year have fit his voice perfectly, and have changed a lot of people's minds.
庚心 (Geng Xin) Solo Album: Download
Tracklist:
1. My Logo
2. 因为梦 (Because of Dreams)
3. 心疼笔记本(Heartache Notebook)
4. 给陌生人的情书 (Love Letter to a Stranger)
5. 撑伞 (Holding an Umbrella)
6. 简单的人 (Simple Man)
7. 爱的翅膀 (Wings of Love)
8. Say No
9. 女皇 (Queen)
10. 飞蛾扑火 (Fire)
This album was a resounding success, selling over 270,000 copies within the first few weeks. The last official count was over 530,000 announced back in December, and it was one of the best selling albums of the year in Mainland China, garnering him many Best Newcomer and Most Popular Male Singer awards.
7 MVs came from this album. (We, uh... don't recommend that you watch "Fire" first, though. Try "My Logo" first ;D):
1. 飞蛾扑火 (Fire)
2. Say No
3. 撑伞 (Holding an Umbrella)
"Movie Version" of all three
These were considered a "trilogy" although it made little sense until the movie version was released and honestly... still didn't make that much sense. Say No and Holding an Umbrella are really worth watching, though, in my opinion :3
4. My Logo
INTERNATIONAL GO GO
5. 女皇 (Queen)
One of the best songs on his album and one of my favorite choreographies. Since you actually don't get to see as much of the dance in the MV as I would like, check out this fancam.
6. 心疼·笔记本 (Heartache Notebook)
This is the side story to the Say No MV. It's also a gorgeous song, that fits his voice beautifully.
7. 爱的翅膀 (Wings of Love)
;~; The song and music video that will make every Gengfan cry with the first few opening notes.
This is a really important song to Han Geng and to all of his fans. It was written for him by a fan as a birthday gift in 2007, and many Gengfans took part in making a video for him. He kept it as his CyWorld song for ages, and when he went on Happy Camp in 2007, Siwon even prepared a chorus of kids dressed as angels to sing it for him.
The original song is about how Gengfans are Han Geng's Wings of Love, and that we will always be by his side to support him-- so when he recorded his own version, he changed the lyrics to be about Gengfans. For example, "Our love is your wings" goes the original chorus. His version is "Your love is my wings" :3
When he went to perform this song for his fans at his first ever solo concert, he simply couldn't. He was crying too hard to even sing. It's one of the most touching videos to any Gengfan.
Other Music videos:
1) 亚运有我精彩之吉 (Asian Games Have Me As Their Luck)
MP3 Download
Sung with Zhou Bi Chang for the Asian Games. It was the first song he released after this lawsuit. It's nothing special, really, but he's adorable in the MV.
2) 不能忘卻的紀念 (Unforgettable Memories)
MP3 Download
Sung with Tan Jing. I swear this is the most unappreciated song that he's sung. It's one of my absolute favorites. It's about the Old Summer Palace and the destruction caused there. The video is simple but he looks great (and Tan Jing is gorgeous!) And the song itself is so smooth and gentle, and yet quite touching.
3) 我是火焰 (I Am A Flame)
MP3 Download
Another song for the Asia Games, this one a solo song. It's cheesy but catchy.
4) 大手小手 (Big Hands Little Hands)
MP3 Download
This is another one of my favorites. It's sung with Olivia Ong, and can I just say that their voices match each other perfectly? They're both so soft and gentle! It's a touching song, and the fact that it's for a charity is really great. I love it.
Other songs:
1) 世界看中国 (The World Watching China)
Studio Version Download
Live Version Download
This was his song for the Shanghai Expo. There are two version, a studio version that is a duet between him and this girl named Doudou, and his solo live version. I recommend the solo version, personally. Doudou's voice grates my nerves.
2) 虹 (Iris)
MP3 Download
This was a universidale song. It's soft and pretty :)
3) 回家过年 (Home for New Years)
MP3 Download
Han Geng's song for the 2011 CCTV Spring Festival Gala ♥ This is the solo, studio version, and it's so easy to listen to. Particularly the line "Mom, Dad, your son has returned home" is a real tearjerker.
Other: 愚人码头 (Foolish Man's Dock), 青春梦想 (Stage of Youth Theme)
Concert Rips
1) Dangerous Love
MP3 Download
This fucking song, omg. It wasn't on his album and no one knows why. If it had been, it would have easily been the best song on the album. It's fun and catchy, and I really wish we had a studio version instead of this breathy live version, but this one still gets a ton of plays, too.
2) 海阔天空 (Under A Vast Sky)
MP3 Download
So this is a cover of a song by 信乐团. And it's one of the best performances I've ever heard from Han Geng. Seriously, this is amazing and it's one of my most listened to Han Geng songs. And since he's been talking about adding more rock elements to his next album, I really hope he means songs like this!
3) 背叛 (Betrayal)
MP3 Download
Okay, this is a little old, from the Super Show 2 concerts. But it's gorgeous. Seriously, at this point of time, before he had gone solo, no one really knew he had this voice in him. It was a surprise to almost all of us, and his cover of this song is really gorgeous ♥
Han Geng has been up to a lot in the last year, and it's not all music and movies, either. He's grabbed a lot of endorsements, most notably Nokia, Meng Niu Yogurt, and a video game called Tian Xia 2 (The World 2) which even features a character in his likeness :)
He's also been incredibly active on Chinese and Taiwanese varieties show, which he's absolutely hilarious on. He's been on way too many to list, but we did it anyway, so you can find all of his variety appearances (as well as plenty of other videos) subtitled in English and listed here. Some highly recommended shows are: Happy Camp, 100% Entertainment, Variety Big Brother, and Date with Luyu.
up and coming.
Want to know what Han Geng will be up to this 2011? Well, here is just what we know of so far:
- A follow up album to his 2010 hit Geng Xin
- His first starring role in a movie, My Kingdom, with Barbie Hsu and Wu Chun
- A small, but important, role in the state funded movie The Founding of the Party playing Zhao Shiyan
- And more acting roles on the way!
He definitely has more in store that we aren't aware of yet, though.
Han Geng is extremely active, but it's easy to keep up with all of his news as it all gets translated quickly and posted on geng_bao!