Korean Lovers ( 한국어 애호가 ): Super Junior "Super Show 5" @Seoul

It was an emotional night for Super Junior, as Super Show 5 highlighted the changing dynamics of the South Korean boyband – Kangin’s return after three years, Leeteuk and Heechul’s absence due to national service, and Yesung’s rumored enlistment in May.

No date has been officially announced for Yesung’s departure, but with the number of days left winding down, the two shows over the weekend (March 23 and 24) in home ground Seoul were even more significant for him, the other members, and for ELF (the official name for Super Junior’s fan club).

South Korean boyband Super Junior’s “Super Show” tour returns this year with its fifth installment, which kicked off at Seoul’s Olympic Gymnastics Arena, attracting a total of 20,000 people.

xinmsn was invited to cover the concert by local organizer Running Into The Sun (RITS).

True to Super Junior style, Super Show 5 follows the same fun formula as their previous tours – high energy dance tracks, tear-jerking ballads, cheerful sing-alongs, hilarious bantering, silly makeovers and tons of fan service.

Kangin, Siwon, Sungmin and Ryeowook’s performance of girl dances was definitely a highlight of the night, especially with Sungmin’s flirtatious rendition of HyunA’s “Ice Cream”, complete with actual ice cream licking.

For those that prefer some manliness, Eunhyuk and Donghae showed off their toned upper bodies during “Rock Star”, driving the crowd wild.

Seeing these big boys dress up and having fun on stage is always entertaining. After their transformation into vegetables and famous personalities on the past two tours, the band became Super Junior Heroes for Super Show 5, cosplaying characters such as Thor, Ironman, Spiderman, Sun Goku (from Dragonball) and even Huang Feihong.

It was mentioned at the press conference prior to the concert that every member participated in the conceptualization of the show. Some song choices were questionable, with the lack of songs like Don’t Don and A-CHA disappointing.

With the emphasis on Super Junior “as a group” this time, only Kangin and Yesung gave solo performances.

With regards to choosing the ballad “Around 30” for his solo, Kangin explained that he will be turning 30 next year (in Korean years) and this song is for the fans that grew up with him.

Despite a bad fall the day before, noted vocalist Yesung did his best on Sunday at the three-hour concert, touching hearts with a soulful rendition of “Gray Paper”.

Tears were kept in until the ending stage, when he finally broke down and was surrounded by the others members as fans sang his solo song “It Has To Be You”.

Explaining that he would not be able to finish the whole tour of Super Show 5 (with army enlistment knocking on the door), the 28-year-old promised to work harder in the future, while hoping that the fans would continue loving Super Junior.

As the last to leave the stage yesterday, Yesung got onto his knees and gave a traditional bow to thank the fans, while they continue to shout “Saranghae” (love you), ending the concert on an emotional high.