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Friday, October 4, 2013

F to F Magazine Jan 2013 Vol.01 Review

F to F World Wide Entertainment Magazine is a monthly Japanese magazine focusing on the Hallyu wave, including Kpop, Korean dramas and advertisements for Korean brands.  The physical magazine is rather minimal, with just two staples at the side instead of a real spine.  This easily causes creases across the covers.  Each issue is 980 Yen, but of course buying overseas makes the sales price much higher.  I bought the F to F January 2013 issue in Singapore's Kinokuniya bookstore for $29.30 SGD (roughly $22.99 USD).
Anything to do with Kim Myungsoo, and I'm all over it.  Instantly when I saw the cast of Shut Up Flower Boy Band as the cover of F to F, I shrieked with joy.  All of the magazines at Kinokuniya were wrapped, so sadly I was unable to look at the contents before purchasing.  I decided to take a gamble and buy the magazine, despite knowing how much of Myungsoo I'd actually see inside.  I didn't know that the SUFBB cast was featured in a magazine, let alone one from eight months ago, so I was really happy to add this magazine to my Kpop collection.
The individual photoshoots of the five current members of Eye Candy were beautifully laid out at the beginning of the Shut Up Flower Boy Band spread.  Unfortunately this article was only 10 pages long, but they're filled of gorgeous photos of the flower boy cast.
The next six pages covered the five main actors.  The first two pages were dedicated to Myungsoo (top photo).  These photos alone were worth the price of the magazine!  I love that he's first in the list of characters, despite not being the lead.  The next two pages were of Sung Joon, the main character of the drama.  The following two pages were for the remaining three flower boys.
The last two pages of the spread continued its focus on the remaining three band members of Eye Candy, as well as showed screenshots from the drama.  In total, there were nine stunning photos of Myungsoo, making this magazine a treasure.
The bulk of this magazine has 10 different interviews about two to four pages long each of Hallyu stars, from Korean actors to dramas to boybands.  These interviews include actors John Hoon and Yoo Seung Ho (shortly before entering the military!), drama King Two Hearts, and boybands Boyfriend, Code-V, Shu-I, and more.
There were a few pages of advertisements that caught my eye.  On the back cover (left picture) is an ad for perfume by Korean beauty brand Missha.  On the inside cover (right picture) was an ad for Lotte Duty Free shopping with endorser Jang Geun Suk.  There was also another ad for Jang Geuk Suk's cookbook, showing the singer-actor-(and now chef?) having fun while preparing food.

Overall, I wish that this issue had a larger spread on Shut Up Flower Boy Band.  While the photos from this shoot were nice, it probably wasn't worth the price (but the photos of Myungsoo made up for it).  But I am glad to have a magazine with the lovely Myungsoo on the cover!

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