There may be quibbles as to just how international this weekend's Grand Pattaya International Music Festival actually is, but at least Thai audiences will be able to slake their thirst for all things Korean.

Dominated for the last four years by Japanese golden boys Johnny's Junior, this fifth festival is headlined by 12 Korean lads known collectively as Super Junior, kitchen percussion group Nanta and R&B sensation Lim Jeong Hee. Fleshing out the foreign star quality are seven pretty maids from Japan known as Paradise Go!! Go!!.

"We wanted to get [Korea's very popular five-boy band] Dong Bang Shin Ki but the band is already busy promoting its new album 'Rising Sun'," says GMM Grammy's Kobkaew "Toom" Korkiertingam.

Super Junior will play at the Yellow Stage on Saturday night at 6pm. Fans can get up close and cosy with the boys at a meet-and-greet party over at the Hard Rock Hotel at 10pm.

The band is all set to release its first full-length album featuring the hit single "Twin (Knock Out)", which is known in Thailand as "Show Me Your Love".

"To join the party, fans need only show the cover of the CD but entry is limited to the first 100," says Kobkaew.

Opening the festival at the Yellow Stage tomorrow at 6pm is the comedic Nanta, a striking blend of Korean percussion (samulori) rock and jazz with Western-style theatre.

This must-see show, created in 1997 by television actor Song Seung-Whan, replaces the traditional instruments for samulori with pot and pans, which the musicians (actors) play while preparing a meal, using fresh ingredients, which they then share with the audience.

The production focuses on the manager of a restaurant who orders his three chefs to prepare a special meal within a strict time limit and brings in his naughty nephew to help. "Hot Sauce", "Sexy Food Dude" and another chef who's "in love" with Hot Sauce make mistakes and vent their anger on each other, but eventually their collective irritation turns to the nephew.

Nanta, which has been performed all over the world, including at the Edinburgh Festival and on Broadway, is still Korea's top show.

Tomorrow's performance in Pattaya runs for 30 minutes and will feature just the highlights not the entire plot.

R&B star Lim Jeong Hee, who follows Nanta on the Yellow Stage tomorrow, released her first album, "Music is My Life", less than a year ago but is already a major star back home in Korea.

"I didn't dream of being a pop singer as a child. I just loved singing," she says. "I was majoring in music at college when I auditioned and I was lucky enough to land a recording deal. After a trial period, they allowed me to release an album.

"If I hadn't become a singer, I would probably have tried to be a reporter."

While Lim feels it's easier now for young people to break into the entertainment business than in the past, she feels the public has higher expectations of musicians and that some kind of musical training is a must.

After receiving a top prize in the Seoul High School popular music contest, she worked at several clubs and also started singing covers on the streets.

"It was a great experience. It didn't matter whether people stopped to listen or ignored me, I was determined to do my best."

"Music Is My Life" mixes hip-hop beats, with black sounds and gutsy ballads driven by soul - the influence, says the singer, of such artists as Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill and Mary J Blige.

Her favourite number is the title-track, the lyrics of which, she explains, talk about the ups and downs of living as a busker.

Lim's second album is due out next Friday and she'll be touring Korea before heading off to Japan and the US, where she also has a large following.

Tomorrow's show is her first in Thailand and she'll be wowing the crowd with three songs, one of which will be "Music Is My Life".

Sassy seven-some Paradise Go!! Go!! bring their very own brand of singing and dancing to the festival with two short performances at the Yellow Stage tomorrow and on Saturday starting at 6pm.

The girls, who developed a striking street culture performance in Kansai, Osaka before signing with major record company, Avex Entertainment, are all students at the Caless Vocal & Dance School.

"We've studied jazz, hip hop and gospel and we each have our own dancing style. But when we dance together there is harmony and unity," chorus Misaki, Kiyomi, Natalie, Junko, Ayaka, Misia and Risa, who cite Exile, Koda Kumi, Beyonce and Britney Spears as their favourite artists.

Their energy levels, they reveal, are kept high by daily sessions at the gym coupled with dance lessons and rehearsals of hit songs "Faraway", "Real Love", "Argent Snow" and "Dear My Friend', all tracks of their self-titled debut album, which comes out on March 29.

In April the girls start a tour of Japan. But before that they intend winning over Thai fans.

"We'll try to give our best performance in Pattaya and remain in the all of the audience's heart at the venue."

Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul

The Nation