Former EXO Member Kris is the Leading Man for C-movie Somewhere Only We Know

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• Yes it's awesome. Xu Jing Lei also posts regular updates on her Weibo and Instagram about the movie cast and filming. Our LJ comm just happily follows and posts updates.

  Some in fandom are being really dramatic about him leaving but that's standard for EXO's fandom.

  I'm just glad everyone is moving on and he's smiling so much in her photos. The Male God Smiles Again is the trend title on Weibo LOL.

  I am slightly annoyed by SM basically deciding Kris doesn't exist in Korea (along with netizen xenophobia and racism) but when EXO just filmed Happy Camp they included an entire end segment on him leaving because they can't pretend he doesn't exist in China.

  • I don't keep up with K-pop that much so am wondering if SM let him go without going to court? When did he officially leave?

    • No, he sued and they have court ordered mediation on the 8th.

  • Hi Hipployta! Somehow I used to read your nickname as "Hippolyta", for its meaning in Greek. ^^
    So his contract with SME has yet to be terminated? If an exclusivity clause on the use of "Kris" as his stage name was enclosed or if it's a registered trademark in Korea, then that would explain him now going by his full Chinese name until the outcome of his lawsuit or a potential settlement, wouldn't it?

    • My name is based on the g reek Amazonian Queen.

      Kris has always been called Wu Yi Fan in China and I don't know if he changed his English name from Kevin to Kris. On the Tiny Times 3 ending he supposedly sang the theme song and the screencap credits him as Wu Yi Fan/Kris.

      I don't know the details of his lawsuit or concerns due to SM claims on his Kris name. He's been in Prague a couple of weeks working so I guess his team has a plan.

      Since he sued he could be claiming the exclusive agreement dissolved at that point like JYJ and Han Geng

• I don't really know what exactly happened since I am not in any Kpop fandom, but when a member leaves and moves on, I think it's best for all to move on - to bigger and better things. 1 out of 12 - it can readjusted in time right?

  I am sure this didn't happen all the sudden so anyways glad he is working on projects he wants to do. Good luck to him!

• Read title and automatically "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane plays in my head, anything else is irrelevant

  • It was my theme song when i was going through a bad time... sighhh...

• I'm so happy about this! Bet he puts out an album sometime before the movie is released. It's not like they're going to film for 8 months.

• LOL he looks the same to me as he did in Exo in these stills, the cold, aloof leader. But I'm happy he's doing what he wants and I hope he's good in this drama!

  • ...and by drama I meant film*

• Actually Kris was his stage name when he was with EXO, given to him by SM ENT. His real English name is Kevin. :)

• im glad for Kris! im sure some EXO fans who felt betrayed butts are hurting right now lol.

• Kpop in 2014 has been more entertaining than Kdrama LOL.

• I actually liked the guy, and I really hoped this move could have been justified, but nah. What he did was reckless and detrimental -- to himself.

  It was one of those sensitive discussion points so I tried staying quiet until more solid evidence came in and hey, voila.

  This stunt he pulled may have flown in the west where david versus goliath fairytales are better recieved but I think he has tarnished his own repertoire as an 'entertainer' in the long run. ''The SM mistreated me'' shit will run out of mileage one day and then I'm not sure how much further his career will go from there. Loyalty is a big thing, in ANY field (Don't give a crap about SM but I do think that had they seen any talent in him in all those years he trained with them they would have capitalised on it ages ago).

  He has a lot of amends to make and I hope that when this law suit is over (if that's what is restricting him - hah!) he can explain his side of things better. But his ''I was like a cog in a machine'' statement made me LOL. Erm, biyotch, welcome to the real world.

  He's set himself up for failure by putting all his eggs in one basket, so I hope he actually does find some footing in the acting realm.

  Acting isn't a joke. In fact this is the reason idols are loathed in the first place barring those rare pleasant enough surprises
  . Maybe I'm just one of those movie/drama fans who takes acting really, really, really seriously. I tend to feel strongly about good acting -- or otherwise.

  This could be another case of ''I know I seem talentless, but actually I was really meant to be a basketball player'' and then KBS' Dream Team happened. *facepalm*

  I really, really hope for his sake it isn't another scenario like that. We have yet to see and judge his acting, he might be good, not like anyone has a crystal ball.

  Once again I did like this guy, and I think I still do have a preternal soft spot for him somewhere, but gah! Disappointment is overtaking.
  IF he had done the right thing, I would have cheered him on and praised him for such a bold move -- but eff! This whole thing reeks! It feels wrong to the point it's been unsettling. He's human, humans do dumb things, but this was very calculated, arrogant and whoever was backing him -- I hope they're sincere. And I hope with time this whole thing can be forgotten.

  Sigh.
  I'm happy to see EXO-M's five extraordinary gentlemen seem to be doing very well without him and can now feel thankfully less burdened knowing they've been dragging someone with them who really didn't want to be there and dynamics can be a lot looser and less awkward trying to cover up this kind of stuff. (Bless Chanyeol, Suho and especially Tao for all those times they were very visibly compensating for his behaviour.)

  Wow. Vent over. Haha!
  (But not really. I could go on for longer... but wrong place to inflict this on innocent bystanders of the drama community.)

  • Thank you supah! That was very heartfelt and enlightening. I'm not invested but it's always good to hear logical analysis on a typically K-pop knee-jerk matter.

  • Wow. I disagree. Han Geng and JYJ have shown you can move on. China has enough interest in Kris that he has room to grow. Kris trends everyday on Weibo and was mentioned regularly in entertainment news before and after he left.

    SM has clearly treated M unfairly. Just compare EXO-M's and EXO-K's activities in China and Korea respectively. All M has EVER done in China is one commercial two months ago. Recently Yixing hosted a music show three times and Luhan started filming a Korean remake. That's it in two years of promotion in China. Not to mention that since SM pulled M out of China to focus on building K/EXO in Korea they barely perform in China. Anything else they've done has been in Korea for activities that K cannot do such a soccer or basketball sport shows or hosting in English.

    EXO-K has had so many opportunities in Korea it doesn't even compare. Frankly considering the disparities I wish more of M had left but they have the personality type to "just endure." It's very clear who benefited from EXO promoting as 12 in Korea and where SM's priorities are.

  • I agree in some respects, I do think he kind of blindsided his members and fans, I was very surprised and that may have seemed selfish but I don't know what the "right" thing is.

    To stay in a contract that you've been in since 2007, that you signed when you were 17, and continue to work 24 hours a day because your group is popular but you're injured, unhappy, and not paid? (Granted, he probably gets room and board) Sure, I can say, he's a grown person, he signed a contract, so he should follow through with it but when who you're working for doesn't even want to negotiate (I don't think Kris just suddenly decided to file a lawsuit)?

    I think Kris always wanted to be in the entertainment business, hence joining SM in the first place, but he was clearly unhappy. He didn't have any freedom. EXO clearly worked around the clock. Maybe that is saying that the other members are more dedicated than Kris--they're willing to put up with it, but who knows what their contracts are like. A majority of the members came post-2008.

    I don't know if Kris being unhappy, tired, wanting other opportunities is a good enough excuse to break a contract, but honestly I'm impressed he had the guts to do it.

    This also isn't the first time SM has been confronted by a lawsuit so I can't say I'm super surprised that someone in EXO sued. Maybe it's because they've done this before, that Kris sought out Han Geng's attorney (or vice versa), but there's clearly something wrong because it's the only company that has had multiple lawsuits with individuals suing for "slave" contracts-- lack of pay and being overworked (or maybe the other companies know how to keep things quiet).

    I will admit I liked Kris initially and then began liking the other members of EXO, but now I have completely avoided all EXO and Kris activities/news until now.

    It's disappointing and it clearly wasn't meant to be but I wish Kris and EXO, the best of luck.

• Does Kris glower throughout the drama? Or is some other expression called for?