Do visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/stararena/sets/72157646705750881/ for more HD pictures of So Ji Sub at this press conference!

Jung-In and Kang Gary (Image Credit: NTU)

Singapore, 16 August 2014

Ambitious one-day event includes a carnival, charity run and free concert headlined by Korean stars Kang Gary and Jung In

Tonight Korean rapper Kang Gary, one of the seven hosts of the immensely popular entertainment show Running Man and his singing partner, Jung-In will perform for the first time at the Padang in Singapore. The free concert is part of NTU Fest 2014, a one-day event organised by NTU students that is the highlight of the NTU Freshmen Welcome Week.

NTU Fest Chairperson and final-year chemistry student, Wu GuoYi said: “This is the biggest event the NTU Students’ Union has ever organised. Besides having fun and helping the public to get closer and understand NTU students better, we felt it was important to also use this opportunity to raise funds for others who are less well off financially.”

They made the event open to the public and the concert free. Proceeds from the sale of carnival coupons for use at the 55 booths, and the $10 registration fees for the 4.8-km 5TYLO Mile-O fun run will go towards the ITE Endowment Fund which provides financial assistance to needy ITE students.

“This is such a wonderful initiative and the students have aptly themed it “Seeing Beyond Yourself”. They have indeed looked beyond themselves and are raising funds not for NTU but for needy students from ITE. They have shown that NTU students have a big heart and care for others. We are so proud of them,” said Associate Provost (Student Life), Associate Professor Kwok Kian Woon.

Education Minister, Mr Heng Swee Keat will launch the carnival and flag off the 4.8-kilometre 5TYLO MILE-O Run in the afternoon. The carnival booths run by NTU and ITE students feature a variety of cuisines, games and fun activities for all ages. NTU and ITE students also showcase their creativity, dynamism and energy on stage earlier in the day.

Through organising this event, the student organisers have learnt a lot about the different aspects of staging a mega event like this.

“The three key components of NTU Fest – the carnival, charity run and concert – all brought very different sets of demands and challenges on us. But we systematically worked through them with a lot of support from the University and overcame the unexpected obstacles and surprises that we had met,” said GuoYi.

Their final line-up of 55 carnival booths, 2,600 runners, and more than 30 local and international artistes speaks volumes of their hard work and success.

“We don’t need everything to be perfect and to run like clockwork. This event is so meaningful and a remarkable accomplishment by NTU students.  Their success in fundraising reminds us that you don’t have to be rich, powerful or well-established to make a real difference to the world around you,” said Prof Kwok.

The student organisers are grateful for the contributions they have received – both in cash and in kind. These came from sponsors, partners, donors, NTU faculty and staff, NTU alumni and the University. The students expect that these contributions, which are still coming in, will be sufficient to cover the event.

“One alumnus who wanted to remain anonymous even gave NTU Fest $20,000. We were so touched!” said GuoYi.

Besides getting strong support from the NTU community — from NTU’s President and Provost to NTU students, employees and alumni, GuoYi is also very grateful to NTU Board of Trustees member, Mr Kwek Leng Joo for helping the student organisers connect with Kang Gary and Jung In.

“Thanks to Mr Kwek, the two Korean celebrities readily agreed to perform at NTU Fest for free. MediaCorp also came in as our Official Media Partner and besides helping us to publicise the event, they also supported NTU Fest with more than 30 MediaCorp celebrities and performers.

“We are also very grateful to our Platinum Sponsor ST Jobs who pledged $150,000 towards the event and supported our publicity efforts in the various media owned by Singapore Press Holdings,” she said.

Speaking to NTU student organisers before the show, Kang Gary said: “I heard that NTU Fest is a charity event and we are very happy to be a part of it because I love Singapore so much. I’m planning on having a good time today and giving a great performance.”

Fellow K-pop star Jung In said, “This is my first time in Singapore and I’m very happy to be here with Gary and I plan on having fun with everyone at NTU Fest.”

Meeting fans at MediaCorp’s Toggle booth at the carnival in the day are up-and-coming artistes Jayley Woo and Zhang Zhen Huan. Chua Enlai will entertain fans in his comedic roles as Esmond Wan and Pornsak Sukhumvit in The Noose, together with screen ‘bad boy’ Ian Fang, and TV damsels Tracy Lee and Ya Hui. Dashing heartthrob Desmond Tan and beauty Julie Tan will also make their celebrity appearances.

Hosts for the free evening concert are 987FM’s radio deejays Gerald Koh and Kimberly Wang.

 Homegrown bands The Huckleberry Friends and District 12, Final 1 champion Farisha Ishak and the finalists of Project Superstar, Singapore’s popular singing competition, will also belt out their vocals for a good cause.

In addition, the new cast of Mata-Mata, including Rebecca Lim, Pan Ling Ling, Priscelia Chan, Cynthia Koh, Divian Nair, Fish Chaar and Rayve Tay will take to the stage to entertain and play games with the crowd.

A short video clip recorded by Kang Gary and Jung-In about NTU Fest:

Organised by NTU students, the charity fiesta on 16 August raises funds for needy ITE students

22 July 2014 – Some of MediaCorp’s hottest young artistes, including Ian Fang, Rebecca Lim and her fellow new cast members of Mata-Mata’s Season 2, Julie Tan, Ya Hui, Zhang Zhen Huan, Jayley Woo, Tracy Lee and Farisha Ishak will be participating in Nanyang Technological University’s extravaganza at the Padang next month.

Rebecca Lim (Image credit: MediaCorp)

Ian Fang (Image credit: MediaCorp)

They will be joined by household names Chua Enlai who will appear in character as The Noose’s Pornsak & Esmond Wan, Pan Ling Ling, Cynthia Koh and Priscelia Chan. Hosting the free concert from 7 pm to 9 pm are 987FM’s radio deejays Gerald Koh (better known as Boy Thunder) and Kimberly Wang.

Organised by NTU students, NTU Fest marks the start of the University’s new academic year and aims to raise money for an endowment fund in aid of needy students from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE). The event on August 16 is open to the public and admission is free.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer Mr Chang Long Jong said, “MediaCorp is proud to be part of this meaningful initiative by NTU students. As an organisation, MediaCorp has its own Corporate Social Responsibility programme that focuses on helping the Elderly and Youth-At-Risk. NTU Fest is yet another way and certainly a fun avenue for our artistes to make a difference to society, while reaching out to their many ardent fans and the public.”

NTU Fest’s organising chairperson Ms Wu Guo Yi, a final-year chemistry student, said, “The NTU Fest is really turning out to be an all-star event that will appeal to everyone. With more than two dozen Singaporean and Korean pop stars coming together, concert-goers will be in for a mega-treat! It’s amazing to see the immense support that we’ve been given. Everyone is working very closely together, to make it the best day possible.”

Rising stars Zhang Zhen Huan, Jayley Woo and Tracy Lee, and the Noose’s Chua Enlai will be making an appearance at NTU Fest’s carnival in the afternoon from 3pm.  They will be stationed at the Toggle booth to interact with students and visitors. ‘Bad boy’ Ian Fang, onscreen sweetheart Julie Tan and Star Search Telegenic Award-winner Ya Hui will also be making a special appearance at the booth from 6pm.

Taking to the stage in the concert in the evening is Final 1 champion Farisha Ishak. She will display her stellar vocals singing two songs from her first album, Aligned, released earlier this year.

Farisha Ishak (Image credit: MediaCorp)

The stars of tomorrow – the 12 finalists of Project Superstar, Singapore’s most talked-about singing competition – Abigail, Amanda, Benita, Germaine, Jo, Yan Hua, Aedan, Alfred, Bryan, Jayden, Justin and Kai Zheng – will join their voices to sing two songs, including the competition’s popular theme song.

Project Superstar Top 12 (Image credit: MediaCorp)

The new cast of Mata-Mata, including Rebecca Lim, Pan Ling Ling, Priscelia Chan, Cynthia Koh, Divian Nair, Fish Chaar and Rayve Tay will also be on stage to entertain and play games with the crowd.  They will also be sharing some sneak peeks of the show’s new season, which premieres on September 1.

The concert will peak with a special performance by Korean rapper Kang Gary, one of the seven hosts of the immensely popular entertainment show Running Man and his singing partner, Jung-In.

Ahead of the event, Kang Gary had a special message to NTU students and his fans. He said: “This is a very meaningful charity event organised by NTU undergraduates in aid of needy students from another institution. I was an active student myself during my university days so I can feel their warm enthusiasm and understand all the hard work needed to organise a public event of this scale. Jung In and I are delighted to support them by performing free at NTU Fest. I look forward to meeting my fans in Singapore and I urge all of them to support this wonderful charity event by NTU students.”

Fellow K-pop star Jung In said, “When I heard about this charity event the NTU students were planning, I thought it was such a fantastic idea. It is very admirable that the NTU students are helping other students to receive the financial support they need for their education so they can create a better life for themselves and their families. Music touches everyone and Gary and I are happy we can use our music to help them achieve their target.”

All the celebrities attending and performing at the event are contributing their talents to charity. Education Minister, Mr Heng Swee Keat will launch the carnival and flag-off the 4.8-kilometre 5TYLO MILE-O Run.

The public can support this charity event by buying carnival tickets for use at the various booths and taking part in the 5TYLO MILE-O fun run in the afternoon. The carnival booths, run by NTU and ITE students, will feature food, games and fun activities for all ages.

Runners in the 5TYLO MILE-O run, which costs $10 to register, will take an exciting route around the historic Civic District along the Singapore River, from Esplanade Park through Fort Canning Hill and back to the Padang.

Fans who would like to get up close with the artistes, can try to get their mosh pit tickets in various ways, including taking part in the Facebook contests and giveaways by NTUsg (NTU’s Facebook page), NTU Fest and MediaCorp’s Toggle, Channel U, 987FM, Yes 93.3FM, i-Weekly, 8-Days and MeRadio.sg.

Mediacorp is the official media partner of NTU Fest. The platinum sponsor of this charity extravaganza is Singapore Press Holdings’ online job portal, STJobs. Other sponsors and partners include The Straits Times, Hong Leong Finance, McDonald’s and Compressport Singapore.

For more information, visit: www.ntu.edu.sg/ntufest.