U.S. pop artist arrived in Seoul on Friday night, no details of her schedule unveiled


Pop star Lady Gaga made a surprise visit to Olympic Stadium in Seoul, the country’s biggest sports and entertainment venue, on Sunday, expressing her excitement to her fans via Twitter.

“Imagine when it’s full. I love that it’s raining, so NEW YORK of you Korea!” she wrote on Twitter on Sunday afternoon.

Gaga posted two photos of her standing at the center of the venue for her upcoming concert holding an umbrella and in her “extremely high” heels.

The 26-year-old star arrived in Seoul on Friday night via her private jet, a week before she kicks off her 2012-13 world tour in Seoul on April 27. It is unusual for a high-profile entertainer to visit a foreign country a week before a show.

Her schedule in Seoul, including the press conference for her upcoming concert, has yet to be unveiled, Gaga’s tour promoters in Seoul said.

A PR official of the concert promoter Live Nation Korea told The Korea Herald on Sunday that she has no official schedule yet, except for rehearsals before the concert. A spokesman from Hyundai Card, an official sponsor for the concert, told the newspaper that the company’s proposal to hold a news conference was declined. She is reportedly staying at a hotel in Seoul, near to her concert venue, Olympic Stadium in Jamsil. The name of the hotel is also confidential and even promoters didn’t know when she would come to Korea until she showed up at an airport in Seoul, Live Nation Korea added.

On Saturday, however, she had a two-hour yoga session at a private fitness club in Gangnam, southern Seoul as her first outing in the capital, reports here said Sunday.

According to Dispatch, an online entertainment news outlet, the star dressed in a simple black jacket matched with a black flare skirt visited the yoga club which was empty at the time. She was joined by three of her staff and two bodyguards, it added.

Observers say she will probably hold an event before the widely anticipated concert on Friday, judging by her tendency to surprise people, particularly with her fashion.

Dressed in a white backless dress featuring a pearl mask, Lady Gaga greeted her enthusiastic fans waiting for her at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul last week, waving and posing for photographers.

“What a warm and exciting welcome to Korea. I missed this country so much. (I) will be asleep in my castle until rehearsal. I love u!” Lady Gaga wrote on Twitter on Friday.

The upcoming concert is the opener for Lady Gaga‘s world tour. The artist is scheduled to perform in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and New Zealand after the Seoul show. According to Hyundai Card, Korea is the only country that has prohibited teens from attending the concert. Early in the month, Lady Gaga’s Seoul concert was restricted to over-18s by the Korea Media Rating Board, as the Gender Ministry considers one of her songs to be performed at the show “inappropriate” for minors.

The decision was met with a mixed response here. Local Christian groups urged the government to cancel the entire concert saying her performances and lyrics have sexual connotations and are bad for young people’s emotional development, while music critics called the move “absurd” and against artistic freedom.

Speculation on her activities in Seoul is growing, but the artist told her fans that she is concentrating on her rehearsals and the upcoming concert.

“I will perform the tour of your life if it f---ing kills me,” she wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)