Hawai'i fan club members eagerly wait for Korean megastar Song Il Kook's next historical series, "Kingdom of the Winds" (aka "Land of the Wind" or "Wind Country") to be shown on KBS next month.

The Gentle Song Il Kook Hawaii Fan Club is one of the few fan clubs recognized by the Song Il Kook management team. It held a meeting last Sunday at the Waikiki Resort hotel. Of the nearly 200 members, more than 120 fans showed up for the Korean lunch and to discuss club matters. Song Il Kook memorabilia were placed on all four walls of the large banquet room so that everywhere you turned, Song was in your field of vision. If the pictures didn't get your attention, then the Song shirts worn by the members did! The latest variation had a "Ju-mong" logo on the sleeve, referencing the 2006 historical drama starring Song.

The members — nearly all of whom are non-Korean — were oohing and ahhhing when Song's compilation edit of past dramas was shown. Some fans even sang — in Korean — the theme song to one of the dramas!

Fans from the Neighbor Islands flew in for the weekend just to attend the fan meeting. Doreen Barreras and Mae Tajiri, from Maui, were in attendance, along with many other non-Korean local ladies, laughing and sharing why they love K-drama.

The fans hope to invite Song to Hawai'i someday soon. Some members of the Gentle Song Il Kook Hawaii Fan Club visited South Korea in 2006 and 2007, where they met with Song and attended his fan club meeting. Song mentioned that he desired to visit Hawai'i soon. In preparation, the fan club here is selling cookies, mandoo and kim chee, and has raised more than $18,000, of which $15,000 is to be used for inviting Song to Hawai'i and the remaining for club operations such as maintaining the fan Web site.

Song achieved megastar status with his role in the historical series "Ju Mong," which ran 81 episodes. Ju Mong was the founding king of the Goguryeo, which had territories in northern Korea and China. Soon, Song will be in a new historical series titled "Kingdom of the Winds," in which he plays the role of Ju Mong's grandson, Mu-hyool. Mu-hyool later becomes the third ruler of Goguryeo as King Daemushin. The series just finished filming at several locations throughout China and is now back in South Korea to continue filming.

The series is expected to be about 36 episodes and is slated to start broadcast on KBS in South Korea next month.

"Kingdom of the Winds" is based on a comic written by Kim Jin. Choi Wangyu, who wrote the hit series "All In" and "Jumong," will be working on "Kingdom of the Winds," and Kang Ilsu, who worked on the hit series "Emperor of the Sea," is directing.

THIS WEEK'S K-DRAMA SYNOPSES

'HAPPINESS'

EPISODES 25 AND 26

Tonight at 6:45: When Jun-su gets on Seo-yun's nerves, she drags him out of the car and leaves him in the middle of the road. Cheol-gon and Mrs. Ahn go out and spend more time together. Seo-yun finds out from Dong-suk that everyone has a bet going on how soon they're going to get divorced. Tonight at 7:45: Eda rebels against her mom for the first time and surprises everyone. Eda works up a scheme to keep the gym open for the coach and Kang-suk. Sang-wook visits Sa-rang and finds himself emotionally attached to him.

'BEST CHEF'

EPISODES 1 AND 2

Tomorrow at 7:45 p.m.: The royal chef is fired as the Japanese take control of the Korean government. The descendants of the royal chef have continued the tradition of cooking royal Korean cuisine at Woonam, where Chef Oh, son Oh Bong-joo and adopted son Sung-chan strive to cook the best food for their customers. Trouble brews as Chef Oh announces a competition for Woonam's successor. Tuesday at 7:45 p.m.: The conference reveals that there will be three rounds of competition for Woonam's successor. Bong-joo, Min-woo, and Sung-chan are the participants.

'ILJIMAE'

EPISODES 13 AND 14

Wednesday at 7:45 p.m.: Eun-chae's new inn Geumro-gak has a grand opening ceremony with VIP guests, including Envoy Jeong Myong-su. In the meantime, Yong and Si-hu study martial arts and sword-fighting under Yong-jae and Sa-chun. Yang-sun, a little girl at the market, gets run over by drunk Jeong Myong-su's son. Thursday at 7:45 p.m.: People gathered in front of Jeong Myong-su's hold their ground and don't disband. Jeong Myong-su asks the king to disperse the crowd.

'DAYS OF INNOCENCE'

EPISODES 5 AND 6

Friday at 7:45 p.m.: Dong-hwa drags Tae-seok to Ji-yoon's graduation, putting both Tae-seok and Ji-yoon in awkward situations. Dong-hwa's father takes his car, credit cards and everything else from him to make him come back home. Ji-yoon confirms Tae-seok's love for her when she sees him searching for her desperately in the burning building. Tae-seok is also heavy-hearted when he's faced with his feelings for Ji-yoon. Ji-yoon confesses her love to Tae-seok.

Jeff Chung is general manager of KBFD, which televises Korean dramas. K-drama question or comment? Reach him at 521-8066 or jeffchung@kbfd.com.