US pop diva Lady Gaga arrived in South Korea late Friday, one week before a Seoul performance which will kick off her third concert tour. The singer, wearing a floor-length low-cut white dress, white gloves and a pearl-encrusted mask, blew kisses to fans at Seoul's Gimpo airport who tried to snap her image on smartphones. Her schedule in South Korea for the coming week was unclear and concert organisers Hyundai Card declined to give details. "The Born This Way Ball" tour begins on April 27 at Seoul's Olympic Stadium. From there Lady Gaga will take her hits and extravagant costumes to Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia, and then on to 21 European cities. South Koreans aged under 18 have been banned from the concert after it was rated unsuitable for younger audiences.

The show had an initial age rating of 12 and older but the Korea Media Rating Board -- a state watchdog -- adjusted it upwards. Some religious groups in South Korea have opposed the concert, saying Lady Gaga has advocated homosexuality and performed in an explicitly sexual manner. "Our Christian community needs concerted action to stop young people from being infected with homosexuality and pornography," the Korean Association of Church Communication said in a statement last month. Lady Gaga is expected to do 110 shows this year following up the success of her album "Born This Way", which has sold nearly six million copies worldwide since it was released in May 2011. The eccentric star from New York has a record number of almost 22 million followers on Twitter. The singer, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, is famous for the hit songs "Bad Romance" and "Poker Face," and has become a strident voice for gay rights and anti-bullying campaigns.

AFP, photo by ama_lia