“Kim Jong Min at Hyun Young’s fan club meeting. A warm embrace is nothing unusual.”

 
…Hyun Young and Kim Jong Min??

It’s still 2007 here in the States, but it’s the new year for Koreans, and the first celebrity couple of 2008 have confirmed their relationship. It’s one that may seem a bit odd at first — sexy, leggy Hyun Young (31) with the high-pitched voice, and the always-laughing jokester Kim Jong Min (28).

Both are television personalities who have made numerous appearances on variety shows like Heroine 6 and X Man. Both are also singers — Kim Jong Min’s with the pop group Koyote and Hyun Young released her own dance-poppy album, although I really think of her more as a novelty singer than a serious pop star (oxymoron?). And, of course, Hyun Young is also an actress/comedian (which is the role I think suits her best), from dramas like Bad Family and movies like My Wife is a Gangster 3 and the action romantic comedy co-starring Lee Dong Wook, Choi Kang Romance (aka The Strongest Romance, aka Perfect Couple).

They met while both appearing on KBS2’s Happy Sunday Heroine 6 program, and have kept their dating on the downlow for the past year.

Kim Jong Min just began his military duties at the end of November 2007, but had time off to spend the end of the year with his girlfriend; cameras caught the couple at the end of a date; check out the pics below the cut.

“August 2006, at Hyun Young’s fan club meeting. Kim Jong Min presents her with a flower bouquet.”

SONG OF THE DAY

Sugarbowl - “오늘밤” (Tonight). This song reminds me of Jamiroquai’s mix of funk and rhythm — if ever a Korean movie wanted to capture their own brand of Napoleon Dynamite-esque dance brilliance, they oughtta use this tune. [ zShare download ]

Korean paparazzi, hard at work >>

Filed under: Actors, Stars by javabeans - 34 Comments →

Jumong

I put up my list of top dramas without regard to their overall popularity or ratings, and I feel safe saying that my guest bloggers did so as well. But in case you’re curious to know which dramas topped the ratings charts in 2007, here are all the big ones, drawing in viewerships in the whopping 50% range.

(Are you sick of all this year-end review stuff? Don’t worry; this is the last of it! Tomorrow we ring in 2008. Happy new year, everyone!)

SONG OF THE DAY

Rossy Punky Perfume - “Heavenly You” [ zShare download ]

See the complete list of the most-watched dramas>>

Filed under: As Much As Heaven and Earth, Pure 19, My Man's Woman, Jumong, Golden Age for Daughters-in-Law, K-Drama by javabeans - 20 Comments →

Since a few of you were curious about poll results, here they are (the rest beyond the jump), arranged in descending order of votes cast.

I expected Coffee Prince to lead the pack, but I was still a bit surprised at the extent of its lead. Therefore I find it more interesting to see not only who won but how all the OTHER dramas fared in relation to one another.

SONG OF THE DAY

Kio - “Old Movie” [ zShare download ]

The rest of the poll results>>

Filed under: K-Drama, Blog stuff by javabeans - 20 Comments →

Yes, my last post was “The Best of 2007,” but rather than put up a Worst list, I’m lumping them all together with The Rest. Not all the dramas I’m mentioning here are bad; they’re just dramas I watched that didn’t belong in the Best list.

SONG OF THE DAY

War of Money OST - “알 수 없는 일” (unknowable thing) by Sweet Sorrow [ zShare download ]

The Rest of 2007 >>

Filed under: Oh Su Jung, Capital Scandal, Legend, Auction House, Bad Couple, War of Money, Goong S, Hello! Miss, Witch Amusement, Air City, K-Drama by javabeans - 47 Comments →

[And now for Dahee Fanel’s comprehensive take on the past year! –javabeans]

First of all, I’d like to bow my head in deep gratitude to Javabeans, the highly esteemed writer of this blog, for inviting me to post a few thoughts here. I hope she won’t regret her decision after reading what I have to say, hehe.

2007 was an interesting year, at least for me, particularly when it comes to Korean dramas. I’ve watched dramas on a regular basis since I was old enough to walk and talk (I am, after all, Korean), but I’ve never undergone such a transformation in terms of how I approach dramas as I have in the past couple of years…although I suppose you could argue that it’s turned me into nothing but a picky bitch. (But weren’t you always a picky bitch, Dahee?)

Still, despite my pickiness, I managed to watch quite a handful of dramas this year, although I certainly didn’t manage to finish them all (blame school and the crappy work that some PDs and writers dish out, putting off viewers like me). In fact, I watched so many, I can’t possibly talk about them all here. So I’ll just pick a few notables and dish out some kudos, as well as one or two boos. Because boos are just as fun as kudos, if not as well-received.

DAHEE’S SONG OF THE DAY

Jo Kwan Woo - “천년애” (chun nyun ae), from the soundtrack of the drama The King & I. [ zShare download ]

In which I am embarrassingly long-winded

Filed under: Yi San, Madam Ah Hyun Dong, Mixed-up Investigative Agency, King & I, Dae Jang Geum, My Man's Woman, Surgeon Bong Dal Hee, White Tower, Insoon Is Pretty, Directors/Producers/Writers, Devil, Thank You, Dal Ja's Spring, Coffee Prince, Taereung National Village, Legend, Time of Dog and Wolf, K-Drama by Dahee_Fanel - 40 Comments →