What in the what? NY Mag has just broken the news that top Korean fashion model Daul Kim was found dead in Paris today, and while details are yet unknown, it appears to have been a suicide.

Daul Kim is probably Korea’s most famous supermodel and had worked a lot in her short career — she was 20. I remember watching her featured in Korean cable reality program I Am A Model, which followed the activities of working models. I’d also occasionally popped in to read her personal blog, I Like To Fork Myself, and found her often-rambling insights interesting and entertaining.

RIP Daul.

Some of Daul Kim’s fashion photos >>

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Top actress Lee Young-ae poses for her first spread since getting secretly married over the summer, and will be featured in the December issue of Elle magazine as part of the “Share Happiness” campaign.

The Share Happiness campaign will donate the 250 million won it raised for charity. Of the 93 total stars taking part, included is Lee’s good friend and colleague Jang Dong-gun, as well as Joo Jin-mo, Hwang Jung-min, Su Ae, Shin Mina, Cha Tae-hyun, Han Jae-seok, Gong Hyung-jin, and Kim Nam-gil. Stars like Go So-young, Kim Ah-joong, and Sohn Dam-bi took on a glamorous look for the shoot, while others like Han Hye-jin, Han Ji-min, and Yoon Jin-seo were shot with family members.

Lee has been relatively low-profile since her surprising August wedding to a Korean-American (not that she’s the type who’s constantly in the media eye anyway), choosing to focus on her schoolwork as she aims for her doctorate degree. She said at the time of her marriage that she would continue to work if a good role came along, but so far has not stated any plans for specific acting projects.

Via Star News

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Swine flu strikes the entertainment industry again: this time it’s Kim Nam-gil, aka “Bi-dam” of MBC’s Queen Seon-deok, which can only make the production team of that drama nervous as it heads into its final stretch of episodes (the drama will wrap by year’s end).

Kim’s management company confirmed on November 19 that the actor, who came down with flu-like symptoms two days ago, was confirmed with the H1N1 virus. For the time being he will have to focus on recovering, and the producers of the historical drama are making amendments to the scripts to account for his absence.

Kim Nam-gil said of his situation, “First I had a horse-riding accident, and now with the swine flu I’ve caused another difficulty for the broadcast, for which I feel very regretful. I’ll return to filming as soon as I have made a complete recovery. I’m sure it won’t take longer than this weekend, and afterward I will take more care to keep healthy.”

Via Mk.co.kr

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In preparation for his impending army enlistment, actor Joo Ji-hoon has announced that he is shutting down his homepage and refunding members of his official fan club for the remainder of time covered under their club dues.

The Devil and Antique Bakery actor has been living in seclusion at home ever since completing his court-ordered 120 hours of community service in August. This follows the May indictment he faced after being charged for drug use in April. He was given a suspended sentence of six months of jail time pending one year of probation (meaning, if he completes probation successfully, the jail time would be erased). Actress Yoon Seol-hee faced stiffer punishment for smuggling ecstasy and ketamine into the country from Japan, as did model Yeh Hak-young for financing the operations.

According to Joo Ji-hoon’s management, Yeoubeak Entertainment, his homepage will be shut down on December 1. Although he had thought to enlist by the end of the year, he has not yet received his papers so the date isn’t finalized. Apparently there is a waiting list for enlistees, with 1981-ers being processed first as this is their last year to enlist. Joo, born in 1982, technically must enlist by the end of next year, so he may be pushed back and find his enlistment scheduled for January.

Before the scandal broke, Joo was preparing his next acting project, but his future career prospects remain hazy at the moment. Through his homepage, Joo wrote to fans, “With my mistake, I hurt others and left without being able to show a proud and upright image. Rather than showing you my back, I promise that someday I will face you straightforwardly.”

Via My Daily

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Actor Kim Bum recently put out a single album in Japan — after showing off his vocal skills with the song he recorded on the additional Boys Before Flowers — and now he’s putting out a photoessay collection.

Kim Bum said, “After the broadcast ended for my drama Dream, I traveled to England. Over ten days from October 23, I toured London and the surrounding areas, and I’ve gathered the photographs I shot into an essay collection. You’ll be able to see it soon.” The photos aren’t solely vacation memories but aims to promote an environmental message.

He added, “I’ve wanted to release a book that I put my name on, so this is a dream come true. This was my first trip to England, and I really enjoyed myself. I feel great to be able to experience the culture of environmentalism myself and introduce it [to Korea].”

Meanwhile, Kim Bum has a movie still to be released (action-romance Bisang), and is enjoying a lot of popularity even if his last drama, Dream, flopped. Hopefully he’ll be more lucky with his next choice — given how busy he’s keeping these days, I’m going to guess we won’t have to wait too long for the next project…

Via DongA

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