Gu Hye-sun’s “Tango”; Cha In-pyo

More book news.

First, we have the new cover art (above) and a bit more description about the book being published by Gu Hye-sun (Boys Before Flowers), titled Tango.

Gu’s book is based on memories of her own bittersweet first love, though the fictionalized story first rose in her mind upon hearing Ryuichi Sakamoto’s song “Tango.” (I posted that song in the previous post; below is a second version.)

It’s explained that the tango motif is linked to the story because in the dance, if the feet do not step together in time, they only hurt each other. The book will come with approximately 40 of Gu Hye-sun’s own illustrations.

But the more interesting book news, in my opinion, is that of veteran Hallyu actor Cha In-pyo (Crossing, Hanbando, Star In My Heart). Because while this is his debut novel, don’t write this off as a vanity project or mere ego-fluffery — his book deals with the issue of comfort women, which is a topic I find deeply compelling (the sexual slavery of hundreds of thousands of women, mostly Korean but also including Chinese, Filipina, Vietnamese, and those of other Southeast Asian nationalities, by the Japanese military in its imperial expansion years leading up to and during WWII).

SONG OF THE DAY

Ryuichi Sakamoto – “Tango.” I mentioned there was another version of this song in the last post and someone asked for it. This is the Japanese-language version of the same song. [ Download ] Incidentally, there’s also a slower Portuguese version: [ Download ] (Personally I like the Spanish one best.)

[Read more →]

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Based on the recent news, it seems this whole Japan-Korea joint production “telecinema” project is finally kicking into high gear.

Despite some actors’ names being floated around as participating in various segments of the project (such as Han Hyo-joo, Lee Soo-kyung, Cha In-pyo, Kim Sun-ah, Kim Haneul), I wasn’t really interested until this latest one announcing my Kang Ji-hwan’s involvement.

Yay! And yet, also boooooo — because it sounds like it may possibly end up really lame. Still, hope remains alive as long as he gets to show his acting chops, unoriginal story notwithstanding.

But first, what the heck is the telecinema project anyway? >>

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Who else looks at celebrity power couple Cha In Pyo and Shin Aera and remembers the old-school hit drama they were in together back when they were both young new faces, Love Is In Your Arms [Sarang eul gudae eui poom ahn ae]? I think it’s rather amazing they’ve stayed married (and both working over the years) for so long — over twelve years — and now they’re in the news again for adopting a baby girl.

Although Korea’s known for having been a large source of international adoptions, the practice is less common domestically, for lots of various reasons (which is why they put up campaigns like this one). Perhaps that’s why the couple has been on the receiving end of lots of praise for adopting, although they’ve expressed their surprise at the public reaction; they didn’t think it would result in such praise.

The couple already have two children (their second was also adopted, in December 2005) and had expressed intent to adopt again, but waited till now to allow their younger child time to adjust. Their biological son, Jung Min, is 11 years old; sister Yeh Eun is 4; and the youngest, new adoptee Yeh Jin, recently reached her 100-day milestone.

Via Newsen

SONG OF THE DAY

Tim – “고마운 기적” (Thankful miracle). I could do without the smooth jazz intro (whoa, shades of Kenny G) but otherwise a nice ballad. [ zShare download ]

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Which actors do we want to see most back on the TV screen in 2008? Well, OSEN weighs in with their picks. I’m not so sure I’d go with the four they chose, but hey, who am I to disagree?

First off, So Ji Sub. The actor finished his military service last year, but hasn’t acted since his return to public life, although he’s taken on modeling for various brands and ad campaigns.

“Although he’s hung up his military uniform, he hasn’t been able to make a comeback yet. That’s because his return project, the drama Cain and Abel, keeps being postponed. There have been reports that he would take on a film project instead, but there has been no confirmation so far of any projects in the works.

“So Ji Sub is an extremely unusual actor. His rise to lead actor and top star status has come from unique performances. Hopefully, he will be able to draw viewers in with a comeback project that shows the same kind of emotion and tears that characterized his image from earlier dramas What Happened in Bali and I’m Sorry, I Love You.” …

SONG OF THE DAY

Rain – “악수” (handshake). Rain’s really been getting the beatdown lately, hasn’t he? You could say he’s fair game for criticism given his extremely high profile… but I still kinda feel sorry for the guy. Some slams have been deserved (his debacle of a “world tour”), but some other smackdowns just reek of an idol being gleefully kicked when down. All that aside, I listened to some of his songs for the first time in a while, and I remembered why I liked him in the first place. Like this song — simple, smooth, and minus the frenetic hype and the spastic flash and glitz of his recent stuff — from his first album.
[ zShare download ]

 
Who else rounds out the list? >>

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