Aaaaand, we FINALLY have a king. I seriously thought this drama would never secure a cast. But now the production team behind highly anticipated miniseries The King has announced that Ha Ji-won and Lee Seung-gi have been confirmed as the soon-to-be royal couple to hit the small screen this March. Looks like the king’s in for a noona romance, but considering that Seung-gi’s basically the poster boy for noona love, it only seems fitting.

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Read the rest of Ha Ji-won and Lee Seung-gi confirm The King (364 words)

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Post tags: Ha Ji-won, Lee Seung-gi

Dude, what’s with this drama and its inability to confirm a cast? Upcoming MBC drama The King starring Ha Ji-won (supposedly, since that’s yet to be confirmed too) has now reportedly jumped its leading man ship to Lee Seung-gi (My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho). Am I allowed to be excited? Because I would be, but I’m not sure if I’m just going to get slapped in the face with a denial. That said, you KNOW I’m all over this if Seung-gi’s up for the lead.

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Read the rest of Lee Seung-gi to play Ha Ji-won’s King? (294 words)

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Post tags: Ha Ji-won, Lee Seung-gi

There have been so many rumors upon rumors circulating for so long about Ha Ji-won starring in upcoming romantic comedy The King, and new reports are out that she’s finally confirmed the role. But with this drama, I’ll believe it when I see it. And right on the tail of her casting report, a new name got tossed out for a possible leading man in Cha Seung-won, who’s reportedly considering the role carefully. I swear, this drama just needs to pick a cast already. I vote for this pair. Can we start filming now?

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Read the rest of Ha Ji-won and Cha Seung-won in The King? (236 words)

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Post tags: Cha Seung-won, Ha Ji-won

Ah, London…how do I miss thee. Afternoon Broadway shows at Picadilly Circus, window shopping at the coolest shops, the history and culture… Too bad their food never made it to my “like” list. (I still have nightmares about my run-in with the duck liver pizza. The horror!)

Luckily, the city has more going for it than the reputation for its less-than-desirable food menu. London is known for being trendy and fashion-forward, so it makes sense that cable network Style Magazine has chosen that locale for their research spot on beauty trends. Ha Ji-won has been seen walking around the streets of London in the past month, gathering data for her piece. I guess Style Magazine knew what they were thinking by asking Ha Ji-won to take this on: She’s gorgeous, feminine and sexy. (Let’s just say that her leather costume in Secret Garden made me get my yoga dvd out… and even do 5 minutes of the thing before quitting.)

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Read the rest of Ha Ji-won researches beauty in London (104 words)

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Post tags: Ha Ji-won

Sector 7, Korea’s monster-at-sea action flick starring Ha Ji-won, was one of the big summer blockbusters in Korea (netting more than 2.2 million admittances; it’s still in theaters, so that number will probably tick upward), and now American and Canadian (well, BC and Toronto folks) audiences will have the chance to see it on the big screen as well.

CJ Entertainment is releasing Sector 7 in 15 cinemas across the U.S. and Canada; the movie opened this past weekend for most of the theaters, with Hawaii’s release to come in October.

Check out the two teasers below (they’re English-subtitled) to refresh your memories on the plot, which in a nutshell is basically The Host on a deep-sea oil rig, and with Ha Ji-won, as well as a bunch of guys who probably die. (I haven’t seen it, but that’s pretty much the formula, isn’t it?)

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Read the rest of Sector 7 opens in U.S cinemas (233 words)

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Ha Ji-won‘s new movie Sector 7 is an action-thriller creature feature (think The Host at sea) that takes place on an oil rig, and as part of her training for the role, Ha was certified as a skin scuba diver.

In these photos recently released by Ha’s management, she received her license last year in Saipan, where she went to dive at some world-famous locales, including the Grotto. Apparently Ha has a fear of swimming, despite her athletic tendencies; to prepare for her diving trip to Saipan, she received a pretty hardcore training regimen from Lee Jae-hoon, member of the old pop group Cool who also happens to be a skin scuba instructor. Nice to have friends with diverse skill sets, yeah?

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Read the rest of Ha Ji-won goes scuba diving for Sector 7 (113 words)

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Post tags: Ha Ji-won

It’s too bad that Hyun Bin was missing from the 47th Baeksang Arts Awards, since he and his drama picked up a bunch of awards. (Alas, there’s that whole mandatory military thing.)

Not only did he grab a Daesang in the TV portion (film Daesang went to Lee Byung-heon for his thriller I Saw the Devil), both his projects won awards as well: Tang Wei for film Late Autumn, who’s pictured above with Ha Ji-won, his co-star in Secret Garden, which won top honors for the drama category. Looks like he’s on a roll, even in absentia. Do the Marines allow celebratory Baeksang parties for their celeb enlistees? Surely he earned a drink or two, at least.

The awards were held on the evening of May 26 in Seoul, and hosted by actors Ryu Shi-won (Style) and Kim Ah-joong (Sign).

WINNERS LIST

FILM SECTION

Daesang: Lee Byung-heon (I Saw the Devil)
Best Picture: Ajusshi (The Man From Nowhere)
Director: Lee Chang-dong (Poetry)
Top Excellence, Actor: Ha Jung-woo (The Yellow Sea)
Top Excellence, Actress: Tang Wei (Late Autumn)
New Actor: Choi Seung-hyun (TOP) (Into the Fire)
New Actress: Shin Hyun-bin (He’s On Duty)
New Director: Kim Young-taek (Hello Ghost)
Screenplay: Yook Sang-hyo (He’s On Duty)
Popularity Award, Actor: Choi Seung-hyun (TOP) (Into the Fire)
Popularity Award, Actress: Park Shin-hye (Cyrano Dating Agency)

TV SECTION (...)
Read the rest of 47th Baeksang Arts Awards (1,697 words)

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Post tags: awards, Cha Tae-hyun, Go Hyun-jung, Ha Ji-won, Ha Jung-woo, Han Hyo-joo, Hong Su-ah, Hwang Jung-eum, Hyun Bin, Ji Chang-wook, Jo Ahn, Jo Hyun-jae, Jo Yeo-jung, Jung Bo-seok, Jung Il-woo, Jung Yong-hwa, JYP, Kim Ah-joong, Kim Nam-joo, Kim Sae-ron, Kim Soo-hyun, Lee Byung-heon, Lee Min-jung, Lee Shi-young, Lee Su-geun, Micky Yoochun, Min Hyo-rin, Moon Geun-young, Nam Gyuri, Park Ha-sun, Park Min-young, Park Shin-hye, Ryu Shi-won, Seo Young-hee, Shin Hyun-bin, Song Joong-ki, Suzy, Taecyeon, TOP, Yoo Inna, Yoon Shi-yoon

You’ve seen the stills of a tough-looking Ha Ji-won in sci-fi action blockbuster Sector 7 — now watch her in action in the movie’s new preview, where she battles some kind of mutant sea monster while out on an oil rig.

The movie concept admittedly isn’t too original or complicated — it’s positioned itself as a “Host at sea” and amped up the badass Ha Ji-won angle — but if they can sneak in some clever surprises, it could be a fun summer flick. I thought The Host was awesome and don’t expect this one to be nearly as good in story (too similar to escape the knockoff vibe), but for sheer action/octane, Sector 7 is going in with guns blazing — gnarly CG monsters, explosions, fierce hand-to-tentacle combat, 3-D camera work.

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Read the rest of Sector 7′s preview and poster (200 words)

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Post tags: Ahn Sung-ki, Ha Ji-won, Oh Ji-ho

Ha Ji-won looks ready to kick some major evil-creature ASS. Upcoming summer blockbuster Sector 7 is whetting our appetites just enough to get us clamoring for some actiony goodness. The 3D creature feature from the director of May 18 and the producer of Haeundae has been years in the making, and from the looks of it, it might be worth the wait.

The action/sci-fi film is set on an oil rig out at sea, where the inhabitants will encounter Mystery Monster, reportedly in development for its 3D CG effects for two years before the film went into shoots. It boasts a 10 billion won budget, and well, it sure does look slick, though I suppose most of the dough was spent on the creature from the big bad blue.

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Read the rest of Badass Sector 7 stills (116 words)

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Post tags: Ahn Sung-ki, Ha Ji-won, Oh Ji-ho

After knocking out a super-hit drama series (Secret Garden, as if you needed the reminder), Ha Ji-won is jumping right back to the film world with a new project called Korea, which is a working title that dearly needs to be changed. (Can you imagine the aggravation of trying to find information on that movie? It’s like trying to buy That Album by That Band. Or trying to find out Hu’s on first.)

The movie is based on real-life events, centering around the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan, when for the first time ever North and South Korea played as one team and won. It’s got all the makings of a heartwarming, feel-good story, replete with odd-couple dynamics and underdog victory. Will we get another Forever the Moment? (And Take Off?)

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Read the rest of Ha Ji-won and Bae Doo-na team up in sports movie (197 words)

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Post tags: Bae Doo-na, Ha Ji-won, Han Ye-ri