The new romantic comedy film Love Fiction starring Gong Hyo-jin (Best Love) and Ha Jung-woo (The Client) is getting ready to premiere in February, and has released posters and a teaser trailer. It looks so cute, and I can’t wait to see their adorable chemistry in action. The movie’s being touted as a “Male Bridget Jones,” which doesn’t sound at all like a bad thing. The story tracks the hero’s bumbling journey through modern dating, which turns out to be a lot harder than he thought.

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Read the rest of Gong Hyo-jin’s Love Fiction releases trailer and posters (251 words)

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Post tags: Gong Hyo-jin, Ha Jung-woo

Wow, what a threesome. Big-budget action movie Berlin has confirmed a stellar three-top cast for a game of spy versus spy… versus spy? I mean, what do you DO with three leading men in one movie? Ha Jung-woo (Hwanghae) has just joined Ryu Seung-beom (The Unjust) and Han Seok-kyu (currently headlining SBS sageuk Tree With Deep Roots) in what looks to be the power struggle of the coming year.

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Read the rest of Spy action thriller Berlin scores powerhouse cast (319 words)

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Post tags: Ha Jung-woo, Han Seok-kyu, Ryu Seung-beom

Here’s some more news on The Client, the courtroom suspense movie with three big stars anchoring the three components of the taut thriller: prosecutor, defense attorney, and the client. And judging from these stills, they’re lookin’ good.

A surefire way to make sure we get the maximum conflict out of this triangle is to cast leading men capable of equal intensity and gravitas, which you get with Ha Jung-woo (The Chaser), Jang Hyuk (Midas), and Park Hee-soon (Barefoot Dream). Throw in a scene-stealing supporting star — delightfully bizarre Sung Dong-il (Chuno, My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho) — and you’ve got a must-see lineup.

Jang Hyuk is the suspect in a murder case without a body, who is represented by Ha Jung-woo. Presenting a fierce opposing case is prosecutor Park Hee-soon, which leads to intense legal clashing as both lawyers put forth vastly differing arguments. The film promises to keep audiences guessing all the way to its unpredictable verdict.

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Read the rest of Courtroom thriller The Client releases stills, sets premiere date (153 words)

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Post tags: Ha Jung-woo, Jang Hyuk, Park Hee-soon

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

This sounds really cute: Gong Hyo-jin and Ha Jung-woo are teaming up for a romantic comedy titled Love Fiction, which features Ha as a timid novelist who falls in love at first sight with a charming woman (Gong).

Ha’s character has exactly one successful novel to his name, but has fallen into a sophomore slump. A naive, bumbling sort of guy, he’s always being dumped by women. And my favorite thing about his description: He’s a half-assed vegetarian. I don’t know why, but that just makes me laugh. Maybe because I’ve been one, too.

Gong plays an employee of a film import company who is also an amateur photographer. She’s got a bright, happy personality, though (of course) she’s got some deep-rooted mom-related pain underneath it all.

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Read the rest of Gong Hyo-jin and Ha Jung-woo’s Love Fiction (223 words)

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Post tags: Gong Hyo-jin, Ha Jung-woo

Wow, with a cast like this, my interest is piqued: Ha Jung-woo (The Chaser), Park Hee-soon (A Barefoot Dream), and Jang Hyuk (Chuno, pictured above) have all been cast in a suspense thriller film called The Client.

Ha Jung-woo plays a lawyer struggling to prove his client’s innocence of a murder charge. Jang plays the suspect who is accused of killing his wife, and “holds the key to the truth.” His lawyer goes up against the public prosecutor in a fierce battle of wits and wills; the latter will be played by Park Hee-soon.
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Read the rest of Trio of talent headlines suspense thriller The Client (116 words)

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Post tags: Ha Jung-woo, Jang Hyuk, Park Hee-soon

The 46th Baeksang Arts Awards were held on March 26 in Seoul, which is one of the biggest awards ceremonies in the industry, in both television and film. Only, this year I’ve got to say my reaction at the winners was mostly: WTF, Baeksangs?

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Read the rest of 46th Baeksang Arts Awards (1,652 words)

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Post tags: awards, Choi Kang-hee, Daniel Choi, Go Hyun-jung, Ha Ji-won, Ha Jung-woo, Han Hyo-joo, Hong Su-ah, Hwang Jung-eum, Jang Geun-seok, Jang Hee-jin, Jo Ahn, Joo Jin-mo, Jung Yong-hwa, Kang Ye-won, Kim Ah-joong, Kim Nam-gil, Kim Nam-joo, Lee Chae-young, Lee Min-ho, Lee Min-jung, Lee Min-ki, Lee Seung-gi, Moon Geun-young, Park Bo-young, Seo Woo, Shin Se-kyung, So Ji-sub, Sohn Ye-jin, Sunwoo Sun, Yoon Shi-yoon, Yoon-ah

Actor Ha Jung-woo is exploring his creative side with an individual exhibit of his artwork (his first ever), which will be on display for the next month at a gallery in Yangpyeong, Kyeonggi-do. A recent spread in the March issue of Vogue magazine also featured a few of his paintings, pictured here.

This opportunity came through a bit of happenstance; a scriptwriter on Ha’s movie team had seen photos of the paintings in Ha’s cell phone, and made the recommendation for the exhibit. Curators then visited Ha’s home to take a look at his work, which led to the planning of this show.

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Read the rest of Ha Jung-woo reveals his artwork (199 words)

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Post tags: Ha Jung-woo, star extracurricular activities

Ji Jin-hee and Lee Jong-hyuk are both currently working on drama projects, and they also have a movie set to come out mid-month, the mystery-thriller Parallel Life, which is building up buzz online for its story: the main character draws connections between the murder of a family thirty years ago and a new case repeating old patterns, and soon finds himself entangled in the mystery. The race is on to prevent more killing, which he predicts based the old case that forms a “parallel life” to the new one.

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Read the rest of Ji Jin-hee’s Parallel Life (227 words)

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Post tags: Ha Jung-woo, Ji Jin-hee, Lee Jong-hyuk

It’s that time of year again: awards season!

On December 2, the 30th Blue Dragon Film Awards were held at KBS Hall in Yoido, Seoul, hosted by actors Kim Hye-soo and Lee Beom-soo.

Considering the recent slump in the Korean movie industry, it was a pretty good year for films, with several big hits breaking box office records, like Haeundae and Take Off, both of which amassed a number of nominations. It was also a good year for the smaller, indie movie, with awards being given to actors of Breathless, and both Kim Myung-min and Ha Ji-won pulling in top acting honors for their performances in My Love By My Side (aka Closer to Haeven).

Actress Jang Jin-young, who passed away this year from stomach cancer at the age of 35, was given a special award that honored her career in film, with roles in movies like 2001′s Sorum and 2003′s Singles.

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Read the rest of 2009 Blue Dragon Film Awards (1,513 words)

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Post tags: awards, Cha Tae-hyun, Choi Kang-hee, Chu Ja-hyun, Chun Jung-myung, Go Soo, Ha Ji-won, Ha Jung-woo, Han Ye-seul, Jang Jin-young, Jang Young-nam, Jeon No-min, Jin Gu, Jo Ahn, Kang So-ra, Kang Ye-won, Kim Haneul, Kim Hye-soo, Kim Ji-suk, Kim Min-hee, Kim Min-joon, Kim Ok-bin, Lee Beom-soo, Lee Chae-young, Lee Min-ki, Lee Shi-young, Oh Yeon-seo, Park Bo-young, Sohn Ye-jin, Song Chang-eui, Sunwoo Sun, Wang Seok-hyun, Yoo Sun, Yoon Jin-seo