Dramabeans » Horan

My Country Calls ends quietly on KBS

javabeans — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:49:54 +0000

KBS’s romantic comedy My Country Calls went out quietly on Tuesday with its finale episode, its 16th. The drama has performed under the radar in its Monday-Tuesday timeslot, having gone up against two heavy-hitters: MBC’s historical Dong Yi and SBS’s saga Giant.

Its ratings have been consistently in the 6% range, while its rivals have performed in the 20% and even 30% range (Dong Yi) or solid teens (Giant). The finale brought in a 7%.

As we know, ratings don’t mean everything, and despite the low numbers, My Country Calls generally drew favorable response for its laughs, its refreshing new tone, and the commitment of its actors (Lee Soo-kyung, Kim Sang-kyung, Ryu Jin, and Horan in her drama debut).

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Post tags: Horan, Kim Sang-kyung, Lee Soo-kyung, My Country Calls, Ryu Jin

The Bubble trio’s newest CF song

javabeans — Fri, 14 May 2010 00:30:06 +0000

A new video has been released of actress Han Ga-in recording a CM song (for a commercial), along with Horan and Winterplay’s Hye-won, all of whom are brand models for the Hauzen brand of products from Samsung. Though it’s not technically a debut as singer, this is the first time Han Ga-in has sung and recorded a song.

You may recall Han Ga-in’s previous CF for a Hauzen washing machine, which featured Winterplay’s Bubble Song. They’re again promoting the Bubble line with this trio, and netizens have dubbed the following the “Bubble Eco Song.”

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Read the rest of The Bubble trio’s newest CF song (53 words)

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Post tags: CFs, Han Ga-in, Horan, Winterplay

Posters for KBS’s upcoming My Country Calls

javabeans — Sat, 01 May 2010 18:36:45 +0000

My Country Calls will be airing once Birth of the Rich is over, and has released its official posters. The romantic-comedy series pairs a cute but accident-prone policewoman (Lee Soo-kyung) with a spy who’s a stickler for the rules (Kim Sang-kyung). Ryu Jin and Horan fill out the main cast; the former is both a slacker and ambitious — an interesting juxtaposition — and the latter is a spy who is called the “goddess” of the national intelligence agency.

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Read the rest of Posters for KBS’s upcoming My Country Calls (90 words)

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Post tags: Horan, Kim Sang-kyung, Lee Soo-kyung, My Country Calls, Ryu Jin

“Goddess spy” Horan in My Country Calls

javabeans — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:36:57 +0000

The first cast promos and stills have already come out for My Country Calls, and now we have a couple more of one of the drama’s stars, Clazziquai singer Horan in her acting debut. Horan plays a skilled spy in the upcoming KBS romantic comedy, whose Eun-seo character offers up a stark contrast to the heroine, a low-level policewoman played by Lee Soo-kyung.

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Read the rest of “Goddess spy” Horan in My Country Calls (160 words)

A look at KBS’s upcoming My Country Calls

javabeans — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:30:28 +0000

Mondays and Tuesdays will soon be getting a new romantic comedy, My Country Calls, to replace Birth of the Rich. Several key leads play spies, but this’ll be a far cry from the action thrills of the IRIS franchise, and aims for a more comic bent.

Lee Soo-kyung plays a lowly, accident-prone officer who meets the elite agent played by Kim Sang-kyung, and the two become entangled in a series of comic events.

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Read the rest of A look at KBS’s upcoming My Country Calls (103 words)

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Post tags: Horan, Kim Sang-kyung, Lee Soo-kyung, My Country Calls, Ryu Jin

Horan makes her acting debut

javabeans — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 23:53:31 +0000

Singer Horan is joining her Clazziquai counterpart Alex in the acting realm, and has been cast in her first drama project, KBS’s upcoming romantic-comedy series My Country Calls [국가가 부른다].

The drama recently cast Lee Soo-kyung as its leading lady; she plays a lowly policewoman with little professional spirit and who believes that even if you might have to bend the rules a bit, nothing’s impossible. Her character directly contrasts with Kim Sang-kyung, who plays an intelligence agent who believes that rules are meant to be kept. (Sounds a little like Rivals, aka Powerful Opponents, doesn’t it?) Ryu Jin also stars.

Horan plays a “perfect woman” who is also an intelligence agent, with outstanding looks, smarts, skills, and loving family. She accomplishes anything she sets her mind to, and is called a “goddess class” agent. But she’s not so far above reach as to be unappealing, and is also described as an “eom-chin-ddal” — the kind of daughter all moms love. She is the first love to Kim Sang-kyung’s character, who has been unable to forget her. This sets up the love triangle between them and Lee Soo-kyung.

Horan said, “I’m thrilled at this new challenge. It’s an honor for me to work with other actors like Kim Sang-kyung, Lee Soo-kyung, and Ryu Jin. I’ll learn a lot and do my best to portray ‘Choi Eun-seo.’”

Although this is her first television acting role, it’s not her acting debut; she has been in a stage musical in the past. In addition to singing for electronica group Clazziquai, Horan is also the voice of indie band Ibadi. She has also been a radio DJ and hosted an educational literature program, and penned a book of essays.

My Country Calls follows Birth of the Rich on Mondays and Tuesdays, and premieres April 26.

Via My Daily

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CF songs for sale

javabeans — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:37:43 +0000

Im Soo-jung (Happiness) has a new CF out, and it prominently features a catchy jingle, the 달라송. (This is also why I should listen to the lyrics more carefully before translating: Hearing the chorus refrain the words “달라, 달라” over and over, I assumed she was saying “gimme,” as in, gimme that car. Turns out it’s singing, “I’m different.”)

In the CF (watch below the cut), which just premiered last week, Im drives around and dances to the song while promoting the i30cw, a car model for Hyundai. Well, apparently the song is a hit with viewers, and is so popular that the producers of the jingle have revealed that the song — sung by Clazziquai’s Horan and pop singer Park Ki-young — will be sold as a digital single.

Producer Park Shi-hyuk actually explained that they’d been keeping the singers’ identities a secret to cultivate interest, but those speedy netizens beat them to the punch and one-upped their own reveal.

The single goes on sale November 11.

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Read the rest of CF songs for sale (170 words)

Taking to a different stage

javabeans — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:42:57 +0000

I love Horan. Not only is she a great singer for electronica group Clazziquai as well as indie band Ibadi (not the strongest vocals, but lovely all the same), she’s smart and literate (she put out a collection of essays, served as book columnist for a magazine, and hosted an educational book program on television).

Now the singer-author-MC-radio DJ takes her first stab at a new type of stage: musical theater. Next month, she’ll debut in SHOUT! — “the mod musical” about women’s liberation that takes place in England’s swingin’ ’60s — which has enjoyed successful runs in England, the States, Australia, and Japan. Characters are named after colors (Yellow, Green, Blue), and Horan steps into the role of “Red.”

SHOUT! runs from October 24 through January 18 in Seoul’s Cecil Theater.

Via Sports Khan

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One fine day with My Dear Enemy

javabeans — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:00:40 +0000

“Cannes queen” Jeon Do-yeon reteams with “Chungmuro’s blue chip” Ha Jung-woo in a new movie (they’d previously both acted in the drama series Lovers in Prague), directed by Lee Yoon-ki (Ad-lib Night). While the direct translation comes to “A Fine Day” [멋진 하루], My Dear Enemy has been selected as the English-language title.

The film held its press conference on the afternoon of August 26 at Seoul’s Artsonje Center, where indie band Ibadi (featuring lead singer Horan of Clazziquai) took the stage for a performance. (And Jeon sure looks radiant — maybe it’s her pregnancy?)

The story is described as a departure from the typical romance formula, and centers around an odd day spent between two former lovers. The woman (Jeon) has no job, no boyfriend, and is past the ripe old age of 30; she meets with her ex because of a money issue and the two spend a weird day together. The film opens September 25

After her Cannes Best Actress win for Secret Sunshine, Jeon’s international profile has risen, prompting questions of whether that translates into ambitions to act abroad. She answered:

“I’ve had a few offers for foreign films, but I thought of how difficult it is acting in Korean, and how difficult it would be acting in another language. I talked about this jokingly with [Sunshine co-star] Song Kang-ho, but we both came to the conclusion that we don’t have that kind of confidence. We don’t even dare dream of it.”

Thus spake two of Korea’s most acclaimed actors — finally, a voice of reason.

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Read the rest of One fine day with My Dear Enemy (338 words)

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Post tags: Ha Jung-woo, Horan, Jeon Do-yeon

Team Alex beats Team Horan to the finish line

javabeans — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:23:39 +0000

These photos come from yesterday’s (July 21) Nike Human Race Training Run, where approximately a hundred participants ran under the banner of either (Clazziquai’s) Team Alex (red) or Team Horan (yellow).

The two teams raced a 10K along the Han River in Yoido; on August 31, 25 cities worldwide will host the Human Race event, including Seoul.

Via Mk.co.kr

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