I know, I’m way behind on weighing in on Baby-Faced Beauty, with it almost halfway done with its 18-episode run. Most of the time if I fall behind on a drama, I’ll just let it go, but I’ve been finding this one sweet and charming — and incredibly pretty to look at — that I wanted to give it a proper introduction, at least.

The drama, like many others past and present, is based on one lie that snowballs out of control, which in this case is about age/identity. The show therefore plays a lot with the concept of age, seniority, and rank in the workplace, which is an interesting motif upon which to hang a story since age is one of those things that plays a huge part in the social fabric of modern Korea. It’s a part of every introduction between people, and built into every interaction big or small, since the very language used between people is determined by one’s age/rank relation to the other. The drama manages to work in the topic without being too heavy-handed about it, which I appreciate, and Jang Nara does a good job being cute, conflicted, and compelling as the 34-going-on-25 heroine.

SONG OF THE DAY

Trans Fixion – “Cover Girl” [ Download | Alternate DL ]

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Post tags: Baby-Faced Beauty, Daniel Choi, featured, first episodes, Hyun Young, Jang Nara, Kim Min-seo, Oh Yeon-seo, Ryu Jin

With the upcoming KBS drama Baby-Faced Beauty, actress-singer Jang Nara has her first Korean drama in, oh, EVER — she’s been busy in China for the bulk of the last seven or eight years, and has consequently been pretty absent from the Korean entertainment scene. So already this is more than we’ve seen of her in ages, starting with the poster shoots (directly above and below) and the behind-the-scenes shots from the drama’s set.

The crazy thing is, if you compare Jang from her prior dramas back in the early 2000s, she actually looks exactly the same now. She just turned 30 this month, but she may as well have stepped right out of My Love Patzzi or Wedding. Minus the awful orange hair that was so popular back in the day, that is.

So she fits right in playing the 34-year-old lead, a woman whose baby face is her one advantage to offset her lackluster educational background (a mere high school degree) and her bad credit history. Her appearance allows her to pretend to be nine years younger in order to get a job working for a fashion design company.

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Post tags: Baby-Faced Beauty, Daniel Choi, Hyun Young, Jang Nara, Kim Min-seo, Oh Yeon-seo, Ryu Jin

SBS’s new medical drama OB-GYN is piling on the cameo appearances as celebrities make guest spots as patients. The drama is doing middling numbers in the 10% range but has met with generally favorable response. The first two episodes last week featured actress-MC Hyun Young, and adds several more guests with this week’s episodes: Story of a Man‘s Han Yeo-woon, comedienne-actress Kim Mi-ryeo, actress Hwang Hyo-eun (Assorted Gems, Style), and actor Sung Ji-ru (A Star’s Lover).

The three actresses’ spots can be seen in the third episode, which aired yesterday (the 10th) and notably carried a 19+ age label — unusual for broadcast television. Perhaps it has to do with the nature of the medical conditions, given that this drama takes place in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.

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Post tags: Han Yeo-woon, Hwang Hyo-eun, Hyun Young, Kim Mi-ryeo, OB-GYN, Sung Ji-ru

I’m still not excited about SBS’s OB-GYN, but they did whip up some interesting (and oddly pretty) posters that evoke the pregnancy/medical theme. (See more photos from the shoot below.)

In addition to the main cast, which features Jang Seo-hee, Go Ju-won, Seo Ji-seok, Jung Ho-bin, Lee Young-eun, and Song Joong-ki, Episodes 1 and 2 of OB-GYN will feature a special cameo of MC-actress-entertainer Hyun Young, who plays a pregnant top star. The character has married into a chaebol family and faces some difficult moments when she finds out that her unborn baby shows signs of Down’s syndrome.

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Post tags: Hyun Young, OB-GYN

For anyone who reads a famous star’s profile online and then feels bad about yourself — psst! They’re usually fake. Or, let’s say, “altered” from strict reality.

For instance, not every Korean actress weighs less than 50kg. (Gasp, I know!) I’m sure a large majority of them do, but it is not a universal truth that all actresses stop gaining weight (or eating) when they hit 50kg. Hyori may be the only one who admits to weighing more than 50kg, but she’s not the only one who actually does.

Oh yeah, and as we know from looking at profiles of ladies who are famously petite (Song Hye-gyo, Kim Tae-hee), those heights are often exaggerated as well. Think of it like a driver’s license. Or penis size. Everyone (or most people) takes a little off the number here, and adds a little there.

So it’s no surprise that a little fudging goes on about age, as the following article points out. The trend has been highlighted by the public admissions of a couple new actresses that their initial ages were shaved to make them more marketable, like Queen of Housewives‘s Sunwoo Sun and We Got Married‘s Lee Shi-young.

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Post tags: controversies, Hyun Young, Lee Shi-young, Sunwoo Sun, Yeh Ji-won, Yoon Mi-rae

Aw, too bad. One couple gets together, another breaks up. Actress, MC, and occasional singer Hyun Young of the bubbly voice has split from her boyfriend of two years, Koyote singer and goofball Kim Jong-min.

I suppose it’s not too surprising, since there have been sporadic rumors popping up over the past few months that Hyun Young would deny. Now both sides have confirmed that they’d decided to split at the end of last year after a lot of serious deliberation. Other than that, Hyun Young and Kim Jong-min are both staying quiet on specifics, although it’s likely that their “drifting apart in different directions” can be attributed in large part to the fact that Kim has been serving his military service over the past year, while Hyun Young has been busily continuing to work as a broadcast MC.

The couple first openly acknowledged their relationship in late 2007. They started dating in 2006 after both appeared on the same KBS variety program, Happy Sunday‘s Heroine 6. The 29-year-old Kim began his army duty in November 2007 and is currently serving out a public-service (desk job) position in a Seoul appellate court; he’ll be discharged in December.

It’s too bad, since I like both of them and thought they made a cute couple — Hyun Young can be really funny in a bizarre, offbeat way, and Kim Jong-min made a name for himself as the resident clown on variety programs like X Man.

Via IS Plus

RELATED POSTS

• And the first celebrity couple outing of 2008 is…

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Post tags: Hyun Young, Kim Jong-min, star romances

As you probably know by now, Gu Hye-sun‘s recent accident caused some filming delays, so a special broadcast aired today instead of a regular episode. Episode 17 will air on Tuesday, so next week’s episodes will be 18 and 19.

Also, a few other bits of news:

• There will be NO extension.
• Therefore the series will end on Monday, March 30, followed by another special broadcast.
• A second OST will be coming out, which will include Kim Hyun-joong‘s acoustic-y version of “Because I’m Dumb.”

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Kim Bum-soo – “보고싶다” (I Miss You). This is the song Kim Hyun-joong plays on the piano at the very end of the special. [ Download ]

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Post tags: Boys Before Flowers, Hyun Young, Kim Bum, Kim Hyun-joong, Kim Joon, Lee Min-ho

Hyun Young cheers on Korea’s women’s basketball team in a game versus the Latvian team. (Korea won, 72 to 68, and will advance to the quarterfinals.)

She watches the game with actress Ahn Sun-young and television MC Han Sung-joo, August 17, Beijing.

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Post tags: Hyun Young

The 44th Baeksang Arts Awards were held in Seoul on April 24, handing out top honors to the films and television programs of the previous year.

Big winners included films The Chaser and Forever the Moment (aka The Best Moment In Our Lives); Yoon Eun Hye won for her trend-setting turn as Go Eun Chan in last year’s smash drama Coffee Prince, while War of Money took home Best Drama.

SONG OF THE DAY

MC Mong – “옛날 옛적에” (Once upon a time) from his recently released fourth album. [ Download ]

 
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Post tags: awards, Coffee Prince, Go Ara, Han Hyo-joo, Hong Gil Dong, Hyun Young, Jang Geun-seok, Jung Il-woo, Jung Ryeo-won, Kang Ji-hwan, Kim Jung-eun, Kim Min-hee, Kwon Sang-woo, Lee Byung-heon, Lee Dong-wook, Lee Jia, Lee Seon-kyun, Lee Yeon-hee, Lee Yoon-jung, Legend, Park Shi-yeon, Park Shin-yang, Park Yong-ha, Sohn Ye-jin, Song Kang-ho, Sung Yuri, War of Money, Yoo Gun, Yoon Eun-hye

 
…Hyun Young and Kim Jong Min??

It’s still 2007 here in the States, but it’s the new year for Koreans, and the first celebrity couple of 2008 have confirmed their relationship. It’s one that may seem a bit odd at first — sexy, leggy Hyun Young (31) with the high-pitched voice, and the always-laughing jokester Kim Jong Min (28).

Both are television personalities who have made numerous appearances on variety shows like Heroine 6 and X Man. Both are also singers — Kim Jong Min’s with the pop group Koyote and Hyun Young released her own dance-poppy album, although I really think of her more as a novelty singer than a serious pop star (oxymoron?). And, of course, Hyun Young is also an actress/comedian (which is the role I think suits her best), from dramas like Bad Family and movies like My Wife is a Gangster 3 and the action romantic comedy co-starring Lee Dong Wook, Choi Kang Romance (aka The Strongest Romance, aka Perfect Couple).

They met while both appearing on KBS2′s Happy Sunday Heroine 6 program, and have kept their dating on the downlow for the past year.

Kim Jong Min just began his military duties at the end of November 2007, but had time off to spend the end of the year with his girlfriend; cameras caught the couple at the end of a date; check out the pics below the cut.

“August 2006, at Hyun Young’s fan club meeting. Kim Jong Min presents her with a flower bouquet.”

SONG OF THE DAY

Sugarbowl – “오늘밤” (Tonight). This song reminds me of Jamiroquai’s mix of funk and rhythm — if ever a Korean movie wanted to capture their own brand of Napoleon Dynamite-esque dance brilliance, they oughtta use this tune. [ zShare download ]

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Post tags: Hyun Young, Kim Jong-min