New stills are out for upcoming gambling drama Tazza, featuring its main cast: Han Ye-seul (above), Kim Min-joon (below left), and Jang Hyuk, getting into trouble as always (below center and right).

The stills were taken from a shoot for the title sequence at the drama’s gambling-den set, which is located in Kyunggi-do. A rep from production company Olive Nine stated that the lead actors showcased newly learned gambling skills in their aim to come off as genuine high-rollers: “In particular, Jang Hyuk and Kim Min-joon took on their intense action scenes themselves without using doubles, and even earned applause from the crew.”

Tazza is based on a manhwa by Heo Young-man, which also provided the basis for the 2006 film of the same name starring Kim Hye-soo, although producers point out that the drama will diverge from the movie version, adding several new characters into the mix.

The series will take SBS’s Monday-Tuesday slot currently occupied by Gourmet starting September 8. I can’t say I’m too thrilled about the drama, but I’ll admit it sure looks pretty.

Via My Daily

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With the ceremony still to go, photos have been released for actor and new father Jang Hyuk’s upcoming June wedding to longtime girlfriend Kim Yeo Jin (34). The photos are being released now because the wedding itself will remain closed to the public, out of respect to his bride’s family and the couple’s friends, who are non-celebrities.

Jang Hyuk expressed excitement about the nuptials, if a little abashment: “I’m a little embarrassed to be marrying after already having a baby, but I think that gives the wedding that much more meaning to me.”

The wedding will take place in Kangnam in Seoul on June 2.

Via CNB News

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Kang Ta - “7989″ with Tae Yeon of Girls Generation. [ Download ]

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Congrats to new dad Jang Hyuk.

The actor’s year is already plenty busy just one and a half months into 2008, and it’s about to get busier. He’d announced his marriage plans at the end of December, and is currently starring in the SBS drama Bulhandang (Con Man). In the series, which is earning middling response amid poor ratings (it airs opposite more popular shows New Heart and Hong Gil Dong), he plays an unscrupulous wastrel opposite Lee Da Hae’s widowed young single mom.

Then, just a few days ago on February 8, he became the proud father to a baby boy. In order to properly record his newborn son in the family register, however, the couple will be registering their marriage first, then hold the wedding ceremony in June.

Via Newsen

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I.F. (Infinite Flow) - “연애편지” (love letter) [ zShare download ]

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• Robbers, aka Con Man, aka Bulhandang 불한당

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Okay, okay, last name switch, I swear. I wouldn’t normally bother to change the translation for a series title as widely known as “Robbers” if I didn’t feel the term(s) misrepresented the actual title. It’s nobody’s fault, of course, since you can’t always be sure what a title refers to until the series airs, and by then people have become used to the working title. But “Robbers” is misleading (who else conjured up images of a rollicking Bonnie & Clyde-esque duo?) in that it’s plural, and the title only refers to Jang Hyuk, who plays a scoundrel and con man. (Of course, you’re all welcome to keep using the title you’re used to.)

I make the disclaimer up front that this is not a full episode recap, nor am I certain I’ll take on the entire series. The reason I’m wary of Bulhandang is that for some reason, it makes me think of 2006’s Lovers — prime candidate as kdrama bait-and-switch material. That series sparkled in its first few episodes, funny and light-hearted and promising lots of romantic-comedy foibles between its main pairing of Kim Jung Eun and Lee Seo Jin. And then it went all tragic and overblown and hysterically emotional. I should also note that my opinions on Lovers fall in the vast minority — most tend to rave about the series, its intensity, and its chemistry — and I’m cool with that. But I found it odd and jarring that Lovers, which treated gangsters and crime bosses with humor and jokey fun, should then shift to making them so life-threateningly dangerous. The mixed tone unbalanced the drama, thought I, which is why I could never get into the dark, somber, angst-ridden second half of the series.

Bulhandang is a far cry from Lovers, but my Spidey sense is tingling, and for that I am wary. After suffering through Lovers, I give fair warning that I’m ready to jump ship at the first indication that Bulhandang is heading into tragic melodrama.

That said, Bulhandang’s first two episodes were cute.

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Star Love Fish - “거짓말” (Lie) [ zShare download ]

More on Episodes 1 and 2 >>

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Actress Kim Jung Eun always makes me a little uncomfortable watching her because of the vaguely alien look her face can give off — the product of extensive plastic surgery, which the actress has openly admitted (surgeries, not alien-ness). But she’s one of the more talented drama actors working these days, and her next project has been announced (it’s the follow-up to 2006’s Lovers, co-starring her current boyfriend, Lee Seo Jin).

She’ll be returning to TV in a 16-episode drama based on current bestselling book My Sweet City, written by Jung Lee Hyun, which will be directed by the PD behind Mermaid Princess and I Love You, Miss Mal Soon, Park Heung Shik. The drama hasn’t settled upon an airdate, but begins filming at the end of January.

On the other hand, pretty boy Song Seung Heon’s comeback project after his return from his two-year military service has fizzled. He had planned to star in Persona, a joint Korean-Turkish production considered by KBS2 (formerly called Speed, which at one point had cast Lee Seo Jin — yes, Kim Jung Eun’s very own — and Lee Da Hae), but due to various reasons, that project has been canceled. He’ll turn his attention instead to the film Destiny (Sook-myeong).

It’s interesting to track actors after returning to the biz after completing their mandatory military service. While fellow actor So Ji Sub, who’d served at approximately the same time as Song Seung Heon, also had his comeback project (Cain and Abel) canceledpostponed yet again with no definite air date, Jang Hyuk has had one very successful hit (Thank You) and is currently starring in Robbers (Bul-han-dang) opposite Lee Da Hae — the same one originally slated for Speed. Yep, it’s like two degrees of separation for everyone in the Korean entertainment industry, isn’t it?

Via Star News, Hankooki.com

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Vinyls - “잊지 못할 너의” (unforgettable you) [ zShare download ]

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Yoon Eun Hye

 
Photographer Cho Seihon has unveiled his special photo spread featuring lots of top stars in his collection “Letters from Angels,” which is the fifth installment in the series begun in 2003 to raise awareness and support of domestic adoptions.

Cho said in regards to the aim of his photography, “I’d like for these photos to give someone one more chance to think about these children who have no homes. I also hope that many of these childrens will be able to find warm homes and happiness.”

See the photos at the official site (http://lovefund.or.kr) and behind the jump…

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Humming Urban Stereo - “Baby Love” [ zShare download ]

Which other stars posed with babies? >>

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