The event that took place on December 8 at Seoul’s Villa De Bailey sure was a mouthful to say: 2008 Mucha Jewelry Charity Bazaar and Korean Jewelry Awards.

While “Korean jewelry award” sounds rather strange, the event was designed to allow celebs to donate pieces of their own jewelry for a good cause. Stars walked a red carpet and posed with their jewelry, watched as a jewelry show was put on, then put their items up for auction. Proceeds generated will go toward aiding the elderly.

You know, we (as in, common folks and the netizenery) tend to view celeb charity events through a lens of cynicism, but this seems like a pretty good idea, actually. A star can donate a piece of jewelry s/he no longer cares for and get some positive publicity out of it, while the auction aspect capitalizes on the star affiliation to bolster prices. Money goes to a good cause, and we have a win-win.

Now for the red carpet…

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Okay, I’m trying something new here, so please let me know what you think.

SBS’s Tazza ended its run today on episode 21, and to send it off, I’m kicking off an open thread. I can’t possibly cover all the dramas out there, but I know you all are watching a bunch of stuff and may have a few things to say about them, so run wild. If response is good, I’ll keep it up for future dramas.

I’ll start: You know, I had a generally positive reaction to episode 1, so I’m not quite sure why the drama fell off the radar for me. Who knows, maybe I’ll go back and give it another try. While Tazza wasn’t as successful (ratings-wise) a movie-to-drama adaptation as, say, Gourmet was, it performed well, particularly given how strong East of Eden has been. By all accounts, the acting was decent (despite initial criticism for Han Ye-seul, but that’s par for the course these days in dramas starring pretty starlets) and the story kept viewers compelled.

Taking over the Monday-Tuesday timeslot for SBS is Han Hye-jin’s wine-themed Terroir.

SONG OF THE DAY

Tazza OST SBS – “인생은 한방” (Life gives you one shot) [ Download ]

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Tazza actors and crew (Jang Hyuk, Han Ye-seul, Kim Min-joon, Kang Sung-yeon) came out on the afternoon of September 8 for the drama’s production press conference, all decked out in black to observe the death of Ahn Jae-hwan, which they’d received word of just earlier that day.

Apparently the actors put on a bright face for photos, but they became solemn at the mention of Ahn Jae-hwan. The drama’s new Madam Jung, Kang Sung-yeon, expressed her feelings upon hearing the sad news: “I couldn’t believe it. This was to be a good day for me [drama press day], but now I don’t know what I should say… Afterward, I’ll go to his funeral service. I’m so heartbroken I don’t know what to say.”

Regarding the drama itself, PD Kang Shin-ho explained: “Because there were previously a famous manhwa and a movie, there was some pressure, and I went through a process of trial and error. I put a lot of effort trying to use the gambling world to portray the ups and downs of the larger world. I hope people will like it.”

The Monday-Tuesday drama takes its place opposite MBC’s East of Eden and KBS’s Love & Marriage on September 16.

[Read more →]

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First Han Ye-seul was cast in the drama version of gambling-related Tazza, supposedly in the Madam Jung role initially played by Kim Hye-soo in the film. Then the role was un-cast, with reps backpedaling to say that Han’s role was not certain. And then she was re-cast, but as a different character altogether.

That means Madam Jung was open to new casting, which will now be filled by Kang Sung-yeon (Single Papa in Love), who just shot the drama’s promo poster. There had been reports of another actress, Sung Hyun-ah, being cast at the same time, but Kang ended up winning the role. She’ll star opposite Jang Hyuk, Han Ye-seul, and Kim Min-joon.

Tazza starts shooting on the 25th, and will follow Gourmet’s Monday-Tuesday SBS slot beginning on September 8. I… still have no idea what to expect from the drama. (So far, it’s not much.)

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