It comes as something of a surprise, but actor Kim Ji-hoon will be holding his first solo fanmeeting in Japan, to take place on the 13th in Osaka.

The event comes by invitation of KJNET, who said, “This was organized because we’ve had continuous requests to set up a fanmeeting with Kim Ji-hoon. His popularity is high enough to count him as a next-generation Hallyu star.” Kim has been studying Japanese and plans to sing a few songs at the event, including the theme song from his movie Crying out Love from the Center of the World and the Yoon Do-hyun Band’s “I Must Have Loved You.”

Compared to other Hallyu stars, it’ll be a smaller affair, with 800 fans in attendance. He was last in Japan in August to promote his romantic-comedy series Love & Marriage, which gained him additional fans on the heels of the Japanese broadcasts of his other dramas Why Did You Come To Our House and Golden Age of the Daughter-in-Law.

I say it’s a little surprising because although Kim Ji-hoon has had a good number of roles (both leading and supporting), he hasn’t really had his big break and his profile is still in middle ground somewhere. I also think he has yet to really prove himself as a strong actor — his pretty looks have definitely helped him get cast — although I did really love him as the cool, assured Eun-tak in Flowers For My Life. I’m still waiting for him to break out and show what he’s made of. I think he’s got it in him somewhere…

Via Break News

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All right, so Kim Ji-hoon isn’t exactly a strong actor, but he IS very, very pleasant to look at. (I mean, really really great eye-candy. The first thing I said when I saw the news and the accompanying photos was, “Oooh.”) He’s also taking on his sageuk debut as he joins the cast of Iron Empress.

The KBS weekend drama features a host of skilled actors, headed by Chae Shi-ra in the title role of the empress. This ought to be a change of pace for Kim as he takes on the role of Hyun-jong, the eighth king of Goryeo (although the drama portrays him prior to his ascension to the throne).

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I knew Love & Marriage would end on a happy note, and that nothing totally unexpected would come in the last hour. But I was still pleasantly surprised with how well the drama wrapped up its romance — even managing to pull out a bit of cleverness to keep the inevitable from being totally predictable.

I’ll be the first to admit that Love & Marriage isn’t a perfect drama, or even a particularly noteworthy one. But what it did, it did well: happy romance that endeared its characters to those of us who don’t necessarily like our dramas traumatic. Also, I always want to give extra points to dramas whose finales manage to satisfy AND add a little something extra to the series, rather than ending on a disappointing note — or even just an adequate (but unexciting) one.

SONG OF THE DAY

Love & Marriage OST – “Come to Me” by J [ Download ]

LOVE & MARRIAGE Episode 16 (Final) >>

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Love & Marriage reminds me of the exchange in Clueless — Cher: “He said you gave him a toothache.” Tai: “How’d I do that?” Cher: “It’s an expression. It means he thought you were sweet.”

If this drama were a type of candy, all my teeth would have fallen out by now.

SONG OF THE DAY

Love & Marriage OST – “이젠 나를 붙잡아” (Hold onto me now) by Jung Jae-wook [ Download ]

LOVE & MARRIAGE Episode 15 >>

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This episode probably shouldn’t be taken with too much seriousness, because it felt like everyone regressed for a moment into adolescence and acted like a bunch of kids. It almost seemed like the actors were having a bit of fun — and while it wasn’t, uh, realistic, it was cute how they joked and played around more than usual. (Also, there are a lot of funny faces today.)

SONG OF THE DAY

Holladang – “Beat One” [ Download ]

LOVE & MARRIAGE Episode 14 >>

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