It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, huh?

• Newlywed Park Eun-hye is returning to work following a recent miscarriage of what would have been her “honeymoon baby” (she wed in April). She plans to attend the upcoming Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), which screens her film Night and Day.
• Speaking of which, Kim Rae-won (Gourmet) and Han Eun-jung (Lawyers of Korea) will take a particular place on Wednesday’s opening-night red carpet at PIFF, as brand models for the festival’s sponsor, L’Oreal Paris.
• Song Il-kook had his day in court and won; the reporter who accused him of assault (whom he countersued for false accusations) has been sentenced to a year’s imprisonment. Ouch. We may never know the truth of whether he struck her as claimed, but a year in the slammer seems harsh. Well, that’s what happens when you go up against a rich actor with powerful connections.
• Sigh. Things are hard enough for Ahn Jae-hwan’s widow Jung Sun-hee, whose husband killed himself over large amounts of debt, and has endured accusations of kidnapping Ahn by his sister. She underwent an additional round of police questioning, spending four hours at the police station on the 29th. Jung roundly denies Ms. Ahn’s claims, and also denies rumors that she’s heading overseas for rest (which doesn’t sound like a bad idea, actually — the press was all over her collapses at Ahn’s funeral, and she again collapsed after emerging from the police station).
• I don’t think many people outside of Korea are watching cable drama Chosun Police [조선과학수사대 별순검], but the MBC Dramanet fusion sageuk gained a following as a “Chosun-era CSI” and is now set to launch its season 2. The production press conference was on the 29th, featuring lead actor Lee Jong-hyuk, who admitted he’d purposely avoided watching Season 1; he wanted to differentiate his character from its original actor, Ryu Seung-ryong.
• Kim Min-jung (26, of New Heart) has been cast in the lead of MBC’s drama 2009 Foreign Baseball Team, which was originally a hit manhwa in the ’80s. Actors Yoon Tae-young (Legend’s Hogae), Park Sung-min (Legend’s Saryang), Park Jung-hak (Kingdom of the Wind), Song Ah-young (Moon Hee), and Kim Sun-kyung (Legend’s Lady Yeon) are also cast. There’s a whole lotta Legend there. It should air sometime next year.
• After spending most of his recent energies trying to make a dent in the international film scene, Rain is back to kpop after two years away with his fifth album. He’s announced that his title track will be a dance song, followed by a ballad, to go on sale in October. Rain, here’s a fundamental rule of showbiz: Show, not tell. We’re happy to welcome ya back if your work is good, but g/d I’m sick of hearing so much about it.

 
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• Kim Rae-won for L’Oreal
• Final trial starts in Song Il-kook’s reporter assault case
• Mourning Ahn Jae-hwan
• New brides become new moms
• Summer Vacation with Rain

Tags: Ahn Jae-hwan, bad deeds, film festivals, Han Eun-jung, Jung Sun-hee, Kim Min-jung, Kim Rae-won, Lee Jong-hyuk, news bites, Park Eun-hye, Rain, Song Il-kook

Filed under: Celebrity News by javabeans - 12 Comments →

Stars came out in full force, from A-listers and all the way down, to the opening night of the 2nd Chungmuro International Film Festival, held on September 3. The celeb list boasted some big-name actors and even a few kpoppers (Girls Generation) who turned out in fine feather on the red carpet. (Well, minus a few sartorial misses.)

Attendees included the likes of Chae Rim (above), Jang Dong-gun (below), and event representative Kim Jung-eun, for starters.

The festival, headed under the theme “Discovery, Restoration, Creation,” runs over the next week and closes on September 9.

Check out the CHIFFS red carpet >>

Tags: Chae Rim, Choi Su-jong, Eom Ji-won, Eugene, fashion, film festivals, Girls Generation, Ha Ji-won, Jang Dong-gun, Kim Jung-eun, Kim Min-joon, Lee Hana, Lee Ji-hoon, Lee Jong-hyuk, Lee Mi-yeon, Shin Ae, Shin Hyun-joon, Yoon Soyi

Filed under: Chungmuro/Film by javabeans - 31 Comments →

• Sung Yuri is set to appear in her first solo talk show appearance on SBS’s new The Star Show; the show concept is centered on deep conversation with “big stars.” Originally veteran actor Choi Min Soo was scheduled for the show’s second episode, but that was scrapped with his recent scandal for beating up a 70-year-old man. Episode airs May 5.
• Chae Rim admits to having her eyes done on a recent episode of Happy Together. She was also asked, somewhat uncomfortably, “Why don’t you get married?” (uncomfortably because of her public divorce). She broke the awkward mood and explained, “When I see others living with their husbands, I don’t really feel envious.”
• In the same episode, MC/funnyman Yoo Jae Seok revealed he’d gone to the same university as Chae Rim and Rivals co-star Lee Jong Hyuk, but he’d never graduated (he’d been working as a comedian and had to often leave to go to the broadcast station).
• In middle school, Kim Rae Won was always ranked (academically) in third place — from the rear. (He continued, “I quit playing basketball, shocked to hear my grades wouldn’t be good enough to continue to high school, so I started studying harder.”) He’s currently filming manhwa-based drama Gourmet.
• Epik High rapper Mithra Jin has a girlfriend (Tablo disclosed the fact when the group appeared on Love Letter on the 26th). Mithra said that although that’s true, they only have time to meet once every two or three weeks to confirm they’re still alive.
• Go Soo was released from military duty on April 25, and he sure looks happy. Welcome back, dude.
• …and goodbye to pop singer Eru, who took the stage to bid goodbye before beginning his military service next month (May 1), appearing on MBC’s Music Core on the 26th with new hit group Mighty Mouth. He performed, appropriately enough, the song “Last Concert.”

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Mystic Puzzle - “A Fairy Tale” (Featuring Epik High) [ Download ]

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Tags: Chae Rim, Epik High, Eru, Go Soo, Lee Jong-hyuk, Mithra Jin, news bites, Sung Yuri, Yoo Jae-seok

Filed under: Celebrity News by javabeans - 16 Comments →

Rivals isn’t necessarily a bad show… but there’s something about it that smacks of the ridiculous. Chae Rim is pretty good and so is the subtler Lee Jong Hyuk; they have good chemistry despite a really obvious setup. But there’s something that reminds me really strongly of Air City, and it’s not just the Lee Jin Wook connection — and those of you who suffered through that series alongside me will know that’s not a good thing in my book. It’s over-the-top and tries really, really hard — and while it hits the mark half the time, that means it misses the other half.

I will say, though, that if it does prove to be bad, at least Rivals shows signs of being the fun-bad type. I laughed a lot in the first two episodes — although probably in all the wrong places. Rivals is funny partly because it takes itself so seriously, but it should really let itself in on the joke.

SONG OF THE DAY

Oriental Funk Stew - “날아” (Fly) [ zShare download ]

 
Thoughts on RIVALS >>

Tags: Chae Rim, episode recaps, Lee Jin-wook, Lee Jong-hyuk, Rivals

Filed under: Drama Recaps by javabeans - 34 Comments →

Chae Rim, aka plucky Dal Ja of last year’s hit romantic comedy series Dal Ja’s Spring, has been cast to headline the new KBS Monday-Tuesday drama series Rivals [강적들], which takes place in the Blue House (Cheongwadae), Korea’s presidential residence, opposite Lee Jong Hyuk (sexy!) and Lee Jin Wook (cute!)

Chae Rim’s character — energetic, prone to rashness — enters the Blue House as a new employee (security service agent) and rises to success; the series centers on “the world, the loves, and daily lives” of those in service in the Blue House.

Lee Jin Wook (Air City, Smile Again, Someday) takes the part of the president’s haughty, troublesome and rude son, while Lee Jong Hyuk (A Good Day to Have an Affair, A Dirty Carnival, Green Rose) is the dark horse of the presidential security service and Chae Rim’s colleague. Through them the drama will showcase lots of action and a look behind the scenes at the agents’ physical training, firearms drills, special guard duty, etc., while the three main characters (naturally!) fall into a love triangle. Some settings may be novel but the setup is as old as the form. Not that the presidential backdrop is entirely new — in 2006, there was the KBS four-episode mini-drama Special Crime Investigation: Murder in the Blue House [특수수사일지:1호관 사건]. And of course, there was also the Eugene/Lee Minki romantic comedy Really Really Like You, which took a more lighthearted approach.

The series will be directed by Han Joon Seo PD of Capital Scandal, and penned by writer Kang Eun Kyung of Dal Ja’s Spring, Bichunmu, and Hotelier. Rivals will take to air after Single Papa in Love finishes its run, premiering on April 14.

Via Hankyung

SONG OF THE DAY

Gummy feat. TOP - “미안해요” (I’m sorry) [ zShare download ]

Tags: Chae Rim, Lee Jin-wook, Lee Jong-hyuk, Rivals

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 28 Comments →