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News bites: May 5, 2009

javabeans — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:41:56 +0000

Philip Lee of “Story of a Man”

Must be a slow news week. I keep looking through the latest articles, and while there IS news being posted, none of it really interests me enough to write it up on its own. But that’s what News Bites are for! For instance:

Articles tell us that Philip Lee is sexy as the homme fatale in Story of a Man. Because we need “news” to tell us this? [Segye]
Speaking of which: Story of a Man isn’t drawing the big ratings, but it shouldn’t worry, because it’s so awesome. [Asia Economy]
Crown J has split with his management and is headed back to the States. One media source reports that “Crown J was unhappy that he couldn’t receive much of a popular response for his music.” He’s not retiring for good, though, according to other reports, just keeping his activities limited to Atlanta for the moment. [Hankook Ilbo]
New mom Sohn Tae-young’s new daily drama Two Wives [두 아내] got off to a decent start with a 13% rating and a story that has both “comic and heavy” elements. It’s not as high as its predecessor, “makjang” series Temptation of Wife, but give it time. Koreans love their adultery daily dramas. [OSEN]
Super-talented but old-man-beating actor (not that the two are mutually exclusive) Choi Min-soo (Sandglass) is heading for Hollywood with the action thriller Serpent Rising. Who wants to bet this is a sorry waste of his skills? [Sports Chosun]
The F4 comparisons must die. Any drama with four of anything is being rebranded a twist on the Boys Before Flowers quartet, even these City Hall ajusshis. Come on, F4 parodies were so two months ago. [Sports Khan]

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Read the rest of News bites: May 5, 2009 (572 words)

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Post tags: Chae Yeon, Choi Min-soo, City Hall, Crown J, EZ Hyoung, news bites, Philip Lee, Rain, Sohn Tae-young, Story of a Man, Younha

News bites: January 28, 2009 (Boys Before Flowers edition)

javabeans — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:38:18 +0000

Gu Hye-sun, Lee Shi-young

There’s kind of a glut of Boys Before Flowers news these days, isn’t there?

On one hand, I don’t want to wear myself out and get BBF fatigue before the series is even half over, yet on the other hand, I AM interested. So my compromise: here’s a round-up of the latest news, with a spoilery bit at the very end (it’s a tiny, almost-not-even-a-spoiler type of spoiler):

Lead actress Gu Hye-sun was recently in a minor accident: On the 28th, she was filming a diving scene and hit her head on the bottom of the pool, which wasn’t as deep as anticipated. It wasn’t a serious blow, but she was taken to the hospital for a CT scan and hospitalized on the doctor’s recommendation while waiting for test results. She is expected to return to filming on the 29th. [E Daily, All That News]
By the way, although they’ve all been minor instances, this follows car accidents involving fellow castmates Kim Hyun-joong, Kim Joon, and even Lee Min-ho’s manager. [Daily Surprise]
New actress Lee Shi-young (who plays Min-ji) debuted this past weekend on MBC’s variety show We Got Married as partner to Shinhwa’s Jun Jin. The Jun Jin/Lee Shi-young couple joins a few new pairings (Kim Shin-young/Shin Sung-rok and Jung Hyung-don/Tae Yeon) in an attempt to revitalize the flagging program. [Max Movie]
On the show, Lee is described as showing a quirky charm, which the program’s rep explains is not a fabricated “concept” but “just her true nature.” [Joy News]

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Read the rest of News bites: January 28, 2009 (Boys Before Flowers edition) (718 words)

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Post tags: Boys Before Flowers, Gu Hye-sun, Kim Bum, Kim Hyun-joong, Kim Joon, Lee Min-ho, Lee Min-jung, Lee Shi-young, lookalikes, news bites

News bites: January 21, 2009

javabeans — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:20:48 +0000

Jung Il-woo, Jeon Ji-hyun

Today marks the debut of MBC’s Return of Iljimae, starring Jung Il-woo. The series premiered to mixed reactions, with some viewers calling it “refreshing” while others complained about excessive narration. I’m looking forward to it anyway. [My Daily]

Jeon Ji-hyun (My Sassy Girl) is caught up as the victim of an attempt to illegally forge a cell phone to tap into her calls. Representatives from her own management, Sidus HQ, have been identified as the culprits. Authorities are investigating and arrest warrants are being issued. Gives the fiction of A Star’s Lover a ripped-from-the-headlines feel, doesn’t it? [Asia Economy]

Kim Hee-sun (Smile Again) is a proud new mama: On the 21st, she gave birth to her first child, a daughter. [Star News]

Actress Jeon Do-yeon (Secret Sunshine), also pregnant, was seen on the 21st at the same hospital as Kim, but only for a checkup. She’s due in early February. [Now News]

Boys Before Flowers actor Kim Hyun-joong was in a minor car accident on his way to filming on the 21st. A car tried to cut in and the vehicles collided, but it was only a small bump and nobody was injured. [Seoul News]

The Lee Min-ho fervor continues: The 21-year-old has been selected to promote LG Telecom, and will appear in an ad with Boys Before Flowers co-stars Gu Hye-sun and Kim Bum. He’s also deliberating over modeling contracts for clothing brands, cars, beer, etc. [Sports Khan]

Lee Min-ho is still a little surprised at his own fame, though; he’s been busy working and first felt the impact of his sudden popularity when he was filming an outdoor scene last week and the arrival of a mob of 3,000 fans forced shooting to shut down and move elsewhere. [Sports Khan, Asia Economy]

He’s not the only one, though: Kim Bum and Kim So-eun were shooting a scene at the girls’ restaurant job last week, and because so many neighborhood bystanders stopped to watch, police had to step in and manage traffic. [Sports Khan]

Gu Hye-sun is also benefiting from Boys Before Flowers‘ popularity; like her co-star, she’s also fielding multiple CF offers, both domestically and from Japan. The offers range from mobile phones to cosmetics and food products. [Joy News]

And look who else is jumping on the BBF bandwagon: Singer-actor Lee Ji-hoon (You’re My Destiny) recently launched an online shopping mall called “Paris Homme.” Thanks to the drama, the line’s prep-school look has experienced a sharp increase in sales: up 50% from the previous month. [Mk.co.kr]

Singer and “romantic guy” Alex released a solo album last summer, and on January 20, he held his first solo concert in Tokyo. Aside from his work with groovetronic Clazziquai, Alex gained Japanese fans in 2005 when participating with hip-hop group M-Flo on their 2005 remix album “Dope Space Nine.” He was also featured on M-Flo’s 2007 “Cosmicolor” and with artists like Amuro Namie, Koda Kumi, and Bonnie Pink. [Yonhap News]

SONG OF THE DAY

Alex – “Daydreaming” [ Download ]

News bites: November 3, 2008

javabeans — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:09:02 +0000

Actor Go Soo, above, held his first Japanese fanmeeting on Saturday, and apparently the only news agency sent to cover it was Yonhap News, whose pictures uniformly suck. [Yonhap News]

Koyote singer and actress Shinji (Unstoppable High Kick) was hospitalized on November 3 with acute kidney infection. Her manager reported that she had a fever of over 39 degrees Celsius (102.2˚ F) and was also diagnosed with overworking and stress. [Star News]

Rain’s little sister is getting married! It’ll happen sometime next year and Rain is feeling both brotherly and fatherly: “You know how they say fathers feel odd when their daughters get married? That’s how I feel, because she’ll become part of someone else’s family.” [Asia Economy]

Oh, and now that Rain has announced he once dated a “top model,” fans are clamoring to know who she is. He’s not telling, but he did promise to have a son eventually and raise a “second Rain.” Um, I don’t remember asking for that, Rain. [Hankook Ilbo]

Also, rumors of Rain’s death have been greatly exaggerated, and he is not happy. He says that he heard reports that he’d committed suicide when he was in China, and they were “hard to bear.” His first clue? When he started receiving a flood of concerned phone calls asking if he was okay. His reaction after reading reports was to think, “I’m really going to live a long time” to prove them wrong. Or, you know, he could just show up somewhere. [Mk.co.kr]

Korea’s film industry is in a slump, so Kim Rae-won has taken a pay cut for his current film, Insadong Scandal. The star commands top dollar after the recent success of Gourmet, but reduced his salary to ease the burden on the film production. [Sports Chosun]

Wang Bit-na (she of Merry vs. Daegu Battle and the fab tartan gown at the recent “Love Your W” fundraiser) is taking to the jazz stage. On November 20-21, she’ll take part in the jazz concert “Yoon Hee-jung and Friends” and sing two songs herself. [Yonhap News]

Things look to be getting uglier in the custody battle for Choi Jin-shil’s kids. Following Choi’s suicide last month, her brother Choi Jin-young (also an actor, of Okay to Love) has taken care of her two children, but her ex-husband Jo Sung-min, who’s been a deadbeat dad for the past four years and has been known to previously have beaten his wife, has suddenly decided he wants to raise his kids, and Choi’s brother and mother are not having it. Mom says, “He left his wife and kids because he didn’t want them and thinks he has a claim to them — how does that make sense? He’s done nothing as a father. I cannot recognize his parental right.” Jo counters, “It isn’t that I gave up my rights, but that I relinquished them to Choi Jin-shil. I’m the only parent they have now, so the rights automatically come to me.” Yeah, automatic parenting! One step up from deadbeat parenting! [Segye, Sports Seoul]

Bada is set to take the role originated by Kim Ah-joong in 200 Pound Beauty in the musical adaptation. Critics are readying to compare her to Kim, saying, “She’d better bring it!” and Bada is responding, “Oh, it’s already been broughten!” Okay, maybe the actual words were more like, “I’m confident I can do it.” She also feels kinship to her character because in her SES days, her groupmates Eugene and Shoo wore sizes 44 and 55 (U.S. sizes zero through 4-ish) and she was the sole 66. Sure, 66 and obesity are totally the same thing. [Hankook Ilbo]

Ready to greet the newest adorabuhl 5-year-old child star? Say hello to Park Sarang, who’s playing Ji Jin-hee’s (Spotlight) daughter in the film Parallel Life, which also stars Ha Jung-woo (HIT) and Lee Jong-hyuk (Rivals). [Newsis]

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Post tags: 200 Pound Beauty, Bada, Choi Jin-shil, fanmeetings, Go Soo, Jo Sung-min, Kim Rae-won, musicals, news bites, overworking, Rain, Shinji

News bites: October 20, 2008

javabeans — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 02:37:11 +0000

Actor Lee Wan (Insoon is Pretty) revealed on a Yashimmanman episode taped on October 20 that Kim Tae-hee (above) doesn’t look so hot when at home and that she’s prettier onscreen than in person. Spoken like a true kid brother out to annoy big sis.
East of Eden is killing in the ratings, with its latest episode on the 20th bringing in a hefty 29.7%. We’ll see if it can hold up against The World They Live In’s premiere next week.
Unfortunately, Eden star Lee Yeon-hee (below) can’t catch a break. She’s been repeatedly criticized for poor acting, and now that extends to her pansori (traditional singing) skills. The 17th episode showed Lee’s character giving a pansori performance to the famous “Arirang” song, after which the drama’s homepage was flooded with scorn for her “embarrassing” and “inadequate” performance.
Newlywed Kwon Sang-woo has been picked as the second favorite in a Top 10 list of Asia’s young actors as chosen by Japanese female fans (part of Asahi TV program SmaSTATION). He came in behind Taiwan’s F4, stars of the Hana Yori Dango adaptation Meteor Garden. (3rd: Jay Chou, 4th: Song Seung-heon, 5th: Jaycee Chan, 6th: Lee Junki, and Rain in 10th.)
Moon Geun-young is back in action on the Painter of the Wind set after fracturing her nose during filming.
Speaking of which, Painter of the Wind is set to pick up more fans throughout Asia to add to its already lavish praise as a “perfect drama.” It has already made contracts exporting the drama to Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and now also Thailand.
“Kimchi western” film The Good The Bad The Weird won double awards at the Hawaii International Film Festival, taking home the Achievement in Acting award for Jung Woo-sung (who played “the good” to Lee Byeong-heon’s “bad” and Song Kang-ho’s “weird”), as well as the Maverick Award (ugh, that word gives me twitches) for director Kim Ji-woon.

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Post tags: East of Eden, Jung Woo-sung, Kim Tae-hee, Kwon Sang-woo, Lee Wan, Lee Yeon-hee, Moon Geun-young, news bites, The Painter of Wind

News bites: September 29, 2008

javabeans — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:51:54 +0000

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.

News bites: June 14, 2008

javabeans — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:05:34 +0000

Ara and Jang Geun Seok are dolling up and gettin’ down in an online teaser ad for a cosmetics brand, showing off what is being dubbed their ~~“techtonic”~~ Tecktonik dance. Touted as sexy and cute, I’d use any another term — dorky-cute, disco-lite, uber-goofball? — instead.
21-year-old Moon Geun Young opens up in an interview about her feelings about how her fame has affected her younger sister, who has explained that it’s hard being the little sis of Korea’s Little Sis — she’s always being compared or treated with awkward curiosity. Now a high school student, younger sis lives abroad and studies in Australia, where Moon Geun Young explains that she can hopefully “stand on her own without being in my shadow.”
According to the director of Rain’s company JTunes, Rain hasn’t mentioned any interest in a woman in the past seven years. (What about guys?)
Fashion designer Andre Kim (who’s had a long career but hasn’t seemed to have a new idea in years) tells The Star Show that of all the numerous celebrities he’s worked with, sob queen Choi Jiwoo is the star with the perfect body. (He lists Lee Byung Heon as the most charismatic male actor.)
Yoo Seung Ho (that young cutie who played young Yonsama in Legend) has been cast in the music video for “Don’t Go, Don’t Go,” R&B duo Brown Eyes‘ comeback single. (Starring opposite is new Japanese actress Ishizaka Yuri.) His role entails “emotional” and “heartbroken” acting; looks like he’s trying his best to shed the child-star image.
With only a week till his new drama airs, Lee Dong Gun is lining up the CF offers, promoting pre-harvest rice sales and fielding more proposals from beverage, clothing, and construction companies. While it’s common for a new drama to bring the CF offers, it’s cited as being unusual for the offers to come in before the drama has even begun. Maybe they’re just happy to see him back onscreen after his recent rough patch.
Some of JYP’s teen-sex-kitten proteges the Wonder Girls had a few words to share about their Svengali-master on MBC’s Brain Battle (isn’t that shooting a little high?). Apparently JYP gets “sensitive” when he’s hungry (unlike the rest of us robots); Yoo Bin explained that while recording their album, he’d gotten so hungry once that he’d scolded her. After a snack, she saw him being affectionate with another member and felt sad. (Maybe he was upset with, I don’t know, her work? I’ve seen her performing.)
Singer JOO cites an occasion prior to her debut when JYP had commented on her weight, saying, “What’s with this [flab]? It’s like tofu.” Because teenage girls don’t already have enough issues about their looks — thanks, Mr. Monkey-man.

SONG OF THE DAY

Alex – “깍지껴요” (hold hands), from his recent first solo album “My Vintage Romance.” Overall, the album sounds a lot more mainstream than his previous work, going more into ballad and pop territory. He does have the voice for it, even though I prefer the more innovative music of Clazziquai. [ Download ]

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