Shinji (Unstoppable High Kick) had been hospitalized on November 3 for kidney inflammation and infection, but was released today — not because she’s fully recovered, but to make it to a recording of SBS’s variety program TV Animal Farm.

Her management (Trifecta Entertainment) conceded that “because she is not yet fully recovered, the hospital staff had wanted to prevent her from being discharged. They were strongly in favor of talking to the broadcast station themselves. We will be monitoring her to see whether she will need to be readmitted to the hospital.”

After her initial hospitalization on the 3rd, Shinji was released on the 7th, but following a relapse she was readmitted on the 14th, where she has been until this re-release on the 17th.

While fellow Koyote member Kim Jong-min serves out his army duty, Koyote has been taking a temporary hiatus, with Shinji working on her solo album.

I’m tempted to go into a whole long diatribe about this (I mean, who wants to see a repeat of this?), but I have a feeling you guys will fill in the blanks just nicely.

Via Hankook Ilbo

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Tags: overworking, Shinji

Filed under: Celebrity News by javabeans - 11 Comments →

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

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“I’ll return after taking a break for a while.”

Clazziquai vocalist Alex is putting a halt to most of his broadcast appearances, he explained.

He’s been worn out from overwork — promoting his solo album, appearing on MBC’s We Got Married, radio DJ-ing, and doing Mnet’s M Countdown program, among others. Now all that stress is being exacerbated by recent pains to a disc in his back, and the bodily injury comes as a sign that he’s reached a limit. With the exception of his “fixed program” schedule, the busy MC host/radio DJ/singer/sometime actor won’t be doing any other television work for a while.

According to Alex’s rep, he’ll only be working on a performance planned for the end of September in Pusan, and return to television after he’s received some medical treatment and plenty of rest. (Thank goodness someone has the sense to stop before serious injury rather than waiting till they collapse like so many others.)

Via Today Korea, Sports Khan

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This should be subtitled, “Korea: The Land of Overworked Pop Stars.”

Kind of a frightening sight, isn’t it?

Singer Kim Jang Hoon collapsed in concert on June 28 and was sent to the emergency room while performing as part of the “West Coast Festival” concert being held for the benefit of revitalizing the local economy after the oil spill devastated the region last year. After singing only two songs, Kim collapsed onstage, in the middle of singing his third, “Champion.” He recovered consciousness in the ambulance, but his condition is described as “requiring absolute rest.”

It seems we get another singer/actor/celebrity collapsing every other week or so, with “overwork” and “exhaustion” cited as the overwhelming culprit. Granted, it used to be that “exhaustion” was the catch-all word for American celebrity hospitalizations too, but we all know that’s just code for less-savory reasons like drug abuse or Britney-esque meltdowns. At least in Korea, exhaustion does actually seem to be the actual reason. It certainly was for Kim Jang Hoon, who’d reportedly overworked himself in preparation for his performance, getting only an hour of sleep a night for the past week.

He wasn’t able to continue the concert, although fellow singers continued after he was sent to the hospital. Members of punk-rock band No Brain and Super Junior (pictured below) headed to the hospital to visit Kim afterward.

Via Newsen

SONG OF THE DAY

Kim Jang Hoon - “소나기” (sonagi / rainshower) [ Download ]

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Lee Da Hae is hitting the gym in preparation for her role in the high-budget drama East of Eden (Song Seung Heon, Yeon Jung Hoon, Lee Yeon Hee, Han Ji Hye). At 170 cm tall (about 5 foot 7), weighing a mere 47 kg (105 pounds) and known for her slim figure, she can’t possibly have any weight to lose, so she’s citing “flexibility” as her goal for embarking on her weight training regimen. (O…kay?)

She’s not focusing on aerobic workouts, but apparently is spending two to three hours a day working on strength training to build up muscle tone (earning her the nickname “ab princess”). A worthy effort, I’m sure, but that’s a bit excessive, isn’t it? Almost to Kim Haneul-esque proportions. Her management explained her need to get fit by saying she’s hasn’t taken proper care in the past; she’s even once gone to the emergency room from overwork.

Her role in East of Eden comes six months following her previous drama, the disappointing melodrama Robbers opposite Jang Hyuk. EOE, which is set to air in August, will show her as a “mature and strong” femme fatale. A bit of a departure for her, but as much as I enjoyed her liveliness in My Girl, I think the girl has an unfortunate tendency to ham it up to excess in comedies, and have always thought she was at her best when dialing it down. This might be an interesting turn for her. (Now, if only I found the drama the least bit appealing…)

My Daily

SONG OF THE DAY

Bella Mafia - “소리없이” (Without a sound) [ Download ]

 
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Tags: East of Eden, Lee Da-hae, overworking, star accidents

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 33 Comments →