Kim Myung-min is probably the top actor in Korea right now, and is certain to go down as one of the greats of all time. He’s also an interesting case because he has come into stardom late into his career, but unlike so many other actors, the fervent appreciation for him comes almost solely from respect for his tremendous talent and work, not as a sex symbol or celebrity. (He’s certainly handsome, but I almost think of him in an asexual way.) You see the man for his acting skills much more than for his looks or general fame. Which is, I’m fairly certain, just the way he wants it.

The MBC special documentary called “Kim Myung-min Was Not There” was announced last month and aired over the weekend. (It was also a ratings hit, since 10% is impressive for a documentary feature.) It also gave quite an insight into the actor and his process, and is really a must-watch for anyone harboring acting aspirations.

SONG OF THE DAY

White Tower OST – “B Rossette” [ Download ]

(...)
Read the rest of MBC documentary special features Kim Myung-min (3,167 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 68 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beethoven Virus, Immortal Lee Soon-shin, interviews, Kim Myung-min, reality shows, White Tower

Following her last role in the KBS drama Women in the Sun, actress Kim Ji-soo has left for London, as these newly released photos show.

She’s filming the trip — her first in that city — for a two-part broadcast on the women’s lifestyle channel DongaTV, called Kim Ji-soo’s London Life, which airs her episodes on February 11 and 18.

As with many of these types of programs, the camera follows around the star as they browse and walk around the city. Case in point: Choi Kang-hee’s Six Addictions, Shin Mina’s French Diary, Go Ara’s Twenty-Year-Old Story, Kim Haneul’s Travel Diary in Italy.

(...)
Read the rest of Kim Ji-soo’s London Life (88 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 16 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cable programs, Kim Ji-soo, reality shows

It was announced last year that a Project Runway Korea was in the works, and now it’s all set to premiere on cable channel On Style this week. The program will air one episode every Friday at midnight, for a total of ten episodes.

Episode 1 was shown at a press preview on the 3rd, which showed similar format and sets to the American version. The competitive reality program features fourteen new designers and cuts one contender per week, with three finalists showing collections at Seoul Fashion Week in the spring.

(...)
Read the rest of Project Runway Korea set to premiere (214 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 30 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cable programs, fashion, reality shows

Is it me, or is this kind of… random?

Clazziquai singer Alex is making his entry into the Japanese market, not in music but on television. And not just any television, but a food program.

Beginning in February, Alex will be the host for a program called Delicious Korea [맛있는 대한민국], which will be shown on eight stations, beginning with TV Tokyo. The show will break from the format of previous Korean cooking shows on Japanese television, and will hire an all-Korean staff to take care of everything from planning, research, and cooking.

The program will consult with a Japanese chef well-versed in Korean cuisine, and include a portion that features collaboration with Japanese production staff. Therefore, while Korea is the main focus of the show, it should remain accessible to most Japanese viewers.

Alex is also preparing for his first solo concert in Japan, to take place in Shibuya on January 20.

Via Star News

RELATED POSTS

• Overworked singer needs a break
• Team Alex beats Team Horan to the finish line
• Alex acts

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 16 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alex, reality shows

Um, kinda.

Cable channel Mnet premiered its new show on October 25, Band of Brothers, in which Super Junior members Kang-in and Hee-chul, and Trax boys Jay and Jung-mo, decided to come together Beatles-style.

First, they adopted the early-Beatles look with the straight-cut hair and the black suits, with Hee-chul channeling Ringo Starr behind the drums, Kang-in as Paul McCartney, Jay as John Lennon, and Jung-mo as George Harrison. (Anyone else wincing at the travesty?) As part of the project, they sang some Beatles tunes and even shot a music video.

I don’t think it’s a bad idea, but I don’t think they actually “got” what it means to become the Beatles other than dressing in a costume and singing along like a cover band. (See in the clip below. I think it’s part cute, and part cringingly embarrassing.)

Aside from the Beatles aspect, though, it’s usually a lot more fun watching these idol boys in reality projects rather than, say, performing onstage. I suppose that’s why the kpop machine is built around the cult of personality much more than musicality.

Via Sports Khan

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cable programs, Kim Heechul, reality shows, Super Junior

Like Go Ara before her, Shin Mina (Devil, Go Go 70) lets cameras capture her recent trip to France for cable channel O’live Style. The program is called Mina’s French Diary and was filmed over a two-week period (August 20 through September 3).

Similar in format to the other travel diaries broadcast by O’live (i.e., Ara’s trip to Japan, Han Yeseul in L.A., Han Hye-jin in Vegas), the program follows Shin Mina around as she tours the sights of Paris: she browses vintage goods at a flea market, heads to Montmartre, and visits the tomb of chanteuse Edith Piaf. She also ventures to the seaside resort of Deauville.

Mina’s French Diary airs in four installments, the first of which shows on October 18.

(Ahh, I miss France. So pretty.)

(...)
Read the rest of Mina’s French Diary (163 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cable programs, reality shows, Shin Mina

Ara celebrates being twenty with her first trip as a legal adult, taking off for Tokyo in a program for cable lifestyle channel O’live, She’s O’live: Ara’s Twenty-Year-Old Story (or, Ara’s Story of Being Twenty).

In the program, Ara visits the sights in several of Tokyo’s fashionable districts, stopping by hip spots like the pop artist Yoshitomo Nara’s café and browsing the expensive stores of Harajuku, yes, that home of the uber-trendy fashion aesthetic bastardized by Gwen Stefani. Ara has a chance to show her apparently impressive Japanese skills as well.

Throughout the trip, she tells anecdotes of her life, like this one that surfaced when dropping by a store selling Christmas items (it’s only August!): “When we found out that [SPOILER?] our parents were really Santa, my younger brother and I would pretend to be asleep while my mother set up the presents, and once we even sneaked outside to open our presents, then rewrapped them and went back to sleep.”

The program airs in two segments, the first of which ran August 30, and the second which shows on September 6.

(...)
Read the rest of Ara’s Twenty-Year-Old Story (204 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Go Ara, reality shows