Pop group Shinhwa has had an amazingly successful career — eight full-length albums (a ninth on the way), four compilation albums and one best-of, one Japanese album, numerous CFs, a large and devoted fanbase, and successful spinoff projects for its members.

Each member has a busy career on his own, whether in acting, music, or producing:

Shin Hye Sung has two solo albums, in addition to a project group with singer friends Kangta and Lee Ji Hoon, Group S; Lee Minwoo has three solo albums and has branched out into songwriting and producing, as well as acting; Jun Jin acts and released a single; Andy just released his first solo album; Kim Dong Wan released a solo album last year and has a burgeoning acting career; and Eric, perhaps the most successful on his own, has released no solo music work but gets the most CF engagements and acting jobs, having starred in five television dramas (if you count Wolf, which was canceled after an on-set accident), the most recent of which was last year’s excellent Que Sera Sera.

So it’s pretty remarkable that throughout all that, the group remains strong, even if they’re taking more time to engage in individual pursuits.

In anticipation of the group’s upcoming tenth anniversary (March 24), Shinhwa will be opening ticket sales on February 18 for their 10th Anniversary Live In Seoul concert to be held on March 29 and 30. It marks their first concert in Korea in two years; they’ve opened up a new website, www.Shinhwa10th.com, commemorating the event. And, their ninth full-length album meets its release next month.

Via Dailian.co.kr, E Daily

SONG OF THE DAY

Shinhwa - “열병” (Crazy), from their seventh album. [ zShare download ]

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Gong Yoo, Jo In Sung

As Male Stars Enlist in Military Service En Masse in 2008… Will It Leave Behind Another Void?

A Korean man cannot avoid his military service, and stars at the busiest time in their careers are no exception. Male stars generally reveal their thoughts on military service upon reaching the appropriate age, and fans accept their absence as a disappointing but inevitable truth.

However, because most of these actors who must leave at the height of their careers are around the same age, they tend to enter their service at around the same time. Moreover, their mass exit from the film and television world leaves a gaping void behind them.

 
And now, trying something new…

SONG OF THE DAY

Love & Pop - “Falling in Love, Farewell Love” [ zShare download ]

See who else is enlisting in the coming year >>

Tags: army duty, Chun Jung-myung, Gong Yoo, Jo Hyun-jae, Jo In-sung, Kim Rae-won, Lee Dong-gun, Shinhwa, Yang Dong-geun

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Minwoo was on an episode of the talk show Yashimmanman that aired on the 12th, where he talked about being the first of the Shinhwa boys to go solo — citing oversensitive Dong Wan as one of his reasons.

 

(God, will you look at those eyes? How can a guy have such pretty anime-like eyes? You know, people slag on Minwoo’s height all the time but I think it’s a good thing he’s not taller — just imagine how annoying he’d be if he added heart-swoony tallness to all his attributes. He’d be totally conceited without some major flaw holding him back. I mean, look at Daniel Henney. The guy’s stunningly beautiful but I’m pretty sure he’s also insufferable. I have not liked him in one single interview I’ve seen him give. Which would be more overlookable, say, if he were actually talented. But for all the apologists out there — Have you SEEN “Seducing Mr. Perfect”??)

Whoa, major sidebar there. Back to Minwoo and Dong Wan.

Okay, so it turns out the full story’s not nearly as dramatic as it sounds. During their days of living in the same house, Minwoo found that the only time he could work on writing songs was when he was alone in his room at night, trying to keep quiet and wearing headphones. But Kim Dong Wan, in the next room, would always know and come by, saying, “Hey, keep quiet! I’m trying to sleep!”

Minwoo would therefore try to find places to work alone, and in the end decided to go solo. He expressed how he felt living with the Shinhwa members: “Back then, it was really my dream to go solo, but now I really miss those days.”

(He also revealed some stories from those days, such as the time someone had put a ketchup bottle in the shower instead of shampoo — and when Andy tried to wash his hair, he shouted in shock, “Ah! My head’s bleeding!” Heh.)

Source: Osen

SONG OF THE DAY

Kim Dong Wan - “사랑이 가여워” (Love is pitiful). [ zShare download ]

 
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• The lie most frequently told by entertainers
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Tags: Kim Dong-wan, Lee Min-woo, Shinhwa

Filed under: Kpop News, Sitcoms/Variety Shows by javabeans - 35 Comments →