Lee Jia, lead actress for MBC’s upcoming classical-music-themed drama Beethoven Virus, collapsed while filming for the drama and was rushed to the emergency room on August 1.

This came after spending the last two days filming in cold water during the hot summer. While shooting at a film studio in Kyunggi-do early Friday morning, Lee Jia complained of breathing difficulty and was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was given a diagnosis suspecting meningitis (!!) and extreme hypothermia.

If the cause turns out to be meningitis, her representatives said, this presents grave problems with filming, so they are waiting to see how her condition progresses as she returns home for some rest.

Filming had begun on the 14th for the drama scheduled to premiere in September. Promo posters (using underwater imagery) were shot on the 30th, and scenes for the drama were filmed on the 31st for an underwater fantasy sequence.

For now, the drama is shooting around their absent leading lady, continuing with male leads Kim Myung-min and Jang Geun-seok instead, but progress is sure to be hampered without her.

Bejeebus, MBC! Take some care for your stars, will ya? They ARE making you all that money, yunno. (Or trying to, at least; it’s not always their fault if the dramas flop.)

Via Sports Chosun

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If you notice something strange about Lee Hana’s appearance in the upcoming finale of her drama Women in the Sun, it’s because was recently hurt while filming. Furthermore, the injury was to her face — underneath her eye, to be exact.

A scene shot on the 27th involved one character attempting to block another from wresting money away, and the shopping bag containing the money ended up scraping Lee Hana’s face. It doesn’t sound like a dire injury — although a young actress’s value is often, unfortunately, inextricably linked to the unmarred condition of her good looks — but she was whisked away to a hospital where she received emergency care. With the end of the series approaching, she continued filming despite the fact that the injury hasn’t yet healed and is still visible.

KBS’s Women in the Sun had started out in a distant second place to SBS’s more popular Iljimae, but has been steadily climbing in the ratings. With much of the praise directed toward Lee Hana for her strong performance, the series looks to wrap up this week with ratings projected in the above-20% range, or close to it (Iljimae wrapped last week, while the newer Lawyers of Korea has been struggling in third place; perhaps things will perk up for that series with its competition out of the way).

Via Mk.co.kr

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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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I feel like I’m turning into the Star Accident Watch. Who wants to start a pool for the next celebrity fender-bender?

The most recent incident involves Lee Ji Hoon, the busy actor and singer whose schedule is so jam-packed that he had no time to get a physical checkup after his car accident on June 1 (disclosed belatedly to the public), and instead rushed from the accident site (coming from a filming location) to his next shoot. The collision was described as minor and occurred in Seoul; the vehicle Lee Ji Hoon was riding in was hit by a car swerving to avoid another accident up ahead.

With no time to stop by the hospital (money doesn’t make itself, you know), Lee Ji Hoon jumped back to work. He’s currently currently acting in the daily drama You Are My Destiny on KBS, as well as promoting his sixth solo album, which marks his return to music after four years. His current single is the ballad “가슴아 미안하다” (I’m sorry, my heart), which apparently takes precedence; he plans to get a physical checkup “just in case” after first performing on live music program Music Bank on June 6.

When are they going to change the motto “Land of the Morning Calm” to “Land of the Perpetually Overworked”? Or “Land of the Too-Busy-To-Enjoy-One’s-Fame”?

SONG OF THE DAY
Lee Ji Hoon - “가슴아 미안하다” (I’m sorry, my heart) [ Download ]

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Yikes. Another celebrity car accident?

This time it’s Tablo and DJ Tukutz who were in a car collision that left the car “half wrecked.” The two were riding in a taxi at 3am on May 20th in Seoul’s Kangnam neighborhood and were rear-ended at an intersection where their taxi was waiting to make a left turn.

The driver of the car that collided with them was driving drunk. The trunk of the taxi was completely wrecked and all the windows shattered; Tablo and Tukutz were both admitted to the emergency room, received treatment and released, but both were readmitted to the hospital later that day.

Tablo described feeling “severe pains” in his lower back and neck. The X-ray taken that morning showed no particular injury so he was released to get back to work, but because of continuing pains, he made the decision to return to the hospital to get another checkup. Tukutz suffered from similar symptoms, and their work activities were canceled for the 20th and 21st.

Best of luck for speedy recoveries.

Via IS Plus

 
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