Gu Hye-sun signed copies of her novel, Tango, on the afternoon of May 9 at the Jamsil Kyobo Book Centre. The actress was 30 minutes late to arrive on the scene that day.

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 72 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: books, fanmeetings, Gu Hye-sun, uljjangs

Uljjang-turned-pop-singer Bae Seul-ki is making her Hollywood debut in the “global project” Finale. (It’s being called global because the money is coming from Hollywood, while the director and most of the acting talent hails from Europe.)

Bae flew to Germany in early December to finalize her contract and spent a week there, shooting early teaser segments for the film. Finale is described as taking after Tarantino’s Kill Bill genre (so, a pastiche of a pastiche?), while Bae’s role in the film is the “cold killer and daughter of a mafia boss”; the climax of the film apparently pits Italian and Korean and mafia against each other in a big action sequence.

SONG OF THE DAY

Bae Seul-ki – “다가와” (Come near). Quite a different tone from her new badass-fighter film image, isn’t it? [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Uljjang goes Hollywood (293 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: acting debuts, Hollywood, singers, uljjangs

I admit the first thing that struck me about Kim Hye Sung was his adorable baby face. But although he’s part of the newest generation of good-looking, trendy young stars, he seems to be slowly differentiating himself from his peers and taking some personal care (and risks) into his acting choices. He’s one I’ve got my eye on for the future.
 

“Kim Hye Sung’s transformation from pretty boy to hot-tempered youth to gay lover”

By the time 2003’s hot uljjang trend had blown over, some new stars had appeared on the scene: uljjangs. [What’s an uljjang?] The first-generation ulljangs included Park Han Byul, Gu Hye Sun, Nam Sang Mi. Second-generation ulljangs: Kim Ok Bin, Bae Seul Gi, Lee Yeon Hee. And also Kim Hye Sung and Kang Eun Bi.

They rose to fame not via television or movies, but through the internet, causing a shake-up of the currently existing star-making system. Uljjang stars weren’t discovered through television station tests, new-actor auditions, talent agencies, or streetside castings; they were made into stars by audiences and consumers themselves.

Five years later. …

SONG OF THE DAY

Deb – “Dopamine” [ Download ]

 
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Read the rest of When Boy Meets Boy (798 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 36 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: homosexuality, Kim Hye-sung, netizens, uljjangs, Unstoppable High Kick

With this generation so internet-savvy, and the stars living in an overwhelmingly wired society that analyzes their every move, it’s no surprise that more and more, celebrities are using the internet (Stars: They’re just like us!) to reach out to their fans — in affection, in exasperation, and in defense of themselves.

Lee Hyori, Yoon Eun Hye, Gu Hye Sun …
“Women who can’t live without their homepages!”

Conveying malicious gossip via the internet

The 16th was a day when the internet found itself abuzz with singer Ivy’s plea, “Stop writing false rumors.” All day, her name remained the most-searched term online, and she censured the press in a posting she put up on her mini-homepage: “I can’t take you reporters just writing whatever you want to condemn a person. Please stop writing fiction, and don’t speak so recklessly about something you haven’t heard or seen for yourselves.” …

SONG OF THE DAY

Type R – “By My Side” [ zShare download ]

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Read the rest of Breaking the fourth wall: Stars and their homepages (1,098 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2007. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: anti-fans, Ivy, Lee Hyori, netizens, uljjangs, Yoon Eun-hye

The “uljjang” phenomenon is one that is fascinating, odd, borderline disturbing (or at least perplexing), uniquely Korean — and now, it appears, waning.

The word uljjang comes from a mashup of the word for “face” and a slang term for “best,” thereby meaning “best face” or simply “good-looking,” in the same way that momjjang means “well-built body.” However, the term also refers to the phenomenon of recent years where ordinary (albeit extremely good-looking) people have become bona fide celebrities simply from a photo posted online in their blogs, mini-hompages, and cafes. The photo in question would be widely circulated, and the hottie would find him- or herself vaulted into quasi internet celebrity, and then real honest-to-goodness mainstream celebrity once they’d been “discovered” and debuted as actors and entertainers. (Some were discovered in more conventional ways, aka off the streets and in public locations, which is how I hear Nam Sang Mi, pictured above, was first found, although I don’t know for sure that that’s true.)

Many uljjangs may have faded back into relative obscurity soon after the initial buzz, although a fair number went on to success. According to the following article, however, it seems the phenomenon — as with so many internet-spawned fads — is on the downtrend:

Why are there no recent internet “uljjang stars”?

Where have all the “uljjang” stars, who’d once seemed to pop up every day, gone?

Starting with Gu Hye Sun of the currently airing King and I and Nam Sang Mi of Time of Dog and Wolf, and including others such as Park Han Byul, Kang Eun Bi, and Bae Seul Ki, many stars who’d originated as “uljjangs” are now in the entertainment industry, but it’s not so easy finding new uljjang stars. …

 
(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Romantic Couch – “Star Bossa” [ zShare download ]

 
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Read the rest of Where have all the uljjangs gone? (749 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2007. | Permalink | 23 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Gu Hye-sun, Kim Ok-bin, Nam Sang-mi, netizens, Park Han-byul, uljjangs