Mukgu-fied

Mukgu-fied v.2

2007-04-24T01:15:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to change the blog's layout for a while now, but the choices of templates from blogger are quite limited. I haven't found a blogger template that I really like, and since I'm no graphic designer or html savvy, I can't create my own layout. By chance, I've come across another blog hosting service, wordpress.com, which has some very nice looking designs. So, I'm testing that out to see how I like it.

Check out the new version here. Do you like the new look? Post your comments here (or there) and let me know. Thanks!

Happy Birthday!

2007-04-19T00:57:00.000-07:00

This is actually a belated birthday wish to our dear Da Hae. Her birthday was actually on April 19. With all the hours that I've been putting in at work, plus taking care of other stuff, I forgot all about it. Shame on me for calling myself a fan of hers. I feel terrible.

Thank goodness for the nifty option of time stamping the blog entries. Because of it, I was able to mark this special date. However, I still feel bad about forgetting it in the first place. I mean, I remembered my eye candies' birthdays previously. What happened here? In any case, happy birthday, Da Hae sshi!
Special thanks to pinklily @ soompi for the adorable smilie

Exciting News

2007-04-15T21:35:00.000-07:00

Lee Dong Wook will be starring in a new drama, tentatively titled Bad Couple. The drama will air on SBS in June.

The second piece of news also has to do with the cast of a new drama. The drama is called Cain and Abel and the confirmed cast includes So Ji Sup, Ji Jin Hee, and Jung Ryeo Won. This will be SJS's first drama upon his return from the army.

I love the male cast. However, I wish they would cast another leading actress. The thing is, I don't have a problem with JRW, per say. It's just... well, I'm indifferent towards her. I liked her in My Name is Kim Sam Soon but I guess I still haven't gotten over her most recent work, which is Which Star Are You From?

Nonetheless, I'm very excited. Not just one or two, but three gorgeous men in new dramas?! Nice!

Special thanks to yeohweping for the news

The Devil: Episode 1

2007-04-09T21:08:00.001-07:00

The first episode of The Devil (Mawang) aired a couple of weeks ago, on the same day as Witch Amusement and Thank you. However, I haven't gotten around to watching it because I was immediately hooked to Witch Amusement. Sadly for The Devil, it's been trailing behind its competitions in the ratings battle. But... that is not to say that the drama isn't good. As it's from the people who brought us Ressurection, I have high expectations for it. And after completing the first episode, I'm interested in seeing more of it.

Main Characters Introduction

Detective Kang, although from a wealthy background, is dedicated to his profession. He views the world in only two shades, either black or white. This is evident in scenes where he recites that there are only two types of people in this world: the bad guys and the good guys who catch those bad guys. He even applies this philosophy to food, as he states that there are only two types of food: jjajangmyun and something else? (Can someone help me fill in the blank? He said it really fast when he asked his collegues to order take-out and I forgot what the second dish is.)

Oh Seung Ha is a lawyer who is known to help people who, otherwise, cannot afford an attorney to defend them. His background is mysterious, and we really don't know who he is.

Hae In is a kind-hearted librarian who has the supernatural power of psychometry. After watching episode 1, I have a better idea of what is psychometry. Basically, when she touches something, whether it's an object or a person, she's able to see the past events related to that particular thing.

It seems that Hae In has a crush on Seung Ha, who is a frequent patron the library that she works at. He reads his book in this specific aisle as she observes him. And sometimes, she is disappointed when she can't spot him at his usual location.

Episode 1

The young Hae In was on a bicyle ride with her friends when she suddenly fell from her bike. She saw a basketball bounce towards her and picked it up. Upon contact with the ball, she began to see visions of someone calling the police from a public telephone, reporting that his friend had been stabbed. In the following scene, Hae In found herself in an empty lot and in front of her, lay the lifeless body of a teenage boy and a pile of mint candy. In Hae In's visions, the teenage boy was being harrased by a group of boys, who appeared to be attending the same school. One boy from the group took out a knife to threaten his classmate and while they struggled back and forth, the classmate was stabbed.

Fast forward to 12 years later, Hae In now works in a library. On this day, one of the patron loses her wallet and accuses a strange old man of stealing it. Hae In steps in to help as she trusts that the old man won't do such thing. She touches the patron's back and is able to see that the patron had carelessly placed her wallet on top of some books and when the books shifted, the wallet fell into the crack. After the wallet is retrieved, Hae In suggests that she should apologize to the old man, saying that people who read children's books aren't bad people.

(I think the purpose of this scene is to show Hae In's kind-hearted and trusting personality, but after she said that line, all I thought of was, "Um, what about pedophiles? Some of them probably read children's books and last I checked, they're not really upright people.)

Anyway, Hae In gets a call from her friend, who is currently at a police station to file a claim for theft as someone has broken into their shop and stole a tarot card. Apparently, the card is special because it is actually painted by Hae In.

In the next scene, we are introduced to Detective Kang Oh Soo who is investigating a case. He sees the person of interest and chases after him, only to lose him because the taxi driver that drove Detective Kang during the chase refuses to let him go until he pays the cab fare.

At a prison, Oh Seung Ha visits his new client, who is being prosecuted of manslaughter. The client is surprised that Seung Ha agreed to take on the case because apparently, many lawyers have previously declined. As he takes his leave, Seung Ha asks his client about whether or not he was bullied as a child. The client answered that it's true but is puzzled as to how that information has anything to do with the case at-hand. Seung Ha doesn't answer his client's inquiry but instead, gives an ambiguous and cryptic smile/smirk.

(Joo Ji Hoon has a very distinct walk, almost like he's struting his stuff on the runway. It's distracting to me and I can't focus on whether he's improved in his acting or not because all I can think about is the man Joo Ji Hoon or Prince Lee Shin and not Joo Ji Hoon as Oh Seung Ha.)

Two mysterious packages have arrived, one addressed to a lawyer and the other addressed to Oh Soo. In the lawyer's package, there are a tarot card (the Judgement card) and a pocket knife; in Oh Soo's package, there's that same tarot card plus a note.

At the library, Hae In officially meets Seung Ha and tells him that he looks like someone she has seen before. Seung Ha replied that this is his first time meeting her and introduced himself. As they shake hand, Hae In felt something strange.

Later that night, Hae In has a nightmare about the tragic incident that she witnessed 12 years ago.

In a later scene, the old lawyer is confronted by a man from his past. The man threatens the lawyer and wants him to apologize for his past wrongdoings but he refuses. While they argue, someone calls the lawyer's cell phone and left a message. (The person who left the message is Seung Ha. I get the feeling that Seung Ha made the call to secure an alibi for himself because the call was made right before the lawyer's time of death.)

Not long after, the police arrives at the office to find the lawyer's dead body. On his way to the scene, Oh Soo runs into a timid office worker in front of the building. In a following scene, we learn that the worker keeps a box of tarot cards in his desk drawer.

At a nearby street, the mysterious man runs away and appears to be hurt. He falls down in a dark alley and guess who walks up to greet him? Oh Seung Ha seems to appear out of nowhere (or was he there waiting?) and asks the man if he is allright.

There is also a scene of someone making a phone call at a phone booth before the police arrives at the crime scene. We aren't shown his face or body, only his legs as he walks away from the booth.

We soon learn that the deceased lawyer was a good friend of Oh Soo's family. We also discover that Seung Ha's client is Oh Soo's friend. So, everyone is connected to each other in some way.

Seung Ha also claims to know the old lawyer as he was his subordinate for 6 months. He attends the funeral service and after he leaves, an interesting object is found on the old lawyer's altar: a piece of mint candy.

During the investigation, Oh Soo's senior seeks the help of Hae In and Oh Soo discovers her supernatural ability and how previously she's used it to help his senior crack difficult cases. They arrive at her tarot card reading/psychic shop and brings along the Judgement tarot card.

During Hae In's vision, she sees someone, who is wearing black leather gloves, holding the tarot card. She also sees another person (or the same person) cutting up words from magazines to paste together the note that was sent to Oh Soo. However, their faces are hidden in her visions. Shockingly, the only face that appears to her is Oh Soo's. As Hae In is about to announce her findings, she is interrupted by Seung Ha's visit to the shop. Seung Ha and Oh Soo meet each other and introduce themselves. End of episode 1.

Lack of Updates

2007-04-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

For the regular visitors of this blog who were disappointed with the recent lack of updates, I sincerely apologize. I was accepted to an accelerated nursing program and will be attending it in May. And so, in addition to work, I was busy with completing all the required paperwork and travelling down to the school to take care of business. Thus, blog updates will occur on an ocassional basis, instead of regularly. Once again, to those who care, I apologize.

Below are some goodies from the latest K-dramas, namely, Que Sera Sera and Witch Amusement. Enjoy!

Que Sera Sera MV

The song played in the MV is called "Bless You" by Loveholic. To download it, please click here. (Special thanks to yeohweping and javabeans)

The Complete Witch Amusement OST
Highly recommended, both the drama and its OST!
To download it, please click here.
Special thanks to fashionista and mei_yei_chan (sp?) @ soompi

Witch Amusement Goodies

2007-04-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

Opening theme

MV

Modernizing Classical Symphonies

2007-03-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

Recent K-dramas, in addition to their entertaining storyline, have integrated the works of classical music geniuses into their OSTs (Original Sound Tracks) and have transformed those "outdated" yet classic pieces into something trendy and hip. The amazing thing is that these remixes fit perfectly with the dramas and they definitely enhance the audience's experience of certain scenes and/or emotions. Examples of "modernized" classical symphonies include songs from the OST of My Girl and most recently, Witch Amusement.

Mozart's Symphony No. 40

"Never Say Goodbye" - Mario & Nesty

Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 (1st Movement)

운명의 장난 命運的惡作劇 -Mc진리(Feat.하하)

Special thanks to yeohweping for the OST.

The Host Exceeds 1 Mil. in US Earnings

2007-03-29T00:11:00.000-07:00

The film The Host has earned one million US dollars at the US box office in the three weeks after its release there, its producer Chungeorahm said Tuesday.

Having been released in 71 theaters on March 7, the film raked in 320,000 dollars for the first week, and the earnings reached 690,000 in the second week and one million in the third week, when the number of theaters also rose to 94.

The producer said that the film reached the million dollar mark in the shortest time among all Korean films released in the U.S. Citing the film’s US distributor Magnolia Pictures as saying that it plans to show the film for the long-term, the Korean producer expressed its confidence in the film’s success there.

Korean movies released in the US include Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, Brotherhood of War and Old Boy. Among them, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter set a record high in box office earnings with 2.3 million dollars during its seven-month run.
Source: KBS Global

doozy: Yay, for The Host!

I recently saw this movie in the theatres to show support for Korean cinema instead of watching it elsewhere. *shifty eyes* So, my 7 bucks is part of that 1 million. Exciting, isn't it? (Even if you say "no," please humor me here.)

Regarding the movie, I actually like it alot. For a movie categorized as an "action film," I was pleasantly surprised at the subtleties that its director sprinkled in throughout the film. I also like the mix of action, human/family relationship, politics, and humor.

This theatres experience could have been a completely wonderful one had it not been for stupid comments made by several movie goers. One lady, after the movie ended, sarcastically said, "Wow, they sure know how to make movies." Another lady said something about how it should've been dubbed instead of subtitled. Oh well, how sorry I am that it's not the way that she preferred. I mean, the production team and the film studio were so unreasonable and inconsiderate to have her *gasp* read something, right? Whatever, I'd say to them.

Too Many Chiefs, Not Enough Indians...

2007-03-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

This is something that I've observed at work over the past couple of days: too many people, regardless of whether or not they have the experience or authority, want to be in a high and mighty comanding position, which leaves not that many who would obey willingly. It doesn't sound like a very good situation, does it? Which am I? I try to be neither and just do my job.

What's the point of sharing this observation? There's really no point. Quiet frankly, I'm just blogging as a way to procrastinate doing other, more important things, which include eating and showering, but you probably didn't to know that. Heehee.

Anyway, back to our regular scheduled programming... which is, K-dramas. After the monster, that is Jumong ended its run, most of the shows that premiered are so good and diverse in theme and storyline. Thus far, I've seen Hello! Miss, Witch Amusement, H.I.T., and The Devil. Based on high recommendations, I'm probably going to check out Thank you and Que Sera Sera. Wow, that's a lot of drama-watching. And I haven't even finished the shows that I started previously. Ah geez, otoke?

Also, I came across this great blog, which has episodic summaries of several of the latest dramas. Do check it out here! Thank you, javabeans dear for your time and effort in maintaining the blog.

De-stressing...

2007-03-22T21:19:00.000-07:00

I'm starting school this coming May and I've just received the paperwork, which include the usual orientation information, health record, etc. So, I was looking at the immunization form, thinking this is going to be easy since I still have access to my immunization form. Boy, was I wrong! It turns out that most, if not all, of my vaccinations have expired, which means that I would have to get these done all over again. And you know what that means, right? My two arms will most likely go limp from all those shots and since I have no health insurance, they'll burn a giant hole in my wallet at a time when I need to save money to prepare for my move to a different city, where the school is located. In addition, I have to go down to the school for a scholarship interview, come back home, and then go to the school again for some uniform fitting and to take a math test prior to entering the program. Math test? What the..? Do I even remember how to do math?! Damn, this sucks!

I need to do some major de-stressing. I must think happy thoughts... Hence, I shall go watch my K-dramas now. A good dose of it will lift my mood, I hope. That is, if I'm not going to watch People In Love because not only will it not help me, it will instead aggravate me and make me want to throw heavy objects or break something. My current addiction: Witch Amusement. Actually, I feel bad for not being into H!M as much as WA because my favorite girl is in H!M and I should give her my full support. But WA is so fun and entertaining! What a dilemma! Wait a minute, am I stressing myself out again? Aish, I need to stop. WA episode 2, here I come!

Hello! Miss Episode 1

2007-03-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

I finally was able to download the first episode and finished watching it last night. As previously mentioned, I was planning to do an episodic summary for Hello! Miss (H!M). However, ripgal (Jo), a wonderful Mukgu-er @ soompi, will take on this project instead. I'll just write about my thoughts on the drama and you can check out the details in Jo's summaries. The summary for episode 1 is already posted. You can read it by clicking here. Please drop her a thank you note to show your support for her effort if you do visit the soompi thread. Jo did an amazing job with the summary, so I was surprised to learn that this is her first time writing one. Thank you, Jo!

Episode 1

As with most dramas, episode 1 of H!M serves as an introduction to the lead characters and the supporting players. LDH as Soo Ha is super adorable while at the same time, very feisty. Yes, there are over-the-top expressions from her but I did not have any problem with that because they are hilarious. Soo Ha's facial expressions and gestures do remind me of Yoo Rin, but then again, it's just the first episode. Perhaps, once we get into the drama a little more, I'll begin to see Soo Ha in her own light.

The first episode is really all about SH. Everytime LDH appears, she lights up the screen. (Although, that observation might just be biased me raving about one of my favorited actresses so you'll have to check out H!M for yourself to see if you agree with me or not.) I love how SH can be sassy in one moment and soft-spoken in the next scene. And she does both equally well and made me laugh in both situations. When she's feisty, her expressions and tone of voice are so cute and hysterical and when she's soft-spoken and demure, I'd laugh because we all know that that's not the real SH because she's putting on a show to achieve something. One of my favorite scenes is when SH is on the phone trying to negotiate with the finance company. When things do not seem to be going her way, she starts yelling at them and of course, they hung up the phone on her. The phone rings again and thinking that it's the same company, she raises her voice. However, when she realizes that it was actually one of the elders of her village, her tone changes dramatically and immediately. Even though the elder on the other line really couldn't see SH's behaviors, she was bowing too when she talks to him. If you're not getting why I find it funny, watch the episode and you'll understand. (I hope.)

Of course, with any romcom (romantic comedy), you have your share of quirky characters. In H!M, there is SH's village family and her new friend Jung Sook, the girl who has a questionable fashion sense. Also, there are many familar faces whom we've seen from past dramas, which I'm always excited to see. For example, there's "mandoo ajumma" from Bad Family, "Gong Shil Jang" from Fantasy Couple, and "the King" from Goong and Hwang Jin-Yi. Mandoo ajumma is now the housekeeper for SH; Gong Shil Jang is the assistant to a high ranking executive, which is funny because it's similar to his job title in Fantasy Couple. So while watching him, I was thinking, "Hey man, how's Billy doing? You don't work for him anymore?" He also keeps his special way of saying "ne." The King is SH's father, so in a way, he's still "king" as he's the patriarchal figure of the family.

In addition, the way the characters are set up are somewhat similar to My Girl, or perhaps it's not really similar but I'm just reminded of My Girl because of LDH. For example, we have the good guy played by Lee Ji Hoon, the player who will grow fond of this "strange" girl that he's just met, and the quirky friend.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. There are characters that I already sense I will dislike and ones that I will root for. And of course, LDH is breathtakingly gorgeous, but we know that already, right, fellow Mukgu-ers?!

Jumong Song Il-Guk Has Fallen In Love

2007-03-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

Song Il-Guk (35) is currently seeing a 5 year junior "future prosecutor" Miss A (30).
The two first met late last year, introduced by a reporter from Star News, and have been dating for 5 months since.

Miss A, who has grasped song il-guk's heart, is currently in training for justice admistration. She is said to be of elegant height and slender figure, who is beautiful and cute in image.

Because the two have been separately busy with their work and studies, they have thus far communicated mostly by phone, but upon the end of jumong filming and Miss A's acceptance to exam for justice administration, they can focus more on cultivating their relationship.

Song Il-Guk's attraction to Miss A is based on her genuine and pure, cautious yet free spirit. Meanwhile, Miss A's attraction to Mister Song is due to SIG's wholesome lifestyle despite being a star, his modesty and masculinity.

Neither wants to interfere with each other's career, and the two are carefully cultivating their love.

Song, who was raised in a strict and disciplined family with christian religion, has found himself a woman with a good heart who plans to serve the public.
Source: Star News
Translation by: dramaok @ soompi

doozy: First Hyun Bin and now Song Il Guk?! These news are so heartbreaking because they're such fantasy killer. ahn dwe!!!!!

Although, if news came out that two of my favorite onscreen pairs are dating in real life, I'd be very happy.

H.I.T.

2007-03-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

Cast
Go Hyun Jung
Han Jung Woo

Airs
March 19, 2007 (Replacing Jumong)

Episodes
20

Broadcasting Station
MBC

Official Website

Soompi Thread

H.I.T. stands for Homicide Investigation Team. The premise of the drama is similar to C.S.I. For more in-depth description of the drama and its characters, please click here.

Currently, there's no fansubbing group for H.I.T. because this type of professional drama can be quite difficult to translate due to its terminology and jargon. Although I will not be comprehending much, I'll still be watching H.I.T. because I like this genre and I want to see how it compares to C.S.I.

Also, I like Go Hyun Jung because she was very endearing in What's Up, Fox? so I'm interested in her new project.

Jun Ji-hyun to Debut in Hollywood

2007-03-18T23:53:00.000-07:00

Actress Jun Ji-hyun is gearing up to debut overseas. Jun, who has gained popularity not only in Korea but also in Hong Kong, China and Japan for her sometimes sassy, sometimes naive roles in movies, will make her Hollywood debut in the movie Blood: The Last Vampire.

Blood: The Last Vampire is based on the same-titled popular animation novel by famous Japanese writer Oshii Mamoru. Jun plays the role of the vampire hunter Saya, who is half-human, half-vampire but who disguises herself as a human being in order to destroy vampires. The actress is expected to display impressive action stunts in the movie.

Playing opposite Jun will be actress Allison Miller, who has gained popularity for her role in the TV show Desperate Housewives. In the movie, Miller’s character teaches Saya what it’s like to be a human.

Interest in movies starring Jun has been on the rise in Hollywood. Jun has drawn notice in Hollywood through the movie The Lake House, starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. The movie is a remake of the Korean movie Il Mare, which stars Jun. Jun’s hit movie My Sassy Girl is also currently being remade in the United States, with actress Elisha Cuthbert playing the lead.

The filming of Blood: The Last Vampire will begin March 15. The movie has drawn significant attention for its impressive scale as it involves famous film production firms and filmmakers. After shooting several scenes in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the filming location will switch to China before the movie opens in 2008.

The movie is expected to make Jun another hallyu star in Hollywood, like Kim Yun-jin. Jun will go by the name "Gianna Jun" in the United States.
Source: KBS Global

doozy: In addition to Il Mare and My Sassy Girl, I think Hollywood also bought the remake rights to JJH's latest film Daisy.

Am I the only one here who doesn't like the fact that JJH will debut with an American name? The movie's storyline also doesn't appeal to me, but most likely, I'll catch it in the theatres to support her. In any case, I wish her the best of success.

Song of the Moment

2007-03-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

This song is performed by Lee Ha Na in When Spring Comes. LHN sings it beautifully. She's really talented. Enjoy!

To download, click here.

Lyrics
Translation by: ai* (WITH S2)

Even though I was young and didn’t know much.
But I understand it now what it means to leave.

Mother’s arms are so warm...
But when it was time, she left...
no other choice...

Goodbye... goodbye... goodbye...

When I let go my hand,
She left like a dandelion.

Never coming back...
like a dandelion...

Like a dandelion...

Like a dandelion...

Random Rant

2007-03-11T00:33:00.000-08:00

I'm not feeling well at the moment. I think I got food poisoning or something along those lines. Note to self and those who are reading this: do not consume leftover pizza that is four days old, no matter how "normal" it looked or tasted. I repeat, do not! Trust me on this one.
-----
I finally finished watching Save the Last Dance for Me after it has been taking space on my computer for months. I also finished The Snow Queen. So that's a total of 36 hours of my life, mostly wasted on nothing more than eye candies. Surprisingly, I liked the former more than the latter even though it doesn't have Hyun Bin. I'm not that shallow, you know. I can be objective too, sometimes.
-----
I'm also done with Hwang Jin Yi and I loved it! One of the best dramas I've seen to date. I've been wanting to write a review of sort for the drama but it's quite difficult coming up with right wording and organizing all my thoughts into one that's coherent and detailed. I'll try and see if I can get one together because I really want to get the word out on how great this show is. Highly recommended!
-----
The premiere for Witch Amusement will be pushed back as Surgeon Bong Dal Hee will be extended to 18 episodes due to its high ratings.

I also read that the airing date for Time Between Wolf and Dog will be further delayed until September. Aish, really. Let this be the official date. Please, no more delays!
-----
Thanks to this blog, my respect for Hollywood has changed dramatically. Not that Hollywood cares about what a little person like me thinks about them, but I'm writing this as a kind of "just so you know.." type thing.
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I'm probably going to do episodic summaries and/or screencaps of Hello!Miss because this blog is, afterall, "mukgu-fied." March 19th is the premiere. It's next Monday! Woot woot!

Previews

2007-03-08T14:28:00.000-08:00

Witch Amusement
Uploaded by: hirohiroH2

It looks like a fun drama from the preview. Han Ga In is oh so gorgeous but Jae Hee's hairstyle is odd, much different than his look in Sassy Girl, Chun Hyang. Anyway, I'm definitely watching this one!

The Devil
Uploaded by: Lunasy

The clip looks intense. Although I'm still slightly annoyed at the fact that Uhm Tae Woong is second lead, I guess we'll have to see how much screen time he has.

I'm loving the March line-up this year. In addition to the two dramas above, we also have Hello!Miss with Lee Da Hae, H.I.T. with Go Hyun Jung, and Lee Dong Wook in a new drama if he accepts the role. I'm considering doing a episode summary for one of these shows but won't know which one yet until I see the first episode of each drama. Or perhaps an episodic project is too ambitious since I still haven't finished the first one that I started. Heehee. I guess we'll see how determined I am this time around.

LDH for J Polack 2007

2007-03-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

Images courtesy of JPolack and pinklily @ soompi.

To view more, please go here.
Wow, I really like the concept of this catalog. LDH is so elegant and gorgeous!

The Devil

2007-03-04T19:53:00.000-08:00

Cast
Uhm Tae Woong (Sassy Girl, Chun Hyang, Resurrection)
Shin Min Ah (A Love to Kill)
Joo Ji Hoon (Goong)

Airs
March 21, 2007 (Replacing Dal Ja's Spring)

Episodes
20

Broadcasting Station
KBS2

Director
Park Chan Hong (Resurrection)

Writer
Kim Ji Woo

Produced By
Olive9

Official Website

Soompi Thread

Synopsis
The tragic event of their childhood connects the fates of two men and a woman who has an ability in psychometry into a love triangle. (Psychometry is a form of extra-sensory perception wherein a psychic holds an object in his or her hands in order to obtain information about the object or its owner.)

Joo Ji Hoon will be acting as a lawyer Oh Seung Ha, who is destined to meet a police detective, Kang Oh Soo (Uhm Tae Woong). Shin Min Ah plays Seo Hae In, a 25 year old mysterious librarian with an ability in psychometry. She is at the level of being diagnosed with amnesia/sleeping disorder and she tends to be in full concentration when she becomes too absorbed/focus into something. Kang Oh Soo, who is from a rich family, had accidentally caused Oh Seung Ha to lose his brother and mom when they were young. Oh Seung Ha later grows up to be a lawyer who wants to seek revenge on Kang Oh Soo, who is now a police detective.
Oh Seung Ha and Seo Hae In will have feelings for each other while Kang Oh Soo has a one sided love for Seo Hae In.
Credit to: yeohweping

Arirang Showbiz Extra
Uploaded by: Lunasy

Special thanks to Rebby @ soompi for the clip.

doozy: Uhm Tae Woong playing second fiddle and doesn't get the girl? Again?! A love triangle? Again?! Despite those two dislikes, I'm still looking forward to watching The Devil. Why? Because it's from the folks who brought us that amazing drama called Resurrection, it's produced by Olive9 (the production company behind the drama Hwang Jin Yi), and it has Uhm Tae Woong. I really hope they focus more on the part about supernatural powers and the theme of vengeance because I don't know how many more pretty people love triangles I can watch in K-dramas.

Weekend Box Office Chart in Seoul

2007-03-03T18:04:00.000-08:00

1. Miracle on 1st Street
Director: Yoon Je-gyun
Starring: Ha Ji-won, Lim Chang-chung
Click here for more info on the movie.

2. The Masked Dalho
Director: Kim Sang-chan, Kim Hyun-soo
Starring: Lim Chae-moo, Cha Tae-hyun

3. A Good Day for an Affair
Director: Jang Moon-il
Starring: Kim Hye-soo, Yoon Jin-seo

4. Voice of a Murderer
Director: Park Jin-pyo
Starring: Sul Kyung-gu, Kim Nam-ju

5. Flags of Our Fathers
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Adam Beach

For the rest of the list, go here.

doozy: Congratulations to Ha Ji Won for having the no. 1 movie after a successful television drama!

LDW's New Project

2007-02-28T22:04:00.000-08:00

Lee Dong Wook has been selected as the lead for JS pictures new drama I love you.
The drama will be adapted from Kim Se Myung popular manhwa I love you which is about a thirty-something comic writer who marries a girl younger than him by 14 years when she gets pregnant. The production company plans to start filming in March when the female lead is selected.

The broadcast date and station are still unknown at the moment.

Credit to: yeohweping

doozy: Woot woot! LDH's Hello! Miss in March and now, LDW is going to film a new drama?! I'm beyond excited.

The Korean-American Who Is Hollywood's Link to Asia

2007-02-27T19:00:00.000-08:00

The Departed, the Hollywood remake of the Hong Kong film Internal Affairs starring Andy Lau and Tony Leung, won four Oscars including best director for Martin Scorsese, best picture, best adapted screenplay and best editing, at the 79th Academy award in Los Angeles on Sunday (local time). This also brought a Korean American into the spotlight: Vertigo Entertainment CEO Roy Lee, who was an executive producer on the movie.

Hollywood studios rely on Lee's Asian sensibility and network to find Asian movies suitable for remakes. He has had a hand in introducing almost all Asian horror movies that found an enthusiastic audience in the U.S., including The Ring and Ju-on: The Grudge from Japan. An adaptation of A Tale of Two Sisters, a Korean horror film Lee picked up, will be completed by the end of this year. Lee was also involved in The Lake House, the remake of Il Mare, the first Hollywood remake of a Korean film. A remake of another Korean movie, Addicted with Lee Byung-hun and Lee Mi-yeon, will start shooting soon with Grudge' star Sarah Michelle Gellar. Lee also introduced My Sassy Girl and My Wife is a Gangster to DreamWorks and Miramax.

Born to a doctor father and a teacher mother, Roy Lee worked as a lawyer after graduating from George Washington University and American University’s Washington School of Law.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
Source: english.chosun.com

doozy: Okay, so the article above is interesting and all.. But, the MAIN reason why I posted this article is because of the gross mistake of mispelling the title of a movie. People, for the umphteen time, the US film Departed is a remake of the HK movie titled INFERNAL AFFAIRS. The original movie is from Hong Kong, not Japan; and that's Infernal Affairs with an "f" and not Internal Affairs with a "t."

Seriously, it's not like Infernal Affairs is some indie, low-budget movie that wasn't a huge success and isn't well-known. If even a non-movie buff like myself know the correct title, then shouldn't people who are in the biz know more than I do?

Geez, I wonder how Hollywood would feel if foreign countries called the remake The Deported, instead of The Departed.

Here's a poster of the HK movie for confirmation, in case you think I'm on some halucinogen.

Witch Amusement

2007-02-24T18:26:00.000-08:00

This is not the poster for the drama. It's a New Year's greeting from the cast.

Cast
Han Ga In (Dr. Kang, Super Rookie)
Jae Hee (Sassy Girl, Chun Hyang)
Dennis Oh (Sweet Spy)
Jung Hae Bin
Kim Jung Hoon (Goong)
Hwang Ji Hyun (Please Come Back, Soon Ae)

Airs
March 14, 2007

Episodes
16

Broadcasting Station
SBS

Director
Jun Ki Sang (Sassy Girl, Chun Hyang, My Girl)

Synopsis
Han Ga In plays the heroine Ma Yoo Hee hinting that the character is like a "Witch". Yoo Hee has independent personality and is the only daughter of the owner of an advertisement company and is working as an advertisement planner. After she is introduced to Jae Mo Ryong (Jae Hee) who is a student learning cooking, she falls in love with him. Dennis Oh will play a famous French Chef from America. He is perfect guy named Johnny Kruger from New York. He plays a big part in hooking up Ma Yoo-Hee and Jae Mo Ryong.
Source: soompi thread

Hyun Bin No Longer Single and Available

2007-02-21T22:14:00.000-08:00

Hyun Bin has been dating Hwang Ji Hyun for almost a year. Reportedly, they broke up in the middle and then got back together again.

Those who are wondering who Hwang Ji Hyun is, she was in New Nonstop 3 and recently, Come back Soon Ae as Park Jin Hee's stewardess friend.
Source: yahoo.co.kr
Translation by: lilshinhwafreak @ soompi

doozy: As a crazy fan girl, my reaction is: Why?! Why her and not me?!
As a realistic person with her head on straight, my reaction is: Why?! Why her and not me?! Haha. I'm kidding! Honestly, as long as he's happy, I'm happy.

Cast of Hello! Miss

2007-02-20T20:18:00.000-08:00

Lee Da Hae

Lee Ji Hoon; Ha Suk Jin

Yoon Mi So

Image source: as labeled
Special thanks to yeohweping

So Pretty

2007-02-19T16:19:00.000-08:00

Below are some screen caps from LDH's vitamin cf. To view more, please click here.

Call me, Wookie oppa!

I love her smile. There's a certain innocence and genuiness in it. Just look at the picture. She's adorable, yet at the same time, gorgeous.
I'm looking forward to March 12, which is the premiere of LDH's new drama, Hello! Miss.

Special thanks to pinklily @ soompi for providing these images.

Oink

2007-02-17T09:44:00.000-08:00

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR!

It's the Year of the Boar!

Rain, Song Hye-kyo Promote Drama in China

2007-02-15T13:23:00.000-08:00

Actress Song Hye-kyo and singer/actor Rain will visit China to promote their drama Full House, which aired on KBS 2TV a few years ago in Korea.

They will leave Seoul Thursday for a 3-day visit to Hunan, China, where a news conference and a fan meeting are scheduled ahead of the drama's local airing.

Song's manager Na Byung-jun of Sidus HQ says inquiries by Chinese fans about their visit are pouring in.

The hit drama was exported to 14 countries including Thailand, the Philippines and Taiwan.

Actress Song has recently finished filming her latest movie, a film about the famous Korean courtesan Hwang Jini, while Rain is on his global concert tour.

Teaser posters of Hwang Jin Yi

News source: KBS Global
Images source: songhyegyo.net

doozy:
If you're interested in the latest updates regarding this joyous event, go to AgentP's Headquarters.

LDH Fans Rejoice

2007-02-13T19:52:00.000-08:00

So it's finally confirmed! LDH is going to be in Hello! Miss (formerly known as Pride) afterall. I also like the change of the male cast. This is so exciting. I really hope that this time, it's for real and not just a rumor.

Do check out the Soompi thread for additional info and images.

Showbiz Suicides Alarm Management Agencies

2007-02-12T23:23:00.000-08:00

Alarm bells are ringing in Korea's entertainment business after the apparent suicides of pop singer U;Nee and actress Jeong Da-bin within three weeks of each other.

Agencies are clearly worried. While the stars ostensibly enjoy wealth and fame, they are also more at risk than ordinary people because their kudos can vanish in an instant. The fickle nature of the business brings its attendant anxieties, especially for women, experts say.

The actress Choi Jin-sil recalls the envy of other performers when she was a teen star. "You may think that the happiest moments come with the 'golden time' of celebrity," she says. "But the mental stress is extreme as well." She admits she suffered from great insecurity not knowing if her fame would last.

Then there is the threat of litigation. As a star's popularity soars and their fees rise, lawsuits become commonplace, especially from management agencies. Jeong was being sued for pulling out of a contract with her former management agency in February 2005. Already in 2002, she was accused of failing to hand over part of her pay to the agency. She lost.

Min Sung-kil, a psychiatrist from Severance Hospital said celebrities in many cases are more exposed to stress than ordinary people. "As a last resort, depressed celebrities may choose to kill themselves."

Management agencies are reassessing their role to protect the celebrities they represent. Namoo Actors, the agency of the actress Lee Eun-ju, who committed suicide in 2005, is taking more time with its star entertainers. Fantom Entertainment Group, which represents the actresses Han Hyo-joo and So Yu-jin and singer Ivy, is taking particular care with its female clients, including ample consultation time.

Jeong Da-bin, U;Nee and Lee Eun-ju

Meanwhile, the National Institute of Scientific Investigation (NISI) after a postmortem on Monday tentatively concluded the death of Jeong Da-bin was suicide. It said there was no evidence of foul play and Jeong’s body showed clear evidence of death by hanging. Jeong's boyfriend, identified by his last name Lee, who discovered the body and called police, said the actress first tried to kill herself by cutting her wrist in Sept. 2006. Jeong's family and her new agency had requested the postmortem, asserting that the scar on her wrist was the result of a suicide attempt in her teens, not last year, and saying she had no reason to kill herself.

Jeong's funeral service was delayed by a day due to the postmortem and will now be held at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Asan Medical Center.
(englishnews@chosun.com)
Source: english.chosun.com

doozy:
This makes me angry and sad at the same time.

Bi for Tea

2007-02-12T18:56:00.000-08:00

New CF
(In case you're wondering, I think "cf" stands for "commercial film.")

Source: Daum news, yeohweping

In Remembrance

2007-02-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

Actress Jung Da Bin, whom most people know from the drama Attic Cat with Kim Rae Won, was found dead in her boyfriend's house yesterday. Police are still investigating to confirm whether or not it was suicide.

-Update-
The latest news confirms that it was suicide. Oh dear! Why, oh why?
To read an article on Jung Da Bin's untimely death, click here.

The last note that she left on her Cyworld:

I thought I was going to die because it was so frustrating.
I kept getting mad with no reason..and it was driving me crazy.
I was so tired..as if I would always get naseous..
My head hurt so much, I cried.
I almost became a slave to bad-temper and moodiness.
Lauging, then crying..it was enough to drive me crazy.
I finally began to think that I was losing myself..
And I began to lose touch.
Suddenly, like being electrocuted..Suddenly, I became peaceful.
The lord came.
He gives me strength, he strengthens my foolish self..
He teaches me strength, and makes me realize things that are close to me.
He raises me up when I was about to give up..
And he tells me that it's now alright.
I'm alright.
Translation by: Fallencorruption @ soompi

Happier days

I read in soompi that she was depressed due to lack of work, among other reasons. She was only 27 years old. This is so sad! Goodbye, Jung Da Bin sshi.

Dal Ja's Spring

2007-02-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

Official Website
Click here

Cast
Chae Rim
Lee Min Ki
Lee Hyun Woo
Lee Hye Young
Gong Hyung Jin

Airs
January 3, 2007 to March 22, 2007
Wed/Thurs

Episodes
20

Broadcasting Station
KBS2

Producer
Lee Jae Sang

Writer
Kang Eun Kyung (Oh! Must Win Bong Soon Young, Hotelier and Glass Shoes)

Info credit: ovette @soompi

Dramas Sweep the Top 10 Ratings List

2007-02-07T22:47:00.000-08:00

According to AGB Nielsen Media Research, a TV ratings research company, dramas swept the top 10 list of highest rated TV programs.

The highest rating in 2006 was recorded by MBC’s Jumong, which posted 38.4% in average household ratings.

It was followed by Famous Princess of KBS2 with ratings of 30.2%, the daily soap operas The Bizarre Bunch and Pure in Heart of KBS1 with 29.8% and 28.5%, respectively, and the SBS weekend drama Dear Heaven with 28.3%.

Among entertainment shows, Imagination Plus of KBS2 ranked the highest at 14th place overall with 19% in ratings, followed by Gag Concert on KBS2 at 16th with 17% and “What an Amazing World” on SBS with 16.9%.

News 9 of KBS1 was the highest ranking news program at 19th place with 16.9% in ratings.

Meanwhile, the average TV viewing time of Korean households in 2006 stood at 7 hours and 7 minutes, unchanged from 2005.

By channel, people watched KBS1 the most, followed by SBS, MBC, and KBS2.
Source: KBS Global

doozy: Jumong =
I also love the drama's poster. It's sexy, yet mysterious.

News Update

2007-02-05T23:03:00.000-08:00

Park Shi Yeon got injured while filming an action scene for When Spring Comes, and it sounds serious too. In a related note, last year, Eric Mun, who is PSY's boyfriend, was seriously injured on the set of the drama Wolf and was hospitalized.

For those who don't know who PSY is, click on "Drama Info" and you can see her picture under When Spring Comes. She was also in My Girl.

I wish her well and hope that she recovers soon. Bbashya, PSY sshi!

News courtesy of yeohweping @ soompi and WITH S2, our "reporter." Thank you for keeping us updated with the latest news from the K-entertainment world.

Drooling

2007-02-03T20:50:00.000-08:00

Lee Dong Wook's Litmus Ads with Kim Ok Bin
Source: as labeled

Magazine Photos

Special thanks to roddy and angel_wings88 @ Wookie's soompi thread for posting these gorgeous pictures.

I have only one thing to say: wow zah!

Moon Geun-young Saves Community Learning Center

2007-02-01T18:31:00.000-08:00

Popular actress Moon Geun-young donated about 300 million won to a learning center for poor children in Haenam, South Cholla Province, near her hometown of Kwangju.

Bae Yo-seop, a pastoral intern at a church in a Haenam, opened an after-school study room for poor children in 2002. About 40 children from poor or single-parent families study there for free.

The program was facing closure in October when the landlord told Bae that the house would be sold off.

Bae recalled in an interview with Yonhap News Agency that a middle-aged couple visited him, suggesting that he find new place for the study room. They bought 1,650 square meters of land, estimated at 75 million won ($79,700), for the program. Only when Bae saw the name on the registration papers did he realize that the couple were actress Moon’s parents.

"It was a blessing so overwhelming that I couldn't be sure whether I was dreaming or not," Bae said, expressing gratitude to the 20-year-old actress and her parents.

A new building, equipped with library, computer room, bathhouse and dining room will be built on the land. The 200 million-won expense will be also covered by Moon.

Moon, a graduate of Kukje High School in Kwangju, has donated to charities and social welfare institutions in her hometown several times. She is currently studying at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul.
Source: The Korea Times

doozy: Wow, that was very generous and kind of MGY. Although I can't call myself a fan of her works, the more I read about the charitable activites that she does, the more I respect her.

200 Pound Beauty Enters Top 10 Hit List

2007-01-30T19:31:00.000-08:00

The Korean romantic comedy 200 Pound Beauty starring actress Kim Ah-jung entered the country's accumulated top ten box office hit list on its 42nd day of release.

Production agency KM Culture says 5.83 million moviegoers watched the movie since it opened on December 14th, moving it past the 2000 hit Joint Security Area, which previously held the tenth ranking.

Showing on 250 screens nationwide with daily average ticket sales of 50,000, the film is expected to surpass the 6.12 million viewership of the ninth-ranked My Boss, My Hero by Saturday.

With a break-even point of 2.3 million, 200 Pounds Beauty has already earned profits of 15 billion won. Excluding investors' stake, the production company will get five billion of the 15 billion. The original soundtrack released online also raked in some two billion won for close to a handsome four billion total earnings for KM Culture.
Source: KBS Global

doozy: I'm definitely looking forward to watching this movie. Why? Because 1) success at the box office does say something about the quality of the movie and 2) Joo Jin Mo is gorgeous.

New Drama No More

2007-01-30T19:27:00.000-08:00

Remember the blog entry I posted a couple days ago about LDH's new drama Pride? Well, it turns out that she has rejected the role. So those who miss seeing her onscreen, like myself, will have to wait a little longer.

A Quick Hello

2007-01-26T18:33:00.000-08:00

Just a quick hello to everyone! I'm going out to dinner tonight and I'm doing a second marathon of Fantasy Couple during the weekend. Heehee. Thus, updates will resume next week.

Happy Weekend!

The Strongest Romance

2007-01-25T18:25:00.000-08:00

This blog entry is dedicated to Wookie's new movie, The Strongest Romance. It premiered on January 25th!

Starring
Lee Dong Wook (Arang, My Girl)
Hyun Young (Bad Family, Fashion 70s)

Movie Trailer
Uploaded by: mandalaywith

OST MV
Uploaded by: mandalaywith

That's Lee Dong Wook and Hyun Young singing!

An Interesting Article

2007-01-25T18:09:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across this article while browsing the Hwang Jin Yi thread at soompi. Do take a look as there are some very insightful comments that I agree with. Also, if you haven't checked out Hwang Jin Yi, I highly recommend it. I love this drama. It's one of the best dramas of 2006/2007.

Special thanks to rubie for posting the article.

Sometimes, it's good to be proved wrong
By: Chun Su Jin
sujiney@joongang.co.kr

There are times when I feel glad to learn that I was wrong. I used to guess that my 30s would be an end to my fun because of my favorite poem, "Hitting Your 30s and the Party Is Over." However, I'm glad that I was wrong, because, voila, I'm officially a 30-something now and the party has just begun. Also, I used to jeer at made-in-Korea TV dramas for their love of such cliches as a lead character suffering amnesia or some kind of an incurable disease. However, I found myself proved wrong again last year, especially with a bundle of well-made TV dramas by A-1 scriptwriters like Noh Hee-gyeong of Good-bye Solo and A Miracle and Kim Do-u of What Are You Doing, Fox?

Speaking of Noh Hee-gyeong, whom I have called "Mr." in my past few columns, I have to correct myself as she is Ms. Noh. And I, who love being a woman, am immensely glad to say that we have another talented woman on the TV scene. After wrongly changing the gender of Ms. Noh, I had a call to correct me from a reader. Allow me to express my gratitude for her kindness to take the trouble to find my cell phone number and give me the right information. I have no excuse but to say I'm sorry about my mistake.

I was recently glad again to see my prejudices proved wrong by the TV history drama Hwang Jin-yi, which ended last week on KBS-TV. It told the story of Hwang Jin-yi, who was a legendary gisaeng of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910). The gisaeng were a class of women who were allowed to learn arts including literature, dance, music and conversation, in order to entertain noble men during drinking parties. In the strictly Confucian society of the time, becoming a gisaeng was the only way for a woman to be allowed to study and display such talents.

The first few episodes appeared to be nothing more than picture-perfect "Welcome to Korea" style publicity material to promote tourism to Korea, as the drama showed picturesque scenes of the country with a group of beautiful women dressed in spectacular traditional clothes. However, as the story developed, the drama earned kudos for depicting the life of Hwang Jin-yi from a feminist perspective.

Based on bits and pieces of stories about the character, the drama built up the story of Hwang Jin-yi and her rivalry with her mentor and her contemporary gisaeng. In describing the rivalry, this drama did not rely on the cheap sure-fire strategy of a catfight, but instead, brought a spirit of professionalism to the gisaeng characters, as they refused to be called mere courtesans but artists. The rivalry between the characters was dramatic enough to catch viewers' eyes, as the characters fought to compete in terms of talent, which they cultivated through harsh training.

The lead character Hwang's mentor, Baekmu, had an icy cold attitude to her pupil yet still fostered her talent and professionalism. When Hwang Jin-yi faced a crisis, her rival, Buyong, asked around for help to save her life, with due respect for their rivalry-turned-friendship. Then they fight elegantly to pit their artistic talents against each other. There is a certain beauty to a catfight when the fighters are not mere kittens but fully-grown tigresses with both respect for each other and professionalism.

Another point of the drama was that the male characters played only minor roles. One symbolic scene in this sense came in the second-to-last episode, when Hwang Jin-yi told the love of her life, a noble man, to give her up, saying, "It's better to shine in our own lives, instead of withering away slowly for each other and giving up our dreams and passions." This was just one of many punch lines in the drama, which is now sorely missed on KBS-TV. However, now that we have a whole new year ahead of us, I'm keeping my fingers crossed to be able to see better-made dramas from now on.
Happy New Year!
Source: INSIDE JoongAng Daily

Lee Da Hae in New Drama

2007-01-24T10:26:00.000-08:00

Lee Da Hae, Ryu Jin and Go Joo Won will be co-starring together in KBS March drama Pride (temp name) which will air after When Spring Comes ends on the 12th of march.

Pride (temp name) will be adapted from a novel Kimchi Madu and the drama will be filmed at farms & rural places where the story is set on.

Pride

Airing Date
12th March

Airing Station
KBS

Actors/Actresses
Lee Da Hae, Ryu Jin, Go Joo Won

No. of Episodes
16

Outline
Flower nursery/Hwa Ahn Dang owner, Soo Ha (Lee Da Hae) who is trying to save the place from being bankrupt, meets Dong Gyu (Ryu Jin) and Chang Min (Go Joo Won) who are the grandsons of a wealthy man who had worked a long time at Hwa Ahn Dang before. Together with a crazy woman's daughter 'Hwa Ran', they get involve into a dangerous love story.

News and information courtesy of yeohweping @ WITH S2

MUI-YAH?!

2007-01-23T18:24:00.000-08:00

(Mui-yah means "what" in Korean.)

What am I reacting to? The 79th Oscars nomination. I am shocked and disappointed about several things.

First, The King and the Clown is not nominated for best foreign language film but Pan's Layrinth is?! So let me get this straight. The dialogue of the entry just needs to be in a foreign language, regardless of whether it's an American production team behind the movie?

Secondly, if The Departed wins for Best Picture, I might boycott American award shows and film critics.

My other thoughts on this issue are in agreement with those of a fellow blogger. Read her post here.

The Oscars Nominee List

When Spring Comes

2007-01-22T12:33:00.000-08:00

Park Kun Hyung is selected to lead the Monday-Tuesday drama When Spring Comes scheduled to be aired by KBS2 in January, 2007, following the final episode of Queen of Snow.

He plays the role Lee Jung Do whose grandfather and father were legendary thieves. Even so, he overcomes this obstacle, passes law exams, and becomes a prosecutor. His costars include Park Shi Yun, Lee Ha Na, and Lee Han. The filming is scheduled to begin in November. PKH's previous drama was Miss Kim's One Million Dollar Project aired by SBS in 2004. He also performed in movies Innocent Steps and Mr. Wacky.
Translation by: CindyW88
Graphics by: Luv

Previous works of other cast members
Lee Ha Na- Alone in Love
Park Shi Yeon- My Girl
Lee Han- Lovers, Goodbye Solo

doozy: Lee Ha Na impressed me in Alone in Love so I'm excited because she's the lead actress in this drama. Plus, there's also Park Shi Yeon; My Girl support, ya know.
I saw the first episode and it's not bad. Looking forward to watching more of it.

Daniel Henney Digs Into Own Life for New Movie

2007-01-18T18:20:00.000-08:00

The movie My Father drew attention even before it started shooting because it stars the half-Korean heartthrob Daniel Henney. The film follows a Korean adopted by an American family who comes to Korea to seek out his biological parents, only to find that his father is on death row.

Henney plays James, who volunteers to join the U.S. Forces Korea as a way to find his biological parents. On the first day of shooting on Jan. 10, he successfully shed his gentlemanly image for his role as the young adopted man who slowly opens his heart to his jailed father. "I will try hard to use my personal experience of living in the U.S. to play James, who has lived his life feeling estranged as an adopted child," Henney said.

My Father is the feature debut of director Hwang Dong-hyeuk, who attracted plaudits at home and abroad with his short film Miracle Mile starring Karl Yune. Kim Young-chol plays Henney’s father.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
Source: english.chosun.com

doozy: Wow. Daniel Henney is busy these days, with one project after another. Good for him! I wonder if his acting and Korean have improved. Has anyone seen Seducing Mr. Robin?

Moon Geun-young's Bid to Grow Up Hits World Headlines

2007-01-18T18:04:00.000-08:00

The Korean actress Moon Geun-young, dubbed the "nation's little sister," is seeing her fame extend beyond her native country. Wire agency Reuters recently published an article on Moon titled "South Korea's Little Sister Wants to Grow Up," which was picked up by newspapers in the U.S., U.K, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Taiwan. This proves her potential to rise to world stardom.

Reuters reports that Moon, with her sweet and innocent image, is "the country's most sought-after celebrity for advertisers." But Korea seems unwilling to allow her to change and grow up. Shaking off the image is proving anything but easy. The movie Love Me Not, the first she shot after turning 20 and where she plays a grown woman, performed poorly at the box office. And there is the risk that she could lose everything she has in her quest for a more mature identity. As part of her efforts, she appeared in a racy commercial for a mobile company, where she projected a sexier image.

"Because I am a girl now, it is only fair for people to see me as a girl. But as time goes by, I believe I will become a real woman who understands sorrow, love and pain," Moon told Reuters. "But the interest in me is sometimes too much. Expectations are high and I loathe to let people down."

The news agency took due interest in her college life, quoting her as saying, "I am having so much fun in college. If I want to express different images and emotions on screen, I have to learn lessons from real life. It is only when my personal life takes shape that my career as an actress can take shape."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
Source: english.chosun.com

To read the article from Reuters, click here.

Man's Best Friend...

2007-01-16T19:32:00.000-08:00

If there's ever a time when I wish to be an inanimate object, I'd like to be that teddy bear. Heehee.

(In case you're wondering, the person in the picture is Daniel Henney.)

LDH News

2007-01-16T18:58:00.000-08:00

LDH will be joining Lee Ji Hoon and Uhm Tae Woong on the catwalk in the Korean Rice Festival. She's also having a fan autograph session on January 17th.

Special thanks to incarnadine @ soompi for the news.

Healthy and Beautiful Lee Da Hae in new CF not afraid of the COLD

Lee Da Hae has been appointed as the sole spokesperson for a prominent Vitamin Store/Company for the year 2007. They decided to use her because of her healthy outlook and beautiful charming smiles. Besides, all of her recent CFs have done well in the market and have had lots of praises and good comments.

Lee Da Hae braved herself in the cold during the filming process and always kept her smiles thru out. Her bubbly and playful personality made everyone in the crew forget about the freezing cold and the filming was finished completed smoothly.

The CF shows Da Hae giving her good friends a bottle of Health Vitamins, as an appreciation of their concern and care.

Source: Sina Ent/ baidu

Special thanks to pinklily and yeohweping for the article and ripgal @ soompi for the translation.

On A Happier Note...

2007-01-14T18:06:00.000-08:00

Mukgu-fied reached 10,000 hits today. Woot woot!

THANK YOU, fellow netizens for your support!

I'm Annoyed

2007-01-14T17:33:00.000-08:00

Stupid people annoy me.

Incompetent smart-asses annoy me. (In other words, people who don't do their job well yet have the nerve to tell me what to do.)

Whiny people annoy me. It's like, just do your job. You're getting paid to do this; you're working, not volunteering. Geez, is that too much to ask?!

People who make "mountains out of molehills" annoy me.

Rude people annoy me.

Rude people who are telling me to be nice when, in fact, it should be the other way around, annoy me.

Selfish people annoy me.

Immature and bratty people annoy me.

Superficial people annoy me. I know you don't give a rat's ass about me so stop asking about how I'm doing.

Arrogant people, those who act like they're hot sh*t and that you should worship the ground they walk on, annoy me.

Difficult-to-please people annoy me. Okay, so it was our mistake for not getting the order right. However, we apologized and had it corrected for you. So please, get over it and stop complaining.

People with little or no sense of urgency annoy me.

In conclusion, people annoy me.

On top of that, my Mini Ipod suddenly stops working today. It doesn't turn on and I can't even recharge the battery. What sucks is that it's going to be costly to have the battery replaced and it's most likely that I'll do that because I don't have the luxury of purchasing another player. What sucks even more is that although I've had it for a few years now, I don't even use it that often. Damn!

Thai Instability Likely to Delay Rain's Tour

2007-01-13T10:12:00.000-08:00

Singer Rain's world tour in Thailand will likely be delayed due to unstable local conditions.

Rain's performance was set for February third and fourth at Bangkok's Impact Arena.

The world tour organizer StarM said Wednesday that safety is the first concern following a chain of organized bomb explosions earlier this month in Bangkok. It said it is discussing a postponement with the Thai organizing agency, possibly to June, but that it is yet undecided.

The New Years bombings in downtown Bangkok are thought to be either a military coup by supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinwatra to regain power or a move by incumbent coup forces who are disappointed at the transitional government's rule.

Thai Defense Minister Boonrawd Somtas has even warned of more terrorism.

StarM says that though the tickets are mostly sold, the safety of the singer, staff and audience must be considered, adding that ticket holders will be offered the chance to watch the delayed performance or get a refund.

On board a Korean Air plane that has a huge picture of himself printed on its fuselage, Rain left Seoul Wednesday for his Hong Kong tour this weekend.
Source: KBS Global

doozy: Anyone know the latest news on this issue? Are they going to cancel the concert all together or delay it?

Highly Anticipating...

2007-01-11T19:40:00.000-08:00

Time Between Wolf and Dog

Hopefully the airing station is decided soon, so that this drama won't be pushed back and will aired as scheduled in March.

-Update-
It's confirmed that Time Between Wolf and Dog will be aired in June/July instead of March.

Some Other Things...

2007-01-09T23:13:00.000-08:00

Those who are fans of Goong and Se7en and are looking forward to Goong S... Goong S premieres on January 10th on MBC. WITH S2 will be providing the English fansubs for this drama.

--------

If you look to your right under "Currently Watching," the list includes 101st Proposal, Please Come Back, Soon Ae and Spring Waltz. The question is: am I ever going to finish watching these three shows? At the moment, the answer seems to be "never." 101st Proposal is getting repetitive and Spring Waltz is dreadful. I just hate dropping a drama and not finishing what I've started. But must I torture myself so? Even the gorgeous Daniel Henney isn't enough motivation for me to keep going. And trust me, he's beyond drool-worthy in here.

Please Come Back, Soon Ae is decent so that will probably be the first one I complete.

--------

I'm also watching The Snow Queen to support Hyun Bin. As a music video, it works beautifully. However, as a good, solid drama, the same cannot be said. Too cliche and too melodramatic. I was also very creeped out during the beginning of the drama because of the pairing of Hyun Bin and the actress who played the young Bo Ra. (Grown-up Bo Ra is played by Sung Yu Ri.) The actress they chose looked like she was twelve. Even if she did look like she was fourteen, which was the character's age, pairing her with Hyun Bin, who looked like he's 25, when he's supposedly 18, is just... ew. Why can't they find a younger looking actor to play the young Tae Wong (Hyun Bin's character)? That would have been better.

Any good points? Yes.
1) Nice soundtrack
2) Hyun Bin's hotness. He has really nice hair in here. His hair has the triple S quality: soft, shiny, and silky. Seriously, if Tae Wong/Deuk Gu can't be a boxer or chauffer, he can always be a model for Pantene Shampoo & Conditioner.

--------

Watch Jumong if you haven't already. I can't wait until more English subtitles come out. It's a great show!

--------

When will I finish writing the episode summaries/commentaries for Alone In Love? I don't know. I have that "illness," you know, the one that begins with an L and ends with Aziness. That's right, you guessed it: laziness. But no one really reads them, right? Except for maybe one person besides myself.

Sweet 18

2007-01-09T22:07:00.000-08:00

I finally finished Sweet 18, starring Lee Dong Gun and Han Ji Hye, yesterday. I was interested in the show because this is Lee Da Hae's debut and she played a villain. But it took me forever to finish this drama. Why? Because initally, I was very annoyed with Han Ji Hye's character, Jung Sook. Her immature ways and constant yelling were getting on my nerves. However, as the drama progressed, she became more mature and I guess, when you think about it, she got married when she had just graduated from high school and was only 18 so it was realistic that she was immature. Every now and then, the yelling still bothered me, though.

On storyline: Basically, it's about two people who married each other because the nuptial was arranged previously by their grandfathers. Initially, it was a one-sided love on Jung Sook's part. However, over time, they learned to live together, mutually care for and love each other. Overall, I like the storyline and the pace of the drama.

On Acting: HJH did good. LDG did okay. The actor who played Hyuk Joon's grandfather was terrific.

Well, what about Lee Da Hae, you ask? Not bad. At one point during the drama, I hated her character so that must be saying something about her acting, right? At the beginning of the show, I remembered commenting in LDH's soompi thread about how I irritated I was with her character Moon Ga Young and told myself that it's her drama character, not her real-life personality. Moon Ga Young was very superficial and conniving when she was trying to steal Hyuk Joon away from Jung Sook. Eventually, however, Ga Young made me laugh because her villain was so funny and childish. She wasn't outright evil.

LDH looked very mature in the show, probably due to her wardrobe and hairstyle. Her character was around 27 years old when, in fact, she was only 20 when Sweet 18 was filmed.

On chemistry: HJH and LDG had great chemistry together. They're very compatible. Thus, it's no surprise that thanks to this drama, they began dating in real-life.

Funny tibit: In Sweet 18, Jung Sook sported the famous "bun look." You know, the one that can be seen on Song Hye Gyo's character Han Ji Eun in Full House, LDH's character in My Girl and Yoon Euh Hye's character in Goong. It was funny when LDH's Ga Young teased HJH's Jung Sook about how hideous the bun looked when it's only a few years later that she played a character that sported a similar style.

Lastly, I just want to say that Kwon Hyuk Joon (LDG) is my second ideal man. (The other one being Ben from TVB's Survivor's Law.) Hyuk Joon was so understanding and caring towards Jung Sook. He respected her and was faithful despite the tricks from Ga Young. He was also a very responsible and filial man. He is, what I would call, an ESOM: extinct species of men.

(It's a funny coincidence how both of my ideal men are lawyers. So lawyers aren't really scum of the earth but they're actually righteous and responsible? Eh, who knows for sure... That phrase is most likely a gross generalization either way.)

Come to think of it, though, almost all Korean men in TV land are ESOMs. Seriously, why are they all so tall, good-looking, loving, caring, sensitive, etc.? Where can I find one?

Sweet or Sour?

Hershey's.

Korean Vs. U.S. Television Shows

2007-01-07T21:05:00.000-08:00

Devotees of U.S. soap operas are increasingly voting with their feet, watching them not only on cable or satellite TV channels but engaging in such illegal activities like posting episodes of popular dramas with Korean subtitles online just a few hours after they are broadcast in the U.S. Pundits say as their number explodes, the viewer ratings of Korean dramas are shrinking. More than 1.5 million such fans are estimated to be out there online, more than three times the number three years ago. The cable channel OCN posted two or three times higher viewer ratings than usual on its "CSI Days" in June and October, when it aired seasons of the U.S. crime drama CSI 24 hours.

Why do people love U.S. soaps so much? It is mainly because they offer something different from the familiar fare of domestically produced dramas. The Chosun Ilbo asked translators of subtitles of U.S. dramas to compare shows produced in the two countries.

What you can find only in U.S. [T.V. Shows]

Professions: Medical dramas in Korea are only about love between doctors and nurses, but that is not the case in the U.S. No matter what kind of professions they deal with, U.S. dramas depict their professional world realistically. Nip/Tuck, which features two plastic surgeons, as well as CSI, Grey's Anatomy and ER take us by surprise with their detailed and realistic description of the professions they feature. By contrast, most dramas except historical and period dramas in Korea are centered around romance.

Suspense: Korean dramas are filled with secrets, but viewers either know or easily guess what they are. Watch just the first few episodes and you know who will end up with whom and who will kick the bucket. In American soaps, the twists and turns are genuinely surprising in many episodes and viewers can have fun discussing the riddles. Cases in point are Prison Break and Lost. That is why is many cannot tear themselves away once they start watching.

Seasons: U.S. dramas are made based on thorough preparation by producers right from the planning stage, so they can be shot and shown in several "seasons." But in Korea, there's not a big enough pool of actors and they act both in movies and dramas simultaneously, making it nearly impossible for dramas to last several seasons. In the U.S. stars usually have a home either in TV or the movies. If the Korean soap opera Damo (Female Detective) were produced in the U.S., it would have run over five seasons.

Episodes: U.S. dramas are centered around events but Korean dramas around relationships. That is why U.S. dramas have titles for each episode, which mostly tells a complete story for 60 minutes. In Korea, the relationships among characters unfold at a leisurely pace throughout the whole drama.

What only [Korean dramas] offer

Family: Korean dramas put much emphasis on relationships, especially on blood relationships. There are often three generations living under one roof in Korean dramas; that is rare in U.S. soaps. The main reason is cultural differences, but also because U.S. dramas focus more on what characters do rather how they live.

Writers: U.S. soap writers are not as powerful as their Korean counterparts. Usually, one drama season is produced by 10-20 writers together, and you can feel the difference in the language characters use; such differences come up even in a single season. For example, if you hear newly-coined words, it is because young writers wrote the lines. But emotional language has become a unique characteristic of Korean dramas, hard to find in U.S. dramas that focus on particular events. In many cases, U.S. shows even have different directors who attempt to put their stamp on the episode, and sometimes famous movie directors such as Quentin Tarantino in CSI and Tobe Hooper in Taken have a hand in producing them.

Stars: U.S. dramas do not cast famous stars when they start. The mega-hit sitcom Friends ran into trouble when the stars it made tried to command more money after its mid-point. But when it was first aired, all except Lisa Kudrow, who previously starred in one or two B-movies, were still unknown. Kim Yoon-jin who rose to stardom in Lost, now commands some W30 billion (US$1=W930) per season or W1.2 billion per episode but was paid less than W100 million per episode in the first season. By contrast, Korean soaps tend to depend on the power of celebrities.

Incurable Disease: U.S. dramas deal with incurable diseases but only as incidental in such medical dramas as House and Grey's Anatomy. In Korean dramas, however, incurable diseases like cancer and leukemia and memory loss play a critical role in moving the drama along. U.S. dramas rely more on clockwork plots than affliction.
Source: english.chosun.com

doozy: I agree with the above points, especially the part about professions and the all-too-familiar incurable disease storylines.

Han Ye-seul Wins Over Detractors as Amnesiac Heiress

2007-01-05T11:49:00.000-08:00

The character played by Han Ye-sul (24) in the MBC drama Couple of Fantasy is a kind of Korean Paris Hilton, and her catchphrase "Look at you…" is on everybody's lips. An audacious heiress, Ana Jo becomes a comic character with disordered hair and cheap clothes after losing her memory due to an accident. Han's popularity is soaring thanks to the attractive qualities she brings to the role of a haughty rich girl brought low.

"Aren't they cute? I mean Netizens. They say I was such an unattractive character but suddenly became so charming. Those anti-fans… They suddenly became big fans," Han laughs. Her clothes are unflattering, but they can't hide her beautiful chiseled face. "I am a completely different person from Ana Jo. In fact, I think I'm lovely, delicate and rarely get angry." Han says she never expected she would become this popular. "When I decided to play a character like Ana Jo, who is arrogant and haughty, I was ready for any criticism from viewers, but instead I'm getting very friendly responses and I was really surprised," she says. "When I see how popular characters like Ana Jo are, I realize that Korea is changing fast. The public is becoming more open-minded. It's cool. Such a mindset is important for us to develop, isn't it?" She has a tendency to answer a question with another question.

Han made her debut in entertainment when she won a super model contest. She became a star thanks to the rude and bizarre role she played in another MBC drama, Non Stop, in 2004. Recently she spent a year off with her family in the U.S. "The reason why I had so many detractors was that I became a star so fast. Our citizens have a strong sense of justice." Isn't she afraid of spoiling her image by playing such a role? She is breaking down barriers step by step as Ana Jo. "I've been a star rather than an actress, and that's no good. Stars have an inflated image and a short lifespan. I want to be more passionate about my job and build my career so that I can act for a long time."

Complimented that her acting has greatly improved, she giggles and covers her mouth. "Really? It's so nice to hear that. I think I'm very lucky." She speaks English fluently and wants to enter the U.S. market too. Asked if she wants to follow in the footsteps of Kim Yun-jin, who is a star thanks to her part in the ABC hit series Lost," she is quick to respond. "It's so childish to say I want to do better than someone else." Does she have a role model? "There are so many excellent actors and actresses out there…My job is acting, but I don't like watching dramas or movies, so I can't answer your question. It's ironic, isn't it?"
(englishnews@chosun.com )
Source: english.chosun.com

doozy: This is a relatively old article since it was published in October, around the airing time of Fantasy Couple. However, I'm posting here so fans of the drama, like myself, can learn more about Han Ye Seul.

I have seen the NGs of the drama and HYS seems to be very professional with her work, which is something that can be seen in her answers in the above article. Also, while watching the 2006 MBC Drama Awards, HYS's looks reminded me alot of Kim Tae Hee, except with friendlier eyes.

Initially watching the drama without knowing who HYS is, I was impressed with her fluent English skills and her acting talent. Talent aside, she's also one beautiful lady and quite young as well, as I recently learned that she's only 24 years old.

I love her catchphrase in Fantasy Couple because it's so fun to say with all the characteristic intonations of Ana Jo/Na Sang Shil. "Koraji ha goneun." If you pass up this excellent drama, that is what I'll be saying to you. Heehee.

My Newest K-pop Craze No. 2

2007-01-03T16:08:00.000-08:00

Bobby Kim

Korean name: Kim Do-kyun
Date of birth: January 12th, 1973
Physique: 176cm, 66kg
Hobbies: Baseball, drinking
(doozy: Drinking is one of his hobbies?! Drinking tea and fruit juice, right? Right..)

Bobby Kim debuted in 1994. Kim after a short stint as rapper and singer of Dr. Reggae, the first Korean reggae group, Kim went behind the scenes to write and produce songs for artists like Sechskies, Drunk Tiger and T in the late '90s. It was only in 2001 that Kim returned to the stage as part of hip-hop trio Bugga Kingz with rappers GanD and Juvie. Though their first album was not a commercial success, it was recognized by fans and critics alike for its unique and stylish branding of hip-hop and soul. In 2004 Kim released the solo album, Beats Within My Soul, a critically acclaimed effort that earned him a Korean Music Award that year. Today Kim continues to perform with Bugga Kingz, who released their second album The Renaissance last year, as well as a solo artist. Bugga Kingz members as well as members of the Movement Crew, a group of hip hop artists that include Tiger JK of Drunken Tiger, Dynamic Duo, T and others, are expected to make guest appearances.
Source: KBS World Radio

"Let Me Say Goodbye"
Uploaded by: tumbles

"Falling In Love Again"
Uploaded by: bayerzky

I was first introduced to Bobby Kim's music through the OST of Fashion 70s and thought, "Wow. What an interesting style and unique voice!" After listening to his recent album entitled Follow Your Soul, I am a fan. This 3rd album is terrific.

My Newest K-pop Craze

2007-01-03T15:03:00.000-08:00

Whyme
Real name: Kim Yong-joon
Year of birth: 12th Sept 1983
Education: Anyang Arts High School

David (Chae Dong-ha)
Date of birth: June 23rd, 1981
Physique: 182cm, 73kg
Hobbies: Camcorder recording, watching movies
Debut: "Nature" Chae Dong-ha’s 1st album released in 2002

Kim Jin-ho
Year of birth: 21st May 1986
Weight: 68 kg
Height: 176 cm
Education: Daewon High School

Whyme, David, and Jin-ho

Together, they are SG Wannabe. Three talented artists with amazing vocals.

SG Wannabe first attracted attention by debuting through a music video of their title song of the album, "Timeless." The music video was a mega project with about 2 billion won of production costs and was starred by top movie stars like Seol Kyung-goo, Kim Yoon-jin, Kim Nam-jin and Kang Hye-jeong. Recording a pre-sales of 90 thousand copies, the male trio R&B band was a sensation even before their official debut. The sales of their debut album was on top of the charts along with super figures in the local pop music scene such as Seo Taiji, Shing Seung-hoon and Lee Soo-young. However, the actual members of the band did not appear on television or concert stages for quite a long time since their debut creating a mystic faceless image of the band.

Their debut song was first launched on a mobile telephone service along with the music video. The 3-edition music video also attracted many viewers by providing bonus clips like making of the film and NG materials.

Music producers Lee Kyung-seob and Park Keun-tae who are famous for producing music for Shin Seung-hoon, Cho Sung-mo, Lee Jeong-hyun, Sung Si-kyung and so on, were in charge of making the debut album for the newcomers. The title song of the album Timeless is an R&B ballad number. The sophisticated sounds and melodies of the song matched to the hear-rending sentiment of Korean music lovers rising to the top of the charts immediately after being introduced.

The male trio was awarded best newcomers' prizes in the year-end awarding ceremonies.
Source: KBS World Radio
Special thanks to = Dee @ soompi.com for the profiles.

Recent Performance on 2006 MBC Drama Awards Show (Their performance begins at the 2:15 mark.)
Uploaded by: kalel4ever

Performing "Nae Saram" On Inkigayo
Uploaded by: kdramakpopaddict

I love this song!

Romanization by: frostedsnow (aheeyah.com)
01. Naesaram - Partner for Life (from SG Wannabe Vol.3)

ne kasumsoge sanun saram naega kutorok agginun saram
nomu sojunghe maeumggot anabojido motetdon
nuguyegena hunhan haengbok hanbondo junjogi opsoso
mam nogo usobonjokdo opnun kudel saranghamnida
nega kibbulddena sulpulddena hamgge ulgo usojudon
kudel wihe nega hal su itnungon mwodun hejugo shippo

*annyoung nesarang kudeyo ijen nega jikyojulggeyo
motnan nal midgo chamgo kidaryojwoso gomawoyo
annyoung nesarang kudeyo yongwontorok saranghalggeyo
tashi teyonaso saranghandedo kudeigoshipo

oduwun pam girul iro? soro deungburi dweyojugo
bibaram morachyodo chigeum chabun duson nojimarayo
nega himdulddena apulddena ne kyote isojun kude
mianhadan mallo gomapdan marul teshin hadon nayotjyo

*annyoung nesarang kudeyo ijen nega jikyojulggeyo
motnan nal midgo chamgo kidaryojwoso gomawoyo
annyoung nesarang kudeyo yongwontorok saranghalggeyo
tashi teyonaso saranghandedo kudeigoshipo

nomojigo myot bonul tashi nomojinda hedo
kudeman itamyon tashi ironal su itnunde

annyoung nesarang kudeyo ijen nega jikyojulggeyo
motnan nal midgo chamgo kidaryojwoso gomawoyo
annyoung nesarang kudeyo iroge kudel burulddemyon
nomu hengbokeso nunmuri najyo saranghaeyo

nana nanana nanana nana nana nanananana
nana na nana nana nanananana nananana
nana nanana nanana nanana nana nananana
nana nananana nanana nana nananana

Translation by: Jungie (aheeyah.com)
01. My Person

You're the person living in my heart
and the person that I've treasured so.
Because you were so special I couldn't hold you
because I had never given anyone happiness before
I love you who's never laughed at ease.

When I was happy or sad you cried and laughed with me
and I want to do anything I can for you.

Hello my love, my love I'll protect you now.
Thank you for putting up with me and waiting for me.
Hello my love, my love I'll love you forever.
When I'm born again I want you to be the one I love.

Let's be a lamp to each when we've lost our way in the dark night. Even if the rain wind drives us back,
don't let go of these two hands holding you now.
You were always by my side when I was worn and pained.
I had used "I'm sorry" in place of "thank you".

Hello my love, my love I'll protect you now.
Thank you for putting up with me and waiting for me.
Hello my love, my love I'll love you forever.
When I'm born again I want you to be the one I love.

Even if I fall down and fall down again and again,
if I have you then I know I can stand back up again.

Hello my love, my love I'll protect you now.
Thank you for putting up with me and waiting for me.
Hello my love, my love when I call you like this
I'm so happy I could cry, I love you.

LA Times: Korea Seeks Next Asian Stars in US

2007-01-03T14:36:00.000-08:00

The leading Western U.S. newspaper published an article on Jan. 1 about SM Entertainment president Lee Soo-man and his efforts to find new potential stars to lead the Korean pop culture in the U.S.

The LA Times reported on the audition that SM Entertainment held in the city in the article entitled "Called to Star in Asia," where a picture of Lee was also posted, courtesy of the JoongAng Ilbo U.S.

"The language doesn't matter. We can teach them that," the paper quoted Lee. "What we need is people who understand American culture. That is what will make them stars in Asia."

The newspaper said that SM has held auditions in 11 U.S. cities for the past several years to search for aspiring singers, actors and models who can make their way to stardom in Asia. Some of them have found real success to become celebrities in Korea, meeting Korea's demand for stars familiar with American culture.

The paper cited Francis Hur, the president of SkyLight Entertainment, a Los Angeles company promoting Korean music, as saying, "[Korean youths] can't rap. There are just things that only Americans can do."

Timothy Tangherlini, a UCLA Korean culture professor, told the paper, "There’s been a strange inversion, an almost fetishization of the foreign, whereas before it was almost shunned. The 'street cred' in Korea, the new types of voices and styles, are all coming from L.A. now."
Source: KBS Global

doozy: Okay, people. I'm going to LA to fulfill my dream of becoming a Korean celebrity. Heehee. Just kidding. I'm done being delusional because I know and you know that I don't have what it takes. Secondly, Korean anti-fans are CRAZY (and not in a good way).

Awards Season

2007-01-01T09:39:00.000-08:00

As with every end-of-the-year, KBS, SBS, and MBC, the three major TV stations in Korea, held their annual Drama Awards shows.

At the KBS Show

Ha Ji Won won the Highest Award for her role in Hwang Jin Yi. Congratulations to her. It is well-deserved. HJW also won the Netizen Award.

Shim Eun Kyung, the actress who played the child Hwang Jin Yi, won the Young Actress Award.

Yoon Eun Hye won the New Actress Award for her role in The Vineyard Man.

Hyun Bin won the Popularity Award, Netizen Award, and Best Couple Award with Sung Yoo Ri for their partnership in Snow Queen.

There are more categories and winners but I haven't been following dramas by KBS so I either don't know those shows/names or simply don't care. If you're interested, you can check out the complete list here.

Over at the SBS show...

The show was co-hosted by none other than our dear Mukgu, Lee Da Hae! Some viewers have commented that she was quiet and stiff because she didn't interact well with the other two MCs. Eh, it was her first big hosting gig so give her a break. Also, I read that the other two hosts weren't really giving Mukgu a chance to participate in their small talks.

Major upsets of the night was the fact the My Girl didn't win any major awards, except for LDH taking home the Top Ten Star Award and Park Shi Yeon the New Star Award. It might be because My Girl was honored at the 2005 show, where LDH received an acting award for her role as Joo Yoo Rin. Secondly, where were Lee Dong Wook and Lee Jun Ki?!

With all that aside, I would like to congratulate to the cast of Alone in Love for being recognized at the show (with the exception of Gam Woo Sung ).

Top Excellence Award: Song Yeh Jin

Top 10 Stars Award: Son Yeh Jin, Lee Da Hae

Supporting Award: Gong Hyung Jin, Oh Yoon Ah

New Star Award: Lee Jin Wook, Lee Ha Na, Park Shi Yun

Gong Hyung Jin and Lee Ha Na

At the MBC show

Ju Mong and Fantasy Couple were the big winners of the night. Yay!

Those that took home awards for their work in the two dramas includes:

Song Il Kook won the Daesang (Grand Award) and the Top Excellence Actor Award.

Jun Kwang Ryul, who plays King Geum Wa in Ju Mong also won the Top Excellence Actor Award and Han Hye Jin won the Actress Award.

Excellence Award: Kim Seung Soo (Ju Mong), Han Yeh Seul (Fantasy Couple)

Popularity Award: Oh Ji Ho, Han Yeh Seul

Best Couple Award: Oh Ji Ho, Han Yeh Seul

New Actor/Actress Award: Won Gi Joon (Ju Mong)

Also congratulations to Nam Sang Mi for winning the New Actress Award, which I think was for her work in The Sweet Spy. NSM should have received this for Bad Family as well because 1) she certainly deserved it and 2) if Yoon Eun Hye got one from KBS for The Vineyard Man and one from MBC for Goong, then why shouldn't NSM when she's the better actress. Aish, SBS!

The gorgeous Nam Sang Mi

Lists of winners courtesy of CindyW88 @ soompi.com
Images courtesy of mydaily

The Korea Times also wrote an article on these ceremonies. To read it, click here.

Side note: I'm currently downloading the MBC show and shall watch it once it's ready. Let's see how much Korean I've picked up from watching all those dramas.

Welcome 2007!

2006-12-31T21:04:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, everyone!

Be safe and don't party too hard.

Please click here for something special from yours truly. See ya next year!

My New Year's Resolutions

10. Find that gosh darn musical snowglobe/ball thing.

9. Get a promotion at work.

8. Exercise more.

7. Try out other leisure activities instead of watching Korean dramas at every available minute, like reading or something.

6. Sleep on a regular schedule and not stay up too late.

5. Eat on a regular schedule. Skipping meals is not a good thing.

4. Be more frugal. Save!

3. Stop being so darn lazy.

2. To borrow a line from "The Remedy" (a song by Jason Mraz): *sing* I won't worry my life away.

1. Be happy.

I Love Fantasy Couple

2006-12-28T18:20:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching Fantasy Couple yesterday. I completed 15 episodes in two days. (The dramedy has a total of 16 episodes but I saw ep.01 a while back.) I stayed up late to watch it knowing full well that I needed to wake up early the next morning for work. And when I got off work, I rushed home to watch it. So, let me just say this: I LOVE THIS SHOW!

The Hong sisters (the writers behind Delightful Girl, Choon Hyang and My Girl) have, once again, made me laugh, cry, and care for the characters that they've created. Credit to Han Ye Seul for portraying a bitchy, picky woman who's suprisingly very likeable. Jo Anna reminds me alot of myself. No, rest assured. I'm not as bitchy or picky. What is similar between our personalities is how defensive we both are when it comes to emotional attachement. We shun it (being emotionally attached to other people) because we fear that we'll get hurt.

My most favorite couple is Sang Shil and Kang Ja, although that's not to say that I don't like the main couple (Sang Shil and Chul Soo) and all the other odd couplings. I love them all.

Sang Shil and Kang Ja

The only two characters that annoyed me were Yoo Kyung and her materialistic friend.

The soundtrack, like almost all other Korean dramas, is awesome. The themesong is very catchy!

If you haven't seen this yet, what are you waiting for? I highly recommend it.
Do visit the soompi thread for more in depth discussion and goodies. The link there can be found in the Drama Info: Fantasy Couple blog entry.

Sweet or Sour?

Delicious Godiva. Fantasy Couple is delightful fun throughout with tons of substance. Na Sang Shil is my type of girl. She is my new hero!

Korean Wave Waning in Asian Nations

2006-12-26T10:19:00.000-08:00

By Seo Dong-shin
Staff Reporter (The Korea Times)

Asians are not as satisfied with Korean pop culture as they used to be, according to a report released Tuesday.

Citizens of four Asian countries are becoming more discontented with South Korean films, pop music and dramas, the Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange (KOFICE) said, citing results of a survey it commissioned. A total of 2,109 citizens in Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Taipei, aged 15 to 59, responded to the survey conducted from early September to October.

Chinese respondents who said they were satisfied with the content of Korean dramas decreased from 72 percent in 2004 to 63.3 percent, while in Taiwan the figure dwindled from 62 percent to 57.9 percent. The dissatisfied increased from 5 percent to 5.4 percent in China, and from 1 percent to 3 percent in Taiwan.

Korean films also seem to be losing ground, according to the report. Those who were satisfied with Korean films dwindled from 60 percent to 54.6 percent in Japan, from 75 percent to 59.7 percent in China, and from 49 percent to 42.1 percent in Taiwan.

"The Korean wave seems to have passed its peak and has started to slow down in growth," the report said. "We need to develop an advanced strategy for cultural products and to seek ways to spread universal cultural values instead of relying on a few celebrities."

Stars who first launched the Korean wave, however, seem to enjoy continuing popularity. Actor Bae Yong-joon, who is affectionately called Yonsama in Japan, topped the lists of "best-known Korean stars" and "Korean stars whom I liked for the first time" in Japan. Actress Kim Hee-sun, meanwhile, was widely popular in China, topping the two lists.

Singer Rain, who is also known by the name Jung Ji-hoon when acting, came in first in the list of newly favorite Korean stars, with 3.8 percent in China and 6.3 percent in Taiwan.

Consumers of the Korean wave in other Asian countries are mainly made up of educated people in their 20s or conservative people in their 50s, the report said. "We need to establish strategies that can appeal to the refined city sentiment of the trend-spotting people in their 20s as well as those in their 50s who are interested in humanism based on traditional Confucian values," it said.
saltwall@koreatimes.co.kr
Source: times.hankooki.com

doozy: The Korean wave phenomenon obviously isn't gonna last forever so it's only natural that people are losing interest. I wonder though, whether or not people are getting bored with the trite and cliche formula and storylines that made the wave in the first place.

Happy Holidays!

2006-12-22T20:42:00.000-08:00

Animation courtesy of www.millan.net

Happy Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year, etc. everyone!
Enjoy your presents and remember that it's the thought that counts.

A friend of mine sent me this psychology-related holiday humor. It's quite funny.

Christmas Carols for the Disturbed

1. Schizophrenia - Do You Hear What I Hear?

2. Multiple Personality Disorder - We Three Kings Disoriented Are

3. Dementia - I Think I'll be Home for Christmas

4. Narcissistic - Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me

5. Manic - Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets
and Stores and Office and Town
and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and.....

6. Paranoid - Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me

7. Borderline Personality Disorder - Thoughts of Roasting on an
Open Fire

8. Personality Disorder - You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm
Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why

9. Attention Deficit Disorder - Silent night, Holy oooh look at
the froggy can I have a chocolate, why is Italy so far away?

10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,

Jingle, Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle .......

The Restless Satisfies Eyes, Not Heart

2006-12-21T20:28:00.000-08:00

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter (The Korea Times)

The new action fantasy epic The Restless (Chungchon) is visually enjoyable. State-of-the-art computer technology allows good-looking actors to live in a fantasy world, and there are spectacular action scenes.

But these elements fall flat because of the inadequate development of the story. Viewers will soon realize that the film satisfies their eyes but not their heart.

Directed by Cho Dong-oh, the film tells the story of a couple who are separated by death but meet again in "chungchon," a place between earth and heaven where the souls of the dead stay for 49 days to erase their memories and prepare for reincarnation.

In the film, So-hwa (played by Kim Tae-hee) and her lover I-gwak (Jung Woo-sung) face a tragic fate. So-hwa is killed by villagers after being falsely accused of being a witch.

I-gwak believes her death is the result of his power to see ghosts, and his talent eventually leads him to join the royal guard of ghost hunters in the late Silla Kingdom.

The guards' rebellion against a corrupt monarch fails, and all the members are killed except for I-gwak. While on the run, I-gwak is wounded, and he hides in a shabby temple, where he accidentally enters chungchon.

In the semi-heaven, he encounters So-hwa, who has become a goddess, but she doesn't remember him. He finds out that the dead members of the royal guard are plotting to return to earth to change the rule of the world.

Now his former colleagues appear to be the biggest threat to So-hwa, and I-gwak decides to fight for her.

The storyline alone is enough to attract fantasy fans, and the visually superb rendition of the semi-heaven and action scenes have few technical flaws.

Rivers, mountains and temples are beautifully rendered. The scene in which I-gwak fights against some 30,000 ghost soldiers to save his lover is especially impressive.

But the story is not properly developed.

The long story, which probably needs more than three hours of running time, is cut down to one hour and 40 minutes. The result is that many important parts are missing or summarized in dry dialogue.

It's hard to sympathize with the couple's tragic love. It's not easy to know how desperate the couple are to be with each other or why I-gwak wants to save So-hwa so badly. Or why the men in the guard can't easily kill I-gwak.

All the explanation the film provides are the characters brief recollections and statements such as "I love her so badly" and "He was like my brother."

The Restless was promoted as a film for the Christmas season, but watching it is like receiving brilliantly decorated gift box that is disappointingly empty.

Two and a half stars.
e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr
Source: times.hankooki.com

doozy: Ouch! This review is harsh. Regardless, I will still watch this movie when it's available even though it's probably more Korean Wave material than a solid, good movie. Eh, who cares? I like fluff stuff.

I'll Be MIA...

2006-12-18T22:42:00.000-08:00

I'm going down to LA for an interview so I'll be away for 2-3 days. I'm gonna drive down there with a friend for the first time... I'm excited but also nervous. Hopefully, we won't get lost too much coz the two of us together equals little to no sense of direction. Anyone interested in reading about my "adventures" once I get back? I don't have a digital camera, so if I do yap about the trip, you're just gonna have to use your imagination.

Anyway, I was making a mix CD for my trip and these songs brought back good memories. Enjoy these clips!

A Millionaire's First Love OST
Uploaded by: winterlove6

This movie is cliche to the max. However, I enjoyed it thanks to the beautiful countryside scenery and the charms of its leading actor and actress.

What's Up, Fox? OST
"Like Me" by Lee Sang Kyu
Uploaded by: crysalide

One of my favorite Korean dramas.

Also, special thanks to seirin for the "snow."

Congratulations!

2006-12-16T19:33:00.000-08:00

The 27th Blue Dragon Film Awards

Congratulations to Gam Woo Sung and Lee Jun Ki (The King and the Clown) for winning the Best Couple Award. That's right. Best couple, y'all!

They both look very handsome, don't they?! (Jun Ki also got the Popularity Award. WOot woOt.)

Congratulation, Mr. Bun Hee Bong ("Yoo Rin's grandpa") for winning Best Supporting Actor (The Host)

Also, props to Park Shi Yeon for her Best New Actress nomination (The Fox Family)

The fur wrap thing has got to go. Nonetheless, PSY looks beautiful.
(Was she that good in The Fox Family? Now I want to watch this movie because I'm curious.)

Images courtesy of mydaily

The Opening Ceremony

Special thanks to seirin for uploading the clip.

Pop open the champagne bottles. Cheers all around!

Innocent Star Goes Sexy for KTF Commercial

2006-12-15T11:17:00.000-08:00

No longer a girl but a full-grown woman: in a commercial for KTF music portal site Dosirak, Moon Geun-young breaks with the innocent image that has won her the adoration of fans to transform herself into a sexy musical star. In the ad, which will be hitting the airwaves on Dec. 14, she sings a new song and moves her body to some racy choreography. A music video is to be separately released. KTF will be making the commercial public on the Dosirak site on Dec. 26.

Appearing opposite Kim Joo-hyuk in the romantic film Love Me Not Moon has already shown a mature side of herself with her role as a closed-off blind woman. The film, released on Nov. 9, however, failed to perform well at the box office.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
Source: english.chosun.com

doozy: I'm not really sure how I feel about this change of image. I need to see the music video first before I can make comments on whether I like this new "sexy image."
I wonder if the Korean public will welcome this change because it's kinda hard, IMO, to view someone who's been like your "little sister" or "daughter" in this new light. Nonetheless, I guess we'll have to accept the fact that MYG is all grown up.

Supermodels-Turned-Actresses Taking Over Airwaves

2006-12-15T11:04:00.000-08:00

Supermodel-turned-actresses are becoming a hot topic again. There are around 10 former models working as actresses: Kim Seon-ah, Song Seon-Mi, Han Go-eun, Han Ye-sul, Han Ji-hye , Hyun Young, Choi Yoe-jin, lee Hwa-seun, Jo Hyang-ki, Yun Ji-min. By any standards, they lead the entertainment industry.

(Kim Seon-ah and Song Seon-Mi)

Kim Seon-ah and Song Seon-mi have jumped to stardom by way of various projects, while Choi Yoe-jin and and Han Ji-hye have won fans for the way that they completely transform themselves into whatever roles they play. Hyung Young and Jo Hyang-ki have been busy in various entertainment programs and TV dramas, while Lee Hwa-seun has turned heads with not just her acting skills but her car racing as well. Kim Sae-rom also announced her intentions to make forays into the acting world. The result can be seen in living rooms sometime next year.

But the most visible stars among the batch are Han Ye-sul and Han Go-eun. The two are often put on the chopping block for performances that fail to live up to their looks. But this year was a turning point in criticism of their work, bringing fine appraisals for both. After taking the lead role in the weekend TV drama Couple of Fantasy (MBC), Han Ye-sul has been enjoying plenty of popularity. Han Go-eun showed off her finely matured craft as the heroine of SBS drama Love and Ambition, which recently wrapped.

But now, newcomers who only entered last year’s supermodel contests are already appearing on TV. They are Kim Su-hyun who took the top honor at the pageants and Yeon Mi-ju who didn’t receive an award but gained the spotlight nonetheless. The two appeared in the SBS weekend drama, Queen of the Game and drama special Lovers respectively. For both it is their acting debut, but they have been appraised as relatively solid.

One of the reasons for the supermodel crowd’s gaining popularity as actors is that they meet the qualifications: they are 170 cm tall or more, and their curvaceous bodies are easy on the eyes. Since they were already filtered through various contests, they are not lacking in the talent category. But voices of concern over model’s successive transfer to acting abound. "It seems that supermodel contests are becoming a means of just supplying future actors instead of living up to its original purpose of cultivating professional models," once critic grumbles.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
Source: english.chosun.com

doozy: This sounds a bit like how TVB promotes "actresses" that originated from the Miss HK pageant. However, the difference here is that Kim Seon Ah and Co. can act. I have yet to watch Queen of the Game and am not following Lovers so I can't say whether the new batch of supermodels-turned-actresses are any good. Hopefully, the production companies made wise choices and they're not horrible.

Life After My Girl

2006-12-13T19:44:00.000-08:00

I was doing a take-home quiz for my Sociology class and I thought, "gee, it'd be nice if I have a snack to munch on. Hm.. I'm kinda craving some sweet potatoes." (Yes, that's mostly all that I think about: food.)

Anyway, so how has my life changed after My Girl?

1. Ever since I watched My Girl, every now and then I'd get these random cravings for sweet potatoes and tangerines.

2. I've always had a liking for musical snow globes/water globes/waterballs/water domes/snow domes (or whatever it is that people are calling them these days...) but it wasn't until My Girl that I actually started to collect them. And man, lemme tell you... that is one expensive hobby to pick up. And since I'm living life on a budget, expensive for me means anything costing more than 15 bucks. Thus far, I have purchased four of those things and sadly, none of them is THE ONE that inspired this hobby.
(I kinda curse Ebay for supporting my "madness" because the sheer excitement of winning a bid, like in a game, is quite addicting. Darn you, Ebay! *shake fist*)

3. I now like cute hair accessories and mismatched earrings.
(I wore one of my hair ties to work and my co-worker asked, "Did you take them from your little sister?" And I, in a dignified tone, said, "I don't have a little sister. So no. They are my own." And then proceeded to roll my eyes, flip my hair in her face, turn my back, and walk away. Haha. No, I didn't do that. One, because she's a good work friend of mine and two, can't really flip my hair coz I wear a hat as part of the work uniform. Darn you, hat! *shake fist, again*)

4. There are new names that I can add to my "favorite actress" and "eye candy" lists.

5. New word of the _____ (until whenever the My Girl effects wear off) is bbashya!
New phrase of the ______ is "You'll be blessed!"

5. I now own a DVD burner. I bought it to burn My Girl on DVDs.

6. I started to use my Photoshop Elements more frequently and even stayed up until the wee hours of morning to make banners for...

7. ...this blog that you're looking at right now.

I have been mukgu-fied.

Btw, dear blog readers... How did you find your way here? I'm curious..

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall: Part 3

2006-12-10T22:20:00.000-08:00

Looks: Lee Yeon Hee
Although LYH may not be what one would described as "traditionally beautiful," her face is very unique and memorable. I especially love her eyes. They are very expressive and have alot of character.

Favorites: Moon Geun Young and Lee Yeon Hee
MGY is super adorable, not to mention talented as well. LYH is still green in the acting department so we'll have to wait and see and I do see potential there.

Looks: Well, this batch is a bit different than the previous ones since comparing Go Ah Ra to Jung Da Bin is like comparing... oh, I can't come up with an accurate analogy and I'm not gonna hurt myself by trying so just agree with me that it's different.
I must say, though, Go Ah Ra is indeed beautiful.

Favorites: Lee Young Yoo and Jung Da Bin
Who doesn't love Da Rim (Bad Family) and Shin Bi (Wonderful Life)?! Not only are they adorable, they can also act.
Btw, I do recommend Wonderful Life to those who haven't seen it yet. It's good. I like it.
Regarding Bad Family, you all should know how I feel about this show since I yap about its actress so much on this blog.

Special thanks to ~*kYo*~ @ soompi for compiling the pictures and posting them.
Note: These are my own opinions. If they don't match with yours, then geez... I really don't know what to say.

Lee Jun Ki and Nam Sang Mi lead the KBS2 drama Time between Dog and Wolf

2006-12-08T17:51:00.000-08:00

Lee Jun Ki (24) and Nam Sang Mi are selected to lead the drama Time between Dog and Wolf scheduled to be aired on MBC in July of 2007.

The production company of the drama "Phantom Entertainment" announces on 11/29 that LJK is selected to lead this action drama portraying two men having close relationship become rivals under seemingly impossible circumstances. The main characters belong to the special investigation unit against an international narcotic drug crime organization, and they infiltrate into the criminal organization by disguised identities. Currently, the production company is negotiating with the broadcasting TV station. The filming is scheduled to start early next year at Hong Kong and Macau.

LJK plays a courageous and energetic man who revenges on a criminal group. NSM plsys the role Suh Ji Woo. Ji Woo met LJG’s role during childhood and then fell in love with him. Due to a sudden accident, they had to separate. They meet each other again when they are working as secret agents disguised as museum curators. However, they separate once again because LJK’s role wants to revenge on his parents’ enemies. LJK’s previous drama was My Girl (SBS, 2005) and NSM’s latest drama was Sweet Spy (MBC, 2005).
Note: NSM's lastest drama was actually SBS's Bad Family, not Sweet Spy.
Source: mydaily.co.kr

Additional Casting News

Jung Kyung Ho will costar with Lee Joon Gi in the drama Time between Dog and Wolf scheduled to be aired by KBS2 in March of 2007. The main characters belong to the special investigation unit against an international narcotic drug crime organization. JKH plays the policeman Kang Min Gi who forms triangle relationship with Lee Joon Gi and Nam Sang Mi’s roles. The two main male characters also have a fatal confrontation.

The representative of JKH’s agency "Sidus HQ" states, "The production team considers that JKH could present both bright and dark side of the tough character Kang Min Gi very well." JKH’s movie Gangster High was debuted recently. His new movies include Herb and Inside Starlight costarring with Kang Hye Jung and Cha Soo Yun respectively.
Source: mydaily.co.kr

Rounding out the four is Lee So Won.

(I don't know who she is.)

English news translations courtesy of CindyW88 and yeohweping @ soompi.com

doozy: Lee Jun Ki and Nam Sang Mi together in one drama?! Woot woot! Plus, the plot outline sounds interesting. I'm very excited here.

Yoon Eun-hye Offered Role in Taiwanese Drama

2006-12-06T18:42:00.000-08:00

Singer-turned-actress Yoon Eun-hye has been offered to play a leading role in the sports film Dunk to be produced in Taiwan.

Based on the Japanese manga Slam Dunk, the film will be produced with a budget of some 10 million US dollars, and Taiwan’s leading star Jay Chou has already been cast as the male lead.

The offer seems to have been extended to Yoon because of the popularity she enjoyed in Chinese-speaking nations as a member of the five-woman group Baby V.O.X and through Princess Hours, the MBC hit drama where she played a leading role.

In July, an AP report had said that pan-Asian star BoA would act in Dunk, but her agency denied the report, saying, "No offers have been made to us, so we do not know anything about it. If we receive an official offer, we will consider it."
Source: KBS Global

doozy: YEH isn't the best actress but she's cute and likeable. I wonder if she'll accept this offer.

Lee Jun-ki to Promote The King and the Clown in Japan

2006-12-06T18:21:00.000-08:00

Lee Jun-ki, the co-star of Korea’s blockbuster The King and the Clown, will leave for Japan on Friday for the release of his film there.

During his four-day visit to Japan, Lee will hold a number of interviews with the Japanese media.

His management agency said that Japanese fans are already excited about the film as well as the visit by Lee, who portrayed the role of the beautiful clown Gonggil.

Lee already has a small but quite loyal following in Japan for his previous film Hotel Venus. Japan also plans to air a TV mini-series starring Lee entitled My Girl. He is expected to gain greater popularity in Japan through his film and TV appearances.

Lee is currently working on First Snow, a joint Korean-Japanese film.
Source: KBS Global

Giving Back to the Community

2006-12-04T19:23:00.000-08:00

Recently, Lee Da Hae participated in an event in which she helped pass out daily commodities to senior citizens. She's also chosen as an ambassador for a charitable/public service organization of Korea.

For more pictures of this event, click here. LDH looks so gorgeous and elegant! Her style in these lovely pictures remind me of the Green Rose days.

Lee Da Hae visiting senior citizens

They really like her, don't they? The lady even gave LDH a kiss. Heehee. Very cute.

Special thanks to dedicated Mukgu-ers @ soompi, especially ripgal and javabeans for the news and pinklily for uploading the pictures and YouTube clip.

Mukgu is such a sweet and kind person. All the more reason to like her. Skeptics and cynics may say that she's doing this for self-promotion, publicity, and things along those lines. And to that, I say "psshhhhh!" There's a variety of things that she can do with her time but she chose to give back to the community and in freezing cold weather, as you can see from the above clip. Obviously, I don't know her personally but I do believe that she's a genuinely nice person.

"Mr. Vengeance" Back for Romance

2006-12-04T17:26:00.000-08:00

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter (The Korea Times)

After the completion of a trilogy on the theme of revenge, director Park Chan-wook has taken an unexpected turn _ toward romantic comedy. But his new film will be different from the ordinary sweet and cute romantic melodramas.

Park, who was once nicknamed "Mr. Vengeance" by New York Times Magazine, said that the film is not only to cool himself down, but also to try to experiment more boldly.

"This was originally something light between big movies," Park said Friday during a news conference after the preview screening of his new film I Am a Cyborg, but That’s OK at CGV Yongsan multiplex theater in Seoul.

"But it doesn’t mean I was going to make it without doing my best or something. I just wanted to make it without feeling much pressure about commercial success, which I believed could allow me to do more experimental and bold things so that it could be a kind of movie in which a lot of people may not understand what’s going on," Park said.

The film, which Park introduced as "a kind of romantic comedy," is set in a mental institute, where a male patient and a female patient fall in love. The couple is played by two big stars _ Rain, who is one of the most popular singers in Asia, and Lim Soo-jung, who gained huge popularity throughout Asia with the television drama series Sorry, I Love You.

Rain plays Il-sun, who believes he can "steal" other people's characteristics, and Lim’s character is Young-gyun, who thinks she is a cyborg.

The two stars' huge popularity seems to be an advantage for the film, but Park said that they were an obstacle to his experimentation.

"When Rain and Lim were cast for the film, the planned experiments were screwed up," Park said, laughing. "The two actors said that they didn’t understand the script, and I had to deceive them with sweet and kind words _ everything will be OK.

"But I started worrying about what would happen if the audience didn’t get it or got confused. So I tried to be kinder, to help the audience understand it better," Park said.

Through the trilogy _ Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), Old Boy (2003) and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005) _ he explored human nature and the complicated emotions related to hatred, revenge and atonement for sins.

In his new film, what does he want to tell?

"This is a love story between patients, not between a patient and a doctor. A doctor tries to cure a patient, but the patient just understands diseases that other patients have. Il-sun loves Young-gyun as she is, along with her illusion and fantasy. I think love is something that makes you love problems that your loved one has even though you can’t fix them," Park said.
e3dward@koratimes.co.kr
Source: The Korea Times

doozy: Park Chan Wook had to "dumb down" the script in order for the audience to understand the movie? That's hilarious. I can't say that I'm a fan of his previous works because I leave them feeling very disturbed. Or maybe I just don't have a high enought IQ to understand what the hell it is that he was trying to portray. Nonetheless, like I've said before, I'll definitely watch this movie to support that certain someone.

I Need Your Help!

2006-12-02T19:42:00.000-08:00

Does anyone here knows where I can get the Precious Moments snow globe seen in My Girl? If you don't, do you happen to know someone who knows someone (perhaps in Seoul, Korea) who can help me with this matter? I'll pay for the cost and shipping fee.

In case you don't know what I'm talking about since you haven't seen My Girl (why haven't you?! ), here's what it looks like.

Images courtesy of www.enemall.co.kr

I REALLY want this snow globe! I'm not even sure if people are reading this request but it's worth a try. I'd be extremely grateful if you can help me out. You'll be blessed!

Singers-Turned-Actors: the Best and the Worst

2006-12-01T19:08:00.000-08:00

In Korea, singers don't just sing to make a living any more. They try hard to map out a career cycle as entertainers, with the arch usually taking them into acting ventures of varying success. In soap operas particularly, some acquit themselves well. Others, however, provoke derision from Korea’s merciless Netizens for the way they flounce and pout around the sets.

In fact, the majority of soap leads are played by singers today. The Chosun Ilbo asked 14 writers and producers of hit dramas who the best and worst of the bunch are. We asked them to rank the top three in each category by giving three points to the best, two to the second best and one to the third.

From left to right: Bi, Kim Chang-wan, Kim Dong-wan, Lim Chang-jung, Mun Jeong-hyeok (Eric)

Among men, famously ambitious Rain came top with a score of 29 for appearances in Full House and A Love to Kill. Praise was fulsome. "He successfully appeals to the public with his ability to express feelings in a sympathetic way and by making the transition from singer to actor very naturally," one panel member enthused. "He’s a jewel. It would have been such a loss if he hadn’t decided to act." In second was Kim Chang-wan with 13 points, followed by Kim Dong-wan with 10 points and Lim Chang-jung with 9. Mun Jeong-hyeok or Eric, who landed in fifth with 8 points, got mixed reviews. Some said he was "taking full advantage of his pretty face and ability as an entertainer." Others were less kind.

From left to right: Jung Ryoe-won, Uhm Jung-hwa, Eugene, Seong Yu-ri, Lee Hyo-lee

Among women, Jung Ryoe-won came top thanks to her part in My Name is Kim Sam-soon. Jung "is able to reflect her own natural image into the role she plays in the drama," one panelist said. "She works hard at learning her craft. If you look closely at her eye movement, tempo, breathing and reactions to her partners, you can see that she studies the script really hard." Uhm Jung-hwa came second with 17 points and Eugene in third with 12. Uhm is said to be able to play a wide range of parts, have a lively spirit as an actress and act very naturally. Eugene drew favorable responses thanks to her fluent dialect in the drama I Really Really Like You broadcast this year. She was praised for speaking dialect very well, which is not easy at all.

Overall, Rain came top with 27 points, followed by Uhm Jung-hwa with 14, Jung Ryeo-won with 12, and Lim Chang-jung with 11.

Who, then, is the worst singer-turned-actor? Seong Yu-ri held the sorry title with 21 points, followed by Lee Hyo-lee with 14, Park Jung-ah with 13, Kangta with 8, and Eric again with 5. Seong, our panelists said delicately, "has starred in several dramas but still has a long way to go." Lee Hyo-lee, who was featured in the drama Three-Leaf Clover, was denounced as woefully miscast. The glamour girl "did not suit the character of a factory worker," they said. In Park’s case, the difference between the singer’s image and her soap character was also judged too glaring.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
Source: english.chosun.com

doozy: For the most part, I agree with the panelists' critiques, especially the comments regarding Bi. It would definitely be a loss if Bi didn't venture into acting. He totally impressed me with his debut performance in Let's Go To School, Sang Doo.
Regarding Eric, he has really good comedic timing so comedy is his forte. However, his dramatic scenes, erm.. need more work.
I haven't seen any work from the three singers/actors in the middle, so no comment there. But, was Lim Chang-jung in the movie All About Love? If yes, then he's good too.

On the female side, Jung Ryoe-won was good in My Name is Kim Sam Soon. However, my view of her performance in Which Stare Are You From? might be biased since, to put it mildly, I did not like that drama.
I watched Uhm Jung-hwa in All About Love and she delivered a good performance, if I remember correctly. It's been awhile since I saw that movie.
Eugene, I like.
Although harsh, I agree with them about the part on Seong Yu-ri. I have yet to watch Snow Queen so let's see how she does in there.
I did not see Three-Leaf Clover, so can't comment on Lee Hyo-lee's skills (or lack thereof).

Sohn Ye-jin Wins 1st Best Lead Actress Award

2006-11-30T10:56:00.000-08:00

Actress Sohn Ye-jin has received her first best actress award at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival, which was held in Taipei, Taiwan, for her role in the movie April Snow.

A person from Sohn’s agency said the actress was overwhelmed with happiness to be honored with the award, and that even the agency did not know that April Snow was invited to the festival. He added that the award was even more meaningless (huh?) because the movie was filmed in cold winter weather and included many teary scenes..

Sohn acts opposite actor Bae Yong-jun in April Snow, where she plays a woman who falls in love with another man while nursing her husband, who gets into a car accident with his mistress.
Source: KBS Global
doozy: Woot woot! Congratulations, Ye Jin sshi!

Happy Birthday!

2006-11-28T22:55:00.000-08:00

Happy 27th Birthday, Daniel Henney sshi!
Stay hot, happy, and healthy always!

Drool Time

Special thanks to suejinners @ soompi for posting the collection of pictures

It's Official! They Are Together!

2006-11-28T21:38:00.000-08:00

Nope, I'm not talking about BiKyo. I'm babbling about another favorite couple of mine. *Hint: the inspiration for this blog*

Well, is it really official? I'm not sure. Sorry to those who got excited due to bold title of this post.

Kirsten (pinklily @ soompi), who is a crazed Mukgu-er (and I used the word "crazed" with love), posted some very interesting screen captures of LDH and LDW together at the MNet award ceremony. Click here to see the caps and read her hilarious commentary on the event.

Here is the YouTube clip for your viewing pleasure.

They do look awfully close, don't they? Hmm... something's definitely going on there.

Here are lovely pictures of LDH for BC Cards

Tangerines, anyone, while enjoying the soccer game? (It's a My Girl inside joke. Watch the show and you'll understand.)

Images courtesy of Daum DaHae Market/baidu
Uploaded by: zoomjack @ soompi

First Impressions...

2006-11-27T11:01:00.000-08:00

Since I recently finished watching Rude Woman and Fireworks, I decided to take a look at several of the new dramas that have begun airing. Regarding the two that I finished, one of them I enjoyed tremendously and it was fun throughout. The other one had me scratching my head, wondering "what the hell is this crap and more importantly, why am I still watching it?"

Anyway... Below are my thoughts on the first episodes of three new dramas.

Hwang Jin-Yi

The first episode looks promising. Although, I'm not really into the ancient dancing routine, I'm especially in awe of the colorful and gorgeous hanboks. And props to the young actress who plays the child Hwang Jin-I, who does a terrific job, noticeably in the crying scenes. Really, how do the Korean production teams manage to find such talented young-uns? However, the child actress who is part of the palace dance troupe, the one that did that dagger routine, really creeps me out with her robotic, unnatural smiling face and heavy make-up.

Watch or not? From the quality of the first episode, this one is a keeper.

Fantasy Couple

From the writers of Sassy Girl, Chun-Hyang and My Girl, come another fun and hilarious drama. Han Ye Seul got the snobby, bitchy, I-answer-to-no-one role down good. Surprisingly, HYS's English is quite good. Very little accent and I can understand perfectly what she is saying. This character is Cruella deVil and Dr. Evil rolled into one. Cruella deVil because of her personality and wardrobe; Dr. Evil partly because of the pet cat and how she's more affectionate to the cat than to her fellow human beings. While watching her in action, my reaction was similar to those of the people that cross paths with her. That one raining scene at the airport where she makes the passerby walk her to her car with his umbrella and his reaction after she drives away is hilarious. Also, the pet-exchanging scene towards the end of the episode, when that "Bang Bang" song is playing the background, has me rolling in laughter.

Watch or not? Watch it!

Lovers

The storyline here seems like the ones that I've seen before from other popular melodramatic dramas. From what I gather, the breakdown of the plot is as such: under odd circumstances, a cold, commitment-phobic man meets optimistic woman with a heart-of-gold whom he falls in love with and who will change his life forever. Dun dun dun... *dramatic music plays in the background*
Although, yes, I do admit that I have watched dramas with trite and predictable plotlines and have found them enjoyable, what I cannot get over here is Kim Jung Eun's over-the-top expressions. Finally, I am able to understand why some people did not like Yoo Rin in My Girl while I find that character extremely funny and her expressions very cute and endearing. Similarly, fans of Lovers have no problems with watching KJE and even find her actions funny while I sit there watching with annoyance.

Watch or not? Until I'm no longer bothered by the leading actress's presence, then this one is a pass for me. However, if you liked the previous two installments of the "Lovers series," especially Lovers in Paris since KJE was also the leading actress in that one, then you'll probably like Lovers.

Heartthrob Daniel Henney Confesses Early Sins

2006-11-24T18:42:00.000-08:00

With short hair and jeans instead of a suit, Daniel Henney looks relaxed and approachable. The man who in just two dramas -- My Name is Kim Sam-soon and Spring Waltz -- captured the hearts of millions of Korean women is now promoting his first feature film, Seducing Mr. Robin, which is released on Dec.7. The Chosun Ilbo spoke to the 28-year old.

Don’t you think that you are playing on women’s fantasies a little too much? In this movie, your character is a Harvard graduate and CEO of a foreign company.

"It’s a misunderstanding. Having read the screenplay, I thought he was such an ass. Too cold and stubborn. Later in the movie, a little human touch is added to the character, but the part is different than my previous roles, which were more warm-hearted."

Your fans praise your gentleness and sweetness, best represented in your smile.

"Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, everybody has two sides: good and bad. I showed my true self through Henry in My Name is Kim Sam-soon, but I showed only my good side."

What kind of guy is the rest of you?

"When I played basketball in college, I used to be a greedy player. I only thought about winning. I didn’t go so far as to take steroids, but I went on a protein diet to build up muscle, and got all the way up to 220 pounds (around 110 kg). When I was a high school student, I threw eggs at school buses for no reason. I was the captain of my basketball team, but I ended up getting a seven-game suspension. It was a time when I was full of dissatisfaction and greed."

Born in the U.S. state of Michigan, Henney dreamed of playing in the NBA when he was a boy. He was talented enough to be scouted to the University of Illinois at Chicago. But he says the talent others envied was not enough to reach the "top level," and he was at odds with the team’s coach, whom he accuses of prejudice against him -- the sole player with Asian heritage -- so he finally changed his course. After that, he worked as a model and took acting classes, and debuted in My Name is Kim Sam-soon where he became widely known.

An uncomfortable question. You said the coach at UIC had a racial bias. But don't you think that the fact that you are of mixed race worked in your favor in Korea?

"First of all, I don’t think that being of mixed race helped me get cast in Kim Sam-soon. Actually, I didn't learn about biases in Korea until well after I became famous. I've realized that even among people of mixed race, there is 'class.' But what's clear is that Korea, unlike in the U.S., isn't a country where racism is shown openly, and the younger generation has a more open mind than the older generation. I’m fretting about what kind of help I can be."

Would it be rude if I ask whether your activities in Korea are a springboard for something else, like Hollywood?

A springboard? No way. The only good thing about working in Hollywood would be the fact that my parents could see the movies I'm in more easily. Whether it's Hollywood or Korea isn't important to me. The script, and what kind of a project it is, are what I consider most important. This work isn't a stepping stone -- it's my life.

What virtues must women have to seduce Daniel Henney, rather than Mr. Robin?

First of all, a non-enhanced natural beauty. And what I like the most is the natural sound of laughter. Age changes appearance and body shape, but the laughter is unchanged when they turn 90, and even when they sit in a wheelchair.

That is some smooth talk. But, how should I put this, it sounds like a canned response.

(Blushes) Well, of course I can't ignore the impression and feeling that I get from a woman when I meet her first.

This is an English translation of an interview with Daniel Henney that appeared in the print version of the Chosun Ilbo.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
Source: english.chosun.com

doozy: Daniel Henney sshi, I'm definitely looking forward to watching your new movie and I don't care about the storyline, whether it's good or not, etc. because really, I probably won't notice and be nitpicky since my attention will be focused on you. (Although, I do hope that it won't be grossly terrible that even your presence can't even keep my attention.)

On another note, Harry Potter would like his spectacles back. And also, your hairstylist's not happy because you've missed another appoinment.

Stuff Your Face...

2006-11-23T21:45:00.000-08:00

...with yummi-ness, that is.

Remember always to be appreciative and thankful for what you have instead of eyeing your neighbor's lawn. (You know the saying that "grass is greener...")

Original image courtesy of www.benjerry.com
Coloring courtesy of yours truly's inner child

Is Rain Worth It?

2006-11-21T20:11:00.000-08:00

High Concert Ticket Prices Raise Eyebrows
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia (The Korea Times)
Staff Reporter

Korean superstar Rain, who goes by his real name Chung Ji-hoon when acting, will soon embark on an ambitious world tour.
K-pop superstar Rain's upcoming world concert tour is generating a lot of buzz. After all, "Rain's Coming 06/07 World Tour" is perhaps the most ambitious and expensive world concert tour by any Korean artist.

Expectations are running high for Rain's world tour, which has been called a "make it or break it" tour since it will test his popularity and ability to appeal to people in different countries. With the budget for the concert reportedly reaching several millions of dollars, it is no wonder why concert tickets are being sold at a premium price.

The most expensive tickets for Rain's concerts cost 176,000 won (US$189) in Seoul, US$261 (244,000 won) in Las Vegas and US$313 (293,000 won) in Singapore.

Rain officially kicks off his world tour in Seoul on Dec. 15 and 16 at the Olympic Park Gymnasium. He is then scheduled to perform on Dec. 23 and 24 at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Tickets for the Las Vegas concerts are already sold out at Ticketmaster, even with the price of US$89 to US$261.

Celine Dion also holds concerts at the Colosseum, charging US$165 to US$350 for tickets. The Colosseum has a capacity of 3,800.

For Rain's concerts, organizers have arranged tour package deals for overseas fans who want to attend the concert and take a vacation in Las Vegas.

However, some U.S.-based fans were disappointed with the expensive ticket prices and the concert dates, which are scheduled right before the Christmas holiday. This has dissuaded younger fans from attending the concert.

For the Jan. 21 concert in Singapore, the front row seats were initially to cost as much as 530,000 won or US$570 each. However, these pricey seats are being reserved especially for VIP and purchasers of special package tours.

According to Regina Wong, Singapore's representative for Rain's International Fan Club, JYP Entertainment has also allocated 100 seats in these VIP sections for fan club members at only US$200 each. "JYPE put the seats up for sale last week and the 100 tickets at US$200 each were sold in 5 minutes," she said.

Tickets for the Singapore concert are now sold to the public for as high as US$313 (293,000 won). Rain's concert tickets are even more expensive than the priciest ticket to guitar legend's Eric Clapton's concert in Singapore, which go for US$256 or 240,000 won.

On the Singapore ticketing Web site, Rain's concert is billed as the "largest project in scale among world tours by a Korean artist" and "at par with Madonna's latest tour."

Some of the reasons for the expensive ticket prices are the high production costs and that Rain has hired prominent concert production people. These include stage director Jaime King, who has choreographed dance moves for Madonna and Britney Spears; Roy Bennett, who was production designer for Paul McCartney's 2005 U.S. tour; and visual director Dago Gonzalez.

Star M, organizer of Rain's tour, said in a press release earlier that Rain's world tour is expected to generate 106 billion won (US$113 million) in revenue. It estimated that 56 billion won (US$59 million) will come from admission fees and the rest from tour copyrights, DVD sales and merchandising.

Rain is scheduled to hold a concert on Feb. 3 in Bangkok. Concert dates are also being planned for Japan, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan.
cathy@koreatimes.co.kr
Source: times.hankooki.com

doozy: Hm... this is a tough question for me to answer. I was definitely shocked when I discovered how expensive the tickets are upon the announcement of his world tour. Also, seeing his concert price compared to the likes of Celine Dion and Eric Clapton is kinda surreal to me. However, the music business is a business so it's basically all about supply and demand. Bi does have a large and diverse fan base and if his fans are willing to fork out the dough to see him in action, then good for them, him, and the charities that will benefit from the concert. Happiness all around.

As for me, as much as I love Bi and his music and would like very much to see him in concert at least once in this lifetime, I'm still not willing to part with my $200 because I love Mr. Franklin just a tad more at this moment. Although, what if the time comes when I'm a little more well-off but Bi's not holding any more concerts? What will I do? Hence, shouldn't I, now, seize the moment and live for the present? Ah~ life is full of potentially regretful moments, isn't it?

Wait a minute, did I answer the question as to whether Bi is worth the money?
Generally speaking, yes, he is. Personally speaking, no. Does that make any sense?

Seats to Hallyu Expo in Short Supply

2006-11-20T13:58:00.000-08:00

Seats for the opening ceremony of the upcoming "Hallyu Expo in Asia," which will be attended by top hallyu stars, have proven insufficient to accommodate all reporters and fans wishing to see the extravaganza.

The number of seats for the opening ceremony slated for November 29 was set at 4,000, but the organizing committee says it is considering adding more seats as large numbers of foreign fans and visitors have expressed their willingness to attend the event.

The opening ceremony, which begins at 10:30 a.m., will be hosted by Kang Byung-kyu and Yoon Son-ha and consist of two parts.

Performers will include M (Lee Min-woo), Lee Jung-hyun, Chae Yeon, SG Wannabe, Superjunior, the B-boy team Last For One, which won a B-boy competition in Germany, and others.

Throughout the 102-day expo, some 20 bands and celebrities will appear at the event, and special events featuring top hallyu stars will be held every week.

Hallyu Expo in Asia, an international exhibition of hallyu stars, TV dramas and movies, will be the first and the longest hallyu-related international event. It will run through March 10 at the Jeju Convention Center.
Source: KBS Global
doozy: I want to go! I WANT TO GO!

Wall Painting Poster of The Restless Unveiled

2006-11-20T13:36:00.000-08:00

The wall painting poster of the movie The Restless starring Chung Woo-sung and Kim Tae-hee has been unveiled recently.
While the previous teaser poster for the movie drew attention by focusing on a dark background, the new poster features the large images of the movie’s lead actors.

The poster, which depicts the love of two characters that defies fate, was produced in a unique style by featuring the elements of a wall painting.

The Restless, a story about the encounter and conflict of two souls in mid-heaven, where they stay for 49 days before they reincarnate, will open December 21.
Source: KBS Global

Movie Info
[formerly known as Midair]

Cast
Kim Tae Hui
Jung Woo Sung

Jung Woo Sung and Kim Tae Hee will lead the movie Midair. This mellow movie portrays that a soul stays in midair for 49 days before it ascends to heaven. The move is directed by Jo Dong Oh whose previous project was the movie The Warrior. The music director is Shiro Sagisu. The production cost is around 9 billion Won and the filming begins at "Hengdian Movie and Television Center" in Zhejiang province of China.

KTH plays the role Soh Hwa who is a celestial people guiding and protecting human beings when they fall in midair. JWS plays the character Lee Gwak. He defends Soh Hwa who resembles his old lover. Actor Huh Joon Ho plays the role Ban Choo who leads the insurgent force in midair. Actress Soh Yi Hyun plays the character Hyo who is a female warrior in the insurgent force.
English translation courtesy of CindyW88

doozy: Nice poster! Very fantasy/mythical feel, which fits the story of the movie. I'm looking forward to this movie because 1) I like this genre, 2) I'm interested in seeing KTH's movie debut, and 3) Jung Woo Sung (need I say more...)

Bi is In LOVE?!

2006-11-18T00:35:00.000-08:00

This news is the hottest topic (at least, I'd like to think that it is) in entertainment forums and fansites at the moment. Who's the lady in question? She's none other than Song Hye Kyo.

Bi (Rain) Brought food for Song hyegyo at Hwang Jin-I filming site

On his upcoming movie Cyborg but it's ok which will be shown next month,He visited the filming site of the Movie Hwang jini which Song hyegyo is starring in,and gave her a lunchbox.

Rain made/prepared the food himself and went to The filming location at Yong-in Kyonggido,On 10th of november 11pm.

Everyone was eating snack at the moment when Rain arrived,and greeted the staff and handed the bag(food) to Song hyegyo.

The staff specially the girls who were there were envious of SHG,as a sign of appreciation and thank's SHG accompany Rain to the parking lot.

Source: http://news.naver.com/news/read.php?mode=L...amp;menu_id=106
English translation courtesy of J.lee @ Bi's soompi thread

AHHHHHHH!! This is very good news, if it turns out that she is the one that he's been hinting at. BiKyo, aza aza, fighting!
If you'd like to read more indepth analysis on BiKyo, you can visit Agent P's Headquarters.

In the meantime, here's a fan MV dedicated to the lovely pair. Enjoy!

Credit: wloi

Also, yummy pictures of Bi for Giordano's Winter Collection

Courtesy of Cheryl (Joyplace)

Although I'm a supporter of BiKyo, I'll still be happy for him if BiKyo only exists in Full House and not in reality because when it comes down to it, it's his life and his happiness that really matters in this type of situation.

Aussie Girl

2006-11-16T23:08:00.002-08:00

Pictures of Lee Da Hae in Sydney... Enjoy!

Source: empas
Special thanks to pinklily @ soompi for sharing these lovely pictures of LDH with fellow Mukgu-ers

doozy: I love her long hair, make-up, clothes, poses, ambience of the location.. heck, I like everything about these photos. One word. Gorgeous!

Yellow Ribbons Time for Song Seung-hun

2006-11-16T13:09:00.000-08:00

In November 2004, the actors Song Seung-hun and Jang Hyeok bit the bullet and joined up after their attempts to dodge Korea's mandatory military service were exposed. Twenty-four months later, the two have done their time and were discharged on Wednesday from their unit in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province. Emerging at 7 a.m. to a waiting crowd of some 500 fans and hundreds of reporters from all over Asia, Song was in pensive mood. "Finally a day that always seemed like it would be a great one has come, but when I think about having to split from my brothers in arms who I became close to, I can't be happy," Song said. "I made a stupid and immature decision before I entered the Army, and it hurt and disappointed my fans, but I felt that the best way ahead was to live my military life sincerely." Song, who was part of an artillery battalion as a 155 mm gunner, vowed to "rekindle the fellowship” with the neighbors he became estranged from.

Fans from Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and of course Korea carried signs that read, "Korea’s best actor," and "You've worked hard for two years." Overseas fans were bussed in on 15 coaches that left Seoul at 2 a.m. but encountered a blizzard on the way and did not make it to the actor's press conference until five-and-a-half hours later at around 7:30 a.m. According to those in the know, the fans paid from between 110,000 yen for a simple package to 220,000 yen for the expensive tours to be here for the moment when the actor regained his freedom.

Normally the trip takes around three hours from Seoul, but with the sudden snowfall everyone’s trip that day took at least five. And hearing in advance that there were almost no restrooms at the base the female fans insisted on stopping every now and then at rest stops to take care of their business, which made the trip even longer. Immediately following the press conference, Song headed to Seoul to relax.

But he will be meeting his fans again at a meet'n'greet event at the weekend. There are also plans for another press conference. On Thursday afternoon, an exhibition kicks off at N Seoul Tower of objects that the actor used during his days in the military. His boots, uniform and personal tools -- everything except his gun -- are there for fans to swoon over. Song makes his official return to the celebrity life starting with the Asia Fan Meeting 2006 at the Gymnastics Arena in Olympic Park in Seoul on Nov. 18 and 19 starting at 7 p.m.

Jang Hyeok found himself with a quieter reception on his release from a rifle corps that guarded the demarcation fence. "My brothers here, and those who joined up after me, were always unaffected and we had many conversations," he said in a statement. "I feel relief and sorrow at the same time, and it isn’t an easy thing to step back into society." Jang is also considering a drama role early next year.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
Source: english.chosun.com

Queen of The Game

2006-11-14T10:59:00.000-08:00

Cast
Lee Bo Young (Save the Last Dance For Me, Mr. Goodbye)
Joo Jin Mo (Punch, Fashion 70s)

Airs
November 25th, 2006
Sat/Sun (Weekend Drama)

Broadcasting Station
SBS

PD
Oh Se-Gang

Writer
Lee Yoo-Jin

Produced By
DTN Works

Soompi Thread

Joo Jin Mo and Lee Bo Young will lead the weekend drama Queen of Game scheduled to be aired by SBS around the end of November following the final episode of Love and Ambition. LBY plays the daughter of the owner of a run-down hotel. JJM plays an M&A (Merger & Acquisition) expert. The filming is scheduled to start in cities of New Zealand including Auckland and Queenstown. Staff from the movie The Lord of the Rings will participate in the project. Viewers will be presented by the beautiful scenery of New Zealand captured from helicopter.
Credits: CindyW88 @ Soompi's News Thread

doozy: Although, the foreign filming location might mean "bad drama" alert due to the previous works that had this aspect, I'm hoping that this one will be different, that there will be a good story instead of relying solely on beautiful scenery and good-looking actors to keep an audience.
I like Joo Jin Mo, who's not only eye candy material but also a good actor. After Mr. Goodbye, I find Lee Bo Young to be quite cute and likeable. I'm definitely looking forward to this drama!

Lee Dong Wook and Lee Da Hae Together?

2006-11-12T21:35:00.001-08:00

Heehee.. If only that were true..

Recently, LDW and LDH attended the Seoul Collection fashion show to show support for their good friend Jung Joon Ha, who was the MC at LDW's fan meeting and LDH's birthday party. They sat next to each other.

Special thanks to zoomjack, 1004dong, and incarnadine for posting the lovely pictures

Ah~ They're very cute and look so compatible together!

Rain Storms Coming to Las Vegas This Christmas

2006-11-12T21:30:00.000-08:00

K-pop superstar Rain hopes to take Las Vegas by storm this Christmas season. He will be appearing at the Coliseum at Caesars Palace as part of his quest to make inroads into the North American market.

The decision to stage the concert at the 3,800-seat venue is understood to have been made at Rain's insistence. Of the many places that U.S. entertainment firms offered to the artist, it was where both Celine Dion and Elton John played that Rain thought he should kick things off.

After the opener in Vegas, Rain's world tour will span 35 performances. This time the artist has taken on some of the world’s top concert producing talent for this make-or-break tour, including stage director Jaime King, lighting specialist Roy Bennett, and visual director Dago Gonzalez. Online reservations at Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com) have already begun. Seats range from US$98-$260.

To get his blood pumping for his assault on the U.S. mainland, Rain will warm up to the always-affectionate home crowd with a serious of concerts Dec.15, 16 at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
Source: english.chosun.com

doozy: Wah~ Why is the price so expensive?! Also, Christmas is such a busy travel time, especially in Las Vegas. Hmm... at least it's in the States so there's a possiblity..

Lee Sa-bi Talks About Her Big Screen Dreams

2006-11-12T21:17:00.000-08:00

Lee Un-jeong may not be a household name, but everyone knows Lee Sa-bi. The two are in fact the same person, but the glamour model decided to return to the name she was born with to make the leap from scantily clad Playboy photographs into acting. She has already been a part of five productions including dramas and movies. The Chosun Ilbo got a glimpse into the world of Lee Un-jeong.

Not long ago you released a diet video. Do you enjoy yoga?

Of course. On days when I don’t have much going on, I can spend two or three hours doing it. People who don’t know think it’s at the same level as stretching or warm-ups, but if they really give it a try they will see just how hard an exercise it is.

We heard that you were in Thailand for a shoot; did anything fun happen?

I look a little bit Thai myself. Maybe that’s why I had a few embarrassing moments when the locals thought that I was Thai and would come up to me speaking in Thai. It’s a fun memory.

If you could have any part, what would it be?

Something that also expresses my unique personality. Honestly, there is nothing special or extraordinary about me. I don't have a pretty face. My mom even says, 'You sure were born at the right time. In the old days, do you think you would have even been able to dream about a career in the movie business?' But I’m fairly tall (173 cm) and I look all right, and the overall harmony is not bad. So what I want to do is a drama that shows a friendship among women. I’d also like to play an action character, as Angelina Jolie has.

Did you dream of acting in your modeling days?

No I didn't, because I thought that you have to be pretty to be an actress. But after appearing in Lost Memories, I saw my face fill up the big screen and was really attracted to acting. I felt my heart thumping. At that time I resolved to become an actor.

Even though you changed your name, you might not be able to escape your image as Korea’s first Playboy model.

It's a label that may follow me even after I retire from the entertainment industry. But it was also what made me famous. When you get something, you lose something. So the way you accept it is what's important in the end. Sometimes I feel sad about people who look at me in a negative way, but I keep working hard with a belief that some day they will recognize me as an actor.

This job might give you a lot of stress. How do you handle it?

I usually go to a club and dance like mad. Shouting and singing at noraebang (karaoke rooms) is another thing I do. In summer, when the typhoon sweeps through, I run around the neighborhood in bare feet in the rain and scream.

What is the secret of staying in good shape?

I think eating well and moving a lot is important. I eat often little, and move a lot. I work on yoga, but more importantly I always walk when it's not too far.

You appeared in five productions. How do you feel about that?

I'm very happy about that because it makes me feel that I keep working on something and something is building in my life. And I'm also happy about not being at the top, because there is still something to climb over. I'll do my best. Keep your eye on me.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
Source: english.chosun.com

Lovers

2006-11-11T20:44:00.000-08:00

The third drama in the "Lovers..." series. (No. one was Lovers in Paris with Park Shin Yang and Kim Jung Eun and no. two was Lovers in Prague)

Cast
Kim Jung Eun
Lee Seo Jin
Kim Kyu Ri
Jung Chan
Lee Han

Airs
November 8th (Every Wed-Thurs Nights)

TV Station
SBS Drama

Official Website

Soompi Thread

Kim Kyu Ri plays the role Yoo Jin who is an innocent woman worrying about her lover’s safety and health only. Yoo Jin lives with the main male character who is the leader of an organization of gangsters. Lee Suh Jin is selected to play the main male character. After LSJ’s role is injured and receives treatment in a hospital, he and the female doctor (played by Kim Jung Eun) fall in love. The filming of this drama is scheduled to start on 9/14 in China. Originally, Kim Seung Woo was selected to play the main male lead. However, due to KSW’s tight schedule, the production company decides to replace KSW with LSJ because LSJ’s filming schedule of his other drama Speed is delayed until February of 2007. KKR’s previous drama was The Immortal Lee Soon Shin aired by KBS1 in 2004.
Source: CindyW88 and WITH S2

Playlist Update

2006-11-09T17:45:00.000-08:00

New songs (hopefully for your listening pleasure and not pain)

Jason Mraz - Geek in the Pink
Jewel - Foolish Games
Bi - Move On
SG Wannabe - Saranghago Shipuh
Fiona Apple - Sleep to Dream

Vengeance trilogy director Park Chan-wook returns with romantic comedy starring Rain

2006-11-09T16:33:00.000-08:00

From left to right: Park Chan Wook, Lim Soo Jung, and Rain (Bi)

By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Yonhap) -- Fresh from making hard-boiled thrillers, South Korea's Park Chan-wook said Thursday that he wanted to deliver a romantic story that "smells like fruit" this time.

I'm a Cyborg, But That's Okay, Park's seventh feature, is to debut in theaters next month, basking in the heightened attention for its male lead, star singer and actor Rain (called Bi in Korean). Dubbed as "a kind of romantic comedy" by the director, the story of a young female mental patient who believes she is a cyborg and her male mate who chases after her marks the director's return, far from the the Vengeance triology.

"Believe it or not, it's true that this is the movie I made," Park said in a press conference to announce the end of the producton.

"It was good that I could cast young actors. Somehow I wanted to return to my childish dream. I wanted to make a movie that is as fresh as them and that smells like fruit. An age 12-rated movie that I can watch with my daughter."
Its female lead is Lim Soo-jung, who played a blameless heroine in the popular Korean television drama series, Sorry, I Love You, which aired last year in eight Asian countries, including China, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam.

"The mental patients all have their own unique universe. It could be nothing more than an illusion in the eye of normal people. But it is an indispensible one, the only and very realistic world to that person. So if they talk to each other about their own universe, wouldn't that be a kind of what we call love?" he said in a Seoul hotel packed with hundreds of local and foreign journalists, where some scenes from the film were screened.

Making his screen debut with the established director, Rain said he saw the pristine state of humans from the wacky, disorderly mental hospital.

"I interpret this movie as a message of hope for the world. The patients in the hospital live with feelings of irritation and distance from the world, but I felt that they are very good natured and naive and more highly-focused than any normal people," he said.

I'm a Cyborg, But That's Okay is to be released nationwide on Dec. 7.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
Source: Yonhap News
Special thanks to rubie @ soompi

Bi's New Movie

2006-11-08T21:25:00.000-08:00

Pictures from the press conference of I'm A Cyborg, But It's Okay

Look at the size of that safety pin! Ji Hoon sshi, did you take it from my locker?

The movie premieres on December 7th. For more pictures from the event, go here.

Trailer 1

Trailer 2

Uploaded by: AznAngel29

doozy: I really look forward to seeing this movie and Bi's performance. Hopefully, it won't disappoint and will be well-received when it is shown in S. Korea.

Lee Dong Wook Birthday Party

2006-11-08T18:44:00.000-08:00

A fan's account of the party

The birthday party For Lee Dong Wook on 11/05/2006 was awesome!!!

I really enjoyed this year’s party more than last years, since it was only for a smaller audience.

MC for the party was one of Lee Dong Wook’s close friends, Jung Joon Ha.
Lee Dong Wook finally came on the stage, after KCM's songs.
He looked really happy and pleased to see so many fans came to celebrate his birthday.

He also looked very comfortable with fans-- he talked a lot with them.
The first game he did was called "Golden Bell" which asked the 15 fans who had been pre-selected and joined Lee Dong Wook on the stage questions until there was only one person left on the stage. Questions were like – what is the name of Lee Dong Wook’s character in My Girl, what is his shoe size, what is the name of his pet, when was the date of his debut, what was the name of his debut work, what was the name of his role in that work, how do you write his name in Chinese, and so on.
As you can see in the picture, Lee Dong Wook gave a stuffed animal to the winner, took a picture with her and gave a hug!!!

Next, Lee Dong Wook’s another close friend, Soo-Ho joined him on the stage.
Soo-Ho wanted and made everyone stand up, so they all stood up.
After this, we took a moment for a brief survey and questions!
First question was, "Can you kiss your date on the first date?" He said, "No, not on the first date." We asked, "What about on the second date?" he answered, "If I feel more comfortable with her, and if it feels right, then that’s possible."

Second question was, "What do you choose between love and friendship?" He said, "He’d choose love because love does not wait for you while friendship will always be there for you."

Third question was, "If someone gives you a $20 million offer to pose for nude, would you do it?" He said, "Definitely not," but he added jokingly "if it’s $100 million, I might consider it."

Last question was, "What was your favorite character?" He listed, "5th - Carousel, 4th - Monday Kids M/V, 3rd - the Bride from Hanoi, 2nd - A-Rang, and 1st - My Girl."

Next was the time for the birthday cake!! Lee Dong Wook typed all the things he wanted to say on keyboard so that he could share with everyone. However, since he couldn’t type well—probably he was too nervous, the MC was teasing him!!! After this, it was time to open the gifts. I personally didn’t really plan to bring any extravagant present, but on the way to the party, this brilliant idea—a box of So-Joo (Korean Sake) came into my head. I put our website URL on each bottle. Hyun-Young who is in the movie Choi-Kang Romance with Lee Dong Wook helped him opening the gifts. They were walking around the room and spotted the box of So-Joo!!! The MC said, "Is it really So-Joo?" trying to pick up the box. But he couldn’t lift it up, instead he said "It seems it’s really So-Joo." Lee Dong Wook must have heard it and came to the box, starring at it for a long time before he went to another table to open more gifts.

He opened almost every gifts were on the stage, including those sent to him from China and Japan.

The MC had to leave after this—he does a variety of show programs in Korea. So it was just Lee Dong Wook all alone on the stage, saying thanks to all his fans. And all of sudden, he asked who brought the box of So-Joo (I don’t recall exact words, but it was something like "I appreciate for the So-Joo and want to know who gave me the So-Joo." Unfortunately, I missed the right timing to raise my hand. sad.gif
He was so kind and friendly throughout the party. He answered all the questions that we asked.

Before it was over, he sang a song for us. He looked very attractive and handsome.
Someone asked him to shake everyone’s hand before we leave the room, but because there was another event scheduled—we had to empty the room quickly. He and his manager apologized for this un-granted (?) wish.

I’ve tried to be more detail and specific in writing this, especially for those who couldn’t attend the party. Please watch and enjoy the video clips from the party. Thank you.
Credits: leedongwook.com/leedongwook.net/baidu
Special thanks to said fan for sharing with us her experience and to ripgal (Jo) @ soompi for posting the info

Lee Da Hae's gift

Since LDH didn't attend Wookie's birthday bash, fans were speculating whether she sent him a present or not. Well, speculate no more!

Posts by Korean Fans of Daum DongHae Suited Couple:

As there were a lot of presents in front that bouquet of flowers, Da Hae's name was therefore hidden behind!
But then, you can feel the love of Miss Da Hae towards Dong Wook Oppa

Did Dong Wook oppa bring the flowers home? Did he keep it nicely in his room? It's not easy to bring back such big bouquet of flowers..really wish that those flowers would never die..I guess Miss Da Hae's love towards Dong Wook oppa is as huge as the flowers!

The ribbon says: Lee Da Hae =)

Credit: Daum DongHae Suited Couple, baidu
Special thanks to zoomjack @ soompi for sharing the news with us

doozy: Haha! Wookie wanted to know where the booze came from... He's so funny. I'm glad that he had a good time at the party. Although, I had issues with his answer regarding the friendship/love question because it hit on one of my pet peeves; I hate when friends ditch you for their girlfriends/boyfriends. Nonetheless, Wookie's still cool in my eyes.
Aw, and it's nice of LDH to send him that beautiful bouquet of flowers! I wonder if the ribbon that is hidden behind the one with her name on it says "You'll be blessed." That would be hilarious. Kind of like an inside joke, the My Girl connection. Heehee. LDH is a sweetheart. It's nice to know that they're still friends after My Girl.