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.
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.
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! 
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.
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. 
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. 
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!
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!
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, 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 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
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?
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.
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.
Mukgu-fied reached 10,000 hits today. Woot woot!
THANK YOU, fellow netizens for your support!
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!
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?
