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Kwon Mee-yoo

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.

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People & Events

Kara members end deals with DSP Media

By Kwon Mee-yoo Four members of the girl group Kara, after sweeping both Korea and Japan with their popular music and dance, announced the termination of their contract with their agency, Wednesday. Landmark, a law firm representing four of the five group members — Han Seung-yeon, Gu Ha-ra, Nicole Jung and Kang Ji-young — said Wednesday that the exclusive contract is no longer valid and called on the agency to stop all management activities. The group's leader Park Gyu-lee did not join the move. The remaining four members said through the law firm that they cannot trust the agency anymore. "Kara is in full bloom in Korea and Japan, but the agency is trying to use the girl group only for commercial purposes, and the members could not take it anymore," their legal representative Hong Myung-ho of Landmark said. The four members said that they are deeply distressed and disappointed by the agency’s misuse of its power which forced them to engage in unwanted activities and sometimes face personal insults. They finally made the decision after suffering from dep

Jan 19, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Arts & Theater

Varekai brings magical forest in circus

By Kwon Mee-yoo Cirque du Soleil, the world-famous circus troupe from Canada, returns to Korea with “Varekai” in April. Premiered in Montreal, Canada, in April 2002, “Varekai” tells the story of Icarus from Greek mythology. In the myth, Icarus falls to his death when he flies too close to the sun with wings made from feathers and wax. However, director Dominic Champagne brought him back to life as he lands in the mysterious forest of Varekai. The show was performed in some 60 cities since the Canadian premiere and more than 6 million people have been enchanted by the kaleidoscopic forest populated by fantastical creatures. Fifty-six artists from the Cirque du Soleil troupe will perform “Varekai,” a smooth enactment of a dramatic story combined with acrobatic feats including aerial hoops and straps, Georgian Dance, hand-balancing on canes, juggling, a triple trapeze and more. “Varekai” means “wherever” in the Romani language and bears the message that wherever the wind carries a person could be their new home. The characters include Icarus, the reckless young man w

Jan 19, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Shows & Dramas

TVXQs Chang-min takes on acting in Paradise

By Kwon Mee-yoo Will another member of TVXQ make a successful transition into acting? Next week, SBS will air a new drama “Paradise Farm” featuring Shim Chang-min, or Max of the boy band, opposite actress Lee Yeon-hee. The 16-episode drama, produced by Samhwa Networks and Shim’s agency SM Entertainment, already finished filming last May but has been waiting to be scheduled for months. With a timeslot finally confirmed in the last week of January, the producers held a press conference Tuesday in Mok-dong, Seoul. “This is a cheerful and innocent drama portraying a young, healthy love story set against the marvelous landscape of Jeju Island,” SBS producer Kim Jung-min said. The drama tells the story of a formerly married young couple who meet again at a horse farm. Shim will play the role of Han Dong-ju, the grandson of a tycoon who behaves as he pleases. Han is sent to the beautiful island of Jeju to develop a resort but ends up living in his ex-wife’s house. “This is my acting debut and I spent almost half a year filming it,” Shim said. Shim is the last memb

Jan 18, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Arts & Theater

Gallo brings Broadway know-how to Tears of Heaven

By Kwon Mee-yoo “We need more colorful fruits.” David Gallo was busy discussing props with local assistants when The Korea Times visited the Tony-winning scenic designer in central Seoul last week. He was adding the finishing touches for staging an outdoor market in Saigon, or now Ho Chi Minh City, for the upcoming musical “Tears of Heaven,” produced by Seol & Company. He said Korean staffers were surprising when it came to details. “On Broadway, people tend to be more interpretative and take the design as a suggestion,” he said. “Prop people in Korea are more specific and get us exactly what we ask for.” Director Gabriel Barre, who met Gallo while working on the off-Broadway musical “Wild Party” by Andrew Lippa in 2000, invited the top designer to Korea. “Tears of Heaven,” which aims to expand to a larger audience overseas, features other talent from Broadway — music by Frank Wildhorn of the famed “Jekyll and Hyde,” book by Phoebe Hwang and lyrics by Robin Lerner. The musical is about a young orphaned woman Tianna living in the United States, who was born to

Jan 16, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
People & Events

Hyun Bin volunteers to join Marine Corps

By Kwon Mee-yoo Heartthrob Hyun Bin, 29, who has won over the nation with the ongoing drama "Secret Garden," has applied to join the Marine Corps and will start his military service in March if he passes the screening. The Military Manpower Administration (MMA) said Hyun was interviewed for the Marine Corps in December and the result will be announced on Feb. 20. "The competition rate for entering the Marine Corps is around 4:1 this time. We will consider physical strength, academic background, voluntary service and more to select the successful candidates. There are no additional points for celebrities and Hyun will be evaluated on the same criteria as other applicants," an MMA official said. Hyun's agency AM Entertainment said Wednesday that the actor did not want to join the entertainment unit and chose to apply for the Marine Corps by himself. “"Hyun Bin has so far focused on his sound image as an actor and also has had a good impression of the Marines,” an official of the agency said. Busy filming the last episodes of "Secret Garden," which will end this Sunday,

Jan 12, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Shows & Dramas

Trouble-making investigators gather at MSS drama

By Kwon Mee-yoo A CSI world with an anarchic comic twist? Trouble-making crime investigators will be chasing after serial murderers this week on local television. “Special Task Force MSS” is part of a KBS Drama Special, filled with new challenges for directors making short series consisting of four or eight episodes. The Drama Special originally was composed of weekly one-act dramas, but the station is trying something new this time. “MSS” stands for “musosok,” which means “independent” in Korean. In other words, the officers of MSS are removed from their original positions and sent to a special unit to prevent further troubles. However, they once again join to solve murder cases. No Cheol-gi (Oh Man-seok) is a fabulous troublemaker police officer who turns off a whole building’s power supply just to catch a pickpocket. Oh said he is enjoying playing the character of No as he is a fun and unique investigator. “Appearing on such one-act dramas or short series is a meaningful experience for me, too,” Oh said during an on-spot interview at KBS Suwon Studio last week. “

Jan 11, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Shows & Dramas

KidZania recruits kids for congress

KidZania, a role-play theme park for children, invites children who want to be congress members for a year. KidZania Seoul is a small-size replica of an actual city giving children job experience in advance located in Jamsil, southern Seoul. The facility is a Mexican chain and opened its eighth branch in Seoul last year. Any children from first grade to fifth grade in elementary school in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province can apply. International residents can also participate if they can speak Korean. The 14 selected children and a guardian can enter KidZania for free. They have to attend a monthly council and will have opportunities to visit some 50 KidZania partner companies as well as overseas branches. They also can experience new facilities at the theme park prior to public opening. The first 14 congress children of KidZania participated in monthly meetings and visited KidZania’s partner company Korean Air and MBC and KidZania Tokyo for international exchange. Applications can be made at www.kidzania.co.kr and applicants should upload the written application form,

Jan 11, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Others

Sufficient communication essential for treatment

By Kwon Mee-yoo Cho So-yun, 42, chair at the department of dermatology at Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, said that as the skin is the largest organ of the human body, dermatological research is essential to raise the quality of life. Dedicated to treating patients and researching pathology, Cho won the third Asia-Pacific La Roche-Posay Foundation Award for clinical research section with a project titled "A study on the prognostic value of clinical and histopathological features of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans in Korean patients" in December. Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans is a rare tumor in the dermis layer of the skin. It makes the skin lump together and can cause death if metastasized to other organs. The symptoms are similar to that of keloid, or an overgrown scar, and is difficult to be distinguished. Cho collected only 65 cases of the neoplasm in three hospitals ― Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital and SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center ― from 2000 to 2009. "The skin tumor

Jan 9, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
K-pop

Secret Garden soundtrack live in concert

By Kwon Mee-yoo Music from “Secret Garden,” an SBS drama sweeping the nation featuring the love story of Kim Ju-won (Hyun Bin) and Gil Ra-im (Ha Ji-won), will be performed live in a concert featuring songs from the soundtrack. The audience can listen to the live version of the music that enriched the soap opera as well as seeing the actors and singers in person at the Dome Art Hall at Children’s Grand Park, Saturday at 8 p.m. The concert will bring the story of a rich but arrogant president of a department store Kim and a brave stunt woman Gil and their soul-switching on stage through music. Singer Baek Ji-young and R&B group 4Men will perform at the concert to give a live rendition of the songs that featured in the drama. Baek will sing “That Woman,” the main title of the soap opera, and 4Men will deliver “Here I Am.” Actor Yoon Sang-hyun, who stars in the drama as hallyu (Korean wave) singer Oscar, will sing the songs of the character such as “Watching” and a brand-new song for the concert. Yoon has already released singles in both Korea and Japan and has been recogn

Jan 9, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Shows & Dramas

Star-studded soaps vie for Wed.-Thurs. slots

By Kwon Mee-yoo Two television dramas kick off simultaneously tonight, seeking to dominate the Wednesday-Thursday night scene with the end of Ko Hyun-jung’s “Daemul,” which won the grand prize at the 2010 SBS Drama Award. “Sign” on SBS and “My Princess” on MBC are totally different in concept. While “Sign” is a medical crime investigation drama, “My Princess” is a romantic comedy featuring Korean royalty. Medical thrills in ‘Sign’ Set with the backdrop of the National Forensic Service (NFS), the 16-episode drama will have one main case, running parallel with three to four smaller ones. Movie director Jang Hang-joon has turned to the small screen and said having 16 separate episodes for each installment will be an adventure in Korea, as viewers can download them one by one. Actor Park Shin-yang plays Yun Ji-hun, a talented forensic doctor who teams up with newcomer Go Da-gyeong (Kim Ah-joong) and confronts Lee Myeong-han (Chun Kwang-yol), the chief of the NFS. Park returns to television two years after appearing in “The Painter of Wind” (2008). He was in a dispu

Jan 4, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
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