Midweek roundup: In case you missed it

Kim Hye-soo speaks during a press event for her new television drama “God of Company Life” Monday. / Yonhap

By Kim Tong-hyung

Here’s your midweek update on stories in entertainment and the media you might have missed while reading about the sex-obsessed power elite, Kim Jong-un allegedly tampering with the Internet, or because your life is probably a lot more fulfilling than ours.

Please ladies, write your own theses

These have been embarrassing times for celebrities and public personalities who presented themselves as fountains of wisdom, as if they had great insight into people, politics and social issues. It was found that a number of these self-appointed experts had similar skeletons in their closets: they cut-and-pasted their way into attaining degrees at universities.

First to be exposed was self-help author and public speaker Kim Mi-kyung, one of those curious people who are famous for being famous. A show she fronted was consequently canceled from a cable television channel. Then there was comedian-turned-political pundit Kim Mi-hwa, who admitted that she plagiarized her master’s thesis for a degree she received from Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) in 2011 and had to resign from her radio show.

The latest star to be accused of faking her academic credentials is actress Kim Hye-soo, movie bombshell and preacher of female empowerment, who also received a master’s degree from SKKU in 2001. The school’s PR people could punch the professors who facilitated these falsehoods right now.

Unlike Mi-kyung and Mi-hwa, however, Hye-soo didn’t have to take a hit to her income. After casually apologizing for her fake thesis, as if dusting dandruff from her shoulders, Hye-soo is now back in the limelight, promoting her new television drama, "God of Company Life.’’ Having good looks in Korean society is indisputably a guaranteed source of empowerment.

Period dramas off to stumbling starts

Have Koreans finally lost their taste for period dramas after being bashed about the head with them in the past 20 years? MBC television, which can’t seem to get anything right these days, is disappointed about the low viewing figures of its new series, "Gu Am Heo Jun,’’ based on a legendary Joseon Kingdom era royal doctor, after spending several months hyping it.

According to Nielsen Korea, the sixth episode that aired on Monday only attracted 5.4 percent of viewers. This dismal statistic is alarming for the network, which had confidence enough in Heo Jun to schedule it for broadcast every weekday.

Heo Jun is the life story of Heo (1539–1615), a court physician during the reign of King Seonjo who authored the influential medical textbook "Dongeuibogam,’’ but despite some well-established facts about this historical figure, the writers were predictably liberal in mixing fact with fiction.

MBC can ill-afford to let Heo Jun become another flop, after "Horse Doctor,’’ another period piece, recently ended its six-month run earlier this week in relative obscurity.

JTBC’s new period drama "War of Flowers’’ has also been a ratings letdown, although KBS television is managing to do better with its weekend series ``King’s Dream,’’ which is attracting audience numbers in the low teens.

Sol cries on talk show

Actor Sol Kyung-koo on Monday appeared on the SBS television talk show, "Healing Camp,’’ which exists for the sole purpose of enabling celebrities to sob in front of the camera; and he sobbed in front of the camera. He talked about his hardship as a poor thespian and the effort he invested before finding success as a movie actor.

Sol’s appearance on Healing Camp garnered rapt attention because it was anticipated that he would address malicious Internet rumors about his personal life, including those related to his messy divorce and remarriage to actress Song Yun-ah.

However, much to viewer frustration, Healing Camp saved that part of the interview for next week. So for now, online haters can resume hating him.

Lee Honey to star in 'Chicago’

Lee Honey

Beauty-pageant winner-turned-actress-turned-TV cook-turned-vegetarian campaigner Lee Honey is ready to act again. The 30-year-old landed the role of Roxie Heart in the latest tour of the musical "Chicago,’’ which will begin in May. It will be her first theater appearance since playing the leading role in the musical version of ``Legally Blonde’’ in 2008.

"I have loved Chicago for a long time and always wanted to play in it. I am delighted to be playing Roxie Heart,’’ Lee said through her agency, King Kong Entertainment. Heart is the main character in Chicago, an aspiring actress who becomes famous after she shoots and kills an extramarital lover.

The tour of Chicago will kick off in Daegu on May 1 and move through Ulsan, Busan, Gwangju and Daejeon before reaching Seoul in June.