TV's Oh Sang-jin, Kim So-young dating Oh Sang-jin and Kim So-young By Bahk Eun-ji TV personalities Oh Sang-jin and Kim So-young have been dating for a year, their management companies confirmed Tuesday.“They have been together for about a year, but no further plan, including marriage, has been decided,” Prain TPC said.Oh joined MBC as a news anchor in 2006. He left the broadcaster in 2012 and began an acting career, starring in popular drama “My Love from the Star” in 2013.Kim joined MBC as an anchor in 2012 and has been hosting “News Today.”Apr 5, 2016
China falls for Park Hae-jin on TV Park Hae-jin from tvN TV drama “Cheese in the Trap” By Ko Dong-hwanActor Park Hae-jin proved Saturday he is the hottest hallyu star in China, with his appearance on a Chinese TV variety show drawing huge interest on mainland TV and the Internet.The star from the tvN TV drama “Cheese in the Trap,” which ended in early March, was a guest on Hunan Broadcasting System’s “Happy Camp.” With the drama’s blockbuster boom in China and Park’s role of attractive college student Yoo Jung becoming a sensation among local fans, the latest episode was highly anticipated.Park showed Chinese fans what he was made of, stealing the hearts of Chinese female celebrities by reprising the romance-charged role of Yoo Jung ― caressing them from behind, kissing their eyes, and combing through their hair with his hands ― as well as showing athleticism with a pull-up bar display and a pillow fight.Park from Hunan Broadcasting System’s "Happy Camp," Saturday / Yonhap “One hundred female college students chanted one naApr 4, 2016
SM's new K-pop band NCT U to debut this week By Bahk Eun-ji S.M. Entertainment said Monday it will debut its new K-pop boy band NCT U under a new idol management system this weekend.Two units of NCT U will make their debuts separately on April 9 and 10. NCT U, which stands for“Neo Culture Technology,” is part of a multi-member band system and the first act under the agency’s new idol management system. NCT U is more of a boy band brand, with local units to be based in major cities around the world.The members of the two NCT U units will be introduced on the band’s website and multiple media channels run by the company.The announcement comes after S.M.'s founder and CEO Lee Soo-man revealed plans in January to create a neo-boy band system with unprecedented flexibility in locality and member selection. Apr 4, 2016
Shin Hyun-joon becomes father Shin Hyun-joonBy Bahk Eun-ji Actor Shin Hyun-joon, 47, uploaded a photo of his newborn baby’s footprint to Instagram, Monday morning.He said his wife gave birth that morning, three years after they were married.Along with the photo, Shin wrote “Thank God and my wife. I love you all.”Shin began his acting career in 1989 in famous director Im Kwon-taek’s film “General’s Son.” He is best known for his 2003 role in the popular SBS drama “Stairway to Heaven.” / Screen capture from InstagramApr 4, 2016
101 girls down to 'I.O.I' (From top) Jeon Somi, Kim Se-jeong and Choi Yoo-jung / Courtesy of MnetBy Ko Dong-hwanMnet’s TV audition program “Produce 101,” in which viewers voted online for their favorite among 101 female trainees from different entertainment agencies in a bid to launch a K-pop girl band, selected the final 11 on Friday. The winners’ stage name is “I.O.I.”Jeon Somi from JYP Entertainment received the most votes out of the 11 winners ― 858,000. She was followed by Kim Se-jeong from Jellyfish with more than 525,000 votes and Choi Yoo-jung from Fantagio with more than 438,000. The band began its official entity on Sunday night by posting a selfie video on V, an online channel for smartphone users where celebrities broadcast live creative content.The four-minute video titled “I.O.I First V time!” attracted more than 60,000 viewers simultaneously. By Monday, it had collected more than 1.8 million hearts, which V users click to send if they like a video ― similar to Facebook’s “Like” function.“We are currentlyApr 4, 2016
TWICE's music video hits 50 million The music video of "Like OOH-AHH" by South Korean girl group TWICE has drawn 50 million views on YouTube, its star management said on Monday.The nine-member act achieved its first 50 million YouTube hit on Monday less than six months after its debut with "Like OOH-AHH," JYP Entertainment said in a press release.As of 10:51 a.m., the video scored 50,117,988 views. "Like OOH-AHH" is the group's debut song put up on the video sharing website on Oct. 19, 2015."This is the fastest achievement of all debut songs by K-pop girl groups," the giant agency said.The music video was released a day before TWICE's first album "The Story Begins," with six songs, including its title track "Like OOH-AHH."Following the popularity of "Like OOH-AHH," the song's practice video with mirrored choreography also flew high, with 5 million views after it was released on YouTube a week later than the album. (Yonhap)Apr 4, 2016
Troublemaker celebrities return From left are comedian Lee Soo-geun, singer Tony An, and entertainer Kim Yong-man who will return to the small screen after being suspended for engaging in illegal gambling. / Korea Times, YonhapBy Park Jin-haiSinger-turned-entertainer Tak Jae-hoon, who has been out of the public eye for over two years after being embroiled in an illegal online sports gambling controversy, finally makes his full-fledged return to the small screen.Local broadcaster MBC lifted the ban on Tak, which prevented him from appearing on its programs, on April 1, almost instantly followed by the news that the 47-year-old entertainer will return to the limelight through the cable channel Mnet’s pseudo-documentary “The God of Music 2” and Channel A’s new reality show with working title “Back to University.”Tak, a versatile entertainer hosting a number of shows, was jailed for six months and received a suspended sentence for one year in 2013 for gambling hundreds of millions of won on illegal betting sites, together with comedians Lee Soo-geun, Kim Yong-man and singer TonyApr 3, 2016
New hallyu dawns on 'Descendants of the Sun' A scene from the KBS drama “Descendants of the Sun” Song Joong-ki, lead actor in “Descendants of the Sun,” has emerged as a new hallyu star./ YonhapSong Hye-kyo wearing a J.Estina ecobag in a scene from the “Descendants of the Sun”By Park Jin-haiThe final episode of KBS blockbuster drama “Descendants of the Sun” will be broadcast on April 14, but its popularity continues to grow, within and beyond Korea.The 12th and latest episode of the military-romance drama aired last Thursday had a viewership rating of 33 percent here.Backed by the drama’s immense popularity, lead actor Song Joong-ki, playing unrealistically perfect special unit chief Yoo Si-jin, has become the first ever actor to appear as guest in KBS News 9, a prime time news broadcast, to be interviewed.“Descendants of the Sun” is set in the fictional war-torn country of Uruk and Song Joong-ki’s character Yoo falls in love with Kang Mo-yeon, a doctor from non-profit organization Doctors Without Borders played by sweetheart Song Hye-kyoApr 3, 2016
Park Hae-jin's fan meeting will be broadcast live via Naver app South Korean actor Park Hae-jin's fan meeting will be live streamed, his agency said Friday.The fan meeting, in time for the 10th anniversary of Park's debut, is slated to take place at the SK Handball Gymnasium in Seoul's Olympic Park at 5 p.m. on April 23.The event will be available via "V," a live broadcasting app operated by South Korea's biggest portal site Naver, in various countries including Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, America, Malaysia and the Philippines.In China, the country's biggest content sharing site Youku will exclusively show the event on its site.The complimentary event for 4,000 attendees is designed to respond to fans' unwavering support for the star for the past decade.Separately, the 32-year-old will hold a fan meeting in June in Taiwan where he enjoys huge popularity for his role in South Korean cable TV channel tvN's "Cheese in the Trap."Park rose to stardom in the wider China region after "My Love from the Star" on SBS became a huge sensation in Asia in 2014. (Yonhap)Apr 1, 2016
Taiwan crazy over Twice member's test Taiwanese TV news covers Chou Tzuyu writing a test at a local school. / Screen capture from YouTube By Ko Dong-hwanChou TzuyuTaiwanese singer Chou Tzuyu, of K-pop girl band Twice, recently caused a commotion in her motherland when media outlets covered her sitting a test at a local school.On March 20, at an elementary school in southern Taiwan, the singer, 16, took the test that is required to graduate to middle school. Tzuyu, after completing her test, left a note on her desk that included her name and a message for the school.People, including schoolchildren, swarmed to take a peek at the desk, which the school put behind tape to limit access.JYP Entertainment, the star’s agency, said Thursday Tzuyu passed the test and will attend a high school in Korea.The singer made headlines in January when she waved a Taiwanese flag while appearing in Korea’s online broadcast show “My Little Television,” triggering a backlash from Chinese viewers. They considered the star’s seemingly casual behavior as her hidden inclination to join Taiwan’s nationApr 1, 2016
