'Signal' sets another rating record "Signal" / Courtesy of tvNPopular cable channel drama “Signal” has set another record.The Friday/Saturday drama on tvN registered a national rating average of 9.2 percent for the 10th episode on Feb. 20, up 1.4 percent from the previous episode on Feb. 19, according to Nielsen Korea and reports.The drama, starring Kim Hye-soo, Cho Jin-woong and Lee Je-hoon, is about detectives working on unsolved cases as the statute of limitations for first-degree murder is scrapped.In the 10th episode, Cha Soo-hyun (Kim), tried to solve consecutive murder case. Feb 21, 2016
'Youth over Flowers' posts record viewership Scenes from tvN's "Youth over Flowers" in Africa /Courtesy of tvN By Kwon Ji-youn The first episode of cable channel tvN’s “Youth over Flowers in Africa” registered a national rating of 12.7 percent Friday, a record among all of tvN’s “Flower” series. These include “Youth over Flowers in Iceland,” which posted 6.0 percent in viewership when its last episode aired on Feb. 12.The third season of “Youth over Flowers” takes Ryu Jun-yeol, Ko Kyung-pyo, Park Bo-gum and Ahn Jae-hong -- the four male leads of “Reply 1988” -- to Namibia, a country on the southwest coast of Africa that shares borders with Zambia, Angola, Botswana and South Africa.In the first episode, Ryu, Ko and Ahn are kidnapped by the producers during a vacation in Phuket, Thailand, and are jetted off to Africa, where they experience difficulties renting a car.Park is put back on a plane shortly after arriving in Seoul from Thailand, but misses his transfer flight.“Youth over Flowers in Africa" airs on tvN on Friday evenings at 9:45Feb 20, 2016
Lee Mi-yeon raises thorny gender issue Lee Mi-yeon, right, and host Sohn Suk-hee from "Newsroom" on JTBC, ThursdayActress Lee Mi-yeon has highlighted a gender issue that still plagues the acting industry.Appearing on JTBC’s “Newsroom” Thursday, Lee, 44, said she does not like the way Koreans often refer to actresses as “a female actor” while male actors are just “an actor.”“While people want actresses to perform well, they also come up with a wistful idea that we should appear more glamorous than what our ages naturally define us as,” Lee said. “We want not to shy away from scenes with a moderate level of explicitness and at the same time be proud of how old we are. But it is not as easy as you think.”Lee, third from right, with cast of movie "Like for Likes"Lee, who stars in romantic-comedy movie “Like for Likes” that opened in theaters Wednesday, also said being a good person does not necessarily lead to being a good actor.“You cannot be a good actor unless you are sensitive,” she said. “To go into the mind of a chaFeb 19, 2016
Namgung Min cements role as villain Namgung Min from “Remember ― War of the Son” on SBS Actor Namgung Min has become the new villain king.The nickname came as his TV drama, “Remember ― War of the Son” on SBS, ended Thursday after 20 episodes that started in December.With the last episode recording a 20 percent rating, the popular drama drew viewers’ attention that was largely directed at Nam Gyu-man (Namgung Min), a twisted and rich antagonist responsible for a crime that was wrongfully attributed to the father of the male lead, Seo Jin-woo (Yoo Seung-ho).A typical good-triumphing-over-evil court drama, the plot revolves around Seo, a lawyer, who tries to prove his father’s innocence. It portrayed Nam pretending to be free of remorse, despite his involvement in the crime, until the last episode, in which he is sentenced to death and then chooses to kill himself in prison.“Nam was the most important character in the series, because what has led the plot was him destroying what everyone wanted so badly - justice,” online daily My Daily reported the Feb 19, 2016
MBC '복면가왕(King of Mask Singer)' 제목부터 '콩글리시' ‘마스크를 쓴’이라는 형용사형이 되기 위해서는 Masked가 되어야(서울=코리아타임스) 박시수 기자 = 한국의 대표 영자신문 코리아타임스는 대중들에게 커다란 영향을 주는 방송프로그램이나 공공기관 등에서 잘못 사용되고 있는 영어표현을 지적하고 바로잡는 “콩글리시 단속반 (Konglish Buster)”시리즈를 시작합니다.첫 번째 단속대상(?)은 인기리에 방영되고 있는 MBC 예능프로그램 “복면가왕” 입니다. 제작진이 지은 영어 이름은 “King of Mask Singer.” 하지만 이는 문법적으로 틀린 이름입니다. Mask의 용법은 명사형(마스크)과 동사형(마스크를 쓰다) 두 가지가 있습니다. “마스크를 쓴”이라는 형용사형이 되기 위해서는 끝에 -ed를 붙여 Masked가 되어야 합니다. 즉, 복면가왕의 정확한 영어표현은 “King of Masked Singer”입니다.“복면가왕”의 민철기 PD는 코리아타임스와의 통화에서 “프로그램 작명을 할 때 미국인 지인에게 자문을 구했는데 Mask와 Masked둘 다 가능하다고 해서 둘 중에 짧은 Mask를 선택했다”고 말했습니다. 이어서 그는 “원어민이 괜찮다고 하니 문제가 없는 것으로 생각했다”고 했습니다.MBC관계자는 사내에 통역사가 있어서 프로그램의 영어이름에 대한 자문을 해주기는 하지만 강제사항이 아니라고 했습니다.대한민국에서 “콩글리시”가 사라지는 그날까지 “콩글리시 단속반”은 계속 됩니다.▶ 여러분의 제보를 기다립니다. 관련된 사진과 촬영 장소 등 사실확인에 필요한 정보를 parksisoo@naver.com으로 알려주시면 감사하겠습니다. Feb 19, 2016
Foreign artist gets 'King of Mask Singer' gig MBC's singing competition program "King of Mask Singer"/ Courtesy of MBCA famous foreign pop singer will appear on TV show “King of Mask Singer,” which airs Sunday evening on MBC, it was reported Friday.It will be the first time a foreign artist has appeared. There is speculation the singer is Filipino-American Jeff Bernat.Contestants are disguised wit masks and nicknames during the competition./ Courtesy of MBCThe weekly program shows celebrities competing to become a “singing king” or “singing queen” while remaining unidentified. Contestants wear masks, have nicknames and talk in a helium-induced voice to show host Kim Sung-joo and judges. Feb 19, 2016
Actor Ahn Jae-hyun joins season 2 of 'New Journey to the West' Actor Ahn Jae-hyun will replace actor Lee Seung-gi in the second season of the tvN variety show "New Journey to the West," producers said Friday.Ahn has left for Chengdu in China's Sichuan Province to shoot the sequel for the online show, which immediately garnered tens of thousands of views on Naver upon release in September, tvN said.Ahn rose to stardom after playing the younger brother of Cheong Song-yi (Jun Ji-hyun) on the SBS sci-fi rom-com "My Love from the Star" in 2014.He also appeared on the same network's police drama "You're All Surrounded" and was the leading man in "Blood," a KBS 2TV vampire series.Ahn replaces Lee, who started his mandatory military service on Feb. 1. The service is required of all able-bodied South Korean men and lasts about two years.Produced by Na Young-seok of the legendary KBS variety show "Two Days, One Night," "New Journey to the West" reunites the comedy trio of Kang Ho-dong, Eun Ji-won and Lee Soo-geun. (Yonhap)Feb 19, 2016
Jeon Do-yeon returns to small screen Jeon Do-yeon / YonhapTop actress Jeon Do-yeon, 43, will return to the small screen for the first time in 11 years in TV drama “Good Wife.”It is a remake of American TV drama “The Good Wife” on the CBS network.Jeon will star as a lawyer and wife of a prosecutor who becomes embroiled in a political scandal.The drama marks the long-awaited return to TV for Jeon, after her role in famous SBS drama “Lovers in Prague” in 2005. "A Man and Woman" / Courtesy of Daum MovieThe new tvN show will air in July. Meanwhile, Jeon has been promoting her new film, “A Man and A Woman,” which premieres on Feb. 25. Gong Yoo also stars in the film. Feb 18, 2016
성현아 성매매 혐의 파기 환송돼 /Screen capture from Twitter2010년도에 사업가 A씨로부터 거액을 받고 이른바 ‘스폰서 계약’을 맺어 성매매 혐의를 받고 있는 배우 성현아가 18일 날 대법원 1부에서 혐의를 벗게 되었다. 성현아는 3차례 성관계를 맺는 대가로 A씨로부터 총 5,000만원을 받은 혐의로 약식 기소되어 1,2,3심 법원에서 200만원 벌금 판결을 받은 지 1년이 넘는 시간 끝에 받은 판결이다.당시 법원은 ‘A씨의 진술이 일관적이고 자신이 형사 처벌을 감수하면서까지 성매매를 인정해 성현아를 모험할 특별한 이유가 없다’라는 이유로 유죄 판결을 내렸다.하지만 이인복 대법관이 주관한 대법원 1부는 성매매는 모르는 사람과 금전적 대가를 받고 성관계를 갖는 것이지만, 성현아가 당시 재혼 상대 찾고 있는 것이 일관되는점, 지인에게 A씨가 어떤 사람인지 물어봤던 점, A씨와 성관계 없이도 몇 차례 만난점을 들어 수원지법이 내린 원심을 깨고 파기 환송하여 돌려보냈다. 원심판결을 파기하고 다시 심판시키기 위해 원심법원으로 돌려보내는 것을 파기환송이라고 한다. Feb 18, 2016
Conan O'Brien gets role in Korean TV drama / Courtesy of MBCConan O’Brien has made a special appearance in MBC TV drama “Happy Once Again.”Conan O'Brien / Courtesy of MBCHe posted a photo on Instagram with actress Jang Na-ra, who stars in the drama, saying: “Had the honor of appearing on Korean soap opera ‘Happy Once Again’ with the beautiful Na-ra Jang. She was great. I was terrible.”/ Screen capture from Kakao StoryMBC has not revealed O’Brien’s role, but his character’s name is “Kim Go-nan,” it said. The episode airs Thursday./ Screen capture from Kakao StoryO’Brien also donated a live octopus he bought at Norayngjin Fish Market in Seoul on Monday to COEX Aquarium. He named it “Samuel.”.Feb 18, 2016
