Kim Hye-soo to appear in tvN new drama Actress Kim Hye-soo, left, waves to photographers and fans at the 36th Blue Dragon Awards ceremony held in November 2015. / Korea Times fileActress Kim Hye-soo, 45, is filming episodes for her first cable channel drama titled “Signal.”The drama, which will start airing on Jan. 22, signal’s Kim’s return to the small screen for the first times in three years since her last appearance in “Queen of the Workplace” on KBS.Kim had been more active on the big screen in such films as “The Thieves” (2012) and “The Coin Locker Girl” (2015).The upcoming drama is garnering attention because it replaces the time slot _ Friday and Saturday 8: 30 p.m. now occupied by the highly popular “Reply 1988.”The anticipation is that Kim’s appearance, along with fellow actors Lee Je-hoon and Jo Jin-woong, will continue tvN’s success in that time slot.Kim reportedly will receive 50 million won ($42,716) per episode. She plays a 15-year veteran cop, Cha Soo-hyun.Dec 27, 2015
Comedian Lee Hwi-jae takes top honor Lee Hwi-jae and his twin sons / Screen captures from InstagramComedian Lee Hwi-jae, 42, won the Grand Prize at the“2015 KBS Entertainment Awards,” on Saturday.The other candidates were comedians Yoo Jae-suk, Lee Kyung-kyu, Kang Ho-dong, Shin Dong-yup and actor Cha Tae-hyun.Lee, 42, hosts the long-running entertainment program “Vitamin" and has also starred in “Superman Returns,” with his twins, Suh-uhn and Suh-joon, since 2013.It is the first time Lee has won the prize since making his debut in 1992.“I know this prize is for my children,” he said. “Thanks to the many people who love my sons. I will do my best to be a great father.” Dec 27, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Miss Korea presents R-rated music show Lee Honey / Courtesy of InstagramActress Lee Honey, the 2006 Miss Korea pageant winner, is holding a music concert with a sexually explicit theme. She will play the gayageum -- a Korean zither with 12 strings .Lee, 33, and Kim Ji-yeon, her friend and fellow gayageum player, are presenting “Yageum Yageum” at the COEX conference room on Dec. 26 and 27.In her first concert, Lee reportedly said nothing will hold her back from “cooking up sexually taboo subjects to interpret with the instrument and singing.”Promotional images from “Yageum Yageum” / Courtesy of InstagramIn her interview with Sports Seoul, Lee said she always wondered why Korean traditional music, gugak, is hardly enjoyed. She said she wanted to use the instrument to present subjects everyone is interested in, which has been her dream.“On TV, you have to be careful with what you say,” Lee said in the interview. “But in the concert, I will be completely vulnerable and freely expressive.”Lee, the fourth-ranker in Miss Universe 2007, has been Dec 25, 2015
Skrillex joins 4minute's comeback Skrillex and Hyuna, left, and Jihyun / Courtesy of InstagramK-pop girl band 4minute is returning to the stage with all five members, accompanied by globally known American DJ Skrillex.Band members Hyuna and Jihyun posted on Instagram Sunday photos of them with the electronic music producer and songwriter, hinting at their partnership for the coming album.Skrillex, 27, previously had rappers CL from girl band 2NE1 and G-Dragon from boy band BigBang feature in “Dirty Vibe” from his album “Recess,” released last year. An insider from the band’s management company, Cube Entertainment, said 4minute aim to make their comeback next month, according to media reports. It has been 11 months since they released their last song, “Crazy.” A music video of the number was selected as the seventh most-watched K-pop video on YouTube this year.The band debuted in 2009 with hit digital single “Hot Issue.” They held a fan tour in Latin America in November -- “2015 4minute Fan Bash in Latin America” - visiting Peru, Chile and ArgDec 25, 2015
Actress Jeong Ga-eun to marry Jeong Ga-eun / Korea Times fileActress and TV personality Jeong Ga-eun will marry a businessman on Jan. 30.The couple, who began dating earlier this year, will hold a small private wedding with family and close friends.Jeong debuted as a pageant of Miss Gyeongnam Seon in 2001, and has appeared in TV series such as “Rollercoaster” and “Sunday Sunday Night.”Dec 24, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Actor walks free over wife's death in car crash Park Sang-won and the late Kim Hwa-ran (inbox) / Screen capture from YouTubeActor Park Sang-won has avoided jail after a court reduced his sentence over a car crash in which his wife, actress Kim Hwa-ran, 52, died in September.On Thursday, Gwangju District Court’s Mokpo branch sentenced Park, 48, to four months’ jail, suspended for one year.On Dec. 10, prosecutors had sentenced him to a year in jail on a charge of violation of the Act on Special Cases concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents.Park, who had pleaded not guilty, said he would not seek to appeal, saying he did not have the will to continue the court battle and would “accept the judgment and live honestly for my wife to see from up there,”Park crashed his car in Shinan-gun, South Jeolla Province, on Sept. 18. Park said he was turning a corner when he unexpectedly saw a trailer. He tried to avoid it, but crashed. He said there was an unusual amount of sand on the street.Mokpo police suspected Park might have intentionally crashed his car to kill his wife and get her insurance money.PoDec 24, 2015
god captivates fans in late 20s and 30s The five members of the K-pop group god hold their hands for their farewell at Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Jamil, Seoul, on Dec. 16. From left are rappers Danny Ahn and Park Joon-hyung and singers Kim Tae-woo, Yoon Kye-sang and Son Ho-young. / Courtesy of s!dus HQBy Kim Jae-heunThe five-member K-pop group god held its year-end concert series “godDAY” at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Jamsil, Seoul, from Dec. 16 to 20.Each member took the role of emcee for one of the shows that went on for five consecutive days, performing some 20 hit songs from their “million-seller” albums. The band, whose name is an acronym for Groove Over Dose, debuted in 1999 with their single “To Mother” on one of the nation’s biggest music labels, JYP Entertainment. Their fourth album “Chapter 4,” released in Nov. 2001, became a multi-million seller and won awards from all three of Korea’s major broadcasting companies. The band is now praised as “legends of K-pop” along with other groups from their time, such as boy bands Shinhwa, H.Dec 24, 2015
Singer gives 75 million won to sex slaves /Screen captures from FacebookVeteran singer Lee Moon-se has donated 75 million won to Korean victims of the Japanese military’s sexual enslavement of women.Lee, 58, visited Nonoom House (House of Sharing), a house for comfort women in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday to donate money earned from selling Christmas cards he made.Under the project, “Lee Moon-see’s X-friends Art Collaboration,” the singer worked with popular illustrators and calligraphers to make Christmas cards.Lee said he decided to donate money when he sang his hit song, “A Little Girl” at the DMZ Peace Concert on Aug. 15.Lee said he thought of the victims while singing because they also used to be ordinary little girls.“Please let us solve the historical issue and hope the victims spend their latter years in comfort,” he said.He also wrote a message on his Facebook page: “You remain as the most beautiful and little girls forever.”Nanoom House said it would spend the money on welfare of the women.Only 46 Koreans are left of 238 victims registered withDec 24, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Funny basketballer dominates Wednesday night TV Seo Jang-hoon from "Radio Star" on Wednesday / Screen capture from YouTubeBasketballer-turned-TV personality Seo Jang-hoon, who appeared on MBC entertainment program “Radio Star” on Wednesday night, has again showed he can rule a show not just with his 207-centimeter height, but with his jokes.Seo kept expressing discomfort at being jibed at by one of the show’s hosts, Kim Gu-ra. The two are known to be friends, but on the show they have a dog-and-cat relationship, making fun of each other based on their personal relationship.Some media reports said the pair showed wonderful chemistry.Even when Kim mentioned Seo’s divorced wife a -- former TV announcer Oh Jung-yeon -- Seo, 41, managed to turn the matter into a source of laughter.Seo and Kim now work together on three TV programs, including MBC’s “Three Wheels.”Seo from video ad for satellite broadcasting provider KT Skylife / Screen capture from YouTube The rising star’s transition from his basketball heydays to show business has so far proved successful.After playing ceDec 24, 2015
Rain returns to small screen Rain / Korea Times fileSinger Rain will return to TV in new drama “Comeback, Mister” after a 15-month break.The drama is based on Japanese novel “Mr. Tsubakiyama’s Seven Days,” published in 2002.It is about manager Kazuaki Tsubakiyama who dies of overwork the night after the opening of a major sale at the department store where he works. Tsubakiyama returns to this world briefly after an appeal to authorities in the afterlife.Rain, whose name is Jung Ji-hoon, will play Lee Hae-joon, a 40-something dorky manager of the department store. Lee becomes a charming 30-something manager of women’s apparel when he returns.The drama will air in February.Dec 23, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
