Star's brother believed to have killed himself Nam Bo-ra / Screen capture from InstagramActress Nam Bo-ra’s younger brother has died in an apparent suicide, reports said Monday.Nam, 26, has eight brothers and four sisters. Her large family appeared on the KBS TV program “Screening Humanity” in 2008, which coincidentally led to Nam making her debut as an actress.Will Entertainment, Nam’s management company, would not reveal details about Nam’s younger brother, for privacy reasons.Nam has appeared in several TV series including “Glory Jane” and “Moon Embracing the Sun.”The actress wrapped up the SBS TV series “My Heart Twinkle Twinkle,” in April. Dec 28, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Lee Seo-jin returns to small screen Lee Seo-jin /Korea Times file Actor Lee Seo-jin, 44, will appear in MBC’s new Saturday-Sunday TV drama, tentatively titled “100 days’ Wife.”The drama is a story about a terminally-ill single mother who enters into a contract marriage for her daughter. Lee plays the role of the male protagonist, that of a veteran song writer, Han Ji-hoon, who is popular among women for his good manners.Lee’s last small screen role was last year with the drama “Good Days” that aired on KBS. Since then, he has appeared in various popular reality TV shows such as “Grandpas Over Flowers” and “Three Meals a Day.”The new drama will air in February next year. Dec 28, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Nana again 'most beautiful face' Nana / Korea Times fileNana, a former member of the K-pop girl band After School, has TC Candler’s list of “100 The Most Beautiful Face of 2015” disclosed via SNS and YouTube, reports said Sunday.It is the second TC Candler’s honor for Nana, 24, whose real name is Im Jin-ah.She has been more active in China this year, where she has featured in such films as “Go Lalal Go 2” with Ariel Lin, Vic Zhou and Chen Bolin. Dec 27, 2015
Cook TV, retro, cable dominate small screens in 2015 Star chef Baek Jong-won in a scene from MBC’s “My Little Television” / Korea TimesKim Tae-ho Shin Won-ho Na Young-seokBy Kwon Ji-younCook TV, music shows and drama series broadcast on Friday and Saturday evenings dominated the small screen this year, with star chefs, big name producers and oldies putting idol groups and reality shows to shame.If 2014 saw celebrity juniors take center stage, 2015 placed the spotlight on celebrity cooks. Music shows found breakthroughs with innovative formats, while KBS’s “The Producers” and tvN’s “Reply 1988” kept viewers at home on Friday and Saturday evenings.Internet shows were a mixed blessing for broadcasters, and cable came out the winner in a battle of sorts with the three major channels and the retro boom has yet to lose steam. Here are keywords that defined entertainment in 2015.Cook TVCheftainers ― a neologism combining chef and entertainer ― including Baek Jong-won, Choi Hyun-seok and Sam Kim cooked up a storm in entertainment this year, teaching viewers how to preparDec 27, 2015
Top stars to light up musical 'Hedwig' /YonhapTop actors Jo Seung-woo, Jo Jung-suk, Byun Yo-han and rocker Yoon Do-hyun from YB, have teamed up for the musical “Hedwig.”With a subtitle of “New-makeup,” the musical will be a new version of the original show.“Hedwig” is a musical about a rock band headed by a transgender singer named Hedwig, formerly Hansel, who has a female persona after a botched sex change operation.Since it was first staged in Korea in 2005, the Broadway musical has continued to wow audiences.Yoon will play Hedwig, seven years since he first took on the role in 2009. Jo Jung-suk will play the role for the first time in five years.It will be Byun’s first role as a musical actor.The musical will open on March 1 at Hongik University Art Center in Daehak-ro, Seoul.Dec 27, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
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
