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
Girls' Generation gets 'A+' for their work Girls' Generation from their concert "Phantasia" held at Olypmpic Park in Seoul in November / Courtesy of SM EntertainmentOfficial music ranking site Gaon Music Chart says Girls’ Generation has topped K-pop girl bands this year, scoring a perfect “100” in song copyright fees and album sales.Gaon analyzed girl bands that released songs and albums online and through stores during the year and concluded the eight-member band from SM Entertainment were the most active and fruitful.The band released a single album, “Party,” in July, followed by “Lion Heart” from their fifth studio album in August. Both songs were ranked in the top five on Gaon. Band leader Taeyeon released her first solo album, “I,” in October, which Gaon ranked No.1. The band’s unit group, TTS -- Taeyeon, Tiffany and Seohyun -- released album “Dear Santa” earlier this month, which ranked ninth on the site.Three albums the band released this year sold over 398,000 copies, more than the combined album sales this year of Apink, Red Velvet and EXID, whicDec 23, 2015
Lee Jong-suk to star in Korean-Chinese drama Lee Jong-suk / Korea Times fileHallyu actor Lee Jong-suk has been cast in a new Korea-China TV drama.Tentatively titled “Jade Lover,” Wellmade Yedang and Hong Kong media group DMG have a 40 billion won budget for the show.It will be Lee’s first drama in more than a year, his agency said. The fantasy romance-drama will be filmed in Shanghai, starting next month.“Lee has sufficiently rested since ‘Pinocchio’ from earlier this year, and he’s also looking at scenarios for other domestic movies and TV dramas for next year,” a Wellmade Yedang official said. “Soon, he’ll decide on which project to join and will return to South Korean TV.”Dec 23, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
K-pop oldies Turbo reboot with 'Again' From left, Kim Jung-nam, Kim Jong-kook and Mikey from Turbo / YonhapMale K-pop electronic dance music band Turbo from the 1990s have returned with a new studio album, “Again.”As the nation embraces pop culture from the 1980s to 1990s, led by hit TV drama “Reply 1988” on tvN, the band’s comeback has intensified the trend, rekindling people’s memories of the stars who once reigned on K-pop charts.The band, which had two members on debut in 1995, has returned with three - Kim Jong-kook, the band’s iconic vocalist and star of TV variety show “Running Man” on SBS, and two rappers, Kim Jung-nam and Mikey. Jong-kook and Jung-nam jammed together until the second album, “New Sensation,” released in 1996. Mikey took Jung-nam’s spot from the “Summer Remix” album released in 1997. Scenes from Turbo's "Again" music video / Screen capture from YouTubeTurbo released a music video for the album’s title song online on Sunday. The video features a cameo by actor Cha Tae-hyun and TV entertainer Lee Kwang-soo Dec 23, 2015
니컬러스 케이지, 소장 공룡뼈 도난품으로 드러나자 반환키로 니컬러스 케이지 / AP연합할리우드 영화배우 니컬러스 케이지가 자신이 소장해온 대형 공룡뼈가 몽골에서 도난 당한 밀반입품으로 드러나자 이를 반환하기로 했다. 7천만 년 전 서식한 티라노사우르스 바타르의 머리뼈는 케이지가 2007년 미국 뉴욕 맨해튼에서 실시된 한 화랑의 경매에서 27만6천 달러(3억2천300만 원)에 구입한 것이다. 이에 따라 이 뼈는 미국 정부를 거쳐 몽골 정부로 반환될 것으로 보인다고 뉴욕타임스(NYT), 로이터통신 등이 22일(현지시간) 보도했다. 이 두개골은 8년 전 경매시장에 나올 때 수집가들의 관심을 모았으나 최종 낙찰자가 케이지라는 것도, 몽골 고비사막에서 도난 당했다는 사실도 그동안 드러나지 않았다. 뉴욕 연방지방검찰청이 국내로 불법 밀반입된 몽골 유물에 대해 2012년 수사에 착수하면서 베일이 벗겨지기 시작했다. 검찰은 선사시대 유물의 암거래에서 주요 역할을 해온 P씨를 구속 기소했고, 그의 진술을 토대로 17점의 유골·화석류를 시장에서 회수할 수 있었다. 프릿 바라라 뉴욕 연방지방검찰청 검사장실은 지난주 케이지가 소유한 공룡 두개골을 회수한 뒤 몽골로 돌려보내기 위해 소송을 제기했다. 소장에 케이지의 이름은 거명되지 않았으나, 그의 대변인은 케이지가 구매자라고 확인했다. 케이지는 작년 7월 국토안보부로부터 공룡뼈의 '실체'를 처음 통지받았으며, 수사 내용을 듣고 자발적으로 반환에 동의했다고 검찰은 밝혔다. 그는 기소되지 않을 것으로 알려졌다. 티라노사우루스 바타르는 티라노사우루스 렉스와 비슷한 백악기 육식공룡으로 화석은 몽골에서만 발견되고 있다. 몽골은 1924년부터 공룡 화석의 반출을 법으로 금지하고 있다. 미 검찰 관계자는 케이지의 공룡뼈에 대해 "그것은 몽골 국민의 것"이라며 "개인 수집가나 애호가들에게 팔릴 수 없Dec 23, 2015
