Carom star Cha Yu-ram pregnant Cha Yu-ramCarom player Cha Yu-ram is pregnant with her child, which is due to be born next month.The attractive former national carom player is known as“the carom goddess. Media reports have questioned whether Cha’s marriage to author Lee Ji-sung, 41, in June was a shotgun marriage.Cha, 28, has taken a break from her regular TV program “The Legend of Billiards” on KBS N Sport.Cha met Lee at a book club last year and they married eight months later.Oct 21, 2015
Will Park Shin-hye receive prime minister's award? /Korea Times fileActress Park Shin-hye is expected to receive the Prime Minister’s Commendation in recognition for her hallyu contribution, at the 2015 Korea Popular Culture Awards, supervised by the Korea Creative Content Agency on Oct. 29. Actors Kim Soo-hyun, Lee Min-ho, K-pop bands Girls’ Generation and 2NE1 have been awarded for leading the Korean wave.Park, 25, is most likely to get the award because she is almost the only actress with so many fans in several Asian countries.Park, who debuted in 2003 in the TV drama “Stairway to Heaven,” on SBS, became a top star in Korea when she starred in “You’re Beautiful” in 2009, and in“The Heirs,” in 2013.She has been fans in many Asian countries including Japan, China, Thailand and the Philippines.Oct 21, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Park Min-young, Yoo Seung-ho star in new TV drama /YonhapPark Min-young, 29, and Yoo Seung-ho, 22, will star in the new television drama “Remember” on the SBS network.The drama is about two lawyers. Yoo will play Seo Jin-woo, a highly talented lawyer who suffers from amnestic syndrome; and Park will play Lee In-a, an experienced lawyer who recognizes the cruelty of the law.Yoo returns to dramatic television two-and-a-half years after he finished the MBC drama “Missing You,” in 2012.The new drama will air in December.Oct 21, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
'Gold spoon' casting claim tarnishes actress' role Cho Jae-hyun, left, and his daughter Hae-jung from SBS's "Take Care of My Dad" / Courtesy of SBSThe daughter of actor Cho Jae-hyun has been accused using her “gold spoon” status to win a role in a new TV series.Media reports Monday said Cho Hae-jung, 23, will play the heroine in MBC every1’s webtoon-based series, tentatively titled “Imagination Cat,” scheduled to air next month.Netizens said the star, who is appearing in the SBS father-daughter reality show “Take Care of My Dad,” does not deserve a leading role in the series. Many referred to her as having a “gold spoon” -- a star actor for a father.Hae-jung’s brother, Soo-hoon, defended her on Facebook. He admitted she was born with a “gold spoon” but said “gold spoons also have the right to make their dreams come true.”“My sister has studied acting since middle school and entered an American college after passing an acting audition,” he said.But netizens retorted, with one saying: “It is not a pretty picture to see when a celeOct 20, 2015
Viewers choose 'She Was Pretty' over baseball playoffs Hwang Jung-eum, right, and Park Seo-jun in a scene from MBC’s “She Was Pretty” / Courtesy of MBCBy Kwon Ji-younBroadcaster MBC has ditched the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) league playoffs for its popular Wednesday-Thursday drama series “She Was Pretty.”After receiving an overwhelming number of protest calls and e-mails when the series’ ninth episode was postponed Oct. 14, MBC said Monday that it was considering airing episode 10 of the romantic comedy drama series tonight as scheduled rather than covering Game 3 of the best-of-five playoff series between the NC Dinos and the Doosan Bears.“It is very likely She Was Pretty will air tonight and the baseball game will go uncovered,” an MBC staffer confirmed, Tuesday. “But nothing is set in stone.”On Oct. 14, the broadcaster tentatively delayed “She Was Pretty” for 40 minutes as it was unsure how long the Doosan vs. Nexen game would run, but it wasn’t until 10 minutes prior to that time that it officially announced the show’s postponement in subtitlesOct 20, 2015
There's only one Girls' Generation, court rules /Courtesy of SM Entertainment The name “Girls’ Generation” can only be used by the girl band.The Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s decision Tuesday and ruled that the trademark right of Girls’ Generation belongs to SM Entertainment.The management company registered the trademark when it introduced the band in 2007, to use the name on the band’s albums, sound sources and videos.A business operator, identified as Kim, also registered the name “Girls’ Generation,” claiming he wanted to use it for clothes, toys and food products, 10 days later.SM filed a complaint with the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board in December 2011 against Kim to invalidate the registration.When the board found in favor of SM and made Kim’s registration invalid in August 2012, Kim filed a lawsuit against SM with the Patent Court of Korea. The Patent Court ruled partially in favor of Kim, saying consumers would not confuse Kim’s products, mostly clothes and toys, with the girl band.But the Supreme Court overturned this dOct 20, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
TWICE the fun as JYP launches new girl band TWICEJYP Entertainment launched girl band TWICE, Tuesday, releasing the group’s album, “The Story Begins,” and a music video of their title song, “Like OOH-AHH.”The nine-member band made their stage debut Tuesday evening with the song -- a number that mixes R&B and rock -- at AX-KOREA in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul.It has been five years since JYP, led by singer Park Jin-young, launched a girl band. In 2010, it introduced four-member band missA.On Monday evening, the band greeted fans on smartphone app V, a real-time online broadcasting platform for Korean celebrities. Appearing live from their dorm room, the band said they had shot their TV debut on SBS’s music performance show “Inkigayo.” They thanked fans who came to the show to cheer them.TV viewers have closely watched the birth of the band. From May to July, Mnet aired 10 episodes of “SIXTEEN,” a reality audition program in which 16 aspiring singers from JYP competed to become a member of TWICE.Oct 20, 2015
TVXQ's Yunho fans donate tons of rice TVXQ's U-Know YunhoFans of K-pop duo TVXQ’s U-Know Yunho donated 5.9 tons of rice to the city of Yangju, in Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. Yunho in July joined the 26th Division in Yangju as part of his compulsory military service.His fan club members said they would like to see the estimated 22 million won ($19,455) of rice distributed to low-income and single elderly people in the area.The idol singer, also known as Jung Yun-ho, debuted in 2004 with the band's single, "Hug," and has released seven studio albums. Oct 20, 2015
Lee Min-ho 'hot' in Middle East, China Lee Min-ho from SBS TV series "Faith" (2012)Actor Lee Min-ho is the most popular hallyu star in Arab countries and China, media reports said Tuesday.According to a KBS World Radio online survey of some 3,000 people in Arab countries last month, respondents thought of Lee first when thinking of “Korean.”Lee drew 14.8 percent of votes. Next were boy bands Super Junior (10.8 percent) and EXO (9 percent), actress Park Shin-hye (5.1 percent), U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (2.6 percent) and Korean President Park Geun-hye (2.6 percent).In China, the People’s Daily newspaper selected Lee as one of the hallyu stars the Chinese love most.The result came from a survey the daily conducted on its homepage and mobile webpage from July 20 to Aug. 5.The star, 28, who debuted in 2006 with a TV series on EBS, became an official face of Korea in July when he featured in a government-produced video promoting tourism. In September, he was appointed a goodwill ambassador for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.Oct 20, 2015
Will BigBang extend contract with YG? /Courtesy of YG Entertainment K-pop boy band BigBang’s contract with YG Entertainment will end next year, but the band is likely to sign an extension, Sports Chosun reported Tuesday.The entertainment media outlet cited sources in the entertainment industry as saying the band has begun to set up a schedule for next year.BigBang had not scheduled performances or other activities because of the uncertainty surrounding their contract situation. “We can’t know whether BigBang has actually signed the contract extension or not, but it seems they made a decision,” the sources were quoted as saying.YG President Yang Hyun-suk has been saying he wants to work with BigBang for another 10 years. A members of the group also said during an interview in May, “There is no reason to leave the company because Yang is the one who has guided us to this right path.”Girl band 2NE1’s contract with YG ends next year as well. The president said he will focus on CL’s debut in the United States first and then decide whether to extend the contract.Oct 20, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
