Actor Lee Jung-jae in legal dispute over mother's debt Lee Jung-jae /Korea Times fileBy Bahk Eun-jiActor Lee Jung-jae and his mother are embroiled in a legal dispute over money she allegedly borrowed from a friend.Lee’s mother allegedly borrowed 193 million won ($165,000) from 1995 to early 2000 from her friend, whose name was withheld.The friend asked Lee’s mother to repay 249 million won, including interest, in August 2000, but his mother had left for Los Angeles.Lee repaid 60 million won soon after he received a call from the woman, and Lee’s mother gave a written promise to repay the rest.The woman sued Lee’s mother for fraud in April 2005, and Lee appeared at the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office and asked her to drop the case because he would repay the money on behalf of his mother.Lee’s mother sent 1 million won then, but Lee and his mother had allegedly neither repaid the rest of the money, nor contacted the woman after that.She requested the prosecution for a payment order against Lee in April, and the trial is in progress.Lee released a statement Tuesday, saying he and his mother had repaid aNov 17, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Jin Se-yeon to play heroine /Screen capture from InstagramActress Jin Se-yeon will star in a new historical drama, “The Flower in Prison,” which will begin airing next March, two years after she finished the 2014 SBS drama “Doctor Stranger.”Actor Go Soo is under consideration as the male lead opposite Jin, BH Entertainment said Tuesday.The new drama, to air on MBC on weekends at 10 p.m., is about lawyers in the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910). Jin will take the role of Ongnyeo (Lee Su-won) who helps the falsely accused.Lee Byung-hoon, a popular producer known for “Hur Jun” (1999) and “Sangdo” (2001), will direct the drama.Nov 17, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
iKON sweeps K-pop music charts /Courtesy of YG EntertainmentBoy band iKON has swept K-pop music charts with its songs “Anthem” and “Apology,” released on Monday.The two songs are placed first and second on seven music charts _ Melon, Olleh Music, Bugs, Genie, Naver Music, Monkey 3 and Soribada.iKON will release an album including the two songs on Dec. 14. Nov 16, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
'Reply 1988' draws big response A scene from the third episode of “Reply 1988” / Courtesy of tvNBy Kwon Ji-younThey say a sequel is never as good as the original, but “Reply 1988” is once again the talk of the town.The fourth episode of tvN’s Friday-Saturday drama series recorded an all-time high viewership of 8.7 percent, peaking at 10 percent Saturday. It put a lid on worries that the spin-off, the third in the “Reply” series, would not fulfill expectations and that Girl’s Day member Hye-ri, making her lead-role debut, would not deliver.Hye-ri plays the role of Seong Deok-seon who lives in Ssangmun-dong, where she and four male friends grow up together before she marries one of them. Singling out the husband, whose identity is still under wraps, has been a central part of each of the “Reply” series.Hye-ri is a convincing Deok-seon, second daughter of Seong Dong-il, a banker with a huge debt, and Lee Il-hwa, a loquacious housewife. Her ill-tempered older sister is a student at Seoul National University, and the two can’t stand each other. Deok-seon&Nov 16, 2015
Yoo Hae-jin, Yoona, Hyun Bin to star in action movie /Korea Times fileActor Yoo Hae-jin and Yoona of K-pop band Girls’ Generation will star in an action movie temporarily titled “Cooperation,” Star News reported Monday.The film is about secret cooperative investigation between North and South Korea. Actor Hyun Bin will play a North Korean investigator, and Yoo will play the South Korean investigator.Yoona will play Yoo’s sister-in-law.The JK Film production has a 10 billion won ($8,520,000) budget.JK Film produced “Ode to My Father,” which attracted 14 million viewers in Korea last year. Nov 16, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
BoA to break hallyu silence in Japan BoA Singer BoA is about to break the four-year silence of hallyu singers at Japan’s major annual music festivals.She has been invited to perform at the 2015 FNS Music Festival hosted by Fuji TV.Three major music festivals in Japan -- FNS Music Festival and those hosted by NHK and Yomiuri TV -- have not invited Korean singers since 2011, even though Koreans have topped the Oricon music charts.Koreans have not been invited because of tension over Japan’s refusal to admit its sex slavery of Korean women during the World War II.SM Entertainment said BoA would participate in the festival on Dec. 2, when about 70 Japanese artists will perform.Korean singer “K”, active in the J-pop market, will also perform.In 2011, hallyu bands Girls’ Generation, KARA, TVXQ and 2NE1 were invited to the three festivals.BoA was invited to major Japanese music festivals every year from 2002-2007.She made her debut in the J-pop market a year after her Korean debut in 2000, and she has had numerous No.1 hits in Japan.She will release her new Japanese single “Lookbook&rdqNov 16, 2015
Turbo to rev up again /Courtesy of Maroo EntertainmentFirst generation K-pop dance duo Turbo will reunite 14 years after the double act disbanded.Kim Jong-kuk, Mikey and former member Kim Jung-nam led the K-pop dance music trend in the 1990s.The band will release a new album in December. Popular producer Double Sidekick has been working on the album.The duo made its debut in 1995 with the Kim Jong-kook and Kim Jung-nam. Mikey joined after Kim Jung-nam dropped out in 1997. The duo disbanded in 2001.Kim Jong-kook has been singing solo and has appeared on TV shows such as “Running Man,” and “Happy Together.”Nov 16, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Park Si-yeon has second daughter /Courtesy of Mystic Entertainment Actress Park Si-yeo gave birth to her second child, a daughter, Mystic Entertainment said Sunday.Park, 36, gave birth to a daughter in 2013, two years after she married.The actress said her aim was to raise two happy daughters, the company said.Park, a contestant in the Miss Korea pageant in 2000, began her acting career in the drama “My Girl,” in 2005, and appeared in “The Innocent Man,” in 2012.Nov 15, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Kim Sae-ron, Kim Min-jae to host 'Music Core' Kim Sae-ronKim Min-jaeActors Kim Sae-ron and Kim Min-jae will be the new hosts for the pop music program “Music Core” on the MBC network.They will start on Nov. 21, MBC reported.Kim Sae-ron, 15, is a former child-actress who has been expanding her career since the 2010 film “Ajeossi” that starred Won Bin.Kim Min-jae, 19, debuted last year in a joint South Korean-Vietnamese drama titled “Forever Young.”Meanwhile, starting from Nov. 21, “Music Core” will stop ranking songs to encourage more diversity.Nov 15, 2015
Stars share heartfelt messages after Paris attacks /Screen capture from Choi Si-won's Instagram pageStars have expressed grief over the unprecedented attacks in Paris, in which at least 127 have been killed and more than 300 wounded.Choi Si-won, 29, a member of K-pop band Super Junior, sent condolences and a message of support to citizens in Paris. The singer posted an image of the Eiffel Tower and texted “Pray For Paris” on his Instagram page./Screen capture from Yang Hyun-suk's Instagram pageYG Entertainment’s CEO Yang Hyun-suk also posted flag of France on his Instagram with a hashtag:#Prayforfrance/Screen capture from Block B's Twitter pageK-pop band Block B, who met French President Francois Hollande at the beginning of the month at a ceremony that commemorated the 130th anniversary of Korea-France Diplomatic Relations, also posted a heartfelt message on its official Twitter page.It said “A few days ago, we met President Hollande and promised to perform in Paris, and today we are heartbroken about what happened to Paris.”“We are shocked because there was terror in Le Bataclan, the place we perNov 15, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
