Soyou's 'Lean on Me' tops K-pop Soyou, left, and Kwon Jeong-yeolSinger Soyou’s new duet, “Lean on Me,” has topped online music charts for the past two days, including Naver Music, Melon and Bugs Music, slating her as a new K-pop diva.Soyou, from four-member girl band Sistar, sang with Kwon Jeong-yeol, from duo 10cm, for this ballad. Released Tuesday, the number purports to be a “healing” song for people with hard lives, encouraging listeners to “lean on my shoulder.”Soyou has collaborated with male artists on eight digital singles.In February 2014, she released her first collaboration hit, “Some,” with Junggigo, followed by “The Space Between” with Kwon Soon-il and Park Yong-in, from Urban Zakapa, in the September.“Some” was such a big hit that she received 22 accolades, including winning the Hot Trend category in the 2014 Melon Music Awards in November 2014 and the Digital Song category in the 24th High 1 Seoul Music Awards in January.“I have been supported by awesome artists every time I collaborated,” the star was quotSep 24, 2015
Actress' TV ad for Japanese money lender under fire Ko So-young from the controversial TV commercial for a Japanese company known as "J Group," which operates a money-lending business through subsidiaries. / Courtesy of Naver blogActress Ko So-young, 42, is facing criticism for shooting a TV commercial for a Japanese company that has a money-lending business.The actress, who has only made a few commercials since her 2010 marriage to actor Jang Dong-gun, shot the ad for a company confirmed by media reports as “J Group.” It will air on Korean television for the next six months.According to media reports, J Group has several subsidiaries that lend money with an interest rate as high as 29.2 percent.Media reports quoted a Korean ad agency employee as saying celebrities appearing in commercials for money lenders have always been criticized.Meanwhile, media outlet OSEN confirmed that actress Lee Young-ae rejected J Group’s offer to appear in the commercial after discovering the company is involved in money lending.Ko debuted in 1992 as an actress in a KBS TV series. She has only appeared in TV commercials iSep 24, 2015
BigBang on stage in Taiwan during Chuseok holiday /Courtesy of YG Entertainment Members of top K-pop band BigBang will be spending their Korean Thanksgiving holidays in Taiwan. The band will hold concerts from Sept. 24 to 27 at Taipei Arena after 20 days of rest.The concert is part of BigBang’s world tour project, “MADE.” The group is performing 70 concerts and meeting 1.4 million fans in 15 countries, including the United States, until next year.BigBang has released a single album of the “MADE” series from May to August, in which it toured 11 countries including Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Sep 24, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Actress Kim Ha-neul dates businessman Actress Kim Ha-neul / Korea Times fileKorea’s top actress, Kim Ha-neul, 37, is dating a businessman who is a year younger than her, various reports said Thursday.Kim’s agency confirmed the reports. “Kim has been dating her businessman boyfriend for the past year, someone she has met through an acquaintance,” the actress’ agency, SM C&C, said. But there are no specific plans for a wedding.Kim, who debuted in 1996 as a model for apparel company Storm, has been active in television and films. Kim also recently made a special appearance on popular entertainment program “Three Meals a Day” - Jeongseon. Sep 24, 2015
Shoulder injury forces actress to quit boxing Lee Si-young / Courtesy of Naver blogActress Lee Si-young has given up her boxing career because of shoulder problems.Lee, 33, dislocated a shoulder in the 2013 National Sport Festival and the problem has continued to plague her.Lee, who started as an amateur in 2010, was recruited by the Incheon City Hall boxing team in 2013.She made headlines in March when she said she would train for the national representative selection trial for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.The star, who finished TV series “My Beautiful Bride” on OCN in August, was quoted in a media report as saying she stopped training in June and will concentrate on acting.Sep 23, 2015
SM's legal fight against Chinese singers Tao from EXOThe nation’s top celebrity management company SM Entertainment has filed a suit against Tao, a Chinese member of the boy band EXO in a Chinese court, for pursuing his own showbiz career in China after leaving the band without its agreement.The company released a statement Tuesday, saying a court in Beijing accepted the suit against Tao, 22, and a Chinese music production company on Sept. 18.“In April, Tao, whose contract with SM Entertainment is still effective, signed another contract with a Chinese company to proceed with his showbiz career and left SM Entertainment and his group,” the statement said. “He released his own music album in July and has been performing as a solo artist since. He is using his fame built through his career with EXO on his illegal showbiz career in China, appearing in ads and TV programs.”In April, Tao sustained damage to his legs and went to China for treatment but didn’t return to Korea.The statement said Tao filed a suit against SM Entertainment in August and until a court decision is given, he is bound bSep 23, 2015
'Reply 1988' ready to captivate viewers /Courtesy of tvN An official poster for one of the most-anticipated TV drama series, “Reply 1988” on cable channel tvN, was unveiled Wednesday.The new drama is the third season of the “Reply” series _ “Reply 1997” and “Reply 1994”The “1997” and the “1994” editions received a rave reception from viewers and led the “retro” 1990s trend across cultural genres.Singers and actors who starred in the two previous editions _ Yoo Yeon-seok, Jung Woo, Go Ara, Do Hee, Seo In-guk and Jung Eun-ji _ were catapulted to stardom.The “1988” edition is a story about five families living in Dobong-gu, northern Seoul, in the 1980s.Hyeri, a member of girl band Girl’s Day, and Park Bo-gum star in the drama with veteran actors Sung Dong-il, Ra Mi-ran and Lee Il-wha.The show will air in October. Sep 23, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Celebrities rake in cash from ads From top, Jun Ji-hyun (left) and Kim Soo-hyun, Lee Young-ae, Suzy, Lee Min-ho and Big Bang Advertisements are a rich source of income for many Korean celebrities, media reports reveal.Actors Kim Soo-hyun and Jun Ji-hyun, stars of TV series “My Love from the Star” (2013-14), each earns 1 billion won ($840,000) a year, on average -- the most among Korean celebrities -- from ads. The stars, popular in China where the TV series was a big hit, also have been hired for Chinese ads.Actress Lee Young-ae is on par with the pair, earning 800 million won ($670,000) to 1 billion won a year from ads.Singer Suzy, K-pop boy band Big Bang, actors Lee Min-ho, Hyun Bin and Won Bin earn 700 million won ($580,000) to 800 million won a year.There are more top actresses who earn more than their male counterparts, with Kim Hee-ae, Song Hye-gyo, Son Ye-jin, Shin min-ah earning 500 million won ($420,000) to 600 million won. Actors Lee Jung-jae, Ha Jung-woo, Lee Seo-jin, Ryu Seung-ryong and comedian Yoo Jae-seok earn 400 million won ($330,000) to 500 million won.Rising ad stars inclSep 23, 2015
Yoon Eun-hye cancels film event amid plagiarism claim /Courtesy of J Army Entertainment Actress Yoon Eun-hye seems to have decided to keep a low profile amid allegations she copied a dress design for a Chinese TV program.Yoon was supposed to attend a meet-the-audience event as a director at the Busan International Film Festival, which begins on Oct. 1. Yoon’s short film “Red Eye” was invited to the festival.Yoon’s management company, J Army Entertainment, said Wednesday it has canceled the event.Yoon has been facing allegations she copied work by Korean designer Yoon Choon-ho when producing clothes for Chinese TV program “The Goddesses’ New Outfit.”The item the actress designed was a white jacket with ruffles. When Yoon Choon-ho questioned the similarity of the design with one of his, the actress denied copying the work. She said the idea came from the Viktor & Rolf and Lanvin collections.Yoon criticized the designer for trying to cash in on her fame.The actress was embroiled in another allegation of plagiarism over a balloon-shaped dress with an illustration that was allegedly similar Sep 23, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
B1A4, Girlfriend, MAMAMOO to headline int'l music fair in Seoul Band Hyukoh will participate at Seoul International Music Fair 2015 scheduled for Oct. 6-8 in Seoul. / Courtesy of the band's Facebook pageDozens of artists from South Korea and abroad will perform at an international music fair taking place in Seoul next month, organizers said Tuesday.The line-up for the Seoul International Music Fair 2015, also known as MU:CON Seoul 2015, consists of 51 artists including South Korean idol groups such as B1A4, Girlfriend and MAMAMOO, Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) said.Other popular South Korean artists to be featured are Hyukoh, Kiha & The Faces, Guckkasten and ALi. Joe Flizzow, Hoolahoop and The KDMS will represent the U.S., Indonesia and Malaysia, respectively.The festival will take place from Oct. 6-8 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in eastern Seoul. It consists of a conference, showcase events and biz-matching sessions for music industry professionals.Part of the showcase events will be Song Camp in which South Korean and non-South Korean musicians collaborate to produce a song.Band GuckkastenWorkshops led by Jimmy Douglas, who prodSep 22, 2015
