Park Hae-jin delivers coal briquettes with online trolls /Courtesy of WM CompanyMaking friends with former foes is never an easy task. But instead of taking legal action against people who posted malicious comments online about him, actor Park Hae-jin has been doing voluntary work with them for three years.Park will deliver coal briquettes to 152 residents in Guryong Village in Gangnam, a shanty town in southern Seoul with the netizens who criticized him at the end of this month, Park’s agency WM Company said Monday. In addition to coal briquettes, he will also donate daily necessities with donations valued at 50 million won ($43,000) to the village.The 32-year-old actor, whose numerous works include the“My Love From the Star” (2014), was attacked online about rumors that he was avoiding military duty. However, the actor was granted exemption from compulsory military service due to suffering from depression.Park decided to do the voluntary work with the people who posted hateful comments about him on the Internet in 2013.The actor is currently shooting a new drama “Cheese In the Trap,” based on a famous web coOct 5, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Vietnam and Cambodia to get taste of Korea "Bibimbap" or rice mixed with assorted vegetables / Korea Times fileLove Korean food? Happen to be in Vietnam and Cambodia?The Korea Food Foundation will tour the two countries with a food truck featuring Korean foods, Yonhap news reported Sunday. “Japchae” or stir-fried glass noodles and vegetables / Korea TimesThe tour will start on Oct. 12 and last 10 days, the report said. Chefs will cook Korean cuisine for local residents to sample.The foundation will first visit Hanoi, Vietnam, where chefs will introduce “doenjangjjigae” or soybean-paste soup; then travel to Danang and Nazzang, where they will cook “bulgogi” (marinated Korean beef) and “japchae” or stir-fried glass noodles and vegetables; and then on to Ho Chi Minh city to introduce pork “galbi” or rib and egg-coated pancakes containing fish or vegetables.In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the chefs will offer “bibimbap” or rice mixed with assorted vegetables and meat, and “kimchi jjigae” or kimchi stew. Oct 4, 2015
Actress Han Gu-ru to marry /Screen capture from InstagramActress Han Gu-ru is to marry next month.Han, 23, said on her Instagram page that she has been dating the businessman, 32, for a year.The actress said she would continue her acting career after she married.Han, who debuted as a singer in 2011,has appeared on MBC’s entertainment reality show “Real Men: Women’s Army Special.”Oct 4, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Seoul to host One Asia concert of K-pop, China, Japan stars next week K-pop band CNBLUE will take part in the One Asia Seoul Mega Concert, to be held at Seoul Plaza in front of Seoul City Hall from 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. / Korea TimesThe city of Seoul will host a music concert next week, staging K-pop stars as well as popular singers from China, Japan and Southeast Asian countries, according to the city government Friday.Popular South Korean boy bands CNBLUE and GOT7 will feature prominently in the One Asia Seoul Mega Concert to be held at Seoul Plaza in front of Seoul City Hall from 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.Chinese music producer and star singer Reno Wang and seasoned Japanese singer Ayumi Nakamura will also join the concert, as well as Philippine idol singer Julie Anne San Jose.Jiyeon from K-pop girl group T-ara and two other boy group members will host the concert.The city will broadcast the concert online through the video-sharing website YouTube and SBSMTV, while creating a special area for up to 10,000 foreigners to sit and watch the concert.The city of Seoul said it will use the upcoming concert as a new opportunity to help the tourism sector reOct 4, 2015
Will YG extend contract with 2NEI? /Courtesy of YG Entertainment Girl band 2NE1’s contract with YG Entertainment will end next year. Meanwhile company president Yang Hyun-suk will focus on CL’s debut in the United States.Yang and 2NE1’s members will then decide whether to extend their contract, he told a press conference after boy group ICON’s debut performance at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Saturday.CL has been preparing to release an album in the U.S. this fall, but Yang did not disclose the details. The singer made her presence felt globally when she appeared on a Skrillex track, “Dirty Vibe,” last year, and released the song “Doctor Pepper” in May this year.“I will think about 2NE1’s next career move after CL has made a successful debut in the U.S.,” Yang said.Oct 4, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Sweet Sorrow returns with new album /Screen captur from Facebook The male vocal group, Sweet Sorrow, will release its new album this month, the group’s agency, Music&New, said Saturday.The album, the group’s fourth, will consist of 11 ballads. Titled “For Lovers Only,” it will be released on Oct. 15.The four members of the group – In Ho-jin, Song Woo-jin, Kim Young-woo and Sung Jin-hwan – said the songs in the new album are about breaking up and the sorrow of parting. The group debuted 2005. Oct 3, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
'Crazy' duo hit high note on TV talent show Kevin Oh, left, and Jhameel Kim from “Super Star K: Season 7”A duo on Korea’s popular TV singing competition show, “Super Star K: Season 7,” became a hit Thursday after performing an impressive harmony.Kevin Oh and Jhameel Kim sang their own rendition of American rock band Maroon 5’s “She will be Loved” from 2002 on the Mnet show.The pair, who were put together as rivals, jammed the soft-rock number with acoustic and electric guitars in front of four celebrity judges.Singer Kim Bum-soo, one of the judges, said the performance was “beyond impressive” and he was “personally motivated by it.” Another judge, singer Sung Si-kyung, was so impressed he dubbed the pair “crazy.”The pair’s evaluation result was postponed to the next episode.Oct 2, 2015
Tang Wei dines out at Busan food cart Tang WeiChinese actress Tang Wei, who visited Korea’s southern port city of Busan on Thursday for the Busan International Film Festival, was spotted with her Korean husband at a street-food cart in the city, media reports said Friday.The global star, married to film director Kim Tae-yong, visited the cart after attending the festival’s opening ceremony. Accompanied by about six others, the couple spent two hours at the cart.Tang Wei, right, and Kim Tae-yongThey reportedly attracted onlookers who recognized them, including Korean actor Kim Bo-seong, who said hello as he passed.The couple are staying in Busan until the festival ends on Oct.10.The couple, who met while working on the Korean film “Late Autumn” (2010), married in August last year after dating for more than a year.Oct 2, 2015
Yoo Ah-in seeks another success Actor Yoo Ah-in, right, who plays the role of rebellious Yi Bang-won in the upcoming drama “Roots of the Throne” poses for a photo with actress Shin Se-kyung, who takes the role of Yi’s paramour Bun-yi, during a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunActor Yoo Ah-in is shooting for another triumph in period drama as he stars in the new epic series “Roots of the Throne” ― also known by its working title “Six Flying Dragons” ― which starts airing on SBS on Oct. 5 at 10 p.m.Yoo, 29, is undoubtedly one of the hottest young actors today for his two recent box office hits, “Veteran” and “The Throne,” is ready to exude his charm in interpreting historic figures.Yoo, who made his debut in 2003 in the teenage series “Sharp 1,” has worked in various genres on both the small and big screens since. The actor gained fame in his breakout role as the mischievous Moon Jae-shin in the period drama “Sungkyunkwan Scandal” in 2010 and starred as piano prodigy Sun-jae in the cable melodramOct 2, 2015
BigBang member snapped with woman at Taiwan club / Courtesy of Naver blogSinger Seungri from boy band BigBang has been photographed holding hands with an unidentified woman in front of a Taiwan club.Media reports quoted an article in a Hong Kong weekly entertainment paper as saying the star arrived with a “beautiful and glamorous” woman at the club in Da’an district, Taipei, about 1 a.m. on Sept. 26. It said the singer was again spotted with the woman outside the club after 3 a.m.BigBang with Seungri second from left / Korea Times fileSeungri then got into a vehicle with a man while the woman got into another vehicle with several women. That car then followed the singer’s.YG Entertainment, the band’s management company, was quoted as saying: “As far as we know, Seungri spent private time after finishing a gig in Taiwan. It is our understanding that he didn’t get in the same car with the woman.”Online bloggers guessed the woman is a Chinese woman studying in Korea or the band’s Chinese language teacher.Oct 2, 2015
