China promotion for Kim Soo-hyun draws 10,000 Photos of top hallyu star Kim Soo-hyun attending a promotional event in Shanghai, China promote the drama "Producers" were released by his agency. / Courtesy of KeyeastA promotion in China for Kim Soo-hyun’s latest drama "Producers” attracted about 10,000 people,” his management agency Keyeast said Monday.Kim attended with co-stars Gong Hyo-jin and singer and actress IU.The event was held at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai on Aug. 21.“Producers,” screening via Sohu.com, is a hit in China.Kim is a top “hallyu” or Korean wave star in China, where his 2014 K-drama “My Love from the Star” co-starring Jun Ji-hyun, gained immense popularity.Kim is scheduled to shoot a movie called “Real.” Aug 31, 2015
EXO to drop first Japanese single in Nov. EXO in JapanSouth Korean boy band EXO will release its first Japanese single on Nov. 4, its management agency said Monday.Nine members of the group announced the news at the A-Nation Stadium Festival on Saturday, taking its Japanese fans by surprise, SM Entertainment said.The half-Chinese, half-South Korean group shared the stage at Tokyo's Ajinomoto Stadium with top Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki and pop band TRF. A-Nation Stadium Festival is the largest of its kind in Japan."EXO announced the news to delirious fans," S.M. said in a release. "We look forward to the attention EXO will garner from its fans who have long awaited its Japanese debut."EXO is currently on the "EXO PLANET #2" tour, which takes the band to major cities across Asia. (Yonhap) Aug 31, 2015
'Twenty Again' adds up for Choi Ji-woo Actress Choi Ji-woo, center, poses with co-stars at a press conference for her latest drama "Twenty Again." / YonhapActress Choi Ji-woo’s new drama “Twenty Again" got off to a good start, topping more than 3 percent in the ratings.The Friday/Saturday drama on the cable channel tvN posted 3.8 percent in its first episode on Aug. 28, according to Nielsen Korea and reports. The second episode recorded 3.6 percent.Choi plays Hanora, 38, who returns to college after getting pregnant and married at 18. Once at college, and overlooked by her professor husband and her college student son, she reunites with her first love, played by Lee Sang-yoon.Despite not being involved in any hit dramas for nearly a decade, the ratings bode well for Choi.Choi -- also known as “Jiwoo Hime” in Japan for her role in the 2004 drama “Winter Sonata” -- has been involved in dramas with faltering ratings since then.But she reasserted her presence by appearing in entertainment variety programs such as “Three Meals a Day” and the Greek travel episode of “GrandpaAug 30, 2015
No fans? Now that's a laugh Park Seong-kwang from "The Human Condition" on KBS2 / Screen capture from Naver tvcastComedian Park Seong-kwang made TV viewers laugh by proving his fame is about equal to “zero fans.On KBS2 entertainment show “The Human Condition” on Saturday, Park posted on his SNS site an announcement saying netizens could come to KBS broadcasting company’s main building in Yeouido, Seoul, and get free vegetables he had grown on his urban farm. He said he would give out the vegetables on a first-come-first-serve basis for 30 minutes starting at 1 p.m. But after he posted the announcement, most people replied that they could not come. At 1 p.m., nobody was there.The program challenges a group of comedians to live with as few modern conveniences as possible in terms of food and technological help so they could learn “the true meaning of living as a human being.”Aug 30, 2015
Japanese actress upsets Koreans with Hashima Island photos Kiko Mizuhara on Hashima Island, Japan / Courtesy of InstagramJapanese actress Kiko Mizuhara has angered Korean netizens with photos of herself on Hashima Island, where Koreans were slave laborers under Japanese colonial rule (1910~1945).Posted on her Instagram webpage in early August, the photos show the actress and her co-stars in the fantasy action movie “Attack on Titan,” now showing in the U.S. and Japan. A press conference for the movie was held on the island.Koreans claimed the actress has ignored what happened on the island during during the colonial period. The Hashima Island is one of the seven Meiji-era industrial sites where Koreans were brought against their will and forced to work during the colonial era. Kiko Mizuhara, second from left, with co-stars of “Attack on Titan”The island was in the public eye on Saturday, when it featured on the TV entertainment show, “Infinite Challenge. Comedians Yoo Jae-seok and Ha Dong-hun (better known as HaHa) visited the island, and were seen bowing and paying tearful respects to the spirits of KAug 30, 2015
Actor Park Seo-joon meets Japanese fans Actor Park Seo-joon Rising hallyu actor Park Seo-joon met fans in Tokyo on Saturday to mark the release in Japan of the DVD of the 2014 drama “Witch’s Romance,” his agency Keyeast said.The meeting comes just four months after Park was invited by KNTV and DATV to promote the dramas “Kill Me, Heal Me” and “Warm Word,” testament to his rising popularity in Japan.Park’s official Japanese fan club was launched on Aug. 1 (http://fc.da-enta.jp/psjfc/).He will star with Hwang Jeong-eum in an upcoming drama on MBC titled “She was Pretty.” Park and Hwang also starred in the popular drama “Kill Me, Heal Me. “Aug 30, 2015
'Veteran' exceeds 10 million viewers Poster for "Veteran"The Korean film “Veteran” broke through the 10 million mark Saturday.The film, starring Hwang Jung-min, Yoo Ah-in and Oh Dal-su, is about a veteran detective who investigates the mysterious death of a truck driver he knew, and in the process confronts the cruel heir of a rich family.Critics say the film's depiction of the struggles of the independence fighters against the remnants of the pro-Japanese groups hit a chord with Korean audiences ahead of Liberation Day.Directed by Yoo Seung-wan, “Veteran” is the second Korean film this month to exceed 10 million viewers. “Assassination” starring Jun Ji-hyun, Lee Jung-jae, Ha Jung-woo and Oh Dal-su passed the mark on Aug. 15.“Veteran” is the 13th Korean film to top the attendance mark of 10 million, a key milestone for Korean films.Aug 29, 2015
Rapper Basick wins 'Show Me the Money 4' Rapper Basick, rights, defeated Song Mino, left of WINNER to win "Show Me the Money 4" Friday. / Courtesy of SoompiRapper Basick defeated Song Mino of WINNER to win the rap battle program “Show Me the Money 4” on the finals aired Friday.The two competed for two rounds. In the first round, Mino performed “Okey Dokey” with rapper Zico of Block B. Basick performed “I’m the Man” featuring his producer team, Verbal Jint and San E.After the two rounds, the audience cast their votes for Basick and he won 30.18 million won for performance money over Mino’s 15.60 million won.Speaking through his agency, RBW, Basick was quoted as saying he was “grateful to have approached a broader audience through the show.”The rap competition show that airs on cable channel Mnet has been embroiled in a series of controversies during its fourth season with controversial lyrics and on-stage performances by its participants. Yet the show maintained an average rating of 2 percent, demonstrating the growing popularity of hip-hop. Aug 29, 2015
Golfer Pak Se-ri chips in for “Take Care of My Dad” Golfer Pak Se-ri and her father Pak Joon-chul /Korea Times fileKorean professional golfer Pak Se-ri will join SBS TV program “Take Care of My Dad” with her father, Pak Joon-chul, the broadcaster said Friday.Actor Lee Deok-wha, 63, also will join the program with his daughter, Lee Ji-hyun, 31.Actors Kang Seok-woo and Jo Min-ki will step down from the program with their daughters, SBS said.Pak has been resting in Korea to heal an injury.“Pak will make special memories with her father, as she doesn’t have special childhood memories because of her career,” SBS said.Actor Lee Deok-wha and his daughter Lee Ji-hyun /Korea times fileLee Deok-wha also said he did not spend much time with his daughter when she was young. He said he wants to spend more time with her before she gets married.The show’s new season begins on Sept. 6. Aug 28, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Singer jailed over draft-dodging ghost claim Singer Kim Woo-jooSinger and music producer Kim Woo-joo, 30, indicted on charges of evading military service by claiming to have a mental illness and seeing ghosts, has been sentenced to a year behind bars.The first and second trials brought down a one-year sentence, citing the evasion was planned over a long time and there was a need to punish Kim considering not only the importance of military service but issues of fairness.Kim was called up in 2004, but delayed going into the military saying he had to attend college. In March 2012, he started pretending he had a mental illness.He claimed he "started seeing ghosts eight years ago," and that "he was taken to the emergency room after fainting after seeing a ghost."He reportedly saw a psychiatrist 42 times.Kim received a written diagnosis for visual and auditory hallucinations as well as insomnia and submitted it to the Military Manpower Administration. He was then notified to serve as a public service worker last October.Kim was a member of a hip-hop group but has not been in the music industry since 2012.Aug 28, 2015
