Comedian reigns in hot noodle challenge Jung Jun-ha, left, and Guillaume Patry from "Abnormal Summit" / Screen capture from Naver tvcastTwo TV personalities have slurped hot noodle bowls as they locked horns to become the “king of eating.”Comedian Jung Jun-ha and former professional e-sport player Guillaume Patry, from Canada, raced to finish the black bean sauce noodles -- “jjajangmyeon” in Korean -- first in JTBC talk show “Abnormal Summit” Monday.The challenge began after Jung bragged he once ate a 2.5 kilogram dumpling in Japan in an hour.“Fifty people have succeeded in the challenge in the past 16 years and I am the only Korean who has done that,” Jung said.The program’s three MCs then proposed an impromptu jjajangmyeon race between the two stars.Jung, 44, won, finishing the bowl in 50 seconds. The veteran comedian again confirmed his nickname, “king of eating.”Aug 25, 2015
Infinite Challenge music festival loses true nature Members of MBC variety show “Infinite Challenge” and their partner musicians wave to the audience at the end of the “Infinite Challenge Yeongdong Expressway Music Festival,” which took place at the resort town of Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, on Aug. 13. / Courtesy of MBBy Kwon Ji-younIt was the best of festivals, it was the worst of festivals.A series of controversies tainted the fifth music festival hosted by MBC’s variety show headliner, “Infinite Challenge,” which took place on Aug. 13 and aired Saturday.Some 40,000 fans gathered at the resort town of Pyeongchang in Gangwon Province, where the Winter Olympics are set to take place in 2018, to relish the two-hour concert featuring each of the show’s members paired with musicians including IU, G-Dragon, Taeyang and Park Jin-young, among others.The performances were impressive. It was obvious how much thought and work the musicians had put into the gig, and all six songs created exclusively for the event were well made, to say the least, and have been sweeping charts since their Aug 24, 2015
Actor Kwon Sang-woo felt most like self in 'Accidental Detective' Actor Kwon Sang-woo / YonhapActor Kwon Sang-woo said Monday his role in "Accidental Detective" came most naturally, being a father in real life as he is in the upcoming comedy thriller."The scenario and I were a match made in heaven," he told reporters at a press conference Monday. "As a father of two myself, I couldn't think of any other actor my age who could do a better job than I could."Directed by Kim Jeong-hoon, the film follows Kang Dae-man (Kwon), an owner of a comic book cafe and a power blogger, who wants to become a police officer but has been deemed physically unfit for the job.Kang resorts to what he considers to be the next best thing, which is to regularly check in on local police stations to give unsolicited advice to detectives -- much to the chagrin of both his wife and the detectives.The movie really begins when he starts to dabble in an unofficial police probe into a closed murder case for which his friend, a detective, is a key suspect.Kang believes his friend has been framed and together with his unwilling companion -- No Tae-soo (Sung Dong-il), a veteran detectAug 24, 2015
Actor and model admit romance Lee Hee-jun, left, and Lee Hye-jungActor Lee Hee-jun has started a romance with model Lee Hye-jung.The model, 31, met the actor, 36, through a friend, reports said Monday.The couple were seen together after they watched a play at Daehangno, Seoul, in June, the reports said.Insiders from their management companies confirmed the romance, saying the couple are not hiding the fact.It is Lee’s third publicly announced celebrity romance. He dated actress Susanna Noh for three years from 2011 and actress Kim Ok-bin for several months from last December.Aug 24, 2015
Actress crowned 'romantic comedy queen' Park Bo-young, left, with co-star Cho Jung-seok from tvN's "Oh My Ghost"Actress Park Bo-young has earned a new nickname, “queen of romantic comedy,” with her latest TV series, “Oh My Ghost,” which ended Saturday.Park, 25, whose acting talent has been acknowledged in movies including “A Werewolf Boy” (2012) and “Hot Young Bloods” (2014), dominated small screens with the tvN series, playing a woman who becomes a ghost medium.Media reports said Park, who debuted in 2006, passed the test of demanding Korean TV viewers with her role and consolidated herself as an A-list actress.The series depicted restaurant assistant Na Bong-sun (played by Park) whose soul is compromised by a ghost and begins to influence her friends at the restaurant, including the restaurant owner, whom she loves. Aug 24, 2015
Female celebrities battle it out on TV military show A female celebrity is posing as an army trainee in TV reality show "Real Men: Women's Army Special." / Screen capture from YouTube A TV military entertainment show began its latest season on Sunday with a women’s army segment and a new cast. "Real Men: Women's Army Special" on MBC hired 10 female celebrities for the program. The stars included actress Shin So-yul, idol singer Choi Yu-jin from girl band CLC, former tennis player Jun Mi-ra and Japanese TV personality Fujita Sayuri. A new cast for the third season of "Women's Army Special" segment of the programThe weekly program showed the stars bracing themselves before entering an army training facility at Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province. Jun said she accepted the challenge to rediscover her ego that she lost while being a housewife for 10 years. Sayuri, widely known as an eccentric, put on war camouflage makeup to prepare for the challenge.In the third season of the segment that was first introduced in August 2014, celebrities who pass the training will receive further training in a women’s anti-teAug 24, 2015
Actor Lee Jong-suk's wax figure to be displayed Actor Lee Jong-suk whose wax figure will go on exhibit at Madame Tussauds in Hong Kong next year. / Korea Times fileA wax figure of the popular Korean actor Lee Jong-suk will go on display in a global museum of wax dolls in Hong Kong, his management said Monday."Lee recently met officials from Madame Tussauds' Hong Kong to take his measurements," Wellmade Yedang said.His wax figure will go on display at the museum in the first half of next year, along with world-renowned figures, such as U.S. President Barack Obama, actresses Angelina Jolie and Audrey Hepburn, and Hong Kong actor Andy Lau.Lee is the fourth Korean whose wax figure is to be installed at the museum after actors Bae Yong-joon, Lee Min-ho and Kim Soo-hyun, according to Yedang. (Yonhap)Aug 24, 2015
Actress' kindness warms viewers' hearts Seo Yae-ji from JTBC's "Last" / Screen capture from YouTubeActress Seo Yae-ji is attracting viewers in TV series “Last” with her heartwarming kindness to street beggars.As the JTBC series reached its 10th episode on Saturday, nurse Shin Na-ra (played by Seo) has become one of the hottest characters. Media reports said Seo’s talent had enriched the character’s quality in drawing viewers’ sympathy.They quoted Seo as saying she has grown fond of beggars at Seoul Station -- where shooting occasionally takes place -- because her character is always surrounded by them. Shin’s nickname in the series is “Beggars’ Flower.”The action series is set in a huge black market, worth 10 billion won ($8.4 million), underneath Seoul Station. It revolves around main character Jang Tae-ho (played by singer-turned-actor Yoon Kye-sang), a former fund manager whose life is turned upside down and becomes a beggar. He fights against a vicious gang that rules the market and beggars at the station, and discovers romance with Shin.Aug 24, 2015By Ko Dong-hwan
Suh Se-won and Suh Chung-hee divorces Suh Se-wonSuh Chung-heeComedian Suh Se-won and Suh Chung-hee have divorced after 32 years, reports say.The two finalized the divorce was finalized at Seoul Family Court on Friday.The two had been a picture-perfect couple until video footages of the comedian dragging his wife by the leg into an elevator by the leg was disclosed last year. The comedian was indicted for violence last May.The two married in 1983 when Suh was a top comedian and his wife a starting model. After last year’s incident, stories about their marital troubles became public. where Suh Chung-hee first filed for divorce in July and Suh Se-won also filed in December 2014.Aug 23, 2015
Celebrities hit headlines over age gap Mina, left, and Philip RyuKoreans tend to make a big deal of couples when the girls are older than their boyfriends. It is why singers Mina, 43, and Philip Ryu, 26, made headlines on Monday when they revealed they were dating.Media reports said Mina, who gained fame in 2002 as “Miss World Cup” during the FIFA World Cup co-hosted by Korea and Japan, will support and wait for Ryu, a member of boy band “So Real,” after he joined the Army two weeks ago to serve his mandatory military service for nearly two years.The singers are certainly a rare case with their comparatively huge age difference, even from outside the entertainment world. But there are other celebrity couples with girls older than their boyfriends who have attracted attention.Baek Ji-young, left, and Jeong Seok-wonActor Jeong Seok-won, 30, and singer Baek Ji-young, 39, wed in 2013, ignoring fierce cyber-bullying by online trolls who mocked their romance.Han Hye-jin, left, and Ki Sung-yeungNational football player Ki Sung-yeung, 27, and actress Han Hye-jin, 35, tied the knot in 20Aug 21, 2015
