Jun Jin gets '#REAL#' with new EP Singer Jun Jin / YonhapAnyone who even has the most cursory of knowledge in show business would know that novelty is a star's best friend and worst enemy -- with each project comes the pressure to surprise. In that sense, it's easy to think that 17 years is an eon for an artist to stay relevant. But Jun Jin, one-sixth of the boy band Shinhwa who dropped his second solo EP "#REAL#" on Monday, says he's just getting started."For the past 17 years, other members and I have turned ourselves into entertainers because that's what was expected of us, not because it's who we were," the 35-year-old told reporters at Jeongdong Theater in central Seoul on Monday. "And it's true, after more than 10 years in the industry, entertainment has become my second nature, but I don't want people to think that's all I've got."Hence the album title "#REAL#." The hashtags were added to express his desire to connect with fans through social media."I haven't been as good as other members at playing around with my fans. I was backstage video-chatting with my fans just earlier, but I couldn't talk to them casuaSep 8, 2015
Se7en to tour Japan Singer Se7enSinger Se7en will go on tour in Japan next month to commemorate the decade since his debut.The 31-year-old singer will start with a concert in Nagoya and then tour through Kobe, Osaka, Fukuoka and Tokyo.Se7en made his debut in Japan with the Japanese singled titled “Hikari.The singer sent a message through his Japanese fan club site (http://lucky-7.jp).Se7en recently completed a stint in the musical “Elisabeth.” Sep 8, 2015
Golfer and baseball star tee off together Yang Soo-jin, left, and Yu Hui-kwan Pitcher Yu Hui-kwan from the Korean Baseball League’s Doosan Bears is dating professional golfer Yang Soo-jin.Yu, 29, started seeing Yang, 24, after his friend introduced her to him in June, according to media reports. The two became closer as Yang helped Yu learn golf. Yang Soo-jin from her SNS webpageYu leads the way this year with 17 wins and four losses.Yang played as a national golfer in 2007 and entered KLPGA the following year. Praised for her beauty and fashion style, she was KLPGA promotional model in 2011 and 2012. Sep 7, 2015
TV show accused of'caption sex harassment' Fujita Sayuri from “Real Men: Women’s Army Special” / Screen capture from MBCTV military reality show “Real Men: Women’s Army Special” is under criticism for captions mocking a male training officer’s buttocks.The MBC program on Sunday showed the officer with 10 female celebrities who are military trainees. When he showed his posterior, the program highlighted the firmness of his buttocks, dubbing them “angry buttocks.”Some trainees were seen talking about the buttocks.Kim Hyun-sook from “Real Men: Women’s Army Special”Actress Kim Hyun-sook and TV personality Fujita Sayuri said, that all they could see at that moment “was his buttocks ... which seemed to be hanging above our heads.”The program’s official webpage was under fire, with netizens saying the episode sexually mocked the officer.Some netizens said that if the officer had been a woman, the repercussions would have been much bigger.The program previously drew fire for airing mosaic-pattern scenes of male celebrity trainees Sep 7, 2015
Yoon Eun-hye denies plagiarism /Korea Times file Actress Yoon Eun-hye has denied copying the work of designer Yoon Choon-ho on a Chinese TV program. She then condemned him for trying to cash in on her fame.The actress said in a statement: “The concept for the episode of the program was ‘the great nature’ and the topic of our team was ‘snow’ and ‘lion.’“I chose white and used frills for the jacket to express the two topics.”The actress said the idea came from a 2008 Victor & Rolf style and the 2014 Lanvin Collection, which used feather decorations.Yoon had posted a one-sided opinion without contacting her or her team, she said.Yoon claimed on his Facebook page on Saturday that he was sure the actress had copied his design.The Chinese program aired on Aug.29. Sep 7, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Cage fighter with mic, 'How sweet the sound' Seo Doo-won from MBC's "King of the Masked Singer" / Screen capture from MBCIt turns out that cage fighter Seo Doo-won has a heart-melting voice that mesmerizes television audiences.The mixed martial arts fighter appeared on MBC’s masquerade music competition show “King of the Masked Singer” on Sunday and, wearing a mask, sang two songs. As the program’s rules go, he had to take off the mask and reveal his identity after he lost the first round.None of the celebrity judges on the show seemed to have guessed Seo’s identity and were shocked to discover his identity.Seo said he was at first reluctant to sing on the program because of cyber-bully comments against him. He changed his mind, though, to honor his father, who died two months ago.“He liked seeing me on TV and enjoyed searching for my name on the Internet,” Seo said on the program after taking off his mask and showing his emotions. “But he saw the cyberbullies’ comments and got upset. When MBC first asked me to sing on the program, I said that I wouldn’t and then Sep 7, 2015
Richest celebrities, in terms of stock Yang Hyun-sukThe nation’s richest entertainment executive is Yang Hyun-suk, head of YG Entertainment, whose stock holdings are estimated at 236.2 billion won ($198.3 million) in value, according to a Yonhap News Agency report.Yang, whose company has such artists as Psy, Big Bang and 2NE1, has seen the value of his stock rise by 24.1 percent or 45.9 billion won from earlier this year, the report said, citing findings from the corporate tracker Chaebul.com.Lee Soo-man, chairman of SM Entertainment took second place. The value of Lee’s stocks stood at 171.5 billion won, an increase of 10.5 percent or 16.2 billion won from earlier this year.Han Seong-ho of FNC Entertainment was stock-rich at 79.9 billion won, followed by Bae Yong-joon of Keyeast Entertainment whose stock was valued at 75 billion won.Ranked fifth was Ham Yeon-ji, a musical star and granddaughter of founder of the foodmaker Ottogi, with 36.6 billion won worth of stock.She was followed by Park Jin-young of JYP Entertainment, whose stock was valued at 23. 5 billion won.Sep 6, 2015
Girl band keeps on dancing after tumbling down /Screen captures from YouTube K-pop girl group, GFRIEND, gave a professional performance despite the fact that one of its members kept falling down on a wet floor, Saturday.Group member, Yuju, fell four times during their performance of “Me Gustas Tu” on the SBS radio show in Inje, Gangwon Province. Another member, SinB, also fell once while she was dancing.Due to rain, the floor of the stage became slippery. The band’s brave struggle against gravity was captured in video footage uploaded by a fan on YouTube, Sunday. /Courtesy of Source MusicThe audience broke into enthusiastic applause to cheer the group up after their hazardous performance.The six-member girl band debuted in 2015 with a mini-album titled “Season of Glass.”Sep 6, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
Yoon Eun-hye faces plagiarism /Online community Actress Yoon Eun-hye is facing allegations that she copied work created by a Korean designer when producing clothes for a Chinese TV program, “The Goddesses’ New Outfit.”In the broadcast, aired on Aug.29 Yoon’s clothes bore a resemblance to a piece created by Korean designer Yoon Choon-ho, according to local media reports on Sunday.The winning dress that the actress designed was a white jacket with ruffles. Yoon said that her inspiration for the white jacket came from “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Judges praised the jacket, and she won the competition on the show.The designer Yoon uploaded his statement on his Facebook page Saturday and said he was disappointed and sure that the actress and the stylist had copied his design.“We provided our clothes to the stylist and the actress often wears them. I am pretty sure they copied my design,” the designer wrote on Facebook.The designer Yoon said he came to know the actress’s design when his Chinese buyer contacted him after watching the show.Yoon, a singer-turned-aSep 6, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji
'Infinite Challenge' continues to impress Haha, left, member of "Infinite Challenge" is seen crying while fellow member Yoo Jae-suk talks with Kang Kyung-nam, a first-generation Korean resident at Utoro, Japan. / YonhapThe entertainment program “Infinite Challenge” aired on Saturday, showed cast member Haha delivering traditional Korean food to residents in Utoro, Japan, a village that will soon be demolished despite efforts from residents to preserve the buildings and keep their community alive.Utoro, situated near Kyoto, is where some 1,300 Koreans were mobilized into forced labor for Japan’s military during World War II. They were brought over to build landing strips for the air force but the construction was not completed before the war ended.A total of 150 Koreans still live in Utoro where residents have been served with eviction orders. Only 91-year-old Kang Kyung-nam remains of the Koreans brought over during the war. The village is scheduled for demolition in two years time.Haha brought traditional dishes from the southeastern Gyeongsang and the southwestern Jeolla region. He also brought photoSep 6, 2015
