Actress weds IT expert Lee So-yeon from “Wild Chives and Soybean Soup” / Screen capture from JTBCLee So-yeon with her fiance from InStyle magazine / Courtesy of Naver blogActress Lee So-yeon is getting married to an IT expert this month.Lee, 34, is marrying a 32-year-old businessman who operates an IT venture company on Sept. 12. The wedding will be at a wedding hall in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul.The couple were featured on the cover of the August issue of fashion magazine InStyle wearing wedding attire.The man, whose name has not been revealed, is reportedly studying for a masters of business administration at a university, according to media reports.Lee met her fiance early this year when her younger sibling introduced him to her. Families of the couple met in June and endorsed the wedding, the reports added.Lee debuted in 2003 in the epic Korean film “Untold Scandal” and has been working since in movies and TV series. Her latest work was the TV drama series “Wild Chives and Soybean Soup” (2014) on JTBC.Sep 1, 2015
Maths genius amazes TV viewers Song Ki-moon from tvN's “Smart is New Sexy” / Screen capture from tvN webpageA computer game developer amazed TV viewers with his genius-like skill at solving mathematical problems, even confounding the show’s producers.On tvN’s talk show “Smart is New Sexy” on Sunday, Song Ki-moon attended as a long-time friend of regular guest Lee Jang-won from two-member rock band Peppertones. Song solved a series of mathematical and science problems faster than six other guests.According to the program, Song is a graduate of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), a winner of International Olympiad in Informatics in 1999, and won medals in the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest from 2000 to 2004.Aug 31, 2015
'New Journey to the West' to be shown on Chinese portal Poster for "New Journey to the West""New Journey to the West," a much anticipated entertainment program by tvN, will be broadcast on Chinese web portal qq.com, the South Korean cable network said Monday.It will be streamed there and on South Korean portal website Naver simultaneously, tvN said.In South Korea, the first episode is scheduled to air at 10 a.m. Friday, local time.The two trailers posted on Naver last week have garnered a combined 2.4 million views so far.The program reunites comedians Kang Ho-dong, Lee Soo-geun, actor Lee Seung-gi and rapper Eun Ji-won, a dream team from the first season of "Two Days, One Night" on KBS 2TV five years ago."New Journey to the West" was inspired by "Journey to the West," a 16th-century Chinese novel. The four cast members will each play the role of one of the novel's four main characters, the network said.Its first few episodes were shot in the central Chinese city of Xi'an, although producers have not mentioned the next filming location. (Yonhap) Aug 31, 2015
Rapper bombs out on military reality show Jessi from “Real Men: Women’s Army Special” / Screen capture from YouTubePoor Korean has cornered rapper Jessi on a TV military reality show.On Sunday, the“Real Men: Women’s Army Special” on MBC showed 10 female celebrities undergoing military training for the first time.Not only did they find the physical challenges tough, they had trouble adapting to the regimental style of verbal communication between themselves and the training officers.Among the recruits, Jessi, who spent much of her time in the U.S. in the past 10 years, found the going toughest. Known as a “free-spirited” rapper, she kept smiling when officers pointed out her faults and reprimanded her for standing at ease when she should have been standing at attention.Media reports have lampooned her. Introduced in August 2014, the segment features a star who struggles more than others because of poor Korean.Singer G.Na from the first season and rapper Amber from idol girl band “f(X)” from the second season were good examples.Aug 31, 2015
Actor goes for 'sexy French fries' look Song Seung-heon on the cover of Chinese magazine Chic! Elegance / Courtesy of WeiboHallyu actor Song Seung-heon flaunts his sexy bad-boy image -- including his signature thick “charcoal” eyebrows -- as he eats American fast food in a Chinese lifestyle magazine photograph.In Chic! Elegance magazine’s September issue, Song, 38, wears a white jacket over a turquoise turtleneck long-sleeve shirt as he eats French fries. In front of him is a dish with a half-cut hamburger and more French fries.Song Seung-heon, left, and Liu Yifei / Courtesy of Naver blogPresumably many of Song’s millions of Chinese fans are heartbroken because of his recently announced romance with Chinese actress Liu Yifei).Aug 31, 2015
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
