Beast's Yang Yo-seop in duet with soprano Sumi Jo Yang Yo-seop of Beast / YonhapYang Yo-seop of Beast will become the first idol K-pop band singer to participate in an album with legendary soprano Sumi Jo.According to Cube Entertainment, Tuesday, Yang will remake Jo Duck-bai's hit song "When you come into my heart" and sing it with Jo.It will be a special bonus track on the album.In 2013, Yang sang a duet with Jo at park concert "La Fantasia."The album, to be released Thursday, provides a preview of songs to be performed at Jo's concert next month.Aug 25, 2015
TV show's noodle punishment draws fire / Screen capture from YouTubeA TV entertainment program has copped flak after airing scenes of guests being showered in noodles as a punishment.KBS2’s “Emergency Escape No.1” on Monday challenged guests to take a quiz and used the controversial punishment whenever they got questions wrong.Several visitors to the program’s webpage criticized the punishment, saying the program was uncomfortable to watch because it “played with precious foods.”The program’s producers have apologized. They said the noodles were made of clay and they should have told viewers with a caption during the program.Aug 25, 2015
'Gangnam Style' Psy back with new album Singer and rapper Psy will return to the music scene with a new album next month, working again with songwriter Yoo Gun-hyung, who was responsible for the world mega-hit “Gangnam Style” and the follow-up single “Gentleman.”Psy was planning to issue the album in August, but delayed it.Psy, 37, whose real name is Park Jae-sang, has been producing albums and singles since “Gangnam Style” in 2012. Meanwhile, the song’s music video recorded 2.4 billion views on YouTube as of Monday to set another record. Aug 25, 2015
SHINee's Jonghyun heads concert series SHINee's JonghyunSHINee’s Jonghyun will open the new SM Entertainment concert series, the agency said Tuesday.The leader and main vocalist of the boy band will perform Oct.2-4, and Oct.8-11 at the SMTOWN Theater in SMTOWN’s Coex Artium in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul.His performance will be part of concert series “THE AGIT,” where SM Entertainment-affiliated artists will perform.Jonghyun in January released a solo album, “Base,” topping various charts. A band will back him for the concert. Ticket sales for his concert, “The Story by Jonghyun,” will open on Sept. 1 at YES24 (http://ticket.yes24.com)Aug 25, 2015
Hot images reveal actress' glamour Kim Sa-rang from InStyle magazine / Courtesy of TwitterActress Kim Sa-rang, who recently finished TV series “My Love Eundong,” has revealed her glamorous side in new magazine photographs.Monthly women’s magazine InStyle interviewed Kim, 38, and shot photos for the September issue, in which the actress wore revealing, elegant black and white dresses. The image was a contrast for the former Miss Korea beauty pageant winner compared with her role in the JTBC drama.The magazine asked Kim how she keeps herself healthy and looking sexy. She said she only eats healthy meals, sleeps eight hours or more a day and tries not to get stressed.Aug 25, 2015
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
