Star chef's recipe gets cool reception in 'Refrigerator' show Maeng Ki-yong from "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator" / Screen capture from YouTubeTV viewers turned up the heat on chef Maeng Ki-yong Monday, criticizing the dish he created on cooking-battle entertainment show “Please Take Care of My Refrigerator.”Maeng made mackerel sandwiches, which he called “Maeng Morning,” in the show, where two chefs compete using what is in the refrigerator of the program’s guest. The guest was rapper Jinu who wanted the chefs to satisfy his “immature” tastes, on a par with an elementary school student.Maeng Morning aroused the viewers’ ire. They questioned the quality of the sandwiches and said he did not seem fit to be a professional chef. The menu was chosen as the program’s worst.The show, first broadcast in November last year, has been popular.In it, famous chefs compete with each other by cooking one main dish in 15 minutes for the show’s guest.Jun 9, 2015
TVXQ singer marches toward military service Jung Yun-ho, also known as U-Know Yunho, from TVXQ / Korea Times fileIdol singer Jung Yun-ho from two-member boy band TVXQ, whose stage name goes by U-Know Yunho, enlists in July. Jung, 29, begins his five-week basic military training on July 21 and will serve for 21 months, an online media outlet said Tuesday. SM Entertainment, which manages the band, did not reveal the place and time of the enlistment because the singer does not want media exposure. Jung is shooting a TV series scheduled to air on SBS Plus in July. Jung debuted in 2004 with the band’s single album “Hug.”Jun 9, 2015By Ko Dong-hwan
Pentaport festival to honor late rocker The late Shin Hae-chulIncheon Pentaport Rock Festival 2015 will host a performance in memory of the late rocker Shin Hae-chul, who died of a heart attack last October.According to festival organizer YESCOM Entertainment, three members of Shin’s former band, N.EX.T, will perform, along with rock band Schizo’s breakaway member Joo Sung-min. Punk rock band No Brain’s vocalist, Lee Sung-woo, and four other singers from Crash will fill in Shin’s spot.Shin participated in the rock festival in 2006 and 2008.Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival enters its 10th year and will take place at Songdo Pentaport Park from August 7 to 9.Jun 9, 2015
Idol singer a cousin of mega-celebrity Melody Day's Yoo-min, inbox, and Jang Dong-gun / Korea Times fileIdol singer Yoo-min, from four-member girl band Melody Day, is a blood relative of Jang Dong-gun, 43, one of Korea’s top actors. Yoo-min, 21, who joined the band last October, holds the familial relation to the hallyu star because her father is Jang’s cousin. Reports quoted an insider from the K-pop industry as saying, “Yoo-min and Jang share a similarity in appearance” and she “attended his wedding when he married actress Ko So-young in May 2010.” Melody Day released a single album on Tuesday and a music video online of the album’s title song, “#LoveMe,” Monday. Jun 9, 2015By Ko Dong-hwan
Actress Oh Yun-ah, husband divorce Oh Yun-ah / Korea Times fileActress Oh Yun-ah has ended her eight-year marriage.Oh, 34, divorced Song Hoon, who is five years older, on June 2, her management company, Polaris Entertainment, told a news outlet on Tuesday. The couple split because of personality differences, the company said. Custody of their son went to Oh.Oh first met Song, a marketing firm employee, in January 2007. They became a couple after three days and got married after 18 months. She gave birth in August of the same year.Oh first attracted attention after winning the 1st Cyber Racing Queen Competition in 2000. She debuted as an actress in 2004 in SBS TV series "Into the Storm."Jun 9, 2015By Ko Dong-hwan
Exhibit on G-Dragon's cultural vision opens in Seoul An exhibition of modern art works visualizing South Korean pop star G-Dragon's cultural vision kicked off at a Seoul gallery Tuesday.The "PEACEMINUSONE: Beyond the Stage" exhibition opened at the Seoul Museum of Art in central Seoul to showcase some 200 works of art, ranging from installations, sculptures and photographs to paintings.The works were created in collaboration with the member of the popular K-pop boy band BigBang and 12 contemporary artists at home and abroad, including Michael Scoggins, Sophie Clements from the U.S., James Clar and Quayola, both from London, and Fabien Verschaere from France, along with domestic counterparts such as Kwon Oh-sang and Bang & Lee.Also among the items on display are art pieces from G-Dragon's own collection and his own creations.The singer spent about a year with the artists to come up with ideas on how to reinterpret his cultural vision into the contemporary art genre, according to his management agency, YG Entertainment.The title "PEACEMINUSONE" reflects the point of crossing between a peaceful world, the singer's ideal, and the real Jun 9, 2015
Kim Soo-hyun mobile game to hit Chinese market Kim Soo-hyunA mobile game featuring hallyu star Kim Soo-hyun will be released on the Chinese market, Kim’s agency Keyeast said Monday.The entertainment agency announced that China’s Chukong Technologies will create the game based on the contents provided by Keyeast, who will make a joint investment and promote the product with online shopping mall pandakorea.com. The product is expected to launch by the end of this year.The mobile game will feature Kim as character in the game to be fed and looked after by the players. Products related to the character in the game will also be manufactured and sold.Chukong Technologies is the developer of Cocos2d-x, the game engine that is used to build games and apps, which takes up 70 percent of the Chinese game engine market. The company developed mobile game “fishing joy” that has been downloaded by more than a billion times in China and has over 100 million users a day.Haozhi Chen, CEO and co-founder of ChuKong Technologies, said that he plans to establish a new hallyu culture with this project and make the game more acceJun 8, 2015
Busty idol singer shines on SNL Korea Jeon Hyo-sung performs in SNL Korea on Saturday / Screen capture from YouTubeBusty idol singer Jeon Hyo-sung from four-member girl band Secret attracted plenty of TV viewers on the comedy show SNL Korea on Saturday night.Jeon, 25, was the main host in an ensemble including regular actors Shin Dong-yeop, Yoo Sae-yoon and Kang Yoo-mi.Jeon opened the show with a sexy dance and appeared in various segments in a range costumes highlighting her bust. Jeon is unusual in Korea in that her bust has been her main ticket to stardom. She featured in an ad for Yes lingerie last summer and appeared on the cover of a men’s magazine GEEK last August.It was Jeon’s second appearance on the show. She also appeared last August, when she also showcased her ample curves.Jun 7, 2015By Ko Dong-hwan
Comedy writer joins YG Entertainment Yoo Byung-jae / Korea Times fileComedy writer Yoo Byung-jae has joined YG Entertainment, one of the nation’s of top celebrity management companies.On Thursday, the company’s official online blog, yg-life.com, posted an ad headlined, “Welcome to YG, Yoo Byung-jae,” stating that Yoo had begun working for the company. Beneath the headline is a photo of Yoo smiling.The company also said it decided to hire Yoo because “he is not just a talented actor with an outstanding comical wit, but also deemed an asset to the company as a writer who brings creative content.” Yoo, 27, has been a high-profile celebrity since 2012, not only as a writer for TV comedy show “SNL Korea” on tvN, but also as an actor regularly appearing on the show.This led to an appearance on TV network MBC’s entertainment show “Infinity Challenge” in April during its “sixth man” project, in which the show searched for an additional regular member. Yoo was selected as one of eight candidates.He eventually failed to become the sixth member, losing tJun 4, 2015By Ko Dong-hwan
Ex-basketballer solidifies status as TV personality "Goliath" Seo Jang-hoon entertains celebrities and TV viewers on TV talk shows. / Screen capture from YouTubeFormer basketball player Seo Jang-hoon has fared well as a TV personality.With his verbal wit that seemingly puts him on par with other veteran TV entertainers, Seo, 41, is raising expectations from viewers and local media outlets as to his future star power in the nation’s TV industry.Seo now regularly appears on three TV talk shows ― tvN’s “High School Kings Top 10,” Mnet’s “Yaman TV” and MBC’s “Three Wheels” ― as a host. Seo Jang-hoon while playing for Incheon ET Land Elephants / Korea Times file“When he began to frequently make TV appearances on entertainment shows earlier this year, he used to deny that he was an entertainer,” a media report said Thursday about Seo, who is managed by MYSTIC Entertainment. “But now he has got his grounding as a TV personality. He makes people laugh with killer comments that are as witty as ones made by veteran entertainers.”On Wednesday&rsquoJun 4, 2015By Ko Dong-hwan
