Actor Lee Byung-hun and wife welcome new son South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun's wife, actress Rhee Min-jung, gave birth to a son, the couple's first child, Tuesday, nearly two years after they wed, their agencies said.Rhee gave birth early in the morning at a Seoul hospital and both the mother and baby are doing well, BH Entertainment and MSTeam Entertainment said in a joint press release."The couple said they will do their best to make a happy family with responsibility as parents," the agencies said. "Please bless the birth of this new life," they added.Long a Korean household name, Lee has starred in Hollywood action films such as "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" (2013) and "G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra" (2009), as well as several Korean movies and soap operas of different genres. More recently, he co-starred in another Hollywood blockbuster "Red 2" starring Bruce Willis and Catherine Zeta-Jones, which was released in July 2013. Actress Rhee has played leading roles in several Korean movies such as "Wonderful Radio" (2012), "Cyrano Agency" (2010), as well as several romantic comedy dramas. (Yonhap)Mar 31, 2015
'Angry Moms' are back on screen Chae Si-ra Kim Hee-seon Kim Sung-ryoungBy Kwon Ji-younStars of the 1980s and 90s are back — and they’re no longer the Cinderellas they used to be.Actresses no longer in their twenties, including 47-year-old Chae Si-ra and 38-year-old Kim Hee-seon, are taking over the small screen, bewildering audiences with frizzy hair, little makeup and a lot of pent up anger. And these actresses are no longer the wholesome and naive “ingenues” they once were. They’ve given an edge to their characters, with regretful pasts, miserable childhoods and undying ambition — the whole “troublemaker” package.Kim appears on MBC’s “Angry Mom” as a mom/high school student. Her character, Kang-ja, returns to high school disguised as a student who has been held back a few years so she can protect her daughter who has been the target of bullying.Kim’s transformation from sweet and innocent to fierce and energetic is turning heads. A single mom and former rabble-rouser, Kim will do anything to safeguard her daughter. She&rsMar 23, 2015
Lee Min-ho, Suzy confirm they are dating Lee Min-ho, left, and SuzyBy Kwon Ji-youn Hallyu star Lee Min-ho and Miss A’s Suzy have confirmed they are dating.Online entertainment news outlet Dispatch unveiled Monday paparazzi snaps of Lee and Suzy on a recent rendezvous in London. The report claimed the two have been seeing each other for two months.Dispatch reported that Lee and Suzy left for Paris and London, respectively, on March 10 to take part in separate photo shoots, and then met up in London on March 15. It added that the two had earlier been spotted enjoying coffee near Mount Nam on Feb. 25 and that they had spent several days together in Europe. The news outlet also claimed the two have enjoyed trysts almost every day since Feb. 25.Both their agencies have, for the most part, confirmed the report.Starhaus Entertainment, which represents Lee, issued a press release Monday that read, “The two have been seeing each other for about a month. We ask for warm support.”JYP Entertainment, Suzy’s agency, also said the two have been dating for about a month, and stressed that they will be moving ahMar 23, 2015
The Korea Times fetes spring with concert Guests read the program in their seats before the start of the Korea Times’ Spring Music Festival at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul on April 1, 2014. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul Conductor Park Sang-hyunTenor Ryu Jung-philBy Kwon Mee-yoo The Korea Times will present its annual spring concert at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Monday, celebrating the 65th anniversary of the oldest English daily in Korea.The concert, conducted by the Mostly Philharmonic Orchestra’s Park Sang-hyun, will feature a wide ranging repertoire from classical music to musical theater songs and popular music from some of Korea’s top musical talent to warm up the mood despite the lasting cold snap sweeping the country.Soprano Kim Soo-yeon will sing arias such as "Una Voce Poco Fa" from Rossini's "The Barber of Seville," and musical numbers from Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera."Kim graduated from the University of Music and the Performing Arts Vienna, Austria and has performed with many opera companies including the KorMar 13, 2015
Culture Line ‘Gangnam Style’ expands YouTube’s view limits Singer PsyK-pop singer Psy’s megahit “Gangnam Style” has drawn unexpectedly high view counts on YouTube, so much so that Google had to reform the system to expand the maximum limit. The music video surpassed 2.26 billion views as of Wednesday, which exceeds the online video provider’s view counter.YouTube-owned Google had upgraded its software in advance of reaching the full counter to utilize 64-bit integer that allows more than 922 quintillion views, up from a 32-bit integer of about 21 billion clicks. Google said that previously no video posted on YouTube ever reached more views than the 32-bit integer can hold.Psy’s megahit was first released on July 15, 2012 and became YouTube’s most-watched video, with more than 800 million views in just five months. The video surpassed 2 billion view counts as of May 2014, but it continued to be watched with ever-increasing views. According to Tech Times, the software engineers of YouTube anticipated the problem a few months ago and were able tMar 11, 2015By Kim Jae-heun
'Real Men 2' returns with more reality Five celebrities, from left, actor Lim Won-hee, Jeong Kyeo-woon, Kim Young-chul, Sam Okyere and Lee Gyu-han, participating in MBC’s entertainment show “The Real Men 2” salute during the press conference at MBC headquarter in Sangam, Seoul, on March 6. / Courtesy of MBCBy Kim Jae-heunKorea’s major broadcaster MBC started airing the second season of its entertainment program “The Real Men” Sunday, vowing to depict more realistic military life and drill experiences that were lacking in the first season. The Real Men takes actors, singers and TV personalities to a subordinate unit of the Korean army, and lets them go through military drills for six days. First aired in April 2013, the program earned popularity for providing viewers a chance to experience what barracks life is like. The program also aired a women’s army series as a special feature during the first season, which became the talk of the town as women don’t have an obligation to do military service and the pretty female entertainers washed off their makeup to join the troopMar 11, 2015By Kim Jae-heun
Growing appetite for 'Cook TV' Seen above are the actors appearing in tvN’s “Three Meals a Day.” From left are Yoo Hae-jin, Jung Woo, Son Ho-joon and Cha Seung-won./ Courtesy of CJ E&MBy Kwon Ji-younThere isn’t much Cha Seung-won says or does on tvN’s “Three Meals a Day,” but he’s attracting viewers like moths to a flame.All the same, it seems there isn’t much the 44-year-old actor can’t do ― he broils the eels and seasons the vegetables while fellow actor Yoo Hae-jin hooks the fish and gets the fire going. In episode five, which aired on Feb. 20, Cha took some flour and eggs, kneaded it into dough and threw it into the kiln. With some mandarins and oranges, he whipped up some jam to go with the bread.This very “Three Meals” episode reaped record viewership with 14.2 percent, the broadcaster’s best thus far. In episode seven, which aired on March 6, Cha fricasseed some stir-fried spicy pork, after which he was given the task of serving fresh sushi on a circulating conveyer-belt or train. This episode recorded 13.9 percent viewerMar 10, 2015
Culture Briefs 2PM member's single enters Oricon chart The solo single album by Wooyoung, member of K-pop boy band 2PM, ranked second on Japan’s Oricon chart, his management agency said Sunday.JYP Entertainment announced that Wooyoung’s first single album “R.O.S.E” took second place in Oricon’s daily single chart only a day after it was released.The album consists of four songs written and composed by Wooyoung, including the eponymous title song “R.O.S.E.”The album also topped the daily sales chart in the Shibuya branch of Tower Records, the largest record store in Japan, on the same day.Wooyoung is currently on a solo showcase tour around Japan since last month and has a final performance due on March 11 in Osaka. The concert will be broadcasted live in 30 theaters in 23 regions in Japan for fans who have failed to purchase tickets.Kingsman surpasses 4 million mark Hollywood blockbuster “Kingsman: The Secret Service” surpassed the 4 million mark Sunday, according to its distributor 20th Century Fox Korea.The record comes 26 days sinceMar 9, 2015
Culture Briefs Koyote’s new single “Stop Love”Koyote release new single ‘Stop Love’Veteran K-pop dance group Koyote released their new single “Stop Love” on Tuesday, the band’s management agency KYT Entertainment said.“The medium-tempo song ‘Stop Love’ is about poignant breaking-up. The song is written by one of the band’s member Shin Ji,” the company said in a statement.“Shin has shown her great passion about writing the lyrics to songs, and we think her lyrics is in perfect harmony with Koyote’s songs,” the company added.Comprised of Shin, Kim Jong-min and Bbaek Ga, the band made their debut in 1998. They are best known for their captivating dance songs including “Pure Love,” “Passion” and “Paran.” More Joseon royal books available online The National Museum of Korea (NMK) announced Wednesday that about 38,000 pages of “Oegyujanggak Uigwe” or “Records of states rites of Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910)” are now available online.The JMar 6, 2015
Culture Line Ha opens solo exhibition in LAHa Jung-wooActor and filmmaker Ha Jung-woo opened an art exhibition in Los Angeles on Feb. 28.Ha displayed some 20 pieces in his solo exhibition “Pasue” at Pyo Gallery. His works focused on the details of facial shapes. The actor drew inspirations from characters he played on screen.Ha has been holding exhibitions regularly in Seoul and New York. He sold 16 pieces during a show with Finnish artist in Manhattan in March 2014. Jo meets Thai fansJo In-sung held his first fan meeting “So In Love With Jo In Sung” at JJ Mall in Bangkok on last Saturday.Jo talked about the backstage episodes of the 2014 SBS drama “It’s Okay, That’s Love.” Fans also caught up with the actor’s personal life and had chance to ask him questions.Jo wrapped up his fan meeting with sing a song “Thought” by Hot Potato.Jo became a top star after his romance film “The Classic” with actress Son Ye-jin.He has been a huge star on TV, particularly since the 2004 “What happened in Bali.” Mar 3, 2015By Kim Jae-heun
