Chu Sung-hoon, daughter to donate Chu Sung-hoon, left, and his daughter Chu SarangBy Kim Ji-sooKorean-Japanese fighter Chu Sung-hoon and daughter Chu Sa-rang will donate their performance fees to multicultural families.The father and daughter who are starring in the parenting reality show on KBS, “Superman Returns,” will model for the Korean company Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s wet dressing EZ-Derm, and donate all the proceeds to support children of multicultural families in Korea.Chu, 38, whose Japanese name is Akiyama Yoshihiro, married his Japanese model wife Shiho Yano in 2009. Chu said that the donation is to return the love that viewers have shown him and his daughter through the “Superman Returns” program.Chu and his daughter will film their commercial in early March, and it will be released in April.Mar 5, 2014
Soo-hyun to star in 'Avengers' sequel Korean actress Soo-hyun will appear in a supporting role for “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”By Kim Ji-sooIt’s official.A Korean actress will have a supporting role in the “Avengers” series that will be partially filmed in Korea.Soo-hyun whose English name is Claudia Kim passed the audition for “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Disney Company Korea said Wednesday. It was announced that parts of the film shoot will happen in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province between April and May.Soo-hyun, who is a graduate of Ewha Womans University’s international division, has several works under her belt including a role opposite Rain and Daniel Henney in the KBS drama “Plan B.” The actress has changed her name few times, from Kim Soo-hyun to now Soo-hyun.Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios and the film’s producer said in February that locations for the movie include Seoul, Johannesburg, Aosta Valley (Italy), London and Burbank, California.The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is expected to reimburse up to 30 percent of the expendiMar 5, 2014
Popular beauty show gets new emcee Yoo In-na, center, listens to questions from the press about starting a new tenure at the “Get it Beauty,” a beauty talk show launched in 2010 and has since grown into an influential guide on beauty tips. Yoo is joined by Jae-gyeong, left, a member of the girl group Rainbow who will support her in the upcoming episodes and chief producer Ki Ho-yeong. / Courtesy of OnStyleBy Kim Ji-sooThese days, there is information galore on the internet and offline on almost everything, including cosmetics and beauty secrets. But purchasing the best cosmetics remains a confounding task, perhaps a reason that makes it all the more interesting.When “Get it Beauty” started in July 2010 with the actress and former S.E.S member Eugene as emcee, not many expected it to grow to become the guiding hand in beauty-shopping.Nearly four years later, the show has grown powerful where one can easily go into Korean cosmetics store and rely on a little posting that usually reads “Get it Beauty-recommended” in purchasing cosmetic products. The first emcee Eugene even laMar 5, 2014
UC Berkeley plans to hold K-pop conference By Park Jin-hai An in-school club at UC Berkeley will hold a two-day convention on the colorful and diverse aspects of the K-pop community. Under the theme “[Be] CHROMATIC,” KPOPCON will be held on March 8 and 9, in and around the university campus in northern California. “KPOPCON strives to gather fans from all backgrounds to celebrate the continuously evolving K-pop community in a social, creative, and academic setting,” said its organizer K-Popular. “While enjoying the hallyu content provided during the workshops, we hope fans will find their creativity and dreams.” Since the student club launched the K-pop event in 2012, it has been providing a platform for studying the phenomenon academically as well as organizing dance competitions and fan meet-ups. The event will be all about K-pop. Participants will participate in workshops interspersed with singing and dancing. On Saturday, workshops on K-pop’s shifting representation of gender and sexuality, incubation systems, and the collision between Mar 5, 2014By Park Jin-hai
Dramas, R&D fuel K-cosmetics An image capture from the drama “My Love from the Stars” shows actress Jun Ji-hyun using cosmetic products, stocks of which have since run instores. / Courtesy of AmorePacificBy Park Jin-haiFanding Zhou, 24, from Beijing, says the first items that her friends asked her to buy on her visit to Korea were cosmetic products, showing off small boxes of low and medium priced local brands “Missha” and “The Faceshop.”“There is this perception that the quality of Korea moisturizing products exceds that of others, since it has a long dry winter season,” she said. Zhou was among a band of tourists that walked out of Lotte Duty Free Shop’s ‘star zone,’ walled with pictures of local pop actors, in central Seoul, last week. Their hands were full of shopping bags. Thanks to the popularity of Korean dramas, fed virtually freely through various on-line websites and mobiles, fans throughout Asia pay almost instant attention to what the actresses use on the screen. Local cosmetic companies are enjoying the stardust effect. Type in Mar 4, 2014By Park Jin-hai
Key, Woohyun to peform as duo Woohyun, left, and Key will perform as a subunit duo named “Toheart.”K-pop group SHINee’s Key and INFINITE’s Woohyun will launch a subunit named “To Heart” and release a mini-album.The album consisting of six tracks will be available on March 10, according to their agencies Tuesday. The album has drawn high expectations from the music circle before its official launch since composers for SHINee and INFINITE have collaborated on the album. “Delicious” is a collaboration work of Sweet Tune, who wrote INFINITE’s songs such as “Man In Love,” and Sean Alexander, who composed SHINee’s “Amigo.”Mar 4, 2014By Park Jin-hai
History lessons for foreign students Participants of the Northeast Asia History Foundation’s first academic program on Northeast Asian history pose in this 2013 file photo./ Courtesy of Northeast Asia History Foundation By Park Si-sooA state-run history research center will run a second academic program to educate 33 foreign students from 11 countries about Northeast Asian history, through which the center hopes they will gain a deeper understanding of Korean history and its culture. The opening ceremony for the program will be held today at the Northeast Asian History Foundation’s (NAHF) auditorium in downtown Seoul. The program is comprised of 15 sessions and will continue through June 25, according to the foundation. Inaugurated in 2013, it is held twice a year. The students will learn about Korean history, culture and geo-political conflicts with surrounding countries using a textbook written by scholars at the foundation. They will also visit Ulleung Island, as well as the easternmost islets of Dokdo. The islets controlled by South Korea are the frequent targets of repeated territorial claims by JaMar 4, 2014
Joy of the road The cast of “Halbae (grandpas) Over Flowers” pose for a photo during their backpack trip to Spain. From left are Lee Seo-jin, Lee Sun-jae, Shin Gu, Baek Il-sup and Park Geun-hyung. / Courtesy of CJ E&MProducer Nah talks about new season of "Halbae (grandpas) Over Flowers"By Yun Suh-youngNah Yung-suk, Korea’s most influential television show creator, has been milking the same template for repeated success: Take a group of likable but bumbling personalities, throw them in random travel destinations and wait for humorous adventures to unfold. Producer Nah Yung-suk smiles during an interview with The Korea Times. / Korea Times photo by Yun Suh-youngKBS television’s “2 Days and 1 Night,” the show that triggered Nah’s breakthrough, made stars out of cast members such as Kang Ho-dong, Lee Seung-ki and Kim Su-geun, who took their unintentional slapstick to new locations in Korea every week.After leaving KBS for tvN, a cable network run by culture industry giant CJ E&M, Nah created a similar show in “Halbae (grandpas) OverMar 4, 2014
Sequel to 'My Love from Star' likely By Chung Ah-youngA poster of “My Love From the Star”Jang Tae-yoo, the producer of the SBS hit drama “My Love from the Star,” said Monday that he wants to make a sequel if the opportunity arises.“It is possible to make a sequel although I will have to talk with the scriptwriter,” Jang said on “Good Morning,” an SBS TV show. The drama that starred the two charismatic actors Jun Ji-hyun and Kim Soo-hyun, has gained huge popularity in Korea and China with ripple effects.Chinese state CCTV television recently carried a nine-minute special on the drama, while the China Daily, in its op-ed piece on Feb. 21 attributed the Korean drama’s success in China to “great innovations in South Korean TV productions in terms of themes and narrative patterns.” The drama has catapulted heartthrob Kim to a new level of stardom in China where he is slated to appear on Jiangsu Satellite TV’s “Super Brain” on March 8.Jang explained that the character Do Min-jun (played by Kim), travels back and forth between Earth and his plaMar 3, 2014
Busy K-pop stars K-pop stars are engaging with foreign fans through concerts. The above photo shows Girls’ Generation posing with Katy Perry Sunday as they appeared at the “U-Express Live 2014” music fest in Saitama Super Arena, Japan. The bottom photo shows the K-pop boy group Beast performing for some 20,000 Chinese fans Saturday at the “I Want Music Power Concert” in Shenzhen. / Courtesy of SM Entertainment, Cube EntertainmentMar 3, 2014
