Psy's 'Gangnam Style' 2nd most-viewed video on YouTubeThe music video of "Gangnam Style" by Korean rapper-singer Psy ranked second on YouTube's all-time list of most-viewed videos, updated Thursday night (on Korean time) on the service's Web site.The viral video beat out "On the Floor" by Jennifer Lopez, drawing 615 million hits as of 9 a.m. Friday, while Justin Bieber's "Baby" remained at No. 1 with 794 million views.Experts expect "Gangnam Style" will top the list sooner or later as the number of views is rising quickly.Boosted by the popularity of the video on the Internet, the song was at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard's Hot 100 Chart for the sixth consecutive week last Wednesday. The chart reflects CD sales, digital downloads and radio airplay. (Yonhap)Nov 2, 2012
Ulala root for sick leaderBy Kim Ji-sooWhen Ulala Session, the group comprising of leader Lim Yoon-taek, Goon Jo, Park Seung-il and Park Kwang-sun stood on the “Superstar K3” stage in 2011, they were vying for the top prize in the survival audition program.Then, Lim, 31, disclosed that he was also fighting for his own survival as he combated stage-three stomach cancer.During an interview, members said that Lim persuaded them to enter the audition as a “last” gift that he can give to them.The members are closely knit, fully throwing their support and the 500 million won in prize money to help Lim fight his disease.A year after their win, Ulala Session are still active. They have released two mini albums, Lim has released an essay and they tour around the nation in response to fans clamoring to see them in person on stage.However, Lim’s stomach cancer has progressed to stage four, and he hasn’t been seen in public.But the charismatic leader who in early October became the father of a daughter has regained his health so that he is now able to undergo chemotherapy once again. TOct 31, 2012By Lee Jong-eun
Ulala, producers of music, hopeFrom left, Park Seung-il, Goon Jo, Kim Myung-hoon, leader Lim Yoon-taek and Park Kwang-sun / Courtesy of Ulala CompanyThis is the last in a 15-part series on the stars and trends in “hallyu” or Korean wave, which is gaining global popularity in Southeast Asia and Latin America. The Korea Times produces this special project in cooperation with the Korean Foundation and CJ E&M. — ED.By Kim Ji-sooThe boys originally came together because of their love of dance. But the boys, now men better known as ULALA Session, are highly regarded for their music, for providing a kaleidoscopic variety of on-stage performances and for their heart-moving story.After winning the “Superstar K3” last year, the group comprising leader Lim Yoon-taek, 31, Goon Jo, 32, Kim Myung-hoon, 28, Park Seung-il, 31, and Park Kwang-sun, 22, have been caught up in the whirlwind of stardom.They refuse to be labeled stars, saying they don’t have the “visuals” a.k.a. the looks or the “specific” details of having graduated from yearOct 30, 2012
CJ E&M makes 13.3 bil. won in TV drama exportsCJ E&M, a local entertainment giant that owns four cable TV channels including tvN and OCN, said Tuesday it earned 13.3 billion won (US$12 million) from overseas sales of its own TV dramas in the third quarter of this year.Rights to a total of 20 dramas have been sold to foreign countries, including tvN's "Shut Up Flower Boy Band," "I Need Romance" and OCN's "Vampire Prosecutor," with the three exported to more than 20 countries, the company said.It said overseas sales of "Answer Me 1997," a tvN drama known as this year's most popular cable TV drama, will begin early next year."The company will continue to fulfill its role as a window of hallyu, exporting its television dramas to various countries in the Middle East and Europe as well as U.S. and Latin American markets," Choi Jin-hee, a director of CJ E&M said, referring to the rising global popularity of Korean pop culture.The company has put much energy in producing soap operas since the second half of last year, with the number of series increasing from eight in 2010 to 14 in 2011. It made 18 TV dramas this year alone. (YoOct 30, 2012
Psy to be on cover of Billboard magazineKorea's YouTube sensation Psy is to feature on the front cover of the weekly U.S. music magazine Billboard. Psy, whose real name is Park Jae-sang, was chosen to be on the cover of the Billboard issue to be published on Nov. 3, the magazine said on its Web site Friday (U.S. EST). The 34-year-old entertainer rose to global fame when his song "Gangnam Style," featuring comical horse-riding dance moves, went viral in July on YouTube, and has since drawn more than 530 million views. He tweeted, "I Am the Cover of BILLBOARD!" the same day, along with a cover image filled with photos of him performing his signature dance. The cover title for the magazine reads, "500,000,000 PSY FANS CAN'T BE WRONG." Psy stayed at No. 2 on the Billboard's Hot 100 Chart, updated Wednesday, for the fifth week, once again behind Maroon 5's "One More Night." On Thursday, the K-pop star unveiled plans for his next song in an interview on U.S. cable network CNN. "It's half Korean and half English. So I kind of united them together. It has another dance move and I cannot predict it will be stOct 26, 2012
Psy remains No. 2 on Billboard for fifth weekNEW YORK (Yonhap) -- For a fifth straight week, South Korean rapper Psy remained at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard's main chart, updated Wednesday, once again topped by Maroon 5's "One More Night." The 34-year-old entertainer rose to global fame when his song "Gangnam Style" featuring his funny horse-riding dance moves went viral in July on YouTube, drawing more than 530 million views. But he's yet to carry out his famous pledge to perform shirtless if he tops the Billboard's Hot 100 Chart as Maroon 5's "One More Night" has stayed at No. 1 on the chart for six consecutive weeks. "The race for No. 1 was again fairly close, as approximately 2,000 points separate the songs, with each title declining by less than 1 percent in overall chart points," Billboard said in a news release on Wednesday. It said a similar gap separated the songs last week, while just 700 and 500 points made the difference two and three weeks ago, respectively. Billboard's Hot 100 Chart reflects CD sales, digital downloads and radio airplay. Radio play continued to be an obstacle for Psy as "Night" wOct 25, 2012
Filipino seeking exchanges with Korea finds limits as usualMANILA (Yonhap) -- Helweena Sadorra is a self-acknowledged fanatic of "Hallyu," or the Korean Wave, the popular culture from South Korea that has permeated the entire globe from Asia to America to Europe and the Middle East. So when she landed a job at the Korean Cultural Center in Manila, she had high hopes of promoting active exchanges between South Korea and her home country. She quit her job last month and says the exchanges are lopsided, and there is too much of a business side to Hallyu. Sadorra was a student at the University of the Philippines, majoring in Philippine Studies, in 2005 when the manager of her dormitory she was sharing the room with at the time introduced her to Korean dramas on television. It was when the Korean Wave was gaining momentum in Southeast Asia, where Hallyu still has an especially large fan base. "That started my curiosity," she said. "I watched a lot, over 100 telenovelas since I got hooked into it in 2005," said Sadorra, now 29. Three years later, she boarded a plane to Korea, began studying at Korea University of Technology and EducationOct 25, 2012
Korean sensation Psy to perform in Hong Kong next monthHONG KONG (Yonhap) -- Korean pop sensation Psy will come to Hong Kong next month, performing his megahit single "Gangnam Style" for fans in the greater China region for the first time, concert organizers said Tuesday. Psy, along with other Korean pop (K-pop) singers, will participate in the Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) to be held on Nov. 30 at the Convention and Exhibition Center in central Hong Kong, Korea's conglomerate CJ Group said. The MAMA is one of the major K-pop music award ceremonies being hosted by Mnet Media, an entertainment subsidiary of CJ Group. It has been held annually in one of the Asian cities since 2009, with some of the most popular Korean singers participating. The previous events were held in Singapore, Macau and Seoul. Psy's song "Gangnam Style" became a global sensation just a few months after its debut, with its music video spawning a series of copycat videos and parodies on the Internet. The music video ranked third on YouTube's all-time list of most-viewed videos, drawing 515 million views as of Sunday morning. The singer, whose KoreOct 23, 2012
Korean director wins best animated short award at Warsaw festA Korean director has won an award for the best animated film at this year's Warsaw Film Festival, Seoul's culture ministry said Monday. Kim Jin-man won the Best Animated Short award in the short films section of the 28th edition of the festival with his "Noodle Fish," at the closing ceremony on Saturday (on local time), the ministry said in a news release. The film is about the struggle of a small, naive fish made of noodles who wants to experience the bigger world out of the water. The Oct. 12-21 event featured some 100 feature, independent, documentary and animated films from across the world. (Yonhap) Oct 22, 2012
Korean pop singer to perform in FranceKorean singer-songwriter Kang San-eh will hold a solo concert in France in December as the popularity of Korean pop music increases in the country, concert organizers said Monday. The concert scheduled for a 600-seat music club in Paris on Dec. 5 will be Kang's first in Europe, according to his management agency. The show was organized by several South Korean artists operating in Paris, including mime artist Kim Won and installation artist Lee Seo, with support from the Korean Cultural Center in France, to take advantage of the French people's rising interest in Korean music and culture. "We thought it was a good opportunity to introduce a variety of cultural content from Korea and came to push for Kang's performance as the first project for this," Lee told Yonhap News Agency by phone. "I think Kang is one of the singer-songwriters who play songs that best carry Korean feelings," Lee said. "We'd like to let the French people know that songs by idol groups are not all of Korean pop music." During the 100-minute concert, Kang will perform a number of his hit songs togethOct 22, 2012
