Shows & Dramas

’Superstar K3’ returns with diverse music

By Kwon Mee-yoo Mnet’s "Superstar K” is the program that ignited the talent show boom in Korea. It has returned for a third season, with new judges, more contestants and improved rules embracing more diversity. The first segment that aired Friday immediately became the talk of the town. Ten-year-old girl Son Ye-rim, Choi Yeong-tae who sang his own songs and Yeri Band passed the regional preliminary round in Busan under much attention. A problematic contestant also appeared. Choi A-ran, who sang Chae-yeon's "Shake," made a disturbance by throwing down a guideboard after failing in the preliminaries. Viewer ratings also proved the popularity of the program. According to Mnet, the first episode of "Superstar K3" reached an average rating of 8.5 percent, even exceeding that of network channels. Yoon Mi-rae joins judges Kim Yong-beom, the program’s producer, said the quality of participants is higher than ever. "In the first season, we tested the feasibility of audition programs in Korea and proved it a success during the second season last year," Kim said at a pr

Super Junior returns with ’Mr. Simple’

By Kwon Mee-yoo Super Junior, the K-pop group leading “hallyu” (the Korean wave of popular culture) across the globe, returned to the local music scene with their fifth studio album, “Mr. Simple,” last week. “Mr. Simple,” the title of the song as well as the album, is a catchy tune conveying a message of living in a simple way. Leeteuk, the group leader said "Mr. Simple" maximizes the characteristics of the group. "Rather than define the genre of the music, we focused on the lyrics. There is so much terrifying, sad news on television and in the newspapers, and we wanted to bring hope with our song," he said at a press conference last week. Their fourth album, Bonamana, was a big success. It was the biggest-selling album in Korea last year and drew and audience of some 200,000 people to their "Super Show 3" concerts in 13 Asian cities. "Bonamana" has topped Taiwan's KKBOX music chart for 61 consecutive weeks. However, the new album is ready to break previous records. Their fifth studio album sold more than 60,000 copies in the five days since its release on Aug. 3, a

Pentaport Rock Festival

By Shim Hyun-chul Rock fans congregated in Incheon last weekend. More than 54,000 people gathered at the Dream Park in Incheon to rock the city at the sixth Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival. It was the largest crowd to the rock festival since it was founded in 2006. Choi Go-eun opened up the three-day rock festival Friday afternoon and the music continued until Canadian rock band, Simple Plan, wrapped up the concert Sunday night. Despite the muddy site due to continuous rain, festival-goers enjoyed stages of hip-hop musician B.o.B and British duo The Ting Tings. Nu metal band Korn rocked the festival Saturday night with their hit songs such as "Blind," "Got the Life" and "Somebody Someone."

Fan voting for Seoul Drama Awards opens

The Seoul Drama Awards (SDA) 2011 opened online voting Monday for the best "hallyu," or Korean wave, drama, actor, actress and theme song. The sixth international drama awards gives hallyu fans opportunities to choose their favorite drama and actor through a vote. Thirteen dramas vie for the Best Korean Drama Series, including "Athena: The Goddess of War," "Bread, Love and Dreams," "Dream High," "Marry Me, Mary," "Secret Garden" and "Sungkyunkwan Scandal." For Best Korean Actor, Hyun Bin, Jang Keun-suk, Kang Ji-hwan, Park Yoo-chun and Song Seung-heon are nominated, while Ha Ji-won, Kim Tae-hee, Lee Yo-won, Moon Geun-young and Park Min-young are candidates for Best Korean Actress. Fans can vote through Aug. 16 on the Korea.com Web site at http://en.korea.com. Winners will be chosen based on 70 percent of hallyu fans' votes and 30 percent from overseas content buyers. The awards ceremony will be held Aug. 31 at KBS Hall in Seoul and will be broadcast live through SBS. A total of 204 dramas from 37 countries were submitted to SDA 2011, making this year's awards the la

Hot-blooded secretary meets clumsy boss in new SBS drama

By Kwon Mee-yoo The youth unemployment crisis is again covered on the small screen, this time with a romantic twist featuring unique characters in the new SBS drama "Protect the Boss," starting today. The drama is a familiar romantic comedy as a rich “chaebol” heir falls in love with an ordinary woman. Cha Ji-heon, son of DN Group president and protagonist of the new soap opera, is unlike other cold-hearted, haughty characters such as Kim Ju-won of "Secret Garden" and Hyeon Gi-jun of "True Romance." Cha is often scolded by his father for poor work performances and is portrayed as a good-for-nothing for the company. Director Son Jung-hyun said he started wondering what would happen if a third-generation conglomerate owner and an ordinary "880,000-won generation" person worked together without knowing each others’ background. The 880,000-won Generation is a term that refers to low-paid non-regular workers in their 20s who earn about 880,000 won a month. Actor Ji Sung ("Royal Family," 2011) plays the role of Cha. "He might seem perfect ― heir of a conglomerate fam

Festival attendees revel at the third annual

Rock the valley in Jisan: Festival attendees revel at the third annual Jisan Valley Rock Festival at Jisan Forest Resort in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. The three-day outdoor event drew about 70,000 participants with the Chemical Brothers, Arctic Monkeys, Suede and many more bands from abroad and Korea performing. / Yonhap

Singer-turned-actress Eugene, right, poses

K-pop stars scholarships irk students

By Yun Suh-young Colleges often award scholarships to K-pop stars and popular entertainers as their enrollment can be valuable assets for the promotion of a schools’ image. However, many ordinary students who have to work various part-time jobs to pay tuition say the awarding of scholarships to young celebrities is unfair. Members of prominent Korean bands such as Beast, 4 Minute and Kara have received special admissions or full scholarships from the universities they attend. Four out of six members of Beast have been accepted to Dongshin University in South Jeolla Province with full four-year scholarships. Hyuna from 4 Minute received special admission to Konkuk University as an entertainer and Goo Ha-ra from Kara entered Sungshin Women’s University under a “superb performance” scholarship. “Our school decided to give them special scholarships because they can boost the school’s image,” an official from Dongshin university said. “Their wide recognition can contribute to promoting the school.” The members of Beast are exempt from paying the 3.4 million won tuitio

K-pop opens new chapter in Asian music market

A shopping street in Shinjuku, central Tokyo, with a high density of shops run by Koreans, was crowded with people despite the hot summer weather last Wednesday. There were long lines of customers in front of the carts of street vendors selling Korean food such as topokki, rice cakes in hot sauce, and Chinese pancakes. One of the large shops selling Korean pop-culture items, including souvenirs, on the street was totally packed although it was in the middle of a workday. "We saw a sudden rise in the number of customers last summer. These days we have around 5,000 visitors during workdays and 8,000 to 9,000 on weekends," a sales clerk of the shop said. Photos and life-sized posters of K-pop stars such as the boy band Shinee and the girl group Kara were seen inside a Tower Records store near Shinjuku Station. At a K-pop section of the store, there were old and new albums of top-notch Korean "idol" groups such as Girls' Generation and 2 PM on display. There also were albums of newcomers, including the boy band Boy Friend. "Recently, K-pop records are selling as well a

Drama explores inter-Korean love story

By Kwon Mee-yoo True love is often said to be borderless, but the DMZ dividing the North from the South on the Korean peninsula might be a tough one. "Spy MyeongWol," a new KBS drama, bringing together a beautiful North Korean spy who falls in love with a top South Korean “hallyu” or Korean wave, actor starts today. Director Hwang In-hyuk said the drama, "Spy MyeongWol," will be more about the story of a man and woman than the ideological conflict that separates the two Koreas. "We will try to keep the drama balanced. While shooting the drama, I felt that there could be such a man in the South and such a woman from the North, concerned with similar things," Hwang said at a press conference last week. "Our drama will center on individuals, instead of political issues." Han Myeong-wol, a North Korean hallyu squad member, meets South Korean hallyu star Gang-woo in Singapore while on a mission. Actress Han Ye-seul portrays the secret agent. Myeong-wol’s successful life as an undercover spy takes an unexpected turn when she is ordered to get Gang-woo’s autograph, but fail