Indian lawmaker decodes secret of K-pop boom overseasBy Kang Hyun-kyung A senior Indian lawmaker, who describes himself as a huge fan of rock music, observed Friday that the powerful beat is probably the reason why young people of different cultures get excited about songs with a foreign origin, such as K-pop. “I am a rock music addict. I love Indian pop, Korean pop and American pop. I love soft rock,” said Karan Singh, a lawmaker of the ruling Indian National Congress. “Whenever I am in the car, the first thing I do is turn on some rock music.” Singh, 80, also president of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, said that the beat of pop music has attracted young people around the world to dance and sing together to the same music. “It is the beat that young people around the world are responding to. Do you know why? That is the first sound that a child hears before he or she is born. It is the beat of the heart of their mother,” said the former Indian ambassador to the United States. “That explains why young people around the world, across cultures, across languages, are dancing to the same beat.” Singh’s remJul 3, 2011By Kang Hyun-kyung
Disney Channel launched in Korean‘High multi-channel penetration makes Korea notable emerging market’ By Kwon Mee-yoo From Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck to Hanna Montana and Captain Jack Sparrow, all-time favorite Disney characters will hit the small screen here on the 100 percent Korean-language Disney Channel and Disney Junior. The Disney Channel began airing Friday, featuring worldwide hits such as “Phineas and Ferb” and “Good Luck Charlie” via satellite, digital cable and IPTV. The channel is available in HD multiplex as well as SD format. Targeting children aged six to 14 and their families, the channel strikes a balance between animation and live action programs. The channel also offers Disney movies from classic franchises such as “The Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast” as well as Pixar’s “Wall-E” and “Finding Nemo” — every evening. Disney Junior is poised to embark on July 11. The channel targets a younger audience from two- to seven-year-olds and offers programs stressing storytelling, including Korean-dubbed “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” and “Jake and the Never Land Pirates”. ThJul 3, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
KBS to hold K-pop contestBy Chung Ah-young The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) will hold a K-pop contest inviting some 100 foreigners in front of KBS Hall in Yeoido, Seoul on July 1 to mark the 8th anniversary of the opening of KBS World, its international channel. It will take place as a pre-event for a special episode of the popular K-pop show “Music Bank.” Participants were selected through social network services such as Twitter. Tara Benjamin, the winner of a K-pop contest which was held in Los Angeles in May, organized by KBS World for the first time, will give a special performance at the event. Along with the contest, various exhibitions related to the 8th anniversary of the channel’s opening will be displayed around the venue. Letters from various parts of the world and opinions from 200,000 followers of social networks and viewers will be on display. There will also be screenings of Korean dramas which have been dubbed in various languages and aired around the world. After the contest, the foreign participants will have an opportunity to attend “Music Bank” which will review K-pop muJun 29, 2011
Campus romance to pull at HeartstringsDirector Pyo brings performing arts school to small screen By Kwon Mee-yoo The life and love of university performing arts students will hit the small screen today through MBC’s new drama “Heartstrings.” Star director Pyo Min-soo returns with “fresh green” stories set at a performing arts school. “The word ‘youth’ reminds me of many things. I will portray the sweat and passion of artistic people in this drama,” Pyo said during a press conference last Thursday. “This drama is about people dreaming of art.” Pyo is known for expressing the delicate world of professionals such as “Full House” (2004) and “The World That They Live in” (2008). Heartthrob Jung Yong-hwa, CNBLUE’s singer and guitarist, plays Lee Sin, an applied music student and guitarist of a school band “The Stupid.” It’s his second time to star in a television drama, following “You’re Beautiful” (SBS, 2009). The singer-actor’s eyes lit up when he talked about the role. “I fell in love with my character and researched him a lot. He might seem curt and cold, but he is dedicated to music, his family anJun 28, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Unpaid actors refuse to workBy Kim Rahn Producers and directors of soap operas and movies may have difficulty shooting as scheduled after a group of management agencies announced they were refusing to let their actors work due to unpaid wages and performance fees. The Corea Entertainment Management Association disclosed Wednesday a list of companies responsible for 32 dramas and films, which have failed to pay actors, along with the names of the productions, production heads and directors who made the dramas. It said actors of the agencies will not participate in films made by the companies in question. The collective action follows a chronic overdue payment problem in the film and drama production industry. “We concluded that we need to take action. From now on, our actors will not appear in soap operas and movies filmed by the named production companies,” the association said in a statement. According to a survey conducted on actors at the member agencies, the performers are owed 1.5 billion won in overdue payment for dramas and 700 million won for movies. The association said both Jun 22, 2011By Kim Rahn
Culture ministry will launch K-pop academyBy Chung Ah-young Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choung Byoung-gug said Wednesday that the government will establish a K-pop academy and support the indie music industry. The minster announced a plan to enhance the global competitiveness of the K-pop culture industry at an opening ceremony of the Olympic Hall which has been renovated as a K-pop concert hall. “To continue the ongoing ‘hallyu’ boom newly reignited in Europe, it is necessary to strengthen the competitiveness of K-pop and the related infrastructures and businesses,” he said. Choung said that the ministry will launch the so-called “K-pop Academy” to nurture would-be hallyu stars in association with universities’ pop music departments and extend support for overseas activities of Korean musicians in cooperation with music production companies. Also, it will reinvigorate the indie music scenes based on their activities at the Muse Live, the small hall newly opened at the Olympic Hall and indie clubs around Hongik University. The government will support overseas concerts in Central and South AmeriJun 22, 2011
Intl conference on hallyu to be held in Seoul ThursdayBy Kwaak Je-yup While hallyu, or the Korean wave, seems to be making headway with K-pop’s surprise expansion to continents other than Asia, people are asking whether it can last. Industry insiders, scholars and journalists attempt to determine its prospects at a conference this week. The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), along with the Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange (KOFICE), is hosting the “International Conference on Korean Wave” at the Grand Intercontinental Hotel in Gangnam, Seoul on Thursday. Sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea (EUCCK), the forum has invited among others Luke Kang, senior vice president and managing director of the Walt Disney Company Korea, Ko Jeong-min, professor at Hongik University, and Christophe de Sabatino, chairman of French animation studio MoonScoop Group. “A ‘new hallyu age’ is dawning with hallyu’s horizon spilling over into different regions and genres,” said Lee Jae-woong, president and CEO of KOCCA, in a press release. “We are hosting thJun 20, 2011
Remembering Park Yong-haMemorial wave for late hallyu star continues By Chung Ah-young Although the late hallyu star Park Yong-ha died a year ago, his popularity is not waning in Japan. Some 1,500 Japanese fans will attend his first memorial ceremony in Korea on June 30, according to Park’s former agency Yona Entertainment. The ceremony will start at Yakcheon Temple where his memorial tablet is located, in Paju, Gyeonggi Province and then at Bundang Memorial Park in Gyeonggi Province, where his ashes were scattered. “We originally planned to hold the memorial service only with his bereaved family members and closest friends but we’ve decided to invite his fan club (Summer Face Japan) members as they wanted to attend the ceremony,” his agency said. In Japan, a film concert titled “Park Yong-ha Films 2004-2010: We Love Yong-ha” which portrays his performances throughout his lifetime is now being screened. The concert will tour nine more cities through July 7 in Japan and is expected to draw some 25,000 fans. Part of the concert’s proceeds will be donated to Japan’s Red Cross to help tsuJun 20, 2011
KBS World launches English K-pop showBy Park Sung-hee KBS World, the international satellite channel of the Korean Broadcasting System, has launched an English entertainment show, “K-WAVE STATION.” The weekly 30-minute show airs Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and consists of three sections — K-wave News, K-pop No. 1, and Idol Adventures — with each addressing the latest Korean music, TV drama, film, celebrity news or trends. The show hosts are KBS anchorwoman Park Ji-hyun and Jae-won of up-and-coming K-pop group Code V. The two are said to have good chemistry. “Jae-won has lived most of his life in the U.K. and was cast because we thought he would appeal to our diverse audience,” said producer Kim Il-hoon. The first section, K-wave News, updates viewers on the general activities of celebrities including behind-the-scene footages of recent movies, TV dramas and concerts. Rather than focusing on gossip, it highlights good deeds of stars, such as their volunteer work, donations and other public services. This week’s main news items were the 2011 Dream Concert by singer-turned-actress Jang Na-ra and K-Jun 20, 2011
CSI meets House in local medical thrillerBy Kwon Mee-yoo A doctor who has characteristics of both Gil Grissom from “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” series and Gregory House from “House” has returned to the small screen to find rare diseases and solve crimes. The first episode of the second season of “The Quiz of God” aired last Friday on cable channel OCN, introducing a series of crimes involving self mutilation. Five dismembered body parts from different persons were found throughout Seoul City and the police and forensic doctors are criticized for not being able to catch the culprit. The case sees Han Jin-woo, a genius but eccentric neurosurgeon and forensic doctor, return from recuperation to examine the dead bodies with roman numerals inscribed on them by the killer. The difference between Dr. House and Dr. Han is the thin line of life and death. House tries to find out about rare diseases to attempt to save the patient, while Han tries to discover rare diseases to find the murderer and solve the crime. The title refers to a local saying that rare diseases are like quizzes God gives to humans soJun 14, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo