Eight chilling days of White ChristmasBy Kwon Mee-yoo Late Sunday evenings will become spine-chilling at an isolated high school on KBS' "Drama Special: White Christmas" from this week. Set in a private, elite high school deep in the mountains, the drama deals with a series of deaths, including murder and suicide that take place over eight days. Seven students and a physical education instructor, as well as a psychiatrist who end up at the school after being hit by a car, spend eight days ― from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day ― together at the school. Park Mu-yeol, played by Baek Sung-hyun, is an honor student who chooses to remain in school during the winter break after receiving an abusive letter. Baek appeared in movies such as “Marathon” (2005) and “My Boyfriend's Diary” (2006) and dramas including “Running” (2010). Model-turned-actor Kim Young-kwang, also known as Young Kim, plays a detested boy Jo Yeong-jae who attacks other people to hide his inferiority complex. Another actor and model Lee Soo-hyuk plays a disturbed, but rich student leading a rock band. Model Esom is the only female among Jan 25, 2011
TVXQs Chang-min takes on acting in ParadiseBy Kwon Mee-yoo Will another member of TVXQ make a successful transition into acting? Next week, SBS will air a new drama “Paradise Farm” featuring Shim Chang-min, or Max of the boy band, opposite actress Lee Yeon-hee. The 16-episode drama, produced by Samhwa Networks and Shim’s agency SM Entertainment, already finished filming last May but has been waiting to be scheduled for months. With a timeslot finally confirmed in the last week of January, the producers held a press conference Tuesday in Mok-dong, Seoul. “This is a cheerful and innocent drama portraying a young, healthy love story set against the marvelous landscape of Jeju Island,” SBS producer Kim Jung-min said. The drama tells the story of a formerly married young couple who meet again at a horse farm. Shim will play the role of Han Dong-ju, the grandson of a tycoon who behaves as he pleases. Han is sent to the beautiful island of Jeju to develop a resort but ends up living in his ex-wife’s house. “This is my acting debut and I spent almost half a year filming it,” Shim said. Shim is the last membJan 18, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Trouble-making investigators gather at MSS dramaBy Kwon Mee-yoo A CSI world with an anarchic comic twist? Trouble-making crime investigators will be chasing after serial murderers this week on local television. “Special Task Force MSS” is part of a KBS Drama Special, filled with new challenges for directors making short series consisting of four or eight episodes. The Drama Special originally was composed of weekly one-act dramas, but the station is trying something new this time. “MSS” stands for “musosok,” which means “independent” in Korean. In other words, the officers of MSS are removed from their original positions and sent to a special unit to prevent further troubles. However, they once again join to solve murder cases. No Cheol-gi (Oh Man-seok) is a fabulous troublemaker police officer who turns off a whole building’s power supply just to catch a pickpocket. Oh said he is enjoying playing the character of No as he is a fun and unique investigator. “Appearing on such one-act dramas or short series is a meaningful experience for me, too,” Oh said during an on-spot interview at KBS Suwon Studio last week. “Jan 11, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
KidZania recruits kids for congressKidZania, a role-play theme park for children, invites children who want to be congress members for a year. KidZania Seoul is a small-size replica of an actual city giving children job experience in advance located in Jamsil, southern Seoul. The facility is a Mexican chain and opened its eighth branch in Seoul last year. Any children from first grade to fifth grade in elementary school in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province can apply. International residents can also participate if they can speak Korean. The 14 selected children and a guardian can enter KidZania for free. They have to attend a monthly council and will have opportunities to visit some 50 KidZania partner companies as well as overseas branches. They also can experience new facilities at the theme park prior to public opening. The first 14 congress children of KidZania participated in monthly meetings and visited KidZania’s partner company Korean Air and MBC and KidZania Tokyo for international exchange. Applications can be made at www.kidzania.co.kr and applicants should upload the written application form,Jan 11, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Baes documentary on Korea eyes bigger audienceBy Uliana Park Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon’s book “A Journey in Search of Korea’s Beauty,” which was a huge hit reflecting Korean culture and traditions, has been made into a documentary. The program will be aired on MBC LIFE starting Jan. 8, every Saturday at 11 p.m. for eight weeks. The documentary is divided into eight episodes, each tracing Bae’s journey to explore the country’s culture, art and traditions. The program introduces pottery master Cheon Han-bong, hanbok (traditional Korean costume) designer Lee Hyo-jae and pansori (Korean traditional vocal and percussional music) master Yoon Jin-cheol. These virtuosos do more than just simply recount the details of their specific area of skill; all serve as guides, linking and exposing the world to the country’s true beauty hidden beneath the established practices. In addition to portraying Bae and the specific route he took, several foreign dwellers have participated in the documentary. MBC LIFE producer Lee Jae-moon deemed this opportunity as a shortcut to arouse interest among other foreigners. “Our plan was for theJan 7, 2011
Star-studded soaps vie for Wed.-Thurs. slotsBy Kwon Mee-yoo Two television dramas kick off simultaneously tonight, seeking to dominate the Wednesday-Thursday night scene with the end of Ko Hyun-jung’s “Daemul,” which won the grand prize at the 2010 SBS Drama Award. “Sign” on SBS and “My Princess” on MBC are totally different in concept. While “Sign” is a medical crime investigation drama, “My Princess” is a romantic comedy featuring Korean royalty. Medical thrills in ‘Sign’ Set with the backdrop of the National Forensic Service (NFS), the 16-episode drama will have one main case, running parallel with three to four smaller ones. Movie director Jang Hang-joon has turned to the small screen and said having 16 separate episodes for each installment will be an adventure in Korea, as viewers can download them one by one. Actor Park Shin-yang plays Yun Ji-hun, a talented forensic doctor who teams up with newcomer Go Da-gyeong (Kim Ah-joong) and confronts Lee Myeong-han (Chun Kwang-yol), the chief of the NFS. Park returns to television two years after appearing in “The Painter of Wind” (2008). He was in a dispuJan 4, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Rabbit celebrities to make leaps in 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo People born in the Year of the Rabbit are considered skillful and diligent, though not very patient in Korean traditional beliefs, following the traits of real rabbits, a small but clever animal. The hottest rabbit star could be singer and actor Lee Seung-gi who was born in 1987, turning 24 this year. Making his debut as a singer in 2004 as a high school student, Lee challenged the small screen in 2006 and all his dramas — from “Seven Princesses” (KBS) to “Brilliant Legacy” (SBS) and “My Girlfriend is Gumiho” (SBS) were successful. He became more popular by joining the KBS “reality” show “1 Night 2 Days” and the SBS talk show “Strong Heart” and received the “Most Excellent” award from both SBS and KBS Entertainment in 2010. Actresses Han Hyo-joo and Moon Geun-young are also from the Year of Rabbit. Han, the protagonist of the period drama “Dong Yi,” won the 2010 MBC Drama Award for her role. She has played various characters from a lively girl to a charismatic woman, enjoying her heyday. Moon is likely to continue trying new characters this yeaDec 31, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
Yonsama-JYP soap to reignite hallyuBy Kwon Mee-yoo Will a high school full of top K-pop singers and produced by hallyu (Korean wave) star Bae Yong-joon give a boost to the movement? KBS’ new drama “Dream High” stars Taecyeon and Wooyoung from 2PM, Suzy from Miss A, Eun-jung from T-ara and singer IU — all first-rate young singers popular on the local entertainment scene. Kim Soo-hyun, who played the young Ko Soo in the 2009 drama “Will It Snow for Christmas?” is the only recognizable actor among the six main characters. Holym, a television production joint-invested by Bae’s agency Keyeast and Park Jin-young’s JYP Entertainment, and CJ Media co-produced the drama and its publication rights in Japan have already been sold. The highly-anticipated drama portrays the life of high school students of Kirin Art School, a school cultivating future artists and entertainers. Bae, the creative producer of the drama, also guest-stars as Jeong Ha-myeong, the art school’s board chairman. As a creative producer, Bae provides the overall concept, goals and ideas for the drama. “I was interested in educatingDec 28, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
Star couple shows presidential lifeBy Han Sang-hee The evening news these days has been quite a show, literally, with politicians throwing fists and chairs at one another regarding next year’s budget. While it seems as if television doesn’t need any more political drama, a new soap on KBS is aiming to captivate viewers with the man in the middle of the political chaos, discussion and controversy: the president. “President” will air on Wednesdays and Thursdays and will compete with the political drama “Daemul,” featuring top actors Ko Hyun-jeong and Kwon Sang-woo. The worries regarding the harsh competition were indeed evident at the press conference Thursday at a hotel in southern Seoul, but the makers and the actors insisted that the two works would offer completely independent material. “There’s the basic difference of having a male president opposed to the female president in ‘Daemul.’ We are also more focused on family relations, rather than the love interest,” said producer Kim Hyeong-il. “It’s time Korean dramas show more diverse genres. It took around four to five years to prepare ‘President,’ andDec 10, 2010
Infinity Challenge hosts photo exhibitionBy Han Sang-hee The seven funny men from the hit television show “Infinity Challenge” are inviting viewers to brave the chilly temperatures to enjoy a free photo exhibition. The team comprised of Yu Jae-seok, Park Myung-su, Gil, Haha, Jung Jun-ha, Jeong Hyeong-don and No Hong-chul successfully held their initial photo exhibition last year in appreciation of their fans’ devotion and the seven hosts are offering another one. A year ago, the event was a huge hit, attracting some 30,000 viewers, and the team has decided to take the exhibition to places outside of Seoul: Jecheon, Yeosu and Incheon. Some 250 photos taken by professional photographers during the show and also behind the scenes will travel from city to city, presenting a retrospect of the past episodes that made so many headlines during their airing. This year promises to be a bit more special as MBC has prepared special gifts and related products for zealous fans. At the Namsan Animation center, visitors will get to see caricatures drawn by professionals based on the show, and limited edition action fDec 7, 2010