Entertainment - The Korea Times

Choose Concert to Warm Up December

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Music fans will have a tough time deciding which concerts to attend this December, as some of Korea's best singers will present their songs at separate events. Ballads Galore Shin Seung-hun, who recently released his second mini-album, ``Love O'clock,'' will dazzle his fans at his concert titled ``The Shin Seung-hun Show.'' The performance has become famous both in Korea and Japan, featuring great music and special stages for his fans. Tickets cost from 66,000 to 132,000 won and will be held at Olympic Hall, Olympic Park, Dec. 18-20. Park Hyo-shin, who held his 10th anniversary concert in October, is offering his ``2009 Gift Live Tour +'' on Dec. 30 and 31. More than 200 staff members, including 120 dancers and chorus singers, will help Park prepare a show with various events. Tickets cost from 44,000 to 121,000 won and will be held at Jamsil Indoor Stadium. Boy-next-door singer Lee Seung-gi, having recovered from the H1N1 virus, will show his versatility and engage in a special dance act with fellow dancers. Lee's concert will be

Nov 24, 2009

Music Awards Has Fresh Yet Disappointing Start

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter The Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) came to an end Saturday, but unfortunately, there were some shortcomings despite it being called Asia's best music award event. The much-anticipated event was held at Jamsil Indoor Stadium, with young fans lined up near the entrances in hopes of catching a glimpse of some of their favorite K-pop singers. Mnet Media scrapped its 10-year Mnet KM Music Festival (MKMF) in October, announcing that it was bringing an upgraded music event for not only fans in Korea, but throughout Asia as well. While the overall show was entertaining, it failed to truly captivate fans with its results and concept. The red carpet entrance was a good way to kick off the six-hour event, with female singers donning stylish outfits, mostly in black, some in fur and others in leather. MAMA offered eight main stages, or ``waves,'' each with special concepts and performances. The first wave, ``Asian Fever,'' featured Drunken Tiger, who later won the Best Male Solo Artist. The award for the Best Female Solo Artist went to Ba

Nov 22, 2009

K-Pop Stars Head to Shanghai for Concert

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter K-pop stars Wheesung, f(x), 2PM, 2AM, U-Kiss and 4Minute will be heading to Shanghai this week for a concert and fashion show. The ``Feel Korea, K-POP Night & K-Fashion Show'' is part of the ``2010-2012 Visit Korea Year'' initiative, which was launched earlier this month. The fashion show will be held at the Longemont Hotel, Tuesday, while the much-anticipated K-pop concert will be held at the Shanghai Grand Stage, Wednesday evening. Korea is hoping the star power of the Korean celebrities will encourage more Chinese tourists to travel to Korea in the next few years. Wheesung, a popular R&B singer, already has many fans in China. His remake of Craig David's ``Insomnia'' has gained a lot of airplay recently. He has just released his sixth album, ``Vocolate.'' Girl group f(x) made its debut just a few months ago, but have caught people's attention with their catchy hits ``LA chA Ta'' and ``Chocolate Love.'' The multi-national group includes Victoria, who is Chinese, Amber, a Taiwanese-American, and Sulli, Luna and Krystal from Ko

Nov 22, 2009

Cable TV OCN to Present Joseon’s Sherlock Holmes

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter A legendary scholar from the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) is reborn as a charismatic detective through cable channel OCN's ``Jeong Yak-yong.'' The eight-episode television mini-series is aimed at attracting crime film and drama fans with colorful characters and a traditional backdrop. ``There are so many frightening things happening these days, and I wanted to portray them with traditional characters in a traditional backdrop,'' Kim Hong-sun, the director, said at a press conference Monday in central Seoul. Jeong (1762-1836) was a successful scholar and an avid believer of practical learning. He also worked as a royal commissioner and wrote numerous reports of cases he worked on during his term. The 45-minute-long episodes will show various cases, including theft, adultery and even murder, with handsome Park Jae-jung playing the role of the smart and dynamic Jeong, the ``Sherlock Holmes of the Joseon Kingdom.'' ``I felt pressure when I realized I had to bring the brilliant scholar back to life. Instead of studying too much about him

Nov 17, 2009

V6 Brings J-Pop Fun to Seoul

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Japanese pop group V6 successfully held their first tour in Seoul with one concert on Saturday and two on Sunday. The six member male group from Johnny's & Associates is composed of Masayuki Sakamoto, Yoshihiko Inohara, Hiroshi Nagano, Ken Miyake, Go Morita and Junichi Okada, and is celebrating its 14th anniversary with an Asian concert tour with stops in Seoul and Taipei. Fans shelled out 113,000 won a ticket to watch the concerts at Olympic Hall, Olympic Park, southern Seoul. It might seem expensive for a pop concert, but a special moving elevated stage, exciting visual and pyrotechnic effects, and 3D videos helped make the V6 concert fun and enjoyable. The concert opened with a special 3D video featuring the V6 members. Organizers had earlier handed out special 3D glasses to concert-goers so they could watch the exciting clips. The hall roared with excitement, as V6 finally appeared on stage. Wearing black sparkly jackets and pants, V6 performed their latest single ``Guilty," followed by ``Take Me Higher" and ``Thunderbird

Nov 16, 2009

Lees High Salary

Actor Lee Byung-hun is being paid 100 million won per episode for his starring role in ``Iris,'' a smash-hit drama now being broadcast on KBS2-TV. Lee, a hallyu (Korean wave) star who is playing the role of Kim Hyun-jun, an intelligence agent, was guaranteed 25 million won per episode plus a 1.5 billion won guaranty in recognition of his contribution to attracting investment from a Japanese broadcaster to produce the 20-episode drama. The 100-million-won performance fee was the third highest in the country's drama history. Bae Yong-joon, another hallyu star, topped the list of drama fees with 250 million won per episode for his appearance in the MBC drama ``The Story of the First King's Four Gods'' in 2007. Park Shin-yang came in second. An association of drama producers has a rule to keep an actor's performance fee per episode below 15 million won. However, the association said it had no problem with Lee's high performance fee because it involves an overseas copyright. Meanwhile, Kim Tae-hee, who is playing the role of a female agent in ``Iris'' opposite Lee Byung-hu

Nov 12, 2009

Lenka, Wouter Hamel to Hold Shows in December

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Rising pop singer Lenka will return to Seoul next month for her first solo concert. Lenka, who performed at the Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival last summer, will perform on Dec. 22 at Hongdae V-Hall. The Australian singer-songwriter is making waves with her self-titled debut album filled with cheerful pop and love songs featured on U.S. shows like ``Ugly Betty,'' ``90210'' and ``Grey's Anatomy.'' She co-wrote the single ``The Show" with American singer-songwriter Jason Reeves. ``The Show" became a hit not just for its catchy melody but its whimsical music video, which she co-directed with James Gulliver Hancock. Lenka was a teen actress, and trained under Cate Blanchett in Australia. She appeared in several TV dramas and films, and was also the host of a children's morning program. But music was her passion. Lenka joined electronic-rock band Decoder Ring, appearing on two albums and touring with them. In 2007, Lenka decided to leave Sydney and move to Los Angeles to start a music career. Also a songwriter, she says her songs r

Nov 10, 2009

Superstar Winner’s First Step to His Dream

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Seo In-gook, the winner of cable music channel Mnet's ``Superstar K,'' had his doubts as an aspiring singer, but he never thought of giving up completely. ``It's interesting. I have failed in auditions and been rejected so many times, but I never thought of changing my dream,'' the 22-year-old told The Korea Times during an interview last week in Mok-dong, northern Seoul. The Ulsan-native was chosen as the winner of the reality program ― which resembles America's hit show ``American Idol'' ― and has been going through a hectic schedule of recordings, photo shoots, interviews and television broadcasts. Even on the day of the interview, the singer was suffering from a bad cold and was sipping lemonade to feel better. ``The first thing on my mind these days is to get better,'' he said, adding it was a shame to have a bad cold when he wanted to be enjoying every minute. So how does it feel to be the winner of Superstar K? ``I've been recording until five in the morning for the past few days. But I love every moment. I think I'm i

Nov 10, 2009

Entertainment Business Dept. to Train Star Makers

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Many say the Korean wave, or hallyu, is dwindling. Some say the fault is on promotion, while others argue about quality. For former entertainment reporter and now professor Hong Sung-kyu, it is the overall mindset that is preventing the wave from moving further. ``The fundamental problem in the Korean entertainment industry is that it is disposable. The reason why it's so difficult to get out of this mess is because the people working within entertainment don't realize this and are not interested in moving forward for a better future,'' he said during an interview last week at The Korea Times. This has led the professor to start an entertainment business major under the Conservatory of Korea to help producers, agencies and managers learn more about the industry and how to further nurture stars. ``Culture has become an important industry for Korea, and we believe we should start producing star-makers, not just stars, in the long run. Hallyu may have been brought by famous actors and singers, but these stars were made by their producers

Nov 9, 2009

TVXQ Dispute Causes Conflict Among Members

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Amid the ongoing battle between three members of K-pop group TVXQ and their agency, SM Entertainment, held a press conference Monday to announce their stance on a recent interim court ruling prior to a final verdict. The agency of the troubled boy group stressed that the legal case regarding the three members ― Xiah, Micky and Hero ― was not about ``slave contracts'' or human rights, but ``financial temptation that started with a cosmetic business.'' ``The petition is based on financial temptations that started with a cosmetic business,'' Kim Young-min, the head of SM Entertainment, said during a press conference at the 63 Building, Yeouido, southern Seoul. Along with Kim, Nam So-young, head of SM Entertainment Japan, and executives Han Se-min and Jeong Chang-hwan, were also present at the conference. This was the agency's first official statement after the legal quarrel began. The other two members issued a statement saying that they couldn't allow the band to collapse ``because of their illegal cosmetic business,'' urging the three m

Nov 3, 2009

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