Entertainment - The Korea Times

Experienced Actors Stealing Spotlight

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Experience is speaking volubly on the small screen these days, as former teen stars and now middle-aged veteran actors have made comebacks. Local dramas have been favored ― and criticized ― for pretty but inexperienced new faces depicting love triangles and romantic stories. However, many female viewers in their late 20s, 30s and 40s have noticed the charms of the realistic world of politics, both office and real life, portrayed by older actors who may not be young and fresh, but have the charisma and experience to lead. The current most popular Monday-Tuesday period drama ``The Great Queen Seondeok'' (MBC) stars Ko Hyun-jeong as the femme fatale Mi-shil of the Shilla Kingdom. The series may be the first period drama of her acting career, but the 38-year-old actor is making headlines. ``I watch the drama because of Ko. The other characters are interesting, but Ko does a great job portraying the mean, yet charismatic Mi-shil,'' Youn Myung-sook, 51, told The Korea Times. SBS show ``Style'' features Kim Hye-soo as a fashionable and

Sep 16, 2009

EBS Offers Documentary Festival

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter A week-long documentary festival will take place starting Sept. 21 at EBS SPACE and Arthouse MOMO in Seoul, and through the small screen. More than 300 documentaries from 57 countries are taking part in the competitive section of the EBS International Documentary Film Festival (EIDF), and viewers can watch 50 selected works from Sept. 21 to 27. The organizers admitted it was hard to persuade the makers to present their works through a readily accessible medium such as television, but they succeeded as many directors agreed with the overall purpose. This year's lineup is an array of interesting and inspiring works, whose topics range from art and history to family, religion and even sports. ``This year, the trend is storytelling. Stories about people have always been the main themes of documentaries, and this was true with this year's works. There were films with colorful characters that brought their personal stories,'' said programmer Song Ji-hyun. Under the theme ``Earth, Where We Live,'' the festival is divided into ei

Sep 15, 2009

Director Duane Clark Lauds Korean Enthusiasm

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Duane Clark, who won the Best Director Award at the Seoul Drama Awards (SDAs) for ``XIII: Conspiracy,'' was pleasantly surprised when he realized that the ``CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (CSI) series he worked on was so popular in Korea. ``This is my first time in Asia. I knew the series was popular around the world but I didn't realize how big it was in Korea specifically. Now I understand,'' he said during an interview with The Korea Times. Clark is one of the five directors who take part in the making of each season. When asked how he felt about his win, Clark laughed and held up his trophy. ``It's fantastic. It's very special to win an award that has no politics attached to it,'' he said. Clark started with fantasy and science fiction works like ``Highlander'' and ``Stargate'' as a director, and also on the legal-drama show ``The Practice.'' ``I then began doing `CSI: Las Vegas' and `CSI: Miami' and I ended up doing a lot of them. Then I got a reputation for that,'' he explained. Why does he think CSI is so popular arou

Sep 13, 2009

Seoul Int’l Drama Awards End With Promise

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter The Seoul International Drama Awards 2009 wrapped up its 10-day run with a grand award ceremony, the biggest in its four-year history, at Olympic Hall, Olympic Park last week. The annual event started Sept. 4 at various venues around the city with 169 dramas from 37 countries competing. The final ceremony saw numerous stars, producers and writers attending, a big leap from the rather localized ceremonies of previous years. The ceremony was broadcast on KBS, and the event venue was filled with fans that came to see some of their favorite local and foreign stars. The Grand Prize went to ``Memoirs in China,'' a period drama about two families surviving turbulent times during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Republican China (1911-1949) and finally the People's Republic of China. ``Our drama is about the ups and downs of a family that survived a century in China. The courage and freedom the family showed in this drama is what we need to survive in our world and also to continue history. I thank you for sympathizing and also for this award,

Sep 13, 2009

Actress Koo Releases Album

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Koo Hye-sun, the heroine of the popular drama ``Boys Over Flowers,'' is an actor, writer, movie director, artist and, now, a composer. The 24-year-old actress fulfilled her childhood dream and released her first album ``Breath'' this month. ``I'm currently working on a movie, and I decided to bring the original soundtracks into an album prior to the movie release," Koo said at a press conference last week at Olympic Park, southern Seoul. "I wanted to mix up the music from this album, my paintings and my novel like bibimbap and come up with a tasty movie. I never learned to compose or draw professionally, but I always enjoyed making things by myself ever since I was young, and I think that hobby led me to do so many things now.'' Next to Koo stood the revered Japanese pianist Isao Sasaki, who is one of the most popular pianists in Korea along with George Winston and Yuki Kuramoto. Koo and Sasaki held a performance last week to celebrate the release of the album Saturday. ``I was lucky enough to meet Sasaki while I was working on

Sep 8, 2009

New Girl Group Enters the Race of Female Bands

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter SM Entertainment, the creators of TVXQ, Girls' Generation and SHINee, has introduced another girl group, f(x), adding fuel to the already heated race between female performers. The showcase for the new five-member girl group was held last week at the Fashion Center in southern Seoul, hosted by Girls' Generation member Sunny and Super Juniors' Lee Teuk. Although the young members smiled nervously every now and then, it was evident that they were excited to finally present themselves to the public. The group f(x) is comprised of Sulli, Luna, Krystal, Amber and Victoria. The name is written as the mathematical equation for function and, like the changing results depending on the applied variable ``x,'' the group is aiming to apply each of their individual talents to bring out the group's colorful charms. The girls appeared in black with black fedoras, dancing to the beat of Sam Sparro's ``Black & Gold.'' The lucky fans who were chosen to attend the showcase shouted the members' names, but the girls kept up the energy with ``Womanizer''

Sep 8, 2009

Network to Bring New Sitcom, Dramas

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter MBC is enjoying top ratings with the hit period drama ``The Great Queen Seondeok,'' and the broadcaster is expected to continue captivating viewers with its new sitcom ``High Kick 2'' and dramas ``No Limit'' and ``Jewel Bibimbap.'' ``No Limit'' made headlines when it was confirmed that U-Know from the popular boy group TVXQ would appear as the ambitious football player Cha Bong-gun. It will be the first time for the 23-year-old singer to appear in a television series, and according to the production team, he has been working hard not to disappoint fans. ``Even after a long day of filming, I come home and I can't wait to go back to the set,'' he was quoted as saying by MBC. When asked about his first attempt at acting, the singer said, "I'm pretty brave. Having a limit is like growing up. You have to overcome it to move forward. I think after the drama, I'll probably have grown a lot more than before." The drama revolves around Cha, who dreams of becoming one of the best football players in Korea. As the young athlete strives to m

Sep 1, 2009

Electronica Groups to Gather in Seoul

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Summer is almost over, but there's still one more festival that will thrill and delight fans of electronic and dance music. The Global Gathering 2009 will bring together big electronica acts like The Prodigy, Underworld, Crystal Method and Royskopp, along with K-pop stars G-Dragon and 2NE1, in Seoul this month. The two-day dance festival is being held from Sept. 18-19 at Han River Nanji Park. Other acts include Fantastic Plastic Machine featuring Verbal from M-flo, Pendulum, MSTRKRFT, The Potbelleez, Houserulez, Gogostar, Idiotape, Revolver 69, Risque Rhythm Machine and Astro Voize. Global Gathering is an annual dance music festival started by Angel Music Group in the United Kingdom in 2001. It has since expanded and has organized festivals featuring top electronica artists in Russia, Australia, Turkey, Ukraine, Poland and Belarus. For the festival in Seoul, British band The Prodigy is proving to be one of the main draws. Fans are excited about their upcoming performance, which comes on the heels of their latest album ``Invade

Sep 1, 2009

Rain Starts Asian Tour in Japan; in Seoul in Oct.

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Korean singer and actor Rain kicked off his Asian tour, ``Legend of Rainism,'' at the Saitama Super Arena, Japan, Saturday and Sunday. Unlike other performances for which the stage is symmetrical, 27-year-old Rain took a different approach, using an asymmetrical design with additional stage blocks and props on one side. Rain's agency, J.Tune Entertainment, explained that they came up with the distinctive look because the singer wanted to offer a bit of an edge. After opening the concert with ``My Way'' and ``Touch Ya,'' Rain paid tribute to the late ``King of Pop'' Michael Jackson by singing ``Billie Jean'' and donning the signature fedora and dance moves. In an interview with local press regarding the death of Jackson, Rain mentioned that the American singer was the reason he started dancing as a young student. Rain has been known as the ``king of performance'' due to his flashy dance moves, expressions and charismatic stage presence, but this time he showed his softer side by presenting romantic ballads such as ``The Thing About Love''

Aug 30, 2009

Dramas, Stars to Compete at Seoul Intl Drama Awards

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter The Seoul International Drama Awards 2009 will be held for 10 days starting from Sept. 4 at various venues around the city. A total of 169 dramas from 37 countries will compete at this year's event under the slogan ``Enjoy Star & Story.'' ``The purpose of the SDA 2009 is to raise the profile of Korean series in the international drama market and to expand cultural exchanges,'' an official from the organizing committee said. Some of Korea's favorite programs will compete with some of the best works from around the world, including countries like Japan, Sweden, Italy and even Ecuador. The awards will be divided into two categories: The Best Drama Award and Individual Prizes. Popular Korean dramas ``Beethoven Virus'' (MBC), ``The Painter of Wind'' (SBS) and ``Slingshot'' (KBS) will compete with England's ``Doctor Who Season 4,'' China's ``Memories of China'' and Canada's ``The Englishman's Boy,'' among others. The three local works garnered fans last year with their creative plots and impressive presentations, and they are expected to h

Aug 25, 2009

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