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Actress Lee Young-ae gives birth to twins

Actress Lee Young-ae, widely popular across Asia, has given birth to twins, her agent here said Monday. Lee, 40, became a mother of fraternal twins, a boy and a girl, at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at a Seoul hospital, said Storms Company. "The mother and the babies are healthy," it said. She was secretly married in 2009 in the United States to a Korean businessman, surprising fans everywhere. Lee, considered one of the most influential actresses in South Korea with a broad fan base built on the Korean Wave throughout East and Southeast Asian countries, debuted in a television commercial in 1991. She started gaining stardom in TV dramas and movies with her composed image and acting prowess. Lee's popularity exploded after her starring performance in the popular Korean drama "Jewel in the Palace (Dae Jang Geum)," about life of a court lady in the Joseon Dynasty, first released overseas in 2004 and quickly won a following. The fictional historical drama reached as far as Iranian television in 2007 and drew 86 percent of viewers in the Middle East nation, an unprecedented record fo

Yamashita to make his debut in Korea

By Chung Ah-young Tomohisa Yamashita, actor and member of popular Japanese boy band NEWS, will make his debut in Korea. The 26-year-old is scheduled to release his solo album “Supergood, Superbad” on March 2 in Korea and hold his first concert at KBS 88 Gymnasium on April 16 and 17. He will also appear on Mnet’s “M Countdown” on Feb. 24 to promote his solo album. “Many Korean fans adore the Japanese dramas in which he starred. We’ve already received numerous questions about his Korean debut for the past two months,” Mnet Media, the company currently in charge of his Korean licensing and promotions, said in a statement. “Supergood, Superbad” topped the Oricon Weekly Chart on Jan. 26 when it was released in Japan. The album consists of 25 songs on two discs, including a music video documentary, a photo book and lyrics. Widely known as Yamapi, Yamashita has a strong fan base in Korea as a singer and actor for dramas such as “Code Blue,” “Kurosagi” and “Nobuta wo Produce.” When he first visited Korea in 2008, hundreds of his fans flocked to Gimpo Airport to greet hi

KT chief honored for women-friendly policies

By Han Sang-hee Lee Suk-chae, CEO of KT, received the 17th Gold Award given by the Korea Federation of Business & Professional Women (BPW Korea) during its annual ceremony at the Plaza Hotel, Thursday evening. The award is given to an individual or a group that has uplifted the status of women and also contributed to enhancing their working environment. ``Some 50 percent of our customers are women and we now cannot manufacture products without considering their styles and preferences. I believe this award is a reminder for me and my company to show further interest and support for our female consumers and also employees,’’ Lee said after receiving the award. Lee was recognized for the telecom giant’s various women-friendly programs, including leadership programs and smart working centers that allow working mothers to work from home ― part or even full time. ``We will do our best to push the status of professional women. That’s the only way our company and moreover society as a whole can survive,’’ Lee added. BPW Korea is the local branch of the BPW Foundation, o

Kim Jae-chul renamed as president of MBC

By Chung Ah-young Incumbent president Kim Jae-chul, 58, has been renamed as the head of MBC, the nation’s second largest TV station. The state-controlled Foundation for Broadcast Culture, MBC’s largest shareholder, decided to reappoint Kim as president, which now has to be officially approved at a general meeting of shareholders later this month. Kim won more than half of the votes from the board of directors of the foundation among other candidates who were interviewed for the post. The foundation gave high marks for Kim’s contribution to the stabilization of the company last year and his management plan to strengthen the competitiveness of content and diversify the profit model. Kim graduated from Korea University and earned a master’s degree at Wales University. He worked as a reporter at MBC since 1979. He became the president succeeding Ohm Ki-young last year but faced controversy over his close relationship with President Lee Myung-bak when he worked as a journalist. Under his leadership, the labor union went on strike for 40 days last April. One of the board

Rain, Girls Generation win Seoul Art Awards

By Lee Hyo-won Pop singers Rain and Girls’ Generation, and actress Jeon Do-yeon, among other high-profile stars have been chosen as grand prize winners of the 2nd Seoul Art and Culture Award. The awards, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Seoul City, features 11 categories and recipients were revealed Monday ahead of the ceremony later this month, in Seoul. Rain was chosen for the grand prize in the world star category while Girls’ Generation topped the pop singer awards and Jeon won the same top prize for movie actors. Among TV drama actors, Lee Beom-soo won the grand prize for his role in SBS’ “Giant” while musical star Chung Sung-hwa was noted for his work in “Hero.” Lee Soo-man of SM Entertainment will also receive the grand prize for pop music producers while filmmaker Ryu Seung-wan will receive a trophy for his crime drama, ``The Unjust.’’ The star-studded award ceremony will take place at the Gymnastic Stadium, Olympic Park at 7 p.m. on Feb. 28. Girls’ Generation, Kim Duk-soo’s “samulnori” (traditional percussion) troupe, baritone

Actors Hyun, Kim top list of ideal Valentines dates

By Lee Hyo-won Single Korean women and men chose actors Hyun Bin and Kim Tae-hee, respectively, as ideal dates for Valentine’s Day. In a telephone survey conducted by marriage consulting firm Sunoo (Couple.net), 26.4 percent of 250 single women aged 20 to 40 chose Hyun saying he is ``attractive’’ and ``handsome.’’ The actor recently made the headlines for his role in the hit TV soap ``Secret Garden’’ as well as starring in two local films that were invited to the ongoing Berlin Film Festival. Some 13 percent of the 250 surveyed men from the same age range chose Kim, citing reasons that she is ``beautiful’’ and ``sophisticated.’’ The actress is currently playing the lead role in the drama ``My Princess.’’ Next in the ranking among male celebrities were actors Lee Seung-ki (8 percent), for his ``kind, hard-working, cute and lovable’’ appeal; Song Seung-hun and Won Bin (7.2 percent each), for being ``handsome’’ and ``masculine’’; and So Ji-sub (6.4 percent). Among female stars, men favored singer IU (10.4 percent) for her ``cute’’ and ``extraordinary singing talent’’ and

Editorial cartoonist Shin passes away

Shin Kyung-moo, 55, the editorial cartoonist for the Chosun Ilbo, one of the largest newspapers in Korea, passed away due to leukemia, Saturday. Shin was diagnosed with leukemia in December 2009 and had been fighting against the disease for more than a year. He returned to the newspaper in early January as he felt better, but took a turn for the worse some 20 days later and took further sick leave. However, he passed away due to an acute infection last week. His last cartoon was in Jan. 29’s paper, titled “People worse than Kim Jong-il.” He started to submit satirical cartoons in letters to the editor sections around the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and entered the Busan Economy in 1992. He moved to the Chosun Ilbo in 1996, providing editorial cartoons for 15 years.

South Korean father searches for son he gave up

Los Angeles Times Each morning when he opens his eyes, and at odd moments throughout his day, Lee Jae-keun thinks of the boy. Does he have his mother's round face? Does he know who his real father is? Is he happy? Then the guilt invades, his mind replaying the desperate half-century-old gamble taken by a single parent who believed he had run out of options. The year was 1962. His young wife had died of starvation and Lee was scratching to care for his sickly 8-month-old boy. He begged for rice at a Buddhist temple. He wandered his South Korean neighborhood imploring new mothers to breast-feed his child. Afraid the boy would die, Lee struck the perverse bargain that would haunt him for a lifetime. He turned over custody of his only child to a mysterious man acting as a broker for his wealthy banker son, who was unable to have children of his own. The man would care for the boy for 10 years for a fee of $35,000, an unthinkable sum on the war-leveled Korean peninsula. Lee was to pay the money when he collected the boy. He recalls being so desperate that the demand c

Kahi to release solo album

By Ines Min After School’s Kahi will be the first of the nine-member girl group to release a solo album, Pledis Entertainment announced Thursday. The leader of the pop group is working on a dance track created by acclaimed songwriter Kim Tae-hyun. ``The album will be comprised of a total of four songs, with medium-tempo pop songs and ballads that start with dance beats,’’ a representative from the agency said. The EP will be made available online from Feb. 14 and will be released in hard copy on Feb. 15. Kahi, 30, was part of the Korean American girl group S.Blush, before joining After School. The K-pop group first made their debut in 2009 and has since released four albums. They plan to return to the music scene this March with the addition of their new ninth member Noh Yi-young.