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April 25, 2013
Zo In-Sung, Kim Min-hee Reveal They Are Dating
The ChosunIlbo
Actors Zo In-sung and Kim Min-hee revealed on Wednesday that they are romantically involved.
"The two met by chance at a gathering with their acquaintances early this year. They have kept in touch ever since and developed feelings for each other," Zo's management agency IOK Company said on Wednesday.
"They just started dating and getting to know each other," it added.
"We also didn't know [Kim and Zo] have been secretly dating" said Kim's management agency, Soop Entertainment.
Many online sites were buzzing after the news came out as fans posted comments to congratulate another "gorgeous" star couple on their romance.
Zo played a leading role in the SBS drama "That Winter, the Wind Blows" that ended early this month, while Kim starred as the heroine of the movie "Very Ordinary Couple" that hit cinemas last month. |
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April 25, 2013
Lee Si-young Joins National Boxing Squad After Winning Title
The ChosunIlbo
Actress Lee Si-young beat Kim Da-som by a 22-20 decision in the women's 48-kg category to win the National Amateur Boxing Championships in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province on Wednesday.
As the competition also served as a tryout for the national boxing squad, she is now entitled to represent Korea at international competitions.
In January, Lee officially joined the boxing team of Incheon City to take up the sport as a second career. But she struggled to find time to train as she juggled boxing and acting. Recently, she starred in the movie "How to Use Guys with Secret Tips," which hit cinemas in February.
She had to lose 1.5 kg to make weight for her latest bout but ended up injuring one of her knees, which meant she was unable to maintain her training program, Lee said.
Actress Lee Si-young (left) reacts after winning the National Amateur Boxing Championships in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province on Wednesday. /News 1
Early in the fight Lee took several hits to her face from Kim, who is 12 years her junior. But as the bout progressed, Lee found her rhythm and the tide turned to her advantage. Lee lost the first round 2-4 but clawed her way back in the second and used her reach advantage in the third and final round to clinch the fight.
"I'm honored to join the national team," Lee said afterwards. "I will continue to work as an actress but I'll also devote more time and energy to boxing as there is barely enough time to prepare for the National Sports Festival in October and the Asian Games tryouts in December."
As neither tournament includes her weight category, Lee will move up to the heavier flyweight class (51 kg). |
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April 25, 2013
Psy Donates W500 Million to Children with Cancer
The ChosunIlbo
Rapper Psy decided to donate W500 million to children with cancer (US$1=W1,118).
The star is donating part of the profits from his new album "Gentleman" as well as a solo concert at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on April 13, his agency YG Entertainment said Wednesday.
"He made the decision because he wanted to respond to his Korean fans' support," the agency said in a press release. |
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April 25, 2013
In search of 'Cinderella' shoes
Celebs’ marriages with the rich not always lead to happy ending
The Korea Times
Kim Hee-ae Kim Hee-sun Ko Hyun-jung Noh Hyun-jung
Where the rich are, there the beauties are.
Don’t take it negatively. Well, as long as capitalism rules the globe, money is a proven mighty tool to pursue the state of well-being and comfort, an inherent universal human desire. In that sense, it seems quite natural for beauties to live up to this dictum by resorting to their competitive advantage in looks.
Marriage for the most part has proven to be one of the most convenient means to achieving this desire of becoming the “Cinderella” of the 21st century.
Many female celebrities in Korea have in that spirit chosen the option of marrying rich tycoons to achieve this goal.
A case in point is Ko Hyun-jung. The 42-year-old actress surprised the public in 1995 with the so-called “wedding of the century” with Chung Yong-jin, incumbent vice chairman of retail giant Shinsegae Group and grandson of Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chull. Chung’s personal wealth is estimated to be 830 billion won ($740 million).
The couple split in 2003 with child custody given to Chung. She returned to the small screen in 2005 to “make a living.” Yet rumors have it that she earned a massive fortune from the ensuing divorce suit.
Former TV news anchorwoman Noh Hyun-jung is another such. The 34-year-old married Chung Dae-sun, CEO of Hyundai BS&C and grandson of Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung. The junior Chung’s wealth is unknown.
Noh, who resigned from her position shortly after August the 2006 marriage, has since largely maintained a very low profile. She however received unwanted attention last week following allegations that she resorted to illegal means to get her children enrolled in a foreign school in Seoul. She is scheduled to be questioned over the allegations by prosecutors.
Actress Park Sang-ah was also embroiled in the admission fraud scandal. The 41-year-old is accused of transferring her two children to a foreign school based on a forged proof of enrollment of an English immersion kindergarten in connivance with an American employee of the school.
Park is the wife of the second son of former President Chun Doo-hwan. Her husband’s wealth is also unknown but rumors have it that he owns several buildings and other properties at home and abroad valued at multimillions of dollars.
Other celebrities married to business bigwigs include actress Kim Hee-sun, Kim Hee-ae, Hwang Shin-hye, Choi Jung-yoon, former TV news anchorwoman Hwang Hyun-jeong and Han Seung-joo.
The two Kims recently made a comeback on the TV screen, while the other two still hold onto a self-imposed embargo.
By all accounts, actress Moon Hee made the first case of rich-beauty ties in her 1972 marriage to Chang Kang-jae, then vice president of Hankook Ilbo daily, the sister paper of The Korea Times.
Guaranteed happiness?
You may think that the life of a celebrity-turned-wife of a billionaire is free from worry and stress. But many couple mangers and wedding consultants say it’s never the case.
“There are many beauties who complain over their stressful life after marriage,” said James Lee, CEO of Sunoo, a leading matchmaking company. “Rich families are usually conservative and they have very strict family-wide code of conduct that all family members are required to abide by. They used to become stressful while being familiar with it.” He said some even become targets of ridicule by their husband’s kinsmen because of their previous career.
There is scientific evidence that money doesn’t always guarantee a happy marriage.
A study by scholars at Brigham Young University (BYU) and Provo, Utah and William Paterson University concluded that materialistic spouses pay less attention to their marital relationships and give their marriage lower priority than other concerns.
“Couples where both spouses are materialistic were worse off on nearly every measure we looked at,” Jason Carroll, a BYU professor and lead author of the study, was quoted as saying in a Wall Street Journal report. “There is a pervasive pattern in the data of eroding communication, poor conflict resolution and low responsiveness to each other.”
Nevertheless, there are still many beauties holding onto the dream of achieving the Cinderella status through marriage.
Experts say, most of them are influenced by TV dramas or online articles telling unproven stories about how an ordinary woman gets married to a rich man.
In fact, there are matchmakers who get a pretty ordinary woman introduced to a rich bachelor in exchange for handsome brokerage fees. |
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April 24, 2013
Pretty, feisty actress Lee is new model of women
By Jung Min-ho The Korea Times
Actress Lee Si-young, right, lands a left-handed straight in the face of Kim Da-som in the women’s 48-kilogram competition at the National Amateur Boxing Championships in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, Wednesday. / Yonhap
Sweat was pouring off her swollen face and her legs were trembling after a brutal fight, but actress Lee Si-young smiled happily in the ring at the National Amateur Boxing Championships, Wednesday.
With her win in the women’s 48-kilogram event, Lee, who starred in the recent romantic comedy ''How to Use Guys with Secret Tips,’’ became the country’s first mainstream entertainer, male or female, to make it to the national boxing team. Her goal is to medal at the Asian Games in Incheon next year.
But what is driving the 31-year-old in her relentless pursuit of athletic excellence, when her combination of girl-next-door sexiness and natural comedic timing had seemed to promise a decade worth of safe and lucrative, Jennifer Aniston-like roles?
Her management agency, J, Wide-Company, is clearly uneasy about Lee doubling as a boxer. The company’s representatives go out of their way to say that Lee’s stint in boxing will be temporary, and if she lands some sporting brand commercials on the way, then so be it.
Their concerns for Lee are predictable and honestly graceless. No athlete competes with the courage of a boxer, and whenever she steps into the ring, Lee is risking injury, or worse, damaging her face which may or may not be an expensive product of artificial beautification.
And this is a culture that still prefers its actresses to be elegant and sophisticated, which are hardly the adjectives applied to Lee when she puts on her gloves and headgear.
However, Lee seems unfazed by these worries. She has been putting her heart and effort into boxing since she fell for the sport while playing a role in a television drama in 2010. That drama was cancelled, but Lee’s passion for boxing survived and thrived.
''I still believe I have a long way to go. I have great goals to achieve through hard work,’’ Lee said after the bout, noting her ultimate goal is to win a gold medal at the Incheon Asian Games next year. And now few doubt she will try.
Of course, the process of gaining respect as an athlete didn’t come easy for Lee. After joining Incheon City Boxing Team in January, she moved to the city from Seoul to save time for training. In March, she even underwent surgery for a slipped disk. Facing Lee in her moment of truth Wednesday was Kim Da-som, a fighter who was 12 years younger and had a meaner punch.
Kim abused Lee in the opening rounds. However, Lee, trained in an out-boxing style to exploit her reach, gamely maintained her composure. She took blows to the head with open eyes. Her guard was continuously tight. She failed to dominate her more aggressive opponent, but smartly and calmly took the points that were given to her. In the end, the judges favored Lee 22-20.
What made the fans fascinated was not the result. Rather, it was Lee’s pure passion for something in an age when everyone is trained to calculate the gains and losses in whatever they do. So, for those who always fear to lose even without anything to lose, Lee’s punching was perfect catharsis.
Maybe Lee’s sports achievements will boost her acting career in a way that her agency never imagined. Some directors are already calling to make movies loosely based on her journey as a boxer.
Lee has been a star, but not exactly a megastar: her most successful film has been the romantic comedy ''Dangerous Meeting,’’ which sold about 3 million tickets.
When some fret that Lee was approaching her twilight years in show business where a plethora of pretty-faced actresses come and disappear every day, she reset her starting point through the new challenge and showed what can be achieved if we face fear with passion. |
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April 26, 2013
Hollywood blockbusters expected to sweep Korean box office
By Shim Sun-ah YonhapNews
SEOUL, April 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's film industry got tensed up Friday as official box-office data showed that the new Hollywood film "Iron Man 3" had a successful opening day by selling over 420,000 tickets in local theaters.
Industry observers say the strength of Hollywood movies will continue for a while with a series of big-budget American films set to arrive in the country following the latest in the superhero trilogy. The movie opened in South Korea Thursday for the first time in the world.
According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) that tracks local box-office sales, the movie attracted an audience of 423,235 on the first day of its release, the highest opening-day tally this year.
The figure is soon expected to break the 1-million mark as a large number of people have reserved tickets to see "Iron Man 3." As of 3 p.m., about 87.5 percent of the tickets reserved for the day at local theaters were for the action-packed blockbuster.
The film focuses on human limits and frustrations suffered by Tony Stark/Iron Man (played by Robert Downey Jr.) trapped in the worst crisis of his life. It is being shown on 1,228 screens, which is 34.6 percent of all screens here.
Korean films are expected to struggle to win audiences for a while as a number of other Hollywood blockbusters are waiting for their turns to impress their local fans.
They include "Star Trek: Into Darkness," the sequel to the 2009 film "Star Trek: The Beginning"; "Man of Steel" directed by Zack Snyder and produced by Christopher Nolan; and "After Earth," a sci-fi thriller starring real-life father and son Will and Jaden Smith.
"Oblivion," a sci-fi film starring Tom Cruise that opened on April 11 in local theaters, sits in the second place of the KOFIC's monthly box-office list, drawing an audience of 1.33 million up until Thursday.
On the contrary, the popularity of homegrown films slowed down this month after the industry saw local films draw a record-breaking number of moviegoers in the first quarter at 38.45 million.
Among local films that opened this month, only two -- director Kang Woo-suk's new film "Fist of Legend" and "Running Man" starring Shin Ha-kyun -- have barely sold over 1.3 million won tickets, far below expectations. |
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April 26, 2013
Netizens rage about actress in pageant
By Lee Sun-min Korea JoongAng Daily
A debate is brewing over whether a television actress can compete in a national beauty pageant.
Kwak Ka-hyun, who appeared in MBC drama “The Horse Healer,” was chosen as Miss Seoul on Thursday at a regional competition in Seoul for the upcoming nationwide Miss Korea pageant in June.
Kwak, currently a student at Dongguk University, has used the pseudonym Lee Ka-hyun for her public appearances as an actress. She previously appeared in other TV dramas, although her parts have been small.
Many of the netizens are asking whether a TV star can appear in a national beauty pageant as the competition has brought many unknowns into the entertainment industry.
The organizer of the beauty pageant said there is no restriction on actresses’ participation.
“It is not an audition program [to become a celebrity],” said an official, according to local media reports yesterday.
“We don’t understand why people who talk about ‘fairness’ [are raising concerns].” |
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April 26, 2013
Eugene recalls childhood dreams
By Lee Sun-min Korea JoongAng Daily
Eugene, former member of 1990s girl group S.E.S., said that she was selected to be in the entertainment industry thanks to H.O.T, during MBC talk show “Knee Drop Guru” on Thursday.
She lived in Guam while H.O.T took a vacation there, so she went to see the popular group at the airport, she recalled.
“Then the manager [of the group] suddenly asked me to be a translator after I gave H.O.T a necklace made of candies,” she said, adding that she was 17 at the time.
“The manager asked for my contact information, and then I met Lee Su-man on my way home and he asked me if I was interested in the [entertainment] industry.”
Then a few days later, she got a call that she should come to Korea for an audition at SM Entertainment.
“At the time, many of the Korean emigrants dealt with their homesickness by watching Korean dramas or listening to Korean music,” she said.
“I dreamed that I wanted to be an actress when watching Korean dramas and a singer when watching H.O.T and Seo Taiji and Boys.” |
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April 26, 2013
'Promised Land' lends glitz to the Green Film Fest
By Carla Sunwoo Korea JoongAng Daily
Green Film Festival organizers gather in Seoul last week. Provided by the festival
Seoul’s Green Film Festival, which advocates for environmental causes through cinema, is set to hit the 10-year mark with the largest collection of films to date.
Organizers promised a “bigger, fresher” event at a press event last week ahead of the opening on May 9.
Those present included Kim Won, chairman of the organizing committee; Park Jae-dong, head of the executive committee; Kim Young-woo, festival programmer; and actress Son Tae-young, the celebrity spokesperson for the year.
Park said that tireless efforts to make a name for festival over the past decade are starting to pay off.
“It is now the biggest environmental film festival in Asia,” he explained, noting that a total of 146 films will be screened over eight days. “We had entries from more than 42 nations around the world and have 21 films in the competing segment.”
The opening film was announced to be “Promised Land,” starring Matt Damon, bringing some glitz to what otherwise may seem like an alternative film event.
Damon and director Gus Van Sant also worked together on “Good Will Hunting” some 15 years ago.
The plot revolves around a salesman for a natural gas company whose life changes when he moves to a town that his corporation wants to take over.
It claimed the main prize at the National Board of Review last year and a Special Mention at the Berlin International Film Festival this year. Despite the Hollywood touch, Park said he hoped “the audience will learn a bit about the environment while being entertained” unlike at other film events that focus just on entertainment.
There are various segments including Korean and international environmental films - both of which offer monetary awards - as well as divisions for climate change, genetically modified food, the aftereffects of Fukushima, animals and children.
“As usual, we pondered over the most pressing matters before deciding on the segments,” Kim said.
And although such issues are not easy to digest, Son said she would work hard with her counterpart, actor Ji Jin-hee, to spread the word on beautifying the world.
Her first project will be developing easy steps that can be used to help save the environment. |
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April 26, 2013
Go Yun's father is a Saenuri lawmaker
Korea JoongAng Daily
Actor Go Yun of KBS drama “Iris 2” turned out to be the son of Kim Moo-sung, a former floor leader of the ruling Sanuri Party who won a parliamentary seat in Wednesday’s by-election.
One of the officials on the drama production team confirmed the family relation, according to local media reports yesterday.
In the drama, Go, whose real name is Kim Jong-min, played an agent for the terrorist group called Iris.
“He made up his own pseudonym as he did not want people to know that he is the son of [a politician],” the official was quoted as saying.
“He thought his work has nothing to do with the work of his father, and only a few staff members knew his [true identity].”
As the drama was Go’s first as an actor, he will later sign with an agency and expand his presence.
He is not the first actor with a politician in the family. Eun Ji-won, a broadcaster and former member of boy band Sechs Kies, is the nephew of President Park Geun-hye. By Lee Sun-min |
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April 28, 2013
Comedy tackles grim job market
By Baek Byung-yeul The Korea Times
This is a screen capture of the MBC Television show “Infinite Challenge.”
Television comedies have traditionally functioned as outlets for viewers seeking a brief break from their mundane daily lives. As difficult times turn the Korean office experience from banal to brutal, disturbing issues about unemployment and cut-throat competition are beginning to be represented in these shows.
It’s not an easy line to walk: it’s hard to find a place for humor when the realities are daunting and immediate for viewers. However, these shows can’t afford to be weepy either for ratings’ sake.
MBC television’s ''Infinite Challenge,’’ a challenge-based reality show mixed with sketch comedy that has been the country’s most-watched television product for nearly a decade, made a gamely attempt to hit that elusive balance in its latest episode that aired Saturday.
In what appeared to be a parody of ''The Office,’’ the British-inspired American sitcom that was a satire on the modern workplace, and the musical ''Les Miserables,’’ the seven regular members of Infinite Challenge staged a drama that ended with one of them getting laid off at work.
The producers smartly set up the laughs _ there were plenty of them _ to strengthen the impact of the emotional ending. Their aim was to convey the uncomfortable truth that being overworked, overstressed and underpaid is becoming a blessing in Korea where a chunk of the working-age population is becoming sidelined from the labor market.
Judging by the comments on social media, Infinite Challenge did hit a chord with viewers with its unexpected sitcom.
Yoo Jae-suk, who doubles as the main character and host of the show, acted as the mid-level manager leading a group of likable but bumbling workers. The cost-cutting CEO orders Yoo to shave one of his workers from the payroll, and after painful deliberation, he decides it has to be Jung Joon-ha, a man with a big heart and bigger stomach, but not as clever and quick-witted as his co-workers.
The latest episode of Infinite Challenge managed a 12 percent viewing rate, easily beating any other program in the same timeslot.
''I couldn’t stop laughing when the characters came up with all the bizarre and stupid ideas in their presentations, which led to the fury of the CEO and ended up with one of them being canned,’’ said Park Jong-ho, a 30-year-old office worker who claims to have not missed an episode of the show since it started in 2005.
''But I couldn’t suppress my tears when they sang their version of ‘One More Day’ from Les Miserables and when Jung walks out of the office bitterly after getting the notice that he has just been laid off. The show was just like a well-made musical drama.’’
Superficially, Korea doesn’t appear to have much of a job market problem. The official rate of unemployment came in at 3 percent in 2012, a level policymakers in Western economies would die for. Yet closer examination of government statistics reveals that the state of employment is uglier than many imagine.
The 750,000 people officially listed as unemployed are dwarfed by the 16 million deemed economically inactive - neither in work nor seeking employment. This means that 40 percent of the country’s working age population above the age of 15 is sidelined from the labor market.
In addition, more than 80 percent of the new jobs created in the past year went to people over 50, confirming that the unemployment rate has been softened by menial jobs.
There has also been an alarming rise of ''discouraged’’ young people who have given up because they don’t believe there are any jobs available. The struggles of people in their 20s and 30s is matched by the perils of millions of middle-aged Koreans forced to start their own businesses out of necessity after being sidelined from the labor market.
A recent study showed that nearly half of self-owned businesses, such as coffee shops, fried chicken pubs and convenience stores, derail within three years and more than 75 percent of them fail to last a decade.
In its following episode, Infinite Challenge will show the laid-off Jung trying to make his living as the owner of a fried chicken restaurant. If the show continues to authentically represent the Korean reality, that’s not likely to go well. |
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April 28, 2013
Jo Seung-woo returning to musicals
By Lee Sun-min Korea JoongAng Daily
Actor Jo Seung-woo will return to the musical industry after his TV appearance in the MBC drama, “Horse Healer,” which recently ended its run.
His return to musicals is garnering more public attention because he has decided to take the role he previously played in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”
“Jo was eager to take part in [the musical] despite the surge of requests from [companies] that are hoping to work with him,” said Shownote, the agency organizing the musical.
The monologue style of rock musical was introduced in the United States in 1998 and was brought to Korea in 2005. Jo was the lead character, Hedwig the transgender, from 2006 to 2007. It has been said that Jo’s performance made the musical more popular in Korea.
Because of his performance, Jo also received casting calls from a variety of musical production companies afterward, boosting his status as a musical star.
Since then, he appeared in “Jekyll and Hyde” in 2011, “Zorro” in 2011, and in “Doctor Zhivago” last year. |
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April 29, 2013
Baek, Jung will get married in June
By Lee Sun-minKorea JoongAng Daily
Actor Jung Suk-won and singer Baek Ji-young
Singer Baek Ji-young and actor Jung Suk-won have set the date for their wedding on June 2, the two announced yesterday.
They recently had their parents meet to discuss and make wedding arrangements. Although they have decided on a date, the venue has not yet been chosen.
In entertainment news program “Section TV” on MBC on Sunday, Jung shared some stories about the planned marriage.
“I actually wanted to get married sometime next year, but Baek started to feel a little bit nervous as we have been dating for three years,” said Jung.
“So I proposed to her,” he said, adding that they have been talking about marriage from the beginning of their relationship.
He also said that Baek was very nervous before meeting the parents of her fiance.
“I consoled her and then she felt confident,” Jung noted.
Baek and Jung have been dating since early 2011. |
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April 29, 2013
Jang Dong-gun cast in 'Crying Man'
By Lee Sun-min Korea JoongAng Daily
Jang Dong-gun will appear in a film whose working title is “Crying Man,” according to Ilgan Sports, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily.
It is said that Jang will work with director Lee Jeong-beom, well known from his previous work with actor Won Bin in “The Man from Nowhere” (2010).
“We are reviewing [Jang’s] appearance in the movie that Lee is preparing, and we feel positive about it,” said an official related to Jang in a phone call with Ilgan Sports yesterday.
“We haven’t finalized the contract, but it will be [signed] if nothing particular comes up.”
The movie shows love between a killer and a woman. Jang, who will be playing the killer, is expected to participate in some action scenes.
Because Won garnered much popularity after playing a dark but compassionate character with Lee, many local fans are waiting too see what talents Jang will bring out with his collaboration with the director.
The production company will finalize the cast soon and begin filming in September. |
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April 29, 2013
Hyun Bin set to appear in new film
By Lee Sun-min Korea JoongAng Daily
Hyun Bin will return to the big screen in his first work since completing military service as a naval officer in December.
The star of TV dramas “My Name is Kim Sam-soon” and “Secret Garden” has chosen to play King Jeongjo (1752-1800) of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).
In the movie tentatively named “Rage of the King,” Hyun will express the struggles King Jeongjo faced during fierce party strife in the nation.
“As Hyun chose this piece as his first comeback project, and it is a period film, it is expected that he will further expand his acting career in the future,” the movie production company said yesterday in a release.
Director Lee Jae-kyu of TV drama “The King 2 Hearts,” “Beethoven Virus” and “The Legendary Police Woman” will make his theater debut with this upcoming film.
The movie is scheduled to be released in local theaters in the first half of next year.
Fans are eagerly awaiting the star’s comeback after his time out of the spotlight. |
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April 29, 2013
Psy Steals Spotlight Again with Tribeca Award, Dinner with Obama
The ChosunIlbo
Psy received the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on Friday. The award is given to those who make a significant impact by breaking with convention and creating something new.
The festival was set up in 2002 by prominent figures in the film industry such as Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in hope of reviving the Tribeca area of Lower Manhattan, which was badly affected by the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
"Who knew, right? Giving me this award in itself is a form of innovation, I think," said Psy upon receiving the accolade. On the worldwide popularity of both "Gangnam Style" and his follow-up "Gentleman," he said, "I still cannot believe what is happening right now. I'm still figuring out the reason [why]."
Making a reference to the venue of the award ceremony, which took place at New York University, Psy said, "I applied to this school in 1996, but I failed [to be admitted]. So I consider this a success as I finally entered this building this morning."
On Saturday, the singer was invited to dine with U.S. President Barack Obama as a guest of CBS News at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington D.C. The event was attended by celebrities including Ashley Judd, Nicole Kidman, Jessica Alba, Steven Spielberg, Kevin Spacey and Bon Jovi.
In a recent interview with the NBC, Obama was asked by a playful NBC Today co-host Savannah Guthrie whether it was true that the president had been listening to "Gangnam Style" at the White House when he was inaugurated for a second term in January. Obama answered, "I can confirm that. Fortunately, we destroyed all the tapes."
However, when asked about his dancing skills, Obama joked about how he struggles to keep up with his wife Michelle. "You know, she consistently maintains, and I don't argue with her, that she's a better dancer than me... [But] in private, you know, I can bust a move and I think I'm pretty good." |
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April 30, 2013
Comedian Saves Man from Jumping into Han River
The ChosunIlbo
Jung Bum-kyun
Comedian Jung Bum-kyun saved a man from jumping into the Han River to commit suicide, it emerged on Monday. The Mapo Fire Station in Seoul said Jung was among five people who stopped a man in his late 40s who was attempting to jump into the Han River from the midpoint of Mapo Bridge on Sunday evening.
The man was drunk and attempted to jump into the river from the balustrade and tussled with two young women who were trying to dissuade him.
The man was muttering curses and struggling, saying, "Leave me alone, let me die," witnesses said.
In the nick of time, Jung, who was cycling past, joined other citizens in efforts to pull the man down to the pavement. Jung reportedly stayed on until emergency services arrived.
When a rescue worker thanked him for helping, Jung was quoted as saying, "I just did what anybody would've done."
Jung later released a statement saying, "Such a thing was possible because I wasn't alone. I just did what was right and I'm flattered I got so much attention for doing so little." |
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April 30, 2013
Film Audiences Favor Grown-Up Experience
The ChosunIlbo l Nate
Ha Jung-woo and Kim Hye-soo have been voted the most popular actor and actress in Korea in a poll by the Chosun Ilbo and the country's biggest ticketing site Maxmovie. But Hwang Jung-min and Jeon Do-yeon were named as the best actor and actress.
◆ Mature Actors, Mature Audiences
Remarkably, most of the top 10 most popular actors and actresses are in their 30s to 50s, the only exception being Han Hyo-joo, who is in her 20s. The average age for male and female actors is 42.7 and 34.1.
Of the actors, only four are in their 30s, including Ha, Kang Dong-won and Won Bin. A large proportion of the entrants on the popularity list starred in hit movies over the past two years, but Won, Kang, Lee Na-young and Kim Tae-hee managed to stay popular by only appearing in commercials.
The average age of best actors is even higher. Except for Ha, all those in the top 10 are in their 40s or over, and the 10 best actresses are on average 41.7 years old.
Several veteran actors who did not make the most-popular list were instead recognized for their skill, including Yoon Yeo-jeong, Kim Hae-sook, Jang Young-nam and Moon So-ri.
Pundits attribute the preference for middle-aged actors to soaring numbers of moviegoers in the same age group. "The Korean film industry used to focus on viewers in their teens or 20s, but now it tries to accommodate diverse age groups. As more films target the middle-aged, they cast veteran actors in the same age bracket," said film critic Jeon Chan-il.
A film producer said, "Only five years ago, pretty young actors were almost guaranteed success at the box office, but now viewers don't want to see movies with bad actors any more. Regardless of appearance or age, actors with proven skill are most sought after now."
◆ New Directors
On the other hand, a generational shift seems to be taking place among directors. The people on the 10 best directors list have largely drawn over 10 million viewers in recent years, such as Choi Dong-hoon with "Thieves," Choo Chang-min with "Masquerade," and Lee Hwan-kyung with "Miracle in Cell No. 7."
Most of moviegoers had never heard of the last two before the success of their movies. But some prominent directors who once drew vast audiences did not make the list this time. There were no nods to Yoon Je-kyoon of "Haeundae," Lee Joon-ik of "The King and the Clown," and Kang Je-gyu of "Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War."
◆ Movie Theaters Win
Asked what their favorite way of watching movies is, 87.1 percent of respondents replied the theater, up from 61 percent in 2007. The proportion of those who prefer downloading movies on the Internet dwindled by half from 13.1 percent to 6.4 percent, and of those who favored cable channels by two-thirds from 14.5 percent to 4.8 percent.
Watching DVDs and videos plummeted from 9.6 percent to 0.7 percent over the same period.
Of the five factors influencing people's choice of films, online reviews from punters came only third. Kim Hyung-ho of Maxmovie explained that factors that are irrelevant to the film can come into play when netizens evaluate them. "Some people rate movies poorly just for fun," he said.
He added people are becoming more aware of how diverse tastes are and no longer consider other Internet users' comments very credible.
Instead, recommendations from friends and family came in second, rising from 10.3 percent to 18.8 percent.
Last edited by katt on 30-4-2013 12:25 PM
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April 30, 2013
Jeju Air to have hallyu models
The Korea Times
Jang Geun-suk
Fans can’t get enough of them, so a local budget carrier has decided to grace their airplanes with portraits of three “hallyu” stars ― actors Jang Geun-suk and Choi Ji-woo and K-pop singer Kim Hyun-joong.
Jeju Air said that the pictures of the three leading Korean wave stars will be on the exteriors of their planes flying domestically as well as those flying to Japan, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand and Guam.
Jang recently wrapped up a two-day fan meeting, held in conjunction with Lotte Duty Free, in High 1 Resort in Gangwon Province where he met with 1,500 inbound Japanese tourists-cum-fans. Jeju Air said that it is looking to hold such fan meetings, in collaboration with Lotte Duty Free. The three stars also currently advertise Lotte Duty Free.
This is the second time that the budget air carrier has used hallyu stars. Last year, they selected the popular K-pop group Big Bang. |
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